Heart Connection: Sage Mode

This was a time he had carefully calculated. Itachi's score was slowly catching up, while Haku's elimination speed was relatively stable. In a minute, the two scores would be infinitely close, and Shuichi couldn't predict who would win or lose. Perhaps a single psychological fluctuation would determine the outcome.

If other children heard him say that, they would be disgusted, and then they would panic and make mistakes. The higher the blocks are stacked, the lower the margin for error, and they will face a complete collapse.

However, Itachi and Haku seemed completely unaffected; they continued playing at their own pace without making any mistakes.

"There are only ten seconds left. If you two tie, I won't be able to eat tonight!" Shuichi suddenly spoke up again near the end, adding another twist to the game.

"Seven, six, five, four... one, stop!"

"... Crack!"

Time was up, the game officially ended, and the three immediately saw the scores on the left and right sides of the screen. The score on the left was one point higher, meaning Itachi had won the game.

"Brother Itachi, you're amazing, I lost!" There was no sign of frustration on his white face; instead, he squinted his eyes and revealed a gentle smile.

Itachi paused for a moment, then spoke up, "You hesitated at the last moment, otherwise it would have been either me losing or a draw, this..."

Shuichi laughed happily from behind. Bai didn't want his Senior Brother to miss a meal, nor did he want to be punished as the teacher, so he had no choice but to lose the match himself. Perhaps he was thinking that missing a meal wasn't a big deal; that's how he'd always gotten by...

"Haha, I was just kidding. Ninjas' words can be deceptive, so don't let them get to you. You both did very well today."

Shuichi ruffled their hair with both hands, then put her arms around their shoulders, making them feel closer together. "It's not good not to eat, you're all still growing. Come on! We'll go out for a big meal tonight, eat until you're stuffed..."

Since the Game Room was established, the Shuichi's home's large Villa has become much more lively during normal times, with many friends coming over to have fun whenever they have free time.

In everyone's words, this is about training one's ninja skills... well, that's right, the game isn't actually that fun.

Besides the Konoha Blocks, the other two machines were equipped with Snake and Paddle Ball, respectively, and the graphics quality was generally average.

There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Shuichi's game company hasn't been established for long, and those few otaku researchers are just getting started in this field. This kind of result is already quite good.

Once the first finished product appeared, it was as if a new world had been opened for them, and before long the content would continue to grow.

Because the boss's game design proposals were already piled up, and they looked so interesting, they were now working with incredible energy, not to mention the decent pay.

Of course, Shuichi would not let this delay his own affairs. He knew that haste makes waste in cultivation, so he would make thorough preparations.

Haku is still too young, and his chakra usage is only at a beginner level. Moreover, Ice Release is not very difficult, so the Kekkei Genkai synthesis can be put off for later.

The highest priority project was Sage Mode. In order to better perceive Natural Energy, Shuichi spent several months traveling around Konoha to find a deserted area with mountains, water, fish, and forests as his training location.

"Alright, everything is ready, the timing is perfect, let's begin!" Shuichi clenched his fist, the force so great that even the slightest friction of his skin made a sound.

He chose to spend a few months first, and start practicing Sage Mode after his 17th birthday, because the system would make cultivation easier, and there was no need to rush.

Passive Skill (Recovery and Growth): For every year the host grows, the recovery rate of Body Energy and Mental Energy increases by 3%, and all other basic attributes increase by 3% [currently increased by 51%].

Skill 1 (Body Enhancement): For every point the host adds, Body Energy (Yang Release) increases by 100% [currently increased to 500%].

Now that his first skill is fully upgraded, his chakra reserves have increased significantly again. Training in this peak state is simply the best thing to do.

He jumped onto the protruding rock in the center of the small pool, and calmly sat down cross-legged, Shuichi a Shadow Clone standing behind him as a safety net.

The first step in Sage Mode is to perceive Natural Energy, which means becoming one with nature. Once successful, one can freely control the flow of Natural Energy into and out of the body.

This is fundamentally different from the Cursed Seal. According to Shuichi's speculation, the formation of Jugo's Cursed Seal also relies on the special characteristics of Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode. It is not as strong as Mount Myōboku in terms of explosive power, but it has the characteristic of extremely long duration and will also cause changes to the physical body.

He used the Cursed Seal quite a few times, knowing it was a passive act that forcibly altered the body to allow a small amount of Natural Energy to enter.

Users can only control the switch and cannot directly release Natural Energy. They can only consume the generated pseudo (semi) Senjutsu Chakra, and essentially lose a certain degree of control over their own physical abilities.

The fully mastered Sage Mode is completely under one's own control. After reaching the level of the First Hokage, one can have precise control over Senjutsu Chakra in all aspects.

The efficiency of absorbing Natural Energy can be adjusted at will. Before using a technique, calculate how much physical energy a technique will consume, and then draw out and generate Senjutsu Chakra in time. In this way, there will be no waste at all, and the power of Ninjutsu will be amazingly enhanced.

Shuichi sat motionless in the same spot for over an hour, but he did not feel Natural Energy from the outside world.

This is considered normal. Although he has Natural Energy into his body many times, these are actually two different things. At most, it reduces the difficulty of cultivation and makes it easier to perceive than starting from scratch.

"Alright, let's practice in a better way. Time is priceless," Shuichi thought to himself. "The difference between humans and animals is whether they can use tools. Even the Toads of Mount Myōboku use them, so I don't need to be pretentious."

"Activate the Cursed Seal!"

With a thought, a small purple dot on his chest quickly spread out, like a tiny spider web imprinted on his body.

This was Shuichi's own idea. The Cursed Seal and Toad Oil actually have the same effect: they can absorb Natural Energy into the body. In this state, practicing the first stage of Sage Mode will definitely be twice as effective.

However, the Cursed Seal has one drawback: once activated, physical strength continuously declines, so only those with an astonishing amount of chakra dare to use it.

Therefore, Shuichi removed the two powerful Cursed Seals used in battle and, during his training preparation period, specially researched new Cursed Seals was that their power should be as small as possible, which also meant that they consumed very little physical energy.

In this way, he can maintain this state for more than an hour at a time, and he can just use a few techniques in between to deplete some of his chakra. With the Shadow Clones watching from the side, it shouldn't be much slower than using Toad Oil.

Of course, right now, only someone like him with a built-in cheat system in the Shinobi World can really pull this off. With the combined effects of passive recovery, his first skill's vitality, and Yang Release, the results are no less impressive than those of Jinchuriki...