Rumors × Shikaku

"Understood, thank you for your time, Nara-sama."

Facing Nara Dan at this moment, the Anbu members felt an involuntary urge to bow respectfully, even though he was no longer leaking a single shred of his presence.

Indeed, a tiger does not lose its lethality simply because it is resting.

Immediately afterward, all the Anbu members fled the scene at speeds bordering on their limits, nearly forgetting to carry their unconscious captain along with them.

He didn't even do anything there. He didn't even feel as ferocious as before.

But my sixth sense just kept screaming at me to run, run, run!

It felt like standing on the edge of an abyss.

Even though the abyss makes no move, the unfathomable feeling it projects forces you to stay away!

And another thing.

At such a distance, can a mere aura really scare an Anbu Jonin into a faint?

Is it some kind of new jutsu? But isn't Nara-sama a Taijutsu ninja?

I've never heard of any Genjutsu capable of that, especially not from such a distance!

Calculating the distance, from the spot where they sensed the massive Chakra to the location where they encountered Nara Dan, it was several miles away; furthermore, the time interval before they saw him was less than a minute.

Hey, hey, it's not about the range of the jutsu, it's that Nara-sama's speed is simply unbelievable.

It's not just the speed either. That massive Chakra reaction from earlier—I'll tell you in secret, I've only ever seen that from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

At this moment, several other Anbu members sprinting in a different direction from Nara Dan had been too afraid to speak directly due to the oppressive weight of his aura.

Instead, they had been communicating using Anbu code.

However, as the distance from Nara Dan increased, their conversation became more unrestrained.

"I heard that Nara Dan-sama is not only physically strong and a Taijutsu prodigy, but his needs in that department are terrifyingly high as well."

"How do you know that?"

"Haven't you noticed how many disciples Nara Dan-sama has taken in recently?"

"But those are both men and women."

"Look at Nara Dan-sama's physique. Most men are barely any different from women when standing in front of him."

"You have a point there."

"I can't even argue with that."

The next morning, Nara Dan, who had risen early for training, stood motionless in the front courtyard. His skin, refined by the marrow-cleansing process, glowed faintly in the morning light.

His breathing was barely perceptible, his Life Energy completely retracted, and with every inhale and exhale, he seemed to merge entirely with the small world around him.

It was impossible to distinguish between the object and the self.

Even sparrows and insects landed on him to forage.

Nearby, the servants whispered among themselves.

"Master has been standing there for a full hour now, hasn't he?"

"Not only that, he hasn't moved an inch the whole time."

"Master never seemed to train like this before."

"If you didn't deliberately look for him, you'd almost completely overlook his presence..."

"Look at those birds, they've even crawled onto Master."

Suddenly, sensing something, Nara Dan opened his eyes. Under the influence of his aura, the birds realized the danger of their location and scattered in a flurry.

Almost simultaneously, a young voice rang out.

"Brother Dan, I've come to visit you!"

A pineapple-style haircut, the signature look of the Nara Clan, appeared before Nara Dan.

Undoubtedly, the massive disturbance from last night had alerted every faction in Konoha that Nara Dan had obtained the Eight Inner Gates, or perhaps developed a secret technique even more terrifying than the 'Release'.

But clearly, the Nara Clan, being closest to Nara Dan, had the advantage of proximity and had sent Nara Shikaku early to probe the truth.

"Brother Dan... what happened to you?"

Nara Shikaku stared blankly at the significantly smaller Nara Dan, momentarily unable to find his words.

As far as the current Nara Dan was concerned, his physique, his temperament, and even his skin tone bore little resemblance to the Nara Dan of before.

If not for the calm eyes that were identical to the old Nara Dan, Nara Shikaku wouldn't have even dared to confirm that this was the Taijutsu Jonin, Brother Dan.

"Don't worry, I just had a breakthrough."

"The excess weight from before has all been refined into essence."

Facing the clansman he had watched grow up, Nara Dan cracked a lighthearted joke.

"Is... is that so?"

Nara Shikaku couldn't quite manage a smile. In the span of a single night, the Brother Dan who was once as sturdy as a bear had turned into a lean, powerful man.

However, as the son of the clan head, he was well-informed and not entirely unable to comprehend such a scene.

This was because within the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Akimichi Clan possessed such a secret technique, which converted stored body fat into Chakra to exchange for a powerful energy supply.

That was the Akimichi Clan's secret technique, the Butterfly Transformation Technique.

Moreover, when Nara Shikaku took a closer look, he discovered that the situation with Nara Dan was fundamentally different from the Akimichi Clan's Butterfly Transformation Technique.

The essence of the Akimichi Clan's secret technique was not much different from the Eight Inner Gates; both involved squeezing the body's potential to obtain a powerful supply of Chakra.

The only difference was that the Akimichi Clan could accumulate fat in advance to replace their own life essence being squeezed, thereby avoiding the side effects of draining their potential to a certain extent.

But even so, it could not completely avoid the side effects of the forbidden technique.

After performing the secret technique, members of the Akimichi Clan would often become emaciated, and their physical condition would plummet.

Yet Nara Dan was clearly different; not only had his skin become fairer and more translucent, but there was also no emaciated feeling from drained potential on his body; instead, there was a gentle sensation of power returning to his core.

Compared to his previously bulging muscles, the feeling he gave off was actually fuller.

It was as if he had been a hard boulder before, but now he was a piece of warm, lustrous jade.

It was almost an elevation in the level of his life force.

"Then let me congratulate Brother Dan first."

Nara Shikaku wore an expression of envy. One had to know that at this moment, Nara Dan's physical age was not yet eighteen.

And many ninjas were still stuck at the level of Genin even at eighteen.

Not to mention the ethereal, one-in-a-million realm of a Kage.

"But Brother Dan, tell me the truth."

Nara Shikaku lowered his voice and asked Nara Dan.

"Was the Chakra reaction last night the Eight Inner Gates?"

"Did the Hyuga provide you with the Eight Inner Gates?"

"That's right."

Nara Dan nodded noncommittally. He thought this news shouldn't have spread so quickly, but with the intelligence of the Nara Clan, it was easy to guess.

In all of Konoha, besides the high-ranking officials, only the Hyuga Clan, who specialized in Taijutsu, could possibly possess the Eight Inner Gates, a forbidden technique that was both powerful and impractical.

"How did you know?"

But Nara Dan still asked a redundant question, a faint sense of foreboding in his heart.

"Many people in the clan saw that Genin you are mentoring come to your room yesterday."

"And they stayed for quite a long time."

"Tell me the truth, Brother Dan."

"Are you planning to marry into the Hyuga?"

"Bang!"

Everyone, I've been recommended! Although it's just a web recommendation, I will try my best to evolve into a three-chapter-a-day beast!

But I am also a slow writer. So, please!

If there happens to be a million-coin tip, I will definitely super-evolve!

Finally, thanks again to Hui Tai Lang Marries Mei Yang Yang for the tip. Wishing the boss continued success!