Gai's team didn't stay long.
They still had a mission to carry out in the Land of Frost, so they left Boss Taira behind and moved on.
Boss Taira immediately began diligently training President.
Ishiki Kujo felt everything was going smoothly lately.
Even though he was on an active mission, life felt far more relaxed than it ever did in Konoha.
Patrol duties were light,
and tensions between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning had entered a delicate stalemate.
With Orochimaru himself stationed on the frontier,
even the Fourth Raikage couldn't easily break through.
After finishing today's patrol, Ishiki launched into his usual training regimen.
Physical training was monotonous, day after day —
exactly the kind of youthful hot-bloodedness Gai always preached.
And just like Gai promised,
after getting used to it, the grind became strangely addictive.
With Highway Star periodically feeding him life energy,
Ishiki's body improved visibly every single day.
But today, after running about five kilometers, Ishiki noticed something different —
something strange.
It wasn't physical fatigue.
It was his breathing.
He felt, distinctly, that his breath could stir something deep within his cells —
generating a special power.
Following his instinct, Ishiki zeroed in on a large tree ahead and sprinted forward.
He punched the tree with all his focus wrapped around that strange sensation.
The thick trunk didn't snap.
But where Ishiki's fist landed,
rippling circles spread outward like waves across the bark.
"This—!" Ishiki's eyes widened.
Because he recognized it immediately —
this wasn't chakra.
This was Ripple Energy.
The Hamon from JoJo's early parts —
a power generated through perfect breathing techniques to stimulate life energy at the cellular level!¹²
But why?
Why was Ripple appearing here, in the world of Naruto?²
Had the Kujo clan's so-called "Yang Release Body Technique" actually been Ripple all along?!
A million questions exploded in his mind.
He suddenly felt disoriented, lost.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
But when he pressed his palm against the tree trunk again and deliberately controlled his breathing,
he could clearly feel Ripple flowing outward.
A soft surge of energy traveled from his hand into the tree —
and to Ishiki's astonishment, fresh green sprouts burst from the wood, rapidly growing.
It was like he'd used Mokuton.
But he knew better.
It wasn't chakra.
It was Ripple granting life force to the tree!
Ishiki quickly unsealed a scroll from his back —
his notes on the Kujo clan's body techniques.
Flipping through them, he found nothing about breathing methods.
Nothing about Ripple.
According to the notes, after sufficient physical training,
one could spread Yang Release chakra throughout the body, entering the Yang Chakra Mode.
In that mode, the user's healing speed and physical defense would skyrocket.
It was basically a weaker version of the Hundred Healings technique.
Ishiki had been diligently training because he wanted that regenerative ability —
to have a reliable fallback like Tsunade's.
But now?
It was clear things weren't that simple.
Closing his eyes, Ishiki began circulating chakra inside himself —
at the same time keeping his breathing rhythmically steady.
Ripple Energy continued flowing naturally.
Then, according to the notebook's guidance, he converted his chakra into Yang-natured chakra
and wrapped it around his body.
At that instant, Ripple Energy spread into the Yang chakra cloak.
The two forces —
life force drawn from breathing and
chakra born from spiritual and physical energy —
merged seamlessly.
Opening his eyes, Ishiki saw it:
A golden, wave-patterned chakra cloak covering his entire body.
He had achieved it —
the legendary Yang Release Ripple Body Technique.
Not just Yang Release.
Not just Ripple.
A fusion of both!
In JoJo's canon, Ripple had been described as an ancient martial art from China,
harnessing solar energy to destroy vampires and Pillar Men.
Its core wasn't violence —
it was vital energy, extending life, strengthening the body, opposing decay.
Yang Release in Naruto, similarly, was a manifestation of pure life force.
Their fusion was... inevitable.
Breathing steadily, Ishiki bathed in this new state.
He could faintly sense something else —
a power hidden in the world around him.
A force that wasn't chakra.
Natural Energy.
Driven by intuition, Ishiki canceled the Yang-Ripple state, closed his eyes,
and focused only on Ripple breathing.
Soon, he sensed it again —
the free-flowing Natural Energy of the environment.
Quickly, he stirred his spiritual and physical energy, guiding them to merge with the Natural Energy.
When he opened his eyes again,
he realized it:
Inside his body had formed a new kind of chakra.
Sage Chakra.
Ishiki knew it immediately.
The legendary Senjutsu Chakra!
A balanced blend of Natural Energy, Physical Energy, and Spiritual Energy, in a 1:1:1 ratio.
Except…
The Natural Energy Ishiki absorbed wasn't ordinary.
It was solar energy.
Because Ripple was, at its root, the manipulation of the sun's power through breathing.
By breathing Ripple into himself,
Ishiki was tuning his body to the solar flow.
Solar energy —
Natural Energy —
it was the same.
In a sense, Ripple breathing was an ancient, solar-aligned Sage Mode!
If absorbing normal Natural Energy made someone a Toad Sage, Snake Sage, or Slug Sage,
then what did absorbing Solar Energy make him?
A Kryptonian?
A Solar being?
A Sun Sage?
...A god?
Ishiki didn't know yet.
But he did know one thing —
Sage Chakra was insanely powerful.
Ripple breathing would now grant him two ultimate states:
One was the golden Yang-Ripple Chakra Cloak — enhancing defense, regeneration, and strength.
The other was Sage Mode — boosting everything far beyond human limits.
Both transformations were enough to destroy mountains.
Both were real.
But then a new doubt crept in:
If the Kujo clan had mastered this technique for generations…
why hadn't it made waves in the shinobi world?
Was Ishiki the first Kujo to awaken Ripple?