Teleportation Array

It took Yichen and his group quite a while to escort Atsumi Akino and a large amount of supplies to the Land of Snow Branch. This was mainly because the people transporting the supplies were ordinary people who were slow-moving.

However, along the way, Yichen didn't find it boring at all, as he broadened the horizons of the Little Rhino Dog Little Chōmei and familiarized his three disciples with high-level missions.

Although Yichen brought out the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the three Tailed Beasts, Son Goku Yichen remained hidden among the Outer Path Statue Fragment. Only Little Rhino Dog and Little Chōmei would frequently look around the group, then return and tell Son Goku what they saw.

This was the first time for Sokai and the other two, and they were very curious about this place that they had heard about many times and that had even been mentioned in the books about the Ninja Academy.

Although this wasn't Yichen's first visit, the branch was still under construction when he last came. This was the first time Yichen had seen the completed branch.

Atsumi Akino went to the basement of the main branch building to set up her Teleportation Array. Within the branch, Yichen didn't need to worry too much about her safety.

So, after showing his three disciples around, Yichen went to the Rainbow Ice Wall alone.

Sure enough, Matsutani Shinya, whom we didn't see at the branch office, was here.

From afar, Yichen saw Little Flower, who looked several sizes bigger than when they last met.

This time, Matsutani Shinya didn't sleep; he was writing something on a stone table.

Little Flower, bored, struggled with its own tail. It had gotten so fat that it could no longer bite its own tail.

Little Flower noticed Yichen as he approached.

"Meow," Little Flower called to Matsutani Shinya.

Upon hearing this, Matsutani Shinya turned around and saw that it really was Yichen. He smiled and greeted him, saying, "Teacher Yichen, what brings you here?"

Yichen pointed towards the branch office and said, "Atsumi Akino wants to set up a Teleportation Array at the branch office to facilitate communication with the village. I escorted her here and also came to see you."

"Looking at you, you've improved pretty quickly, already Elite Jonin. I was thinking, if I hadn't forced you back then, and had let you stay lying around like Little Flower, would you have caught up with me by now?"

That's right, after some time apart, Matsutani Shinya has already become Elite Jonin. It's really infuriating to think that someone who just coasts along can improve so quickly. His contemporary, Takuya, trains so hard and carries out missions, but he's still only Jonin.

Matsutani Shinya was already used to Yichen's words, so he didn't respond. Instead, he said, "Teacher Yichen, I have an idea on how to slowly mobilize the underground energy."

"However, my idea requires certain machines or Puppet Master skills. I wonder if there are any Puppet Master in the village?"

Although the Natural Energy beneath the Rainbow Ice Wall has been constantly dissipating, the amount is extremely small. Matsutani Shinya's method of utilizing this energy is also very crude; he absorbs it very inefficiently through breathing.

But this is far from enough, not nearly enough for research. Matsutani Shinya and Yichen were hoping that this energy would bring surprises to the village's Senjutsu research.

Yichen scratched his head and said, "Although the village obtained some puppets from Sasori of the Red Sands, and the Sunagakure also provided some basic Puppet Master skills, it wasn't systematic at all. We still don't have the ability to train real Puppet Master."

Matsutani Shinya said with some regret, "I found some documents left behind by the previous Kazahana Sōsetsu, in the Land of Snow. After studying this underground machine, I can confirm that it is indeed a device that releases energy only once."

"It's just that I'm not good with machines, so I can't make any changes. If you don't have Puppet Master, you can find some masters of machinery."

Yichen frowned, unable to figure out where to find such talent, so he asked in return, "Where did Kazahana Sōsetsu find such a person?"

Matsutani Shinya shrugged and said, "It's not mentioned in the documents. I asked Kazahana Koyuki and Sandayū Asama, but no one knows either."

Yichen was helpless; he had long forgotten the science and engineering knowledge he had learned in his previous life.

After thinking for a moment, Yichen said, "Would the craftsmen from the Land of Iron be suitable?"

Matsutani Shinya guessed, "It probably won't work. Modifying machines isn't their expertise. It's possible they could build it if they designed it first."

Yichen said, "Then let's not think about it that way. We're ninjas, and with something as miraculous as Chakra, what's there to be afraid of?"

Matsutani Shinya pondered for a moment and then said, "Teacher Yichen, why don't you give it a try?"

Yichen asked in confusion, "Me? I haven't even investigated what's going on down there."

Matsutani Shinya said, "Teacher Yichen, you do know Senjutsu after all. This stuff down there is somewhat similar to Senjutsu Chakra. Maybe it can resonate with you!"

Upon hearing this, Yichen's heart stirred, and he said, "That's fine, but how exactly do we do it? This Atsumi Akino's first time setting up Teleportation Array, so it probably won't be finished in a short time. After it's completed, we'll have to test it. I happen to have some free time."

Matsutani Shinya said, "Teacher Yichen, my idea is this: Didn't Kazahana Sōsetsu create a channel through machines? We can utilize this channel..."

Matsutani Shinya explained his idea in detail.

It seems that keeping him here was the right decision. During this time, he not only advanced to the Elite Jonin, but he must have also devoted a lot of time to researching underground energy.

After listening to Matsutani Shinya's description, Yichen said, "I understand. It's too late today, let's start again first thing tomorrow morning. I need to prepare before entering Sage Mode."

Matsutani Shinya and said, "Teacher Yichen, it's been so many years, and you still haven't reached the point where you can enter Sage Mode independently under normal conditions?"

Yichen sighed helplessly, saying, "Yes, although I feel that my familiarity with Sage Mode and Senjutsu Chakra has far surpassed that of when I first entered Senjutsu Mode, in terms of effect, there has actually been no progress."

"I also cannot enter Sage Mode under normal circumstances, and the bonuses from Sage Mode are the same as before."

Matsutani Shinya had planned his path to Sage Mode, and now, hearing Yichen's words, he was somewhat disappointed.

Yichen patted him on the shoulder and said, "You need to have confidence in yourself. You're different. I think if you successfully enter Sage Mode for the first time, you shouldn't be too far from fully mastering Senjutsu."

"Senjutsu also require talent, and your talent in Senjutsu is undoubtedly far superior to ours. My talent in Senjutsu is actually quite poor, much worse than the Third Hokage and Dango. The reason I've gone further than them is because I've invested far more time and energy into it. In addition, I've done much more theoretical research on Senjutsu than they have."

Matsutani Shinya nodded. He had a good attitude; he was only down for a short while, but then it didn't bother him anymore.

The two chatted for a while about the details of tomorrow's reconnaissance, and then Yichen returned to the branch.

Back at the branch, Yichen first went to check on Atsumi Akino's progress. She was still dealing with various materials with some professionals, and it was still a long way from actually starting to set up the barrier.

So Yichen went outside the branch and set up a Natural Energy Seal, which he would use first thing tomorrow morning.

The next day, under the protection of the Anbu Guard Yichen entered Sage Mode. Then he went to the Rainbow Ice Wall alone.

Matsutani Shinya and Little Flower were already waiting for him.

Without wasting any words, Yichen nodded to the man and the cat, and began to sense the underground energy as Matsutani Shinya had instructed the day before.

Matsutani Shinya's research over the past few days has been very thorough. Following his instructions, Yichen mobilized his own Senjutsu Chakra to make tentative contact with the underground energy and found that there was indeed some reaction.

However, what Yichen and the other person had envisioned—using Yichen's immortal Senjutsu to control the energy—could not be achieved.

However, Yichen did not give up directly, but changed his strategy and began to compare the differences between the two.

You don't know until you compare; once you do, you're shocked.

Previously, Matsutani Shinya speculated that the Natural Energy below might be a product of combining with some kind of Kekkei Genkai of ninjas. Yichen's deduction is Yang Release: because in the original work, after these energies were released, they changed the ecological environment of a large area around them.

One can glean some clues from the fact that these energies have given rise to so many plants.

However, Yichen's perspective is different now. During his research at the ancient temple, Yichen made significant progress in Yin Release, reaching the true second stage.

Therefore, after Yichen's Senjutsu Chakra carefully came into contact with the underground energy, Yichen was surprised to find that the underground energy contained not only Yang Release Chakra, but also traces of Yin Release.

This involves both Yin Release and Yang Release techniques; could it be that they've unearthed the corpse of the Sage of Six Paths? Yichen felt a little uneasy.

However, the Sage of Six Paths abandoned his physical body and lived in a spiritual state, so his physical energy must have been taken away by his spirit. After a thousand years, his corpse should have long since decomposed.

Regardless, Yichen felt that the energy underground was worth carefully studying.

On the first day, Yichen didn't make any progress, so on the second day, he called on the little Yichen Little Rhino Dog.

Absorbing Natural Energy is risky, and Yichen has never tried to simultaneously apply Tailed Beast Chakra and Senjutsu Chakra to his body.

Yichen planned to use the Tailed Beast Chakra Mode to sense the energy underground and compare the differences between the two.

And you know what, it actually works a bit. The energy underground gives Yichen a slightly different feeling in the two different states.

On the third day, Yichen created three Shadow Clones. One Shadow Clone used Sensory Ninjutsu to investigate, one Shadow Clone used the Chakra mode of Little Rhino Dog to investigate, and one Shadow Clone used the Chakra mode of Little Chōmei to investigate. The main body used Sage Mode to investigate.

Yichen used four different states to distinguish the characteristics of underground energy, while trying his best to imitate and understand them.

Over the course of several days, although Yichen did not gain any substantial knowledge, his understanding of Senjutsu increased considerably.

Although Yichen frequently maintained Sage Mode to increase his body's affinity for Senjutsu Chakra, his understanding of Senjutsu was quite limited because he had never been exposed to other Senjutsu Chakra.

These insights broadened Yichen's horizons considerably.

"I really want to see what the Senjutsu Chakra of the Three Great Sage Locations is like. If I could analyze it as carefully as I do the underground energy, I estimate that my Sage Mode would soon reach perfection," Yichen said to Matsutani Shinya.

However, Matsutani Shinya seemed somewhat distracted, as if he were deep in thought.

Yichen didn't disturb them, but waited quietly.

These days, Yichen tries his best to explain his insights to Matsutani Shinya every day. Sometimes, when he encounters an experience that is difficult to explain, Yichen will try to give examples to help Matsutani Shinya understand the general feeling.

Having traveled through time for so long, Yichen has come to understand one thing: in the Ninja World, talent trumps hard work. Sometimes, things that he can't figure out even after racking his brains are solved in a flash of inspiration by those professional geniuses.

Yichen had discovered similar things in Atsumi Akino, Kawakita, Katsuya, and in Ki, the leader of the Lightning Release Research Group, among others.

Therefore, Yichen can be said to have shared his knowledge of Natural Energy with Matsutani Shinya without reservation.

Now that his own attempt had encountered difficulties, and Matsutani Shinya was deep in thought, Yichen felt a sense of anticipation.

One more chapter to come.