Sage Mode Training

Neji spent a few more days completing the renovations on his new home with the help of Zabuza and a construction crew of over a hundred people. Aside from needing to purchase some furniture and daily necessities, the house was basically ready to move in.

That day, Neji gathered Zabuza, Haku, and several other Chunin in the large training room on the second basement level of his new home. He took out a compressed jar of Natural Energy and solemnly declared, "Currently, ninjas have two cultivation systems. The first is the Chakra cultivation secret method that we are all familiar with. The second is the Sage Mode cultivation secret method, which has always existed in the Ninja World but is rarely known!"

Without further theoretical explanation, Neji walked up to a target. He first used a standard Fireball Jutsu, creating a small crater in the target. Then, he channeled Sage Chakra to enhance the Fireball Jutsu and struck the target, shattering it completely!

The superiority of the latter was obvious.

The scene excited those around him, making them eager to start learning immediately.

Neji continued, "Chakra is formed by squeezing one's own physical and mental energy. It can be said that the deeper one's Chakra cultivation and the more frequently it is used, the greater the burden and depletion on oneself. Such people often have shorter lifespans and die faster! This isn't really a secret; everyone here is a ninja and should easily be able to determine its truthfulness."

The fact that ninjas had shorter lifespans than ordinary people was no longer a secret. It was just that the major ninja villages deliberately ignored or concealed this fact to encourage more people to become ninjas.

Furthermore, during times of war, how many people could truly live to a natural death? And how many would truly care about losing a few years of their lifespan due to practicing Ninjutsu?

"Sage Mode cultivation is different. Sage Mode cultivation involves absorbing Natural Energy from the environment into one's body, controlling that Natural Energy to temper oneself, and finally using the Sage Chakra formed from Natural Energy to fight enemies."

"In terms of offensive and defensive power, feedback on the body, and scope of use, Sage Mode is vastly superior to Chakra cultivation in all aspects!"

"However, Sage Mode cultivation has an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome: the difficulty of cultivation!"

"Using traditional methods to cultivate Sage Mode has an extremely high barrier to entry. Only a few of the most outstanding individuals in the Ninja World can meet the requirements. For example, Hashirama Senju, once known as the God of Shinobi, Jiraiya, one of the current renowned Sannin, or Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. Were any of them not exceptional figures of their time? And even then, only individuals like them could barely meet the threshold for cultivating Sage Mode."

These names were certainly familiar to them; they were legendary.

When Neji informed them that he had undergone Sage Mode training, and judging by his demeanor, he would likely teach them as well, the less patient Chunin among them turned red with excitement.

Neji stopped playing coy and pointed to the compressed jar of Natural Energy in his hand. "This contains high-concentration Natural Energy. The reason Sage Mode cultivation is so difficult is that Natural Energy in the Ninja World is too sparse. Unless one is a peerless genius, they cannot sense it, let alone cultivate it!"

"Now, I can increase the concentration of Natural Energy in this training room by a hundredfold. This effectively reduces the difficulty of sensing Natural Energy by a hundredfold, allowing even those with average talent to sense Natural Energy and have a chance to introduce it into their bodies and begin cultivating Sage Mode."

Seeing the eager gazes of everyone, even Zabuza trembled slightly with excitement. This was the ultimate cultivation secret method in the Ninja World, capable of greatly increasing one's strength and even offering a chance to reach the pinnacle of the Ninja World. Who could resist such temptation?

Neji gave a few more detailed instructions, then sealed the training room and increased the Natural Energy concentration to a hundred times that of the outside world before stopping the release.

The group clearly felt that the world had changed. It was as if the air was filled with something, making it exceptionally comfortable. Just taking a few extra breaths made them feel slightly invigorated and energetic.

After giving them some precautions, Neji instructed them to stay in the large training room to feel the Natural Energy and improve their affinity with it.

Neji then went to his private training room alone and spread out a large diagram of human meridians on the wall!

Currently, Neji's internal circulation of Sage Chakra was relatively simple, only able to strengthen certain parts of his body. The amount of Sage Chakra stored within him was also very small.

This was why, in combat, he would not easily mobilize his Sage Chakra unless absolutely necessary. It was so limited that after a few uses, it would be depleted, only able to serve as a decisive blow in critical moments, which was quite unfortunate!

The task Neji was currently undertaking was to optimize and expand the internal circulation channels for Sage Chakra!

This process was extremely dangerous for ordinary people. Both meridians and acupoints are very fragile, while Sage Chakra, without complete control, is incredibly violent. Furthermore, without internal vision, relying solely on guesswork to find a suitable internal circulation path would require incredible luck or cost countless lives!

However, Neji possessed unique advantages. Firstly, almost all the meridians and acupoints in his body had already been opened and strengthened by his own Chakra, laying a good foundation for accommodating the more violent Sage Chakra.

Secondly, the Byakugan possessed internal vision, allowing him to clearly see the precise flow of Chakra and Sage Chakra within the meridians, making it easier to control the direction of Sage Chakra and its impact on acupoints.

Lastly, Neji's own Chakra reserves were over five thousand units. In critical moments, Neji could mobilize his Chakra to soothe the uncontrolled, violent Sage Chakra. This was also why all the Three Great Sage Lands, without exception, used the size of one's Chakra reserves as a prerequisite for testing their aptitude for Sage Mode cultivation.

Even with so many advantages, Neji proceeded with this task with extreme caution and meticulousness, diligently studying the meridian map within his body, even though he had already memorized it.

The human body is mainly divided into the Twelve Main Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

The Twelve Main Meridians refer to the Gallbladder, Liver, Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, and San Jiao meridians.

The Eight Extraordinary Meridians refer collectively to the Chong, Dai, Yang Wei, Yin Wei, Yang Qiao, Yin Qiao, Du, and Ren meridians.

Under normal circumstances, the Twelve Main Meridians are in an open and closed state, providing energy for the normal functioning of the body's organs such as the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, hands, feet, and brain.

Under normal circumstances, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are in a closed state and are referred to in the Ninja World as "Gates," meaning "gates" that control energy transmission! Their corresponding names are: Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death.

No one in the Ninja World cultivates Sage Chakra in the way Neji does, slowly expanding and breaking through the channels of acupoints and meridians with Sage Chakra.

Instead, they use Chakra to forcibly break through the seals of the "Eight Gates." This is the core cultivation principle of Konoha's forbidden jutsu, the "Eight Gates."

While forcibly breaking through the "Eight Gates" in this manner can temporarily enhance one's strength to a certain extent, it causes greater damage to the body and is only a temporary boost. It is akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

What Neji needs to do is to use Sage Chakra to form a perfect internal circulation within his body. This internal circulation will encompass the Twelve Main Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, allowing the "Eight Gates" within the body to remain perpetually open without negative side effects, enabling Sage Chakra to truly fill the entire body!

Then, he will use the Sage Chakra that fills his entire body to temper himself and form a perfect Sage Body!

At that point, Neji will undoubtedly be able to break the shackles of life and achieve longevity like the Sages of the Three Great Sage Lands!

Perhaps then, he will be able to break through the limits of his realm and see the outside world!