Chapter 236: Sai, Ink Release? (Seeking Subscriptions!)
Afternoon.
Sai came to the Sage Domain alone.
He had heard about this place for a long time.
However, while it wasn't forbidden territory in Konoha, it wasn't a place one could just enter casually.
Since the start of the Jonin Special Training Class, the reform of the Konoha Ninja Academy, and the development of the South Sage Continent, this place had become a holy land in the hearts of Konoha's ninjas.
Later generations also held deep respect and yearning for Sarutobi Asuma, the lord of the Sage Domain.
Although Sarutobi Asuma's presence was felt everywhere in Konoha.
For example, at the Ninja Academy.
Or at the Konoha Hospital.
He could often be seen.
He could even offer guidance.
But everyone knew that those were merely Shadow Clones.
Many had never even met the true body of this Ninja Demigod, and Sai was among them.
To be taken as a disciple by such a living legend was undoubtedly a huge surprise for him.
But it also brought him immense pressure, making him extremely uneasy, to the point where he didn't even have the mood to appreciate the wonders within the Sage Domain.
Soon, Sai reached his destination and saw a figure beneath the Sage Tree, sitting cross-legged, yet suspended three feet above the ground – Sarutobi Asuma.
This wasn't the first time Sai had seen Sarutobi Asuma, but he noticed something.
The person before him was completely different from the Shadow Clones he had seen in the past.
With such a demeanor, if not for the identical appearance and clothing, no one would have thought they were the same person.
"Lord Asuma, I am Sai!"
Sai stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Sarutobi Asuma, who was meditating, opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, his gaze warm as he looked at Sai. "Don't be nervous, call me Teacher!"
"Yes, Teacher Asuma!"
Sai quickly corrected himself, then looked up.
"Sit down!"
Sarutobi Asuma said with a smile.
Behind Sai, vines immediately wove themselves into a cushion.
Sai found this quite peculiar and carefully sat down.
"How is your secret ninjutsu progressing?"
Sarutobi Asuma asked directly.
Sai was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, "I've encountered some difficulties. I consulted Teacher Aoba before, and he said my emotional accumulation wasn't sufficient, that this secret ninjutsu requires the accumulation of strong emotional power."
"However, your disciple has not yet mastered the techniques for emotional accumulation, so my control over the secret ninjutsu is unstable."
Sarutobi Asuma nodded.
If Danzō were still alive, Sai would have been taught by him.
It had to be said that Danzō had a certain way of teaching people.
Through brutal training, he would suppress Sai's emotions. But in reality, it's impossible for a person to truly have no emotions or desires.
Danzō's suppression of Sai's emotions was more like training him to push his emotions down.
Then, these suppressed emotions would be released through the Super Beast Scroll and the Godly Beast Scroll.
For Sai, who loved and was skilled at drawing, Danzō's training methods were quite fitting for this secret ninjutsu.
Sarutobi Asuma had changed many things. By eliminating Danzō, he allowed Sai and his brother to grow up normally.
However, Sai, who had loved drawing since childhood, still chose this secret ninjutsu when selecting ninjutsu after enrolling in the Genin Preparatory Class.
Because he loved to draw!
But, not having experienced Danzō's cruel training, he inevitably encountered difficulties when practicing this secret ninjutsu.
As a result, his use of this secret ninjutsu was now hit-or-miss.
Sarutobi Asuma certainly wouldn't have Sai train in Danzō's inhumane way, but he didn't rush to give advice. Instead, he said, "Show me your technique now."
"Yes, Teacher Asuma!"
Sai nodded, then took out his tools.
He unrolled a scroll before him, dipped his brush in ink, and concentrated for a moment with his head lowered. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and quickly began to paint on the unrolled scroll with his brush.
It was cool and dashing.
The artwork was completed in one go.
The moment the painting was finished, the eagle drawn on the scroll flew out, flapping its wings and soaring into the sky.
However, the eagle soon disintegrated, collapsing with a bang into scattered ink.
Sai couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Sarutobi Asuma waved his sleeve, and the falling ink vanished without a trace. He chuckled, "That was very good!"
Then he asked, "What is the essence of chakra?"
Sai instinctively replied, "It's the combination of physical ability and spiritual energy!"
"Therefore, emotions can be expressed through chakra."
Sarutobi Asuma nodded with a smile and asked, "Then, why does this secret technique become more powerful the more intense the emotions are, especially emotions like anger?"
"This..."
Sai couldn't answer.
He had pondered this question before but hadn't found an answer.
Sarutobi Asuma said, "From a human physiological perspective."
"When a person is angry, their blood vessels expand, blood flow increases, and breathing rate rises, increasing oxygen supply. At the same time, the person's mind is in a tense state, adrenaline is secreted in large quantities, and metabolism increases. Therefore, an angry person's strength is temporarily greatly enhanced."
Sai listened, his eyes and ears refreshed. "So that's how it works."
Sarutobi Asuma continued with a smile, "And psychologically, when angry, people are more fearless and more confident!"
"Of course, it also means losing reason."
"The biggest challenge of this secret technique lies here: you need to unleash anger while maintaining your sanity to enhance the technique's power."
"The essence of this technique is to imbue the creatures drawn on the scroll with life using Yang Release chakra."
"Ink provides form, Yang Release chakra provides life and mental will. The beings you draw can be considered your clones."
"You are skilled at drawing, so form is not an issue. You have done adequately in giving life to your creations, but the problem lies with the mental will."
Sai quickly nodded, "Yes, Teacher Asuma!"
This analysis was thorough, giving him a very clear understanding of the secret technique.
"Mental will is indeed a difficulty. In fact, accumulating anger might be simpler."
Sarutobi Asuma extended his hand, "Watch me demonstrate."
Sai's grip loosened, and the scroll and brush flew up.
Sarutobi Asuma caught them and, without needing Sai's ink, began to paint on the blank scroll.
Sai watched with wide eyes.
In a flash, a simplified divine dragon was drawn by Sarutobi Asuma.
Then, with a dragon's roar, the divine dragon soared out of the painting, lifelike and majestic. It opened its mouth and roared at Sai, the gust of wind nearly knocking Sai off his feet.
The divine dragon landed, its claws digging directly into the grass. The terrifying oppressive aura made Sai's heart pound violently.
"So... so strong!"
Sai swallowed hard.
"I used the same chakra as you."
Sarutobi Asuma chuckled, "However, I used not only Yang Release chakra nature transformation but also Water Style, so I didn't need to prepare extra ink."
"Additionally, the essence of my chakra is more powerful than yours, or rather, my mastery of chakra nature transformation far surpasses yours."
"So, did you feel the emotion of anger?"
Sai shook his head.
He hadn't.
"Anger is one of the seven emotions and desires. Angry emotions can make your chakra stronger; other emotions can too, as can a strong mental will."
"The key is to grasp the essence of chakra: physical strength and spiritual strength!"
Sarutobi Asuma pointed to his chest and head, "Your heart, your will!"
As he spoke, the divine dragon dissipated, and materialized chakra appeared around Sarutobi Asuma.
It was golden chakra.
Before Sai could marvel at the power of this chakra, Sarutobi Asuma asked, "What do you feel from my chakra?"
"Powerful!"
Sai said instinctively, then thought for a moment and added, "Like the sun, very warm!"
Sarutobi Asuma smiled, "And now?"
Instantly, the light of the chakra he displayed dimmed, turning dark gold.
Sai was shocked because he felt Sarutobi Asuma's chakra had suddenly become... chilling!
Even evil, terror!
However, he was sure that the nature transformation of this chakra had not changed.
Sai swallowed and asked, "Teacher, is this the power of spiritual will?"
"That's right!"
Sarutobi Asuma nodded, "A person's spiritual will has a huge impact on chakra."
"Through chakra, one can also perceive the other's emotions, even good and evil."
"If someone is cheerful and gentle, their chakra will give a warm feeling; if someone is cold and gloomy, their chakra will give a cold feeling; if someone is evil, their chakra will also give an evil feeling."
"The seven emotions and six desires of a person can all be fed back through chakra. That's why the Sage of Six Paths said that chakra is the power that connects people's hearts and minds, and that's precisely why."
As he spoke, Sarutobi Asuma's chakra was also constantly changing.
Anger, sadness, calmness like a still pond…
Sai could feel all sorts of emotional changes from Sarutobi Asuma's chakra.
Of course, this was also because Sarutobi Asuma's chakra was so powerful that it was outwardly visible, allowing Sai to sense it clearly even without mastering Sensory Ninjutsu.
And such a feeling was undoubtedly shocking, unprecedented.
This teaching method was also something Sai had never encountered before.
Yet, it was also unprecedentedly clear.
Sarutobi Asuma retracted his chakra. After Sai had digested it for a while, he returned the scroll and brush to him and said with a smile, "Anything needs to be done step by step, just like when you were training Chakra Control at the academy."
"Now, don't think about any angry emotions. Firm your will and treat what you draw as another body to control it."
"The fact that you graduated from the Genin Preparatory Class is enough to show that you have a diligent and hard-working heart, a heart that does not fear fatigue."
"All you need to do now is imagine what all this hard work is for!"
"Think about the goals you've set!"
"Think about everything you've gone through to get to this point, the sweat, even the blood you've shed!"
As Sarutobi Asuma's voice echoed, Sai lowered his gaze, and scenes flashed through his mind.
Hard training at school, the devilish training of the Jonin Special Training Class, training with his brother, being encouraged by his brother when he couldn't go on…
A moment later.
Sai opened his eyes.
Sarutobi Asuma's eyes showed admiration. He could feel the power hidden within Sai's heart.
Very good!
Sai dipped his brush in ink and drew an eagle. Then, with a loud screech, it flew out of the painting, soaring into the sky like a sharp sword.
Sai looked up, a smile blooming on his face: I did it!
High in the sky, as if in response, the eagle flapped its wings, letting out a high-pitched cry as it soared through the air.
At this moment, Sai felt a sense of breaking free from his restraints.
"Well done!"
Sarutobi Asuma didn't hold back his praise.
Sai suppressed his surging emotions, dispersed the ninjutsu, and quickly said, "It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Teacher!"
Sarutobi Asuma waved his hand, "Of course, my teaching is good, but if you can't understand it, no matter how good the teacher is, it's useless."
"For now, follow this path."
"Also, don't stop your training in Yang Style Chakra Nature Transformation. Go to the Konoha Hospital when you have time."
"Besides Yang Style Chakra Nature Transformation, you can also start training Water Style Chakra Nature Transformation."
Sai nodded quickly, "Yes, Teacher!"
Then he asked, "Is the Water Style Chakra Nature Transformation for the technique you used earlier, where you turned chakra into ink?"
"Mm."
Sarutobi Asuma nodded, "This is a secret technique I researched from the Eight-Tails. It inherently possesses sealing power and is very suitable for you!"
"Yang Release, combined with Water Style to form a combined ninjutsu, will allow you to cast your techniques with greater power without needing to carry ink."
"Moreover, once you become proficient in the future, you can use this as a foundation to fuse the two chakra nature transformations, forming a Kekkei Genkai!"
"Perhaps it can be called Ink Style…"
Sai's eyes lit up, "Kekkei Genkai? Can I really do it?"
Sarutobi Asuma smiled, "Nothing is impossible!"
"You might as well consider this a long-term goal of yours!"
Sai couldn't help but feel full of anticipation and nodded seriously, "Yes, Teacher!"
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