The first time Aoba sensed natural energy, his transmigration journey nearly ended right then and there.
For some reason, the natural energy in this world was extremely hostile to humans. Ninety-nine percent of people who came into contact with it would instantly turn to stone.
Aoba was originally part of that ninety-nine percent. But whether due to his mental energy or the strength of his soul, he somehow developed a slight resistance to the erosion of natural energy.
This resistance was weak, but the amount of natural energy he first encountered was also minimal.
At the time, his entire body stiffened, but he didn't fully petrify. After struggling for a day, he eventually recovered.
The experience left Aoba deeply shaken. For a long time afterward, he didn't dare recklessly interact with natural energy. Yet, in the end, he couldn't resign himself to giving up.After a long period of training, although he hadn't found a way to train his spiritual power and soul, his control over his existing spiritual power had reached an extremely precise level.
Unwilling to give up, Aoba made a series of preparations and attempted to actively absorb natural energy for the first time.
As expected, his body petrified once again. After a day, it returned to normal.
The situation was just as perilous, but Aoba was overjoyed. Because the fact that it could be repeated meant his hypothesis was correct.
Aoba didn't have the training method for Sage Mode, let alone the summoning contracts of the three great sage regions. Therefore, his Sage Mode would require a different approach.
At regular intervals, he would actively absorb natural energy, then wait for his body to recover before repeating the process.
Again and again, he aimed to gradually acclimate his body to natural energy through this repetitive cycle, ultimately enabling him to absorb and utilize this power.
It was a genuinely crude method, but for Aoba, it represented hope to participate in the world's main events.
After all, this world was extremely dangerous. Even though the Sage of Six Paths had left contingencies, the entire plan was akin to walking a tightrope. Most crucially, countless expendable lives were sacrificed during the two saviors' mission to save the world.
Aoba neither wanted to be cannon fodder nor have his fate controlled by others. Hence, he adopted this slow and painful training regimen.
By now, it had been three years since Aoba began this training method.
Over these three years, he had managed to absorb a significant portion of natural energy into his body without petrifying.
However, he still couldn't completely eliminate its effects.
After absorbing natural energy, he would still experience some degree of bodily numbness.
Shinobi were ultra-agile assassin-type combatants. Such numbness would be fatal in actual combat.
Thus, he hadn't yet completed his own Sage Mode.
But according to Aoba's calculations, it wouldn't be long now. At this rate, in about six more months, he should be able to complete his Sage Mode training.
Only then would he truly have an additional card to play in this world.
Feeling the natural energy circulating through his body and sensing the onset of slight numbness, Aoba immediately stopped training.
Truth be told, his training could progress much faster. But this world was simply too dangerous. Even though this was Konoha, in Aoba's view, it might even be slightly more perilous than the outside.
Therefore, he never dared to train recklessly. Each time, he carefully controlled his progress to ensure he maintained a certain level of combat readiness at all times.
After finishing his daily training, Aoba finally lay down to rest.
......….
The next day, Aoba went to Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku's ramen shop for a deluxe bowl of ramen before heading to the village outskirts where he'd arranged to meet Naruto.
Though called the village outskirts, this area was still within Konoha's barrier. After all, the village wouldn't actually let Naruto wander beyond its borders. Strictly speaking, it was just a suburban area far from the main residential district.
After another half-day of training, the two ate grilled fish while chatting."Big brother Aoba, this is my secret training spot. I come here to train in secret every day after school. Once I get stronger, I'm definitely going to teach that arrogant bastard Sasuke a lesson."
At this point, Naruto had already developed a rivalry with Sasuke. How could he not, when his crush Sakura was constantly fawning over Sasuke?
The worst part was how Sasuke would act all aloof and indifferent. This drove Naruto absolutely mad. But since he couldn't beat Sasuke in a fight, he had no choice but to train secretly every day after school, hoping to one day defeat him.
"That Uchiha Sasuke - has he bullied you?"
"Well... not exactly."
"Then why do you want to beat him up?"
"Because he's mean to Sakura! Sakura's so pretty, but when she talks to him he just ignores her. That's so rude! Even if it's just for Sakura's sake, I have to teach him a lesson."
Still such a childish temper.
"Do you know why Uchiha Sasuke doesn't like talking to people?"
"Huh?"
The Uchiha clan massacre was absolutely major news in Konoha. To be honest, most villagers already knew about it by now. But no one dared discuss it openly.
Naruto had no sources of information in the village. The few people he could talk to were Shikamaru, Choji and the others.
But those guys were too lazy to explain things properly. So Naruto only vaguely knew something bad had happened to Sasuke's family, without understanding the details.
Over time he'd naturally find out. But right now, with it being so recent, he truly didn't know the specifics.
"I think something happened to his family? But no matter what happened, he shouldn't..."
"Everyone in his family is dead. Every single person with the Uchiha name - all dead."
"...That..." Naruto was speechless.
"How is that possible? How could something like that happen? Who did it? How could this happen in our village?"
At that moment, Aoba suddenly turned his head to glance at the nearby woods. He didn't answer Naruto's first two questions, only responding to the last one.
"It just proves one thing - this village isn't as safe as you think. Alright Naruto, that's enough for today. I have a mission tomorrow and need to prepare."
Without waiting for Naruto's response, Aoba vanished before his eyes.
"Hey... leaving already? I wanted to properly thank big brother Aoba!"