The natural energy within the Sage Art Cave suddenly began to fluctuate, creating gentle tremors throughout the sacred space. A soft breeze stirred the air as the crystalline pool water developed subtle ripples across its surface.
In the crystal-clear depths of the pool, a solitary figure sat in perfect meditation posture beneath the water.
With each steady rhythm of his breathing, new ripples spread outward from where he sat, creating concentric circles that caught and reflected the cave's ethereal light.
"Little Naraku is making remarkable progress!" the Slug Sage observed with quiet admiration.
The ancient being watched Shihouin Naraku at the bottom of the pool with growing satisfaction. At this stage of his training, the concentrated natural energy could no longer inflict harm upon his body.
However, successfully controlling natural energy to achieve perfect balance represented an entirely different level of difficulty.
The water filling the Sage Art pool wasn't actually water at all, but rather a substance composed entirely of concentrated natural energy. It merely appeared identical to ordinary water on the surface.
Absorbing this particular type of natural energy—which had undergone a fundamental qualitative transformation through concentrated accumulation—proved far from simple.
Nevertheless, although Naraku couldn't yet control natural energy at will, he had learned to slowly absorb small amounts of natural energy into his body while attempting to achieve a state of delicate equilibrium.
BOOM!
Water erupted in all directions as Naraku suddenly burst from the pool's surface, landing gracefully on the cave floor. A triumphant smile spread across his handsome features.
"Success!" he declared with obvious satisfaction.
"After practicing for so many months, I've finally managed to reintroduce natural energy into my body successfully."
The progression from zero to one was always the most challenging step. From one to ten became simply a matter of time and persistent effort.
Three months of intensive training had not been wasted.
Indeed, more than three months had passed since Shihouin Naraku first entered the Wet Bone Forest to begin his sage training.
The initial stages of training hadn't actually required much time, but after entering the Sage Art Cave, Naraku's progress had necessarily slowed to accommodate the extreme difficulty of the final techniques.
According to the Slug Sage, Naraku's learning speed was actually extraordinarily fast. After all, the Slug Sage's own mastery of these abilities had required several centuries of dedicated practice.
"Humans are truly a species that nature favors above all others," the Slug Sage remarked, her ancient voice carrying a rare note of envy. "Other creatures require lifespans measured in centuries to master these abilities, yet humans can achieve the same results in less than a single year."
Naraku chose not to comment on this observation, instead saying thoughtfully, "Perhaps humans are indeed favored by nature, but not everyone possesses the necessary qualifications and natural talent to learn Sage Mode."
Looking at the Shihouin Naraku before her, the Slug Sage had to acknowledge that he seemed to be blessed with an almost supernatural affinity for natural energy—as if he were a forest spirit beloved by nature itself.
The Slug Sage found herself momentarily lost in contemplation until Shihouin Naraku's voice brought her back to the present.
"Is something troubling you?"
"Slug Sage, given my current rate of progress, when will I be able to make direct contact with the pool water? Right now I still require the protective barrier to preserve my life, which makes the training process frustratingly slow."
"Your progress is already remarkably fast," the Slug Sage replied, shaking her massive head gently. "Since little Naraku can already absorb small quantities of natural energy successfully, it means you'll soon be able to break free from the protective membrane and make direct contact with the pool water independently."
"Based on my calculations, you'll need to absorb approximately ten times the amount of natural energy you managed today. That should be sufficient."
Ten times the current amount? That seemed challenging but not impossible.
"By the way, little Naraku," the Slug Sage continued, "Tsunade has sent me an urgent message. She hopes you can respond quickly."
"Let me see what's happened," Naraku said, accepting the scroll.
Taking the intelligence report from the Slug Sage, Naraku unfolded it and quickly scanned its contents.
"So Orochimaru has actually been invited by the Hidden Cloud Village to treat Killer Bee," he mused aloud. "Those Cloud ninja certainly act quickly when they need something. If anyone in the ninja world possesses the knowledge to heal spiritual trauma caused by Zanpakutō, Orochimaru would indeed be the most likely candidate."
Of course, Orochimaru represented only a possibility, not a guarantee.
Furthermore, knowing Orochimaru's unpredictable nature, Naraku would never believe that the Sannin would genuinely treat Killer Bee without pursuing his own hidden agenda.
As for Tsunade's concerns about Orochimaru and the Hidden Cloud Village forming some kind of alliance, those worries seemed somewhat unfounded.
Orochimaru would definitely never trust the Cloud ninja, and the Cloud ninja would certainly never trust Orochimaru in return.
Both parties clearly had their own ulterior motives—how could they possibly cooperate effectively under such circumstances?
Besides, Naraku strongly suspected that if Orochimaru actually succeeded in healing Killer Bee's spiritual trauma, the Cloud ninja might immediately attempt to eliminate Orochimaru afterward.
Information related to Tailed Beast Jinchūriki represented some of the most closely guarded secrets among the major ninja villages. Orochimaru would learn far too much during the treatment process, and the Cloud ninja definitely wouldn't want him to remain alive with such dangerous knowledge.
What if that information were somehow leaked to enemy villages?
It would be much cleaner and safer to eliminate Orochimaru entirely, which would prevent any future complications.
Whether they could actually succeed in killing Orochimaru, however, remained an entirely different question.
Naraku quickly wrote a response to Tsunade and then returned his full attention to his Sage Mode training.
Time continued passing steadily, and more than two additional months elapsed.
Within the Sage Art Cave, significant changes were taking place.
BOOM!
Naraku sat cross-legged at the bottom of the pool, forming complex hand seals with practiced precision. A powerful vortex quickly formed in the water around him, spinning with increasing velocity.
The natural energy throughout the entire cave began responding dramatically, gathering toward Naraku with unprecedented intensity.
The Slug Sage observed Shihouin Naraku's every movement with extreme care, prepared to rescue him instantly if anything unexpected occurred.
The protective barrier that had previously surrounded Naraku had finally been removed. Now Naraku relied purely on his physical strength and spiritual fortitude to make direct contact with the natural energy compressed into the pool's ultimate concentrated form. This represented an extremely dangerous phase of the training.
With his eyes closed in deep meditation, Shihouin Naraku maintained his cross-legged position at the pool's bottom while natural energy flowed around him in controlled streams, entering his body in carefully measured amounts.
Naraku had become thoroughly familiar with these processes after nearly six months of practice, but the natural energy he absorbed each time was completely different in character, and the associated risks grew greater with each attempt.
After this extensive period of training, Naraku could finally exercise careful control over natural energy and was beginning to achieve the delicate balance required for the final stage.
The next crucial step involved refining Senjutsu chakra within this extreme environment.
Once he completed this step successfully, the goal of achieving true immortality would finally be within reach.
Naturally, this step also represented the most difficult and dangerous phase of the entire process.
As the three fundamental energies—physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy—began converging within his body, Shihouin Naraku initiated the delicate process of refining Senjutsu chakra.
Just as success seemed within his grasp, the natural energy within his body suddenly became chaotic and erupted with violent force.
"Gah!" Naraku coughed up a mouthful of blood as the previously docile natural energy surrounding him transformed dramatically. Like a bloodthirsty predator revealing its fangs, the energy turned hostile and aggressive.
BOOM!
At this critical moment, the Slug Sage immediately sprang into action, extracting Naraku from the pool with swift precision.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Naraku couldn't stop the violent coughing fits that wracked his body. He felt a deep, throbbing pain and pressure within his chest, clear indicators that his internal organs had sustained serious damage.
For reasons he couldn't understand, even though he had been removed from the pool, his normally rapid recovery abilities showed no signs of improvement.
Fortunately, the Slug Sage's healing chakra immediately surrounded Naraku, beginning the process of rapidly treating his severe internal injuries.
The Slug Sage explained the situation while continuing her healing efforts. "This represents the inherent danger of making direct contact with the pool water. Even little Naraku's extraordinary regenerative abilities become suppressed under these conditions."
"That's enough training for today. You need time to recover both physically and mentally."
"Cough... I think I can continue," Naraku insisted weakly.
"Absolutely not. We cannot rush this particular stage of training," the Slug Sage stated firmly. "With little Naraku's current physical condition, you can safely make direct contact with the pool water only once per day at most."
"While other types of injuries can be healed relatively quickly, you will never succeed if you cannot ensure complete unity between mind, body, and spirit."
"Even though little Naraku possesses spiritual energy that rivals that of the ancient sages, you cannot afford to act so recklessly."
"Nature is not something to be taken lightly or approached carelessly."
"You must carefully analyze and understand exactly why you failed this time before attempting the process again."
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