Chapter 308 - 308: 308 - Sage Jutsu Mass user production??!! WTF?!

The Summoning Jutsu itself wasn't complicated.

What took time was forging a contract with a tree and getting used to that faint, otherworldly link. It still cost Roshi a considerable amount of effort.

By the time he finally confirmed that the dark brown mother tree could respond to a summon when needed, the lab's wall clock had already slipped past nine in the evening.

Before leaving, he casually picked up a simple report from the table—a daily briefing left by the Anbu. One short entry noted: Yakushi Kabuto had gone to the independent residence in the Venue District that afternoon to meet Fu, the Jinchuriki from Takigakure currently staying there, and held an initial discussion regarding health checks and chakra evaluations. The other party was cooperative.

At that, Roshi could only admit he finally understood Orochimaru's joy.

With someone competent, diligent, and unlikely to mess things up, any plan could achieve twice the result with half the effort.

At the very least, his own workload would ease up.

It even felt like his retirement might come sooner than expected.

After leaving the laboratory and getting a full night's sleep at home, Roshi strolled into the Hokage's Office the next day in a leisurely mood.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Tsunade remarked. "What, did you find another excuse for a publicly funded trip?"

"I don't have such thoughts for now," Roshi replied. "It's simply that the seeds I planted have started to sprout. It makes me feel a bit more hopeful about the future."

"Seeds? Kabuto?"

She knew Roshi had gone to the Westside Laboratory yesterday, and the Anbu had also submitted a brief on Kabuto's movements afterward.

"He is indeed a talented person," Tsunade said.

"That guy Kakashi should have it much easier from now on."

Roshi didn't answer.

He just leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and let the sunlight pouring in through the window wash over him. Warmth soaked into his skin, loose and comforting.

In his ears were the soft rustle of Tsunade turning pages, the faint scratch of a pen gliding over paper, and, every now and then, a few words she muttered under her breath.

Drowsiness crept up on him again.

Maybe because the atmosphere was too peaceful, Roshi's consciousness started to drift, hovering at the edge of sleep.

Until a scroll landed on the coffee table in front of him with a dull thud.

He first glanced at the clock on the wall—ten forty-seven. He really had nodded off like that for over half an hour.

Tsunade was no longer behind the desk. She now sat on a low sofa nearby, one leg crossed over the other, a cup of hot tea in hand.

"It's from Kumogakure," she said. "The Raikage's proposal."

Roshi straightened, took the scroll, and unrolled it.

The content was brief, and the core idea was simple: Given the current Tailed Beast threat facing the Five Great Ninja Villages…

The proposal was followed by a string of long, technical names and model codes that, from the text alone, certainly gave off an air of—

"The technical details are here." Tsunade nudged a thicker folder out from under the coffee table with the tip of her foot. "The Raikage sent it along with the proposal. Apparently this system was originally spearheaded by the Land of Lightning's Daimyo, meant to be a confidential communication channel used only among the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations."

Roshi skimmed the main section of the proposal, then pulled the thicker folder toward him and opened it.

Inside were several black‑and‑white design blueprints, crammed with dense technical specifications. His gaze settled on one of the equipment layout diagrams.

Hmm. It definitely looked advanced, but the device itself resembled a bulky fifteen‑inch CRT television.

Each unit came in a set of five, with every village required to install one full set.

"Did the Raikage steal it from the Daimyo?" Roshi chuckled. "They didn't even bring this out during the tense standoff at the beginning of the year."

"Hard to say. The Daimyo have their own private concerns, and there are plenty of secret channels for contact that they don't share with the ninja villages." Tsunade also felt this was very much in line with Kumogakure's usual style.

"But, seeing the Raikage this eager to push it..."

"At the very least, it suggests that someone's earlier claim that 'this high‑level meeting won't produce any substantial results' might not be so accurate, doesn't it?"

Roshi closed the folder.

"The specific defense cooperation plan will be handled at a later formal meeting," he said evenly. "As for this proposal... I actually wish they were even more anxious."

"Oh?"

"The more anxious they are, the clearer it becomes that they've started to truly worry." Roshi leaned back into the sofa again. "And worry is often where change begins."

Tsunade let out a soft laugh and didn't press the point.

Silence settled over the office once more.

"By the way," Roshi suddenly said, "I've had some new ideas about Sage Jutsu training."

Tsunade looked up at him.

"By helping Anko train these past weeks, I've confirmed something," Roshi continued. "If we combine Wood Release with Katsuyu, we can create safe conditions for people with excellent chakra reserves to practice Sage Jutsu, while keeping the risk to an absolute minimum."

Tsunade's expression sharpened. "You're saying... mass production?"

"Not exactly mass production, but at least we can try to expand the range."

"After all, who knows how long this tug‑of‑war will drag on. Relying on Anko alone puts too much pressure on her."

"It's necessary to increase the number of Natural Energy users, to give the village more options and resilience when dealing with special threats."

He met Tsunade's gaze. "Speaking of which, Lady Tsunade, you really have no interest in Sage Jutsu training at all? With your chakra, you'd progress much faster than Anko if you tried."

"No thanks, Lord Roshi." Tsunade waved her hand without a second thought, the motion sharp and final. "I don't have the talent to jump straight into Sage Mode. When I really need Natural Energy, summoning Katsuyu is enough. It's convenient and it doesn't cause trouble."

She steered the discussion back to the main point. "How do you plan to pick the people? From the jonin?"

"The preliminary idea has two parts," Roshi replied, thinking it through as he spoke. "First, from the current jonin and special jonin, we select a group with abundant chakra, precise control, and calm, reliable personalities to serve as the first batch of trainees."

"With both me and Katsuyu as a safety net, we can first explore a relatively safe and stable auxiliary training path."

"Second," he went on, shifting topics, "we can also consider choosing some students from the Academy who show exceptional chakra talent and a solid basic foundation, and let them be exposed to this earlier through adaptive training."

"Under constant supervision and guidance, letting them slowly adjust to Natural Energy from a young age should subtly improve their physical constitution and benefit their long-term chakra growth."

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