Arts and Natural Energy

The Naruto world.

Two months had passed since their last conversation.

Orochimaru sat at his workbench, looking over the sample report for his latest batch of skincare products. The corner of his mouth curled into a barely perceptible smile.

"The first batch has already been shipped..."

"We're using Konoha's name and the village's distribution channels."

"Next, we wait for the market's response, adjust the formula as needed, and then roll out the rest of the product line..."

With the Nara and Aburame Clans' full cooperation, the cosmetics business was now on track.

The initial investment had been almost negligible. After all, he had the core technology himself, his allies provided the medicinal herbs and biological ingredients, and the village lent its name to the premises and sales channels.

As long as the products were well received, a steady stream of money would flow into his pockets.

Then he'd never have to worry about research funding again...

"Now that money's taken care of, it's time to get back to research..."

Orochimaru set down the report and took a deep breath.

He thought back to his conversation with Zhuge Qing and Reed Hayrick two months ago.

The existence of the Inner Scene, and the theories surrounding it, had made him realize that Impure World Reincarnation might be worth far more than he'd initially expected.

It touched on the nature of the two kinds of energy in this world and Under One Person World: Chakra and Qi.

However, any in-depth research into Impure World Reincarnation would inevitably involve human experimentation.

He yearned for knowledge and pursued the Truth, but he still needed to have a line he wouldn't cross.

Besides, he already had plenty of experimental data at hand...

At that thought, Orochimaru looked toward Kage Rock.

Danzo had recently sent him another batch of scrolls through his subordinates, leaving him itching to know what was inside.

That old man must have all kinds of information in his possession.

But...

Getting anything out of that old fox was no easy task.

"I'm still too weak..."

Orochimaru sighed softly. In this world, in the end, strength was what mattered.

He reviewed his progress in training.

With the tremendous boost of the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, his regular ninjutsu training was progressing at an astonishing pace.

His Chakra nature transformation and shape transformation were both improving steadily.

He had more or less mastered the transformations of the five basic natures, and his Hand Seals and execution of various jutsu were becoming more practiced by the day.

But his Chakra reserves, of all things, were growing at an exceptionally slow pace.

It seemed that one's reserves were limited to a general range from the moment of birth.

His body had good talent, and his Chakra reserves were above average for his age.

But there was still an insurmountable gap between him and the truly overpowered ones, like the future Naruto Uzumaki or those human Tailed Beasts.

The training methods from Under One Person World had helped somewhat, but it would take a long time to see results.

So Orochimaru turned his attention to two other paths.

The first was naturally the Rasengan.

This seal-less jutsu, developed by the future Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was said to represent the pinnacle of Chakra shape transformation.

He still remembered its principles and training steps. Working backward from them and mastering the technique wouldn't be too difficult.

After experimenting for a while, he had successfully cleared the first stage—the water balloon—and was now working on the second stage, the rubber ball.

A mass of rapidly spinning Chakra gathered at his fingertips, but its shape was still unstable, with energy escaping around the edges.

"Almost..."

Orochimaru felt the flow of Chakra in his palm.

"My Chakra compression and control still aren't quite right."

"At this rate...I should be able to master it completely in about a week."

Once he mastered the Rasengan, his offensive capabilities would make a qualitative leap.

The other path was even more tempting—and much more dangerous.

That was—Sage Mode.

The idea had occurred to him over a month ago.

At the time, he had been trying to apply some of the basic arts he'd learned in The Outcast to this world.

To his surprise, he had actually sensed a special energy drifting between heaven and earth, one that was unlike Chakra!

That energy was vast and powerful, brimming with the force of life.

Natural Energy!

In that moment, Orochimaru had been almost certain that this was the Natural Energy that formed the basis of senjutsu in the Naruto world!

It wasn't hard to understand.

The arts of The Outcast were, at their core, techniques for drawing upon and harnessing the "power of heaven and earth"—the Primordial Qi.

In that respect, they were remarkably similar to senjutsu in the Naruto world, which absorbed and made use of "Natural Energy."

The difference was that senjutsu in the Naruto world required absorbing Natural Energy into the body before it could be used, whereas the arts of Under One Person World did not.

But...

Perhaps because of differences in the underlying rules of the two worlds, there seemed to be some kind of "system-level incompatibility."

The Natural Energy of the Naruto world couldn't be guided and controlled smoothly by the rules of the Qi Men Formation, the way "Qi" could in Under One Person World.

What was more, the Natural Energy here seemed especially "violent" and "untamed."

It simply wouldn't obey his commands.

It was like a herd of wild horses that had broken free, brimming with raw, untamed ferocity.

Driven by curiosity, he created a Shadow Clone and tried to absorb a trace of Natural Energy into its body, carefully, just as Naruto had in the original story.

The result...

The moment that trace of Natural Energy entered the body, it was like sulfuric acid poured into clear water, triggering an intense rejection!

The Shadow Clone's Chakra reacted as if it had encountered its natural enemy, rapidly corroded and transformed!

Even worse, the clone's body began turning to stone at a visible rate!

If he hadn't reacted in time and forcibly wrapped the Natural Energy in Chakra, suppressing it and expelling it from the body, the Shadow Clone would have turned into a cold stone statue on the spot!

"Hiss..."

"No wonder the original story said that training in Sage Mode required an enormous amount of Chakra..."

"It wasn't just to maintain Sage Mode. More importantly, you needed several times as much Chakra as Natural Energy to forcibly suppress its transformation and rampage!"

Even now, Orochimaru still shuddered at the memory.

By his rough estimate, suppressing one measure of Natural Energy required at least three times as much Chakra!

The two kinds of energy were like water and fire, natural enemies!

"Still, considering that Chakra itself is an external power, belonging to the God Tree..."

"It makes sense that the world's native Natural Energy would reject it."

Orochimaru pondered the problem. To master Sage Mode, he would have to find a way for his Chakra and Natural Energy to reach some kind of balance—or even fuse.

But the risks were obvious.

And he couldn't even use Shadow Clones to experiment. In the manga, Naruto had used a Shadow Clone to absorb Nature Chakra, and the effects had carried over to his real body.

"I have to find a safe way to train, or...get more 'specimens' to observe and study."

At that thought, a figure flashed through Orochimaru's mind.

That lecherous, unreliable fellow who, when it mattered, was remarkably dependable.

Jiraiya had been disappearing often lately, and when asked where he'd gone, he'd been evasive.

If Orochimaru wasn't mistaken, Jiraiya had probably gone to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode from the toads.

If...he could get the chance to "observe" Jiraiya's training at Mount Myoboku...

He should be able to gather plenty of data...

Orochimaru nodded. He could ask Jiraiya about it when he had the chance.

He'd see if the toads at Mount Myoboku would let him visit too—and, ideally, have him sign a contract.

Just then—

Rustle...

A faint sound, almost impossible to detect, came from the shadows behind him.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and he whipped around.

But all he saw were several pure-white little snakes slithering across the floor...