Sage Art

Though ninja are powerful and a ninja village is a nation's most important military force, most ninja rank far below a country's nobles in status.

That's why nobles generally don't bother learning ninjutsu—when something comes up, they just pay the village to handle it. Enjoying life, indulging in pleasure, that's what they're truly passionate about.

As the Prince of the Land of Fire, the foremost of the Five Great Nations, Li Chuan held no real power but commanded great prestige. Chiriku simply couldn't fathom why he would want to become his disciple and learn ninjutsu.

"Head Monk Chiriku, what I said was no joke. I'm genuinely interested in ninjutsu and wish to take you as my teacher."

Li Chuan nodded with utmost seriousness.

Seeing the earnest look on Li Chuan's face, Chiriku's expression turned slightly troubled.

As the head of the Fire Temple, taking on a disciple was no small matter. Though the man before him was a noble prince of the Land of Fire, his age was simply too advanced.

If he remembered correctly, this prince was already twenty years old. Starting to refine Chakra and learn ninjutsu at twenty—achieving anything worthwhile was a pipe dream.

After all, becoming a qualified ninja required talent, effort, resources, and time—none could be lacking.

But since the prince had directly made the request, refusing would be a clear affront. That wouldn't bode well for the entire Fire Temple.

"Your Highness the Prince, learning ninjutsu is an extremely arduous endeavor."

"Rest assured, Head Monk Chiriku. I'm not afraid of hardship. If you'll accept me as your disciple, I'd like to offer a small token of sincerity—a donation of five million ryo to the Fire Temple as incense money."

Li Chuan smiled, adding another bargaining chip to the negotiation.

As a prince, if he forced Chiriku to take him as a disciple, the monk wouldn't dare refuse. But if he was unhappy and taught half-heartedly, Li Chuan would be the one to suffer.

So besides his status, he could also throw money at the problem.

After all, as a prince, five million ryo was hardly a big deal given his wealth.

"Since Your Highness is so sincere and determined, how could I, Chiriku, possibly refuse?"

At the mention of five million ryo, Chiriku's eyes lit up. He pressed his palms together and immediately changed his mind, agreeing.

Truth be told, by nature he wouldn't have been swayed so easily by five million ryo. But the Fire Temple's current situation was dire, and this donation could solve their urgent problems.

Though the Fire Temple was a temple of Monk Ninja, it didn't enjoy the economic support from the Land of Fire that Konoha did, nor could it take on missions for generous rewards. Its main income came from the common people of the Land of Fire who came to burn incense and pray.

The people of the Land of Fire were wealthy, and the Fire Temple's incense was thriving—normally, they weren't short on money.

But a few years ago, Sora's Chakra had gone berserk, injuring many monks and destroying the temple's strongest defensive barrier, the Sealing Iron Wall.

In the years since, rebuilding the Sealing Iron Wall and treating the injured monks had nearly drained the temple's accumulated savings. As the head monk and the one who brought Sora back, Chiriku bore undeniable responsibility.

Taking the prince as a disciple and receiving a five-million donation would greatly ease the Fire Temple's financial burden.

"Excellent. Then I'll come tomorrow with the donation to formally take you as my teacher!"

Seeing Chiriku agree, Li Chuan didn't waste words and immediately set the date.

He only had three months in this Minor World—he couldn't afford to waste time. The sooner he started training, the sooner he could master more ninjutsu.

Early the next morning, Li Chuan arrived at the Fire Temple with five million ryo. After a simple apprenticeship ceremony, he began formal training.

"Your Highness the Prince, let us begin now."

In the training hall at the back of the Fire Temple, Chiriku unrolled a scroll and was about to start teaching when Li Chuan raised a hand to stop him.

"Master, now that I've taken you as my teacher, please don't call me 'Your Highness.' Just call me 'Chuan' instead."

The Fire Temple had no strict requirements for monastic names—they didn't even need one. For convenience, Li Chuan chose "Chuan" as his dharma name.

Chiriku smiled and didn't stand on ceremony.

"Very well, Chuan. First, I'll explain the principles of Chakra refinement, then I'll tell you how our Fire Temple's unique Sage Art differs from ordinary Chakra."

"I'm in your care, Master!"

Li Chuan straightened up, adopting a posture of attentive listening.

Chiriku began his lecture.

"Chakra is the prerequisite for using ninjutsu, Body Techniques, and genjutsu. It is produced by combining the energy extracted from the body's one hundred and thirty trillion cells with spiritual energy."

"As for our Sage Art Chakra, it incorporates an extremely small amount of external energy on top of that foundation."

"It is precisely this trace of external power that gives our Sage Art an extra effect over ordinary Chakra—it nourishes the body, enhancing the results of Body Technique training."

"That's why most Monk Ninja of the Fire Temple excel in Body Techniques."

Through Chiriku's explanation, Li Chuan finally understood why Sage Art had the word "Sage" in it. It turned out this Chakra had a faint connection to Sage Mode.

The difference was that Sage Mode consumed large amounts of natural energy during use, dramatically boosting the power of ninjutsu, Body Techniques, and genjutsu.

Sage Art, on the other hand, absorbed a tiny amount of natural energy during Chakra refinement to harmonize body and spiritual energy, slowly improving the user's physical condition.

"Does our Sage Art have any drawbacks?"

Li Chuan knew full well that if Sage Art truly had an advantage over ordinary Chakra—even just a slight boost to physical fitness—it would have long been coveted by various powers and wouldn't have remained exclusive to the Fire Temple.

So there had to be a corresponding weakness.

Chiriku paused at the question, then replied with slight embarrassment.

"Indeed, compared to ordinary Chakra, there is a shortcoming that isn't quite a shortcoming. Because it incorporates external energy, the speed of Chakra refinement is somewhat reduced."

Judging by Chiriku's expression, Li Chuan immediately guessed it was more than just "somewhat." Otherwise, the Fire Temple wouldn't have only one jonin in all these years.

Across the entire ninja world, most shinobi focus on ninjutsu, with those specializing in Body Techniques being a minority.

Additionally, since the body can be strengthened through training or unique ninjutsu, the trade-off of slightly enhancing physical constitution while slowing down chakra refinement speed is something few ninja would willingly accept.

Only the Monk Ninja of the Fire Temple, who rarely undertake missions or engage in life-or-death combat, would consider Sage Art superior to ordinary chakra.

However, after some thought, Li Chuan still decided to learn the Fire Temple's Sage Art chakra extraction method instead of the standard one.

Because he had a feeling that the Sage Art chakra extraction method might prove beneficial for Sage Mode and the cursed seals invented by Orochimaru.