Path of Cultivation

Chapter 10: Path of Cultivation

The next morning, as the rising sun crested the horizon, Grandma Toka, who was used to waking early, had already prepared breakfast: glistening white rice, golden and crispy grilled saury, crescent-cut pickled radish, and a steaming bowl of soup.

With no mission assignments, Shuji limbered up in the woods beside the house before beginning to formulate a training plan.

He knew the script of this world. Akatsuki, Madara, the God Tree, the Otsutsuki... Those names hung over him like swords. Even someone who merely wanted an ordinary life understood that becoming stronger was the prerequisite for enjoying life in this world.

The path to strength for a ninja was, at its core, quite clear.

Temper the body, squeeze out its potential, and hone taijutsu.

Refine one's skills, master ninja tools, and adapt to any situation.

Study ninjutsu, expand one's means, and adapt to the environment.

Of these, ninjutsu produced results the fastest, but the foundation lay in physical strength.

Tempering the body was the process of developing physical energy. Every agony of pushing past one's limits tempered the will. Physical energy and spiritual will complemented each other, jointly driving the growth of chakra until both reached the peak permitted by one's current physical aptitude.

Only then was it time for a ninja to devote their energy to ninjutsu.

From this perspective, aside from the existence of chakra and the astonishing potential granted by the one hundred and thirty trillion cells possessed by humans in this world—far beyond those of Earth—the fundamental logic of growing stronger was no different from Earth's.

As a descendant of the Senju, he naturally possessed more abundant chakra and a stronger foundation of physical energy. Now that he had perfectly fused with Hashirama Cells, his future limits far exceeded those of ordinary ninja.

But that was far from enough. Power at the Kage level was only enough to deal with Akatsuki. Beyond that, one had to surpass the Kage level and reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths—the Six Paths level—to be qualified to take part, or even survive disasters of that scale.

To reach that level, there were two paths worth considering based on the original story.

The Otsutsuki system and the Sage Art system.

The Otsutsuki were the source of chakra, a race that plundered life energy among the stars and converted it into chakra to strengthen themselves.

In theory, the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Hyuga all clearly descended from Otsutsuki bloodlines. They could continuously plunder chakra to strengthen themselves, purify their bloodline, and return to their ancestors.

In the original story, one path for the Uchiha to return to their ancestors was to fuse with Hashirama Cells, gain powerful Yang-nature chakra, combine it with their own Yin-nature chakra, awaken the Rinnegan, then become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, ascend to Kekkei Mōra, and transform into an Otsutsuki.

As for the Senju, the original story never made it clear, but the path might have been similar: obtain a powerful Sharingan?

However, one key point was often overlooked. Madara Uchiha, who obtained the Rinnegan through this method, was the reincarnation of Indra's chakra, Indra being the son of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the founder of Ninshū. Hashirama Senju, meanwhile, was the reincarnation of the chakra of Hagoromo's other son, Asura. Both had inherited the chakra traits of Hagoromo, who had once been the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki. This meant that the harsh requirements for awakening the Rinnegan were likely not limited to the fusion of Yin and Yang chakra; one might also need to inherit some essential power originating from the Ten-Tails.

For Shuji, this path was still shrouded in fog. He set it aside for now.

Then what about the Sage Art system? The upper limit displayed in the original story was higher than that of ordinary ninja, yet lower than that of fully realized Otsutsuki. The strongest known Sage Art practitioner was Hagoromo Otsutsuki himself, followed by Hashirama Senju—a being who stood at the pinnacle beneath the Sage of Six Paths.

As a native power system of the Shinobi World, Sage Art followed a cultivation logic closer to traditional immortal cultivation than the ninja chakra system. The first step, and also the most difficult, was cultivating a "sense of qi"—perceiving the existence of natural energy. Only afterward could one absorb natural energy and fuse it with one's physical and spiritual energy to form senjutsu chakra.

For ordinary ninja, the barrier of awareness was a tremendous obstacle: one had to first know that natural energy existed before consciously sensing, absorbing, and transforming it. Shuji had no such problem. His next step was perception itself.

Natural energy was everywhere. Shuji even suspected that the giant creatures of the Shinobi World and the powerful constitutions of humans, far surpassing their Earthly counterparts, were the result of long-term nourishment by natural energy.

He had attempted to sense natural energy when first familiarizing himself with his body, but gained nothing. After returning from this mission, he reorganized his thoughts.

There were two main known Sage Art traditions: Toad Sage Art from Mount Myoboku and Snake Sage Art from Ryūchi Cave.

Toad Sage Art proceeded step by step: one applied specially prepared Toad Oil to aid in sensing natural energy. Those who mastered it would display frog-like eye markings and eyeshadow upon entering Sage Mode.

Snake Sage Art, on the other hand, was brutally direct: the White Snake Sage injected natural energy into the practitioner. Survive, and one succeeded. Fail to endure it, and one died.

The essence of both methods was to let practitioners directly contact and adapt to pure natural energy.

Were there other paths? Yes—the God Tree.

To plunder a planet's energy, the Otsutsuki clan planted a God Tree on their target world, converting its life essence into Chakra Fruit. A God Tree had once been planted in the Shinobi World, and it had already borne fruit once. The God Tree surely possessed the ability to absorb and digest natural energy.

Wood Release, the secret art created by Hashirama Senju, possessed the trait of absorbing chakra. Shuji speculated that, through his own bloodline and Asura's chakra, Hashirama had traced back and imitated some of the God Tree's traits, which was why it naturally suppressed Tailed Beast chakra. If so, what Shuji needed to do might not be simply training Wood Release ninjutsu, but deeply excavating the source power of the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

"Wood Release: Vitality Technique!"

At his low shout, the ground beneath Shuji's feet trembled faintly. A tender green sapling broke through the earth and shot upward at a visible speed. Sunlight danced across its bark, while its branches and leaves spread with a soft rustling. Once the tree reached his shoulder, he deliberately slowed his chakra output, maintaining only a faint thread of energy connection.

"Keep growing," he murmured, his gaze focused.

Shuji extended his perception like invisible feelers, linking it closely with the tree's spiritual world. The sapling displayed extraordinary sensitivity—its roots spread underground, searching for energy like a starving hunter. The ground bulged unnaturally as the soil churned.

Even more alarming were the changes in its branches. The once tender shoots twisted and hardened beneath the sunlight. They danced through the air, then abruptly froze, all pointing neatly in Shuji's direction!

Shuji could clearly feel the primal desire transmitted by the tree—a nearly mad hunger for chakra! A stabbing sensation crawled over his skin. Sweat slid down his temples.

"Calm down..." he muttered, quickly forming the Snake Seal. The savage branches stopped less than an inch from him, twisting unwillingly. Shuji did his utmost to guide the tree's perception toward that omnipresent yet elusive power.

He could feel the tree's "emotions" shift from rage to confusion. Then, it seemed to catch something—the natural energy permeating heaven and earth, which Shuji himself had never been able to perceive clearly!

Just as Shuji thought he was about to make a breakthrough, a sudden change occurred.

The originally short tree shot upward again, its trunk creaking ominously. Yet after growing only a few more inches, its form twisted violently. Its branches bent and knotted at angles that defied nature, while strange dark patterns seemed to flow across its bark.

Shuji instinctively took a step back.

In that instant, a gray, lifeless color spread rapidly upward from the roots! As though brushed by an invisible hand of death, all vitality vanished wherever the gray-white reached. In less than three seconds, the entire tree turned into a lifelike stone statue. Even its smallest leaves were frozen forever in the posture of trembling in the breeze.

Shuji stood where he was, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He had failed. And failed so thoroughly, so... dangerously. The tree created by Wood Release was not strong enough by itself; it lacked the foundation to resist the erosion of natural energy. Even supported by his chakra, these ninjutsu constructs were like sandcastles, unable to withstand the torrent of natural energy and collapsing in an instant.

But he had not gained nothing. The moment Wood Release attempted to absorb natural energy, subtle ripples formed in the surrounding air. Like a small stone dropped into still water, they created nearly imperceptible waves. It was precisely this minute change that allowed him, someone who had originally possessed no perception of natural energy at all, to gradually touch upon a faint, indistinct "breath."

In the forest, Shuji closed his eyes and focused, replaying that trace of fluctuation over and over in his mind.

(End of Chapter)