Sasuke was stunned as he listened to Yoruha's words. "I can enter Sage Mode?" Yoruha nodded, "That's right. Once you enter Sage Mode, you can use Senjutsu Chakra. However, because your current chakra reserves are too low, you can't maintain Sage Mode for long."
"So Sage Mode is your trump card. Unless you're in a particularly dangerous situation, it's best not to use it," Yoruha advised. "At least with your current chakra levels, it's better not to use it casually." After a moment of surprise, Sasuke became very excited. "I can use Senjutsu Chakra now?"
Yoruha nodded again. Ignoring Yoruha's advice, Sasuke immediately activated the Curse Mark. In an instant, a Sage Mode mask appeared on Sasuke's face.
Compared to the masks of the First Hokage and Naruto, Sasuke's was much more complex. This indicated that Sasuke's Sage Mode was not as strong as the First Hokage's or Naruto's future Sage Mode. But it was just the beginning, and Sasuke had significant potential for growth.
With his Sharingan, Yoruha believed that by the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, even without the Sage of Six Paths granting him the power of Yin, Sasuke could possess strength surpassing that of a Kage.
However, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, even those stronger than a Kage couldn't participate in the final battle against Kaguya Otsutsuki.
So ultimately, Sasuke would still need the Sage of Six Paths to grant him the power of Yin and awaken the Rinnegan.
Yoruha originally didn't want to interfere in Sasuke and Naruto's affairs.
But after returning this time, Yoruha became quite interested in Orochimaru's Curse Mark and decided to erase Orochimaru's soul imprint from Sasuke. Enhancing Sasuke's power was not Yoruha's intention.
It was merely a side effect of removing Orochimaru's soul imprint. Sasuke entered Sage Mode without his body transforming into animal-like organs, only gaining the mask. Once in Sage Mode, Sasuke began to form seals with his hands.
"Chidori." "Zzz~" Sasuke conjured up Chidori. With the infusion of Senjutsu Chakra, the lightning of Chidori became much sharper, and its intensity was significantly stronger than before. After observing for a while, Sasuke dispelled Chidori.
"The consumption is enormous. Using Senjutsu Chakra in jutsu indeed greatly enhances its power, but the cost is also huge. In less than ten seconds, I already feel my chakra reserves are nearly depleted."
Since Sasuke had just exhausted his chakra, only a small portion had recovered, allowing him to sustain it for just ten seconds.
"But I can feel that entering Sage Mode is not as painful as before, and the power boost is immense, a world of difference compared to my normal state.
Not only has the quality of chakra improved, but jutsu has been enhanced, and my physical strength has increased significantly too. Using taijutsu in Sage Mode should be several times more destructive than in my normal state."
"Sage Mode is truly powerful." Sasuke was utterly fascinated by Senjutsu Chakra. The power that was several times stronger than his normal state was truly irresistible.
"As long as I master this power, I'm confident I can defeat Uchiha Itachi." Thinking of Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's expression turned serious. All his efforts were for the sake of training to gain powerful strength and to take revenge by killing Uchiha Itachi.
Sasuke looked at Yoruha and said, "Yoruha, thank you!" Sasuke knew who had given him this power and who had helped him become as strong as he was now. Yoruha waved his hand dismissively and said, "It was nothing."
Yoruha wasn't being modest; he really had just done something insignificant.
In fact, his previous so-called efforts to help Sasuke were merely to keep him from pestering him for training, just a way to mislead him. Unexpectedly, Sasuke believed him and even trained according to Yoruha's plans.
The key point was that Sasuke truly became much stronger by following those plans. Now, Yoruha had also enabled him to master the curse mark and enter Sage Mode.
How could Sasuke not be grateful to Yoruha? At this moment, Naruto asked, "Yoruha, Sasuke has become so much stronger. Don't you have anything to teach me?"
"Don't play favorites," Naruto added. Yoruha looked at Naruto and smiled, "You should focus on building a solid foundation first. Besides, your current strength is already formidable; most Jonin wouldn't stand a chance against you."
"You also have a summoning beast, which Sasuke doesn't have yet. Summon your toad, and you and Sasuke will be evenly matched." Of course, Sasuke's speed was too fast, and even if Naruto summoned Gamabunta, it wouldn't significantly impact the battle. Yoruha had changed Sasuke's fighting style.
Now, his combat approach was quite similar to Minato's. Prioritizing speed and aiming to achieve his goals with minimal cost. Previously, Sasuke would have used all sorts of flashy moves in battle, but they were generally ineffective.
Though they looked impressive, they did little more than waste chakra. Naruto, although a bit displeased, couldn't deny that Yoruha was right; his foundation was indeed lacking. He realized this problem while learning ninjutsu.
If it weren't for using the Shadow Clone Technique in the simplest yet most suitable way for him, he probably wouldn't have learned the Rasengan by now. Moreover, compared to Sakura, he was already much stronger and hadn't fallen too far behind Sasuke.
Naruto didn't say anything more. After resting for a while at Sasuke's house, Yoruha finally left. Because Yoruha had used a space-sealing technique, no one in the village knew about their battle with Orochimaru.
Yoruha didn't go home immediately but instead visited Kihon Toichi.
However, he was out on a mission with Yamada Jukumo and Hon Tanako, so they weren't in the village. Afterward, Yoruha stayed at home. Of course, he wasn't idle; he spent his time researching ninjutsu.
He even created many new techniques, though none were as powerful as the Space Sphere. After staying home for several days, once Tsunade officially became Hokage, she summoned Yoruha to report to the Hokage's office.
Yoruha was a Hokage guard, and his status in Konoha was not low. Tsunade couldn't possibly let him stay idle at home.
When he arrived at the Hokage's office, Yoruha smiled and said, "Wow, so many people here." As he walked in, he saw several people standing in the office.
The Konoha 12 and their Jonin instructors were all present. Even Jiraiya was there. He was leaning against the window, smiling as Yoruha walked in and said, "Yoruha, you've been quite leisurely lately."
Yoruha knew he was teasing and didn't respond. Meanwhile, the Konoha 12 all looked at Yoruha. It was as if Yoruha didn't belong to their circle.
Kakashi stood beside Sasuke and the others, smiling at Yoruha, "Come on over, the Hokage is about to officially appoint you." Kurenai Yuhi looked at Yoruha; she wasn't familiar with him. Even her team members weren't really acquainted with Yoruha.
They hadn't interacted much during the Ninja Academy days, and after graduation, although they heard Yoruha was quite impressive, they hadn't had much contact.
So Kurenai's team was only curious about Yoruha. Guy walked over, putting an arm around Yoruha's shoulder, "Yoruha, I've recently developed a new taijutsu. Want to try it out with me?"
Yoruha smiled and said, "Sure, if Guy-sensei is willing to teach, I'd be more than happy to learn." Because of Kakashi, Gai was quite good to Yoruha.
If Yoruha wanted to learn the Eight Gates, Gai would probably teach him without hesitation.
Of course, Yoruha wasn't interested in the Eight Gates. Previously, his body couldn't handle it, and now that it could, he no longer needed it due to his strength.