Ōnoki's Sage Arts

When Yichen brought Suda Himezuki to the Shironeko's place, Dango was about to give birth.

The production of Dango was a major event for Iwagakure, and Ōnoki had specifically instructed Yichen to take charge of it personally.

There are currently two ANBU Anbu arranged by Yichen providing protection nearby, and the people delivering Dango are all Medical-nin from the Medical Department.

Yichen secretly gave a series of hand signals to the hidden Anbu of the Dark Guard before leading Suda Himezuki into the Shironeko's residence.

There were quite a few people inside, Matsutani Shinya was already there. The Medical Department Nakata Hajime.

However, Nakata Hajime did not personally deliver the baby, but directed from the side. When Yichen came in, Nakata Hajime Yichen came forward and, before Yichen could ask any questions, explained the situation to him.

"Advisor, Dango is doing very well and is about to give birth. The vital signs of all four kittens are also normal, so there shouldn't be any problems with the delivery."

Yichen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, as Dango bore the heavy responsibility of training the Ninja Cat Clan of Iwagakure.

Otherwise, given Dango's status as a Ninja Cat, there was no need for her to get pregnant and give birth to kittens so early. However, the village needed Dango to produce as many Ninja Cat as possible for the village, which led to Dango's pregnancy this time.

Yichen nodded to Nakata Hajime and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Continue with your work and don't worry about me. Make sure Dango and Xiao Mao are safe."

"Yes." Nakata Hajime a straightforward person. After agreeing, he immediately left Yichen behind and continued to keep an eye on Dango.

"Teacher Yichen." Matsutani Shinya greeted Yichen with a bitter face after seeing Nakata Hajime leave.

Yichen glanced at Matsutani Shinya, then asked, "How's your Balance Training going?"

After disbanding the Team Two, Yichen gave each disciple some instructions, including to Matsutani Shinya, who was instructed to prepare for some training in immortal Senjutsu.

Several months have passed, and Yichen is still unsure about Matsutani Shinya's training progress.

Matsutani Shinya and said, "Teacher Yichen, the Balance Training seems to suit me better. I finished it in no time. Now I can stay a whole day at a height of 100 meters."

Yichen's breath hitched, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "Very good, this is preparation for practicing Senjutsu."

He paused, then added, "Now that the Balance Training is complete, you should focus your training on Chakra Control. Natural Energy isn't easy to control; your foundation isn't strong enough yet."

Matsutani Shinya and said, "I understand. But, Teacher Yichen, why do I have to keep Ninja Cat too?"

Matsutani Shinya is quite close to animals, but his naturally lazy nature makes even taking care of his own daily needs a hassle, and he'd rather lie in bed Tenten and wait to die. Now that Yichen has asked him to take care of a kitten, Matsutani Shinya feels that the future is bleak.

Yichen found it somewhat amusing and said, "Dango absorbed a lot of Natural Energy, so its kittens have a higher chance of successfully cultivating Senjutsu than other ninja Ninja Beast."

"I hope you can gain some insights into cultivating Senjutsu while spending time with the kitten."

After saying that, Yichen, fearing that Matsutani Shinya get lazy, added, "Don't forget the helplessness you feel when your companions are in danger."

Matsutani Shinya gave a wry smile and went to a corner to compose himself.

Yichen shook his head with amusement and said no more. After two years of getting along, Yichen had come to understand this homebody who liked to lie down. Matsutani Shinya wouldn't take initiative, but he would still complete the tasks that his superiors insisted on.

Moreover, because he was lying down and had nothing else to do, he seemed to be more focused when he did things.

Yichen looked around, about to talk to the Shironeko was anxiously waiting on the other side, when it seemed that something had changed on Dango's side.

"Lord Nakata, Dango is about to give birth."

"Group A will deliver according to plan, while Group B is ready for cesarean sections at any time."

After a long time, everything went smoothly. Mother and baby were safe and sound, Dango and the four kittens were all unharmed.

Dango is in good health and received timely treatment from Medical Ninja after giving birth, so there was no danger. She has now fallen asleep due to exhaustion.

The Shironeko sat beside Dango the whole time, feeling incredibly sorry for her.

After giving the four kittens a thorough examination Nakata Hajime and the other Medical Ninja left one after another, leaving only one Medical-nin to conduct occasional check-ups.

Then Matsutani Shinya, Suda Himezuki, and Yichen sat around the crib of the four kittens, discussing in hushed tones.

Suda Himezuki carefully poked one of the kittens with her finger, then asked Yichen, "Teacher Yichen, why are all four kittens different colors?"

Indeed, Dango is black, but only one of the four kittens is black; the other three are white, gray, and black and white.

Yichen was unfamiliar with this question, so he looked at Matsutani Shinya and asked, "Shinya, do you know why you're so close to animals?"

Matsutani Shinya shook his head helplessly and said, "Even small animals don't know these things, so I know even less."

"Let's put that aside for now. You two can choose one first," Yichen said.

"I want the white one," Suda Himezuki said immediately.

Yichen nodded, then looked at Matsutani Shinya.

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Matsutani Shinya could only say, "I choose the black and white one."

Matsutani Shinya chose the biggest and strongest one, probably thinking it would grow the fastest and require less care. Yichen didn't expose his thoughts.

Seeing that the two had finished choosing, Yichen went to the Shironeko and asked softly, "Is Dango alright?"

The Shironeko nodded and said, "Dango is fine; she's resting with her eyes closed right now."

At this moment, Dango opened its eyes and meowed softly.

The Shironeko quickly said to Yidi, "Dango wants to see the kitten."

Yichen turned to Matsutani Shinya and said, "Shinya, bring the kitten over."

Suda Himezuki and Matsutani Shinya brought the four kittens to Dango's side. Dango painstakingly licked each of the four kittens one by one before going back to sleep.

Seeing that Dango was sleeping soundly this time, the Shironeko then talked to Yichen about adopting a kitten.

Yichen said, "The kittens are still very young and can't be separated from their mother yet, so for the first month, Shinya and Himezuki will come to see them every day, play with them, and build a bond with them. We can take them home when they're a bit older."

The Shironeko nodded, looking at the four kittens with some reluctance. It then asked, "What about the other two?"

Yichen said, "I've already discussed this with Lord Tsuchikage. He will choose two suitable ninjas to adopt. They will most likely be students who graduated in the last year or two."

This time, the Shironeko simply nodded without saying a word.

Yichen watched as Matsutani Shinya and Suda Himezuki played with the kittens for a while, and only after all four kittens had fallen asleep did he take the two away.

On the way out, Suda Himezuki was very excited, and as she walked, she kept talking to Yichen about what name to give her little Shironeko. But Matsutani Shinya looked utterly dejected.

Like the previous six disciples, Yichen's six new disciples graduated early. After Yichen trained them for about a month, the other students in their class also graduated and began carrying out missions.

Therefore, Yichen decided to lead six people to begin the mission.

Yichen divided the six people into two classes, which were designated as the Team Three and Team Four respectively, to distinguish them from the previous two groups of disciples.

Team Three members: Yoshimura Kazumasa, Suda Himezuki, Katsuya. Team Four: Kawazoe Yura, Uchiyama Takuhiro, Kanako.

Every day, Yichen would take one squad out to carry out D-rank Mission, while the other squad would conduct daily training at the Training Ground.

During this period, Yichen absorbed Natural Energy once a day, trying his best to maintain himself in Sage Mode.

Over the course of more than a month, Yichen felt that his body had become stronger. However, Yichen was already in a period of rapid growth in strength, so he couldn't immediately confirm whether it was the effect of the Senjutsu.

Early this morning, Yichen arrived at that valley as usual to practice his Senjutsu.

However, two things are different today. First, Yichen will try to enter Sage Mode independently. After more than a month of practice, Yichen's speed in integrating Natural Energy has far exceeded that at the beginning. Yi Chen guesses that this is also related to his constant maintenance of Sage Mode. Yichen's body is changing in a direction suitable for Senjutsu.

Secondly, besides Yichen, another person will also be practicing Senjutsu today, and that person is naturally Ōnoki. After a month of practice, Ōnoki has completed his Balance Training. After a few days of rest, Ōnoki will finally begin his Senjutsu training today.

Yichen went first. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Yichen, with a drop of liquid Natural Energy dripped onto the back of his hand, successfully entered Sage Mode in no time.

This time in Sage Mode, Yichen reached the upper limit of fusing with Natural Energy for the first time. It was also the first time that the entire process was completed within the Natural Energy Seal.

Yichen was surprised to find that when he reached his limit, the back of his hand immediately stopped absorbing Natural Energy. Perhaps nature sensed that he had become a part of it, Yichen explained to himself.

Saka said, "Yichen has made rapid progress; the number of masks he wears has decreased by half compared to when he first started."

The Sage Face Markings on Yichen's face are no longer as dense. The lines that once almost covered his entire face now appear much sparser.

Ōnoki nodded, looked at the ninja in charge of recording the data, and said, "How has Yichen's various attributes improved during this time?"

The ninja in charge of recording immediately took out a booklet and handed it to Ōnoki, saying, "Advisor Yichen's strength has improved very rapidly, especially his physical strength, which is slowly increasing almost every day."

As Ōnoki nodded, he flipped through the documents in his hand. After reading them, he still couldn't determine whether Yichen's progress was due to the effects of immortal Senjutsu.

After Yichen snapped out of his cultivation state, Ōnoki said, "Alright, get ready, I'm about to begin."

Everyone nodded, Ikura immediately perked up. Although Yichen still called on him to practice his Yichen Senjutsu during this period, he hadn't used the Black Rod in his hand for a long time.

Ōnoki entered the Natural Energy Seal. After he calmed down, the liquid Natural Energy on the other side was ready. Ikura personally dripped the liquid Natural Energy onto the back of Ōnoki's hand.

Then, under the expectant gazes of Yichen and the others, Ōnoki began his first attempt at practicing Senjutsu Mode.