Natural Energy

"Oh my, my identity has been exposed. That's right, I am the Hokage's bodyguard, Tobirama!" Ruri held his blade in his left hand and shouted loudly.

It turned out that adding a layer of Transformation Jutsu beneath the bandages was truly effective. To hide my identity, I intentionally used only my left hand for swordsmanship, and I hadn't revealed a single flaw along the way. Hehehe, with these idiots from the Land of Artisans who haven't even stepped out of their borders, this scapegoat role is definitely pinned on Tobirama!

"It's actually Tobirama... He deceived me after all..." Fujiwara Shizume, having gained a moment to catch his breath, muttered to himself: "I've never seen him use his right hand. Beyond his swordsmanship, he possesses immense chakra, and he even let the Konoha ninja go earlier. Yes, it can only be Tobirama..."

"A Konoha ninja? It seems the Fujiwara Clan brought this upon themselves. Incompetent fools, to be noticed so easily. Useless trash." Seimei raised his hand, and a wind blade shot directly toward Fujiwara Shizume!

"He cannot die yet." Ruri breathed a sigh of relief as he intercepted the wind blade. His disguise hadn't shown a single crack; chakra and swordsmanship were the very things that made Tobirama famous throughout the ninja world. Coupled with the series of jutsus Ruri might acquire in the future—which would perfectly align with Tobirama's creative genius—he was simply the best candidate for a disguise!

"You, however, can die." Seimei said coldly. Ignoring a small fry like Fujiwara Shizume, he focused his full attention on dealing with Ruri.

Ruri watched as the armor on Seimei's body shifted its form once more. His entire presence became hazy, like mist, and his movements became erratic and impossible to track!

This is... natural energy? Although Ruri, while maintaining the Seven-Tails Chakra Mode, could not utilize natural energy, he could certainly sense it. At the spot where Seimei stood, countless streams of natural energy were converging!

This kind of ninja tool isn't scientific at all, is it? Even Transformers couldn't do this! How can it possibly manipulate natural energy? Among the brilliant ninjas in the original story, only a handful could use Sage Mode. You're telling me a mere ninja tool can do it?!

After observing for a moment, Ruri finally calmed down. Perhaps due to the limitations of the tool, although Seimei could utilize natural energy, he did so clumsily. He couldn't use it to reinforce his own body, let alone wield Sage Chakra with the fluid precision of a true Sage. He could only attack using natural energy in its most basic, raw form. Nevertheless, the power was still formidable; the countless attacks of pure natural energy directed at Ruri had already transcended the scope of ordinary ninjutsu!

Facing this surging tide of natural energy, Ruri felt his scalp tingle. He had thought the Seven-Tails Chakra Mode combined with Iaijutsu would be enough to handle Seimei, but it seemed he was still falling short. He had no choice but to swing his blade again. Chakra flowed rapidly, and the blade aura surged higher and higher until the entire surface of the lake was dyed a deep, cyan-purple!

Attacks made of natural energy could even injure Madara in his Six Paths form! Yet, they were shattered by this single strike from Ruri! Even though the rampaging natural energy was incredibly dangerous, under the force of Ruri's Full-Power Strike, it became as docile as a rabbit. In fact, much of the natural energy followed the blade aura, reversing course to strike at Seimei!

Ruri seized the opportunity to close the distance. Refining chakra for the Seven-Tails takes time, so he had to rely on close-quarters combat to buy that time!

Facing the rapidly approaching Ruri, Seimei, who was unskilled in melee combat, was not alarmed but delighted. He landed on the lake surface, clasped his hands together, and regained control of the natural energy filling the sky, surrounding Ruri layer by layer!

A clone?!

The "Ruri" wrapped in natural energy transformed into lightning and vanished into the air. Sure enough, everything was as Ruri had guessed: all of Seimei's abilities were derived from the ninja tools on his body. He lacked combat experience, let alone sensory perception. His remaining chakra was low, and the Lightning Clone was poorly executed; even an ordinary ninja with slightly keen senses could have seen through it, yet Seimei couldn't!

Ruri suddenly appeared behind Seimei and slashed down. Due to the lack of chakra, the strike lacked power and failed to break through the armor!

"You are strong. You are the strongest tool I have ever encountered, so let me recast you!" Seimei could no longer maintain his stoic expression; he grew increasingly tense. With a flick of his hands, white steam erupted from his armor: "Let me show you that even the power of nature itself is nothing more than a tool!"

Seimei slammed his hands together. The ninja tools on his body shifted, gradually forming a sphere that instantly encased Ruri. A massive amount of natural energy surged in, destroying everything in its path; the water level of the lake dropped by a full meter!

Countless streams of natural energy were commanded by the sphere, manifesting in mid-air as solid walls that sealed off Ruri's surroundings, trapping him within like a cage!

It seemed Ruri had fallen into a crisis?!

"What happened? If even Tobirama cannot defeat Seimei, I surely won't survive..." Fujiwara Shizume, who had been ignored, watched the turbulent waves on the lake with immense anxiety, yet he was powerless to intervene. His strength was enough to rank him among the top samurai of the era, but the battle between these two had far exceeded the limits of humanity!

"Is Lord Musashi fighting Seimei?" Mitsunosuke had just regained consciousness. Not knowing that Ruri had exposed his "Tobirama" identity, he held no grudge for being knocked out. Sensing the battle, he walked to the lakeside and watched the water, equally worried.

"So... so terrifying..." Shizuka, who had only just woken up, fainted again. Even from over a hundred meters away, the pressure exerted by that natural energy was not something an ordinary mid-level samurai could withstand!

Mitsunosuke settled Shizuka down and saw the storm brewing on the lake. The thought of seizing the Cursed Blade Muramasa to assist had vanished; no matter how strong a blade was, it couldn't possibly allow him to reach a level where the world itself changed color at a whim!

Mitsunosuke realized his own foolishness. He had never imagined that the target of his revenge would be a person of such caliber; the abilities displayed during the clan's annihilation were merely the tip of the iceberg! If he hadn't encountered Ruri, his only possible end would have been to die in total ignorance!

Trapped within the natural energy, Ruri frowned. The sphere Seimei created felt familiar. He summoned a Truth-Seeking Orb and found the resemblance growing stronger; the difference was that the Truth-Seeking Orb controlled the power of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, while the sphere controlled natural energy!

"Should I just use the Truth-Seeking Orb to break it?" Even natural energy was insignificant before the Truth-Seeking Orb, which could reduce everything to nothingness.

[Ding... Congratulations to the Host for completing the initial development of the village. Reward: Sage Mode.]

The system, which had been silent for three months, finally came back to life, and it rewarded him with something incredible the moment it did.

Ruri had originally planned to cultivate Sage Mode on his own and was preparing to find an opportunity to locate the Three Great Sage Regions. This saved him a lot of trouble, but: "System, how exactly are these development rewards distributed?"

[Significant changes that benefit the village's development, such as the Ninja Academy, will earn rewards. If the changes are not significant enough, they can be accumulated. When the village reaches a certain level of development, rewards will also be granted.]

It was rare for the system to provide an explanation. So, his series of changes—cleaving mountains for mining, reclaiming land from the lake, and spreading ninjutsu—were only minor changes, incomparable to a Ninja Academy?

Come to think of it, in the long run, the Ninja Academy was indeed the most important; talent is the foundation of survival.

Ruri retracted the Truth-Seeking Orb and exited the Seven-Tails Chakra Mode. Facing the natural energy surging in from all directions, his eyes flared with intensity. A ring of red eyeshadow appeared around his eyelids, and a red mark identical to the Takigakure symbol emerged on his forehead!

"Is this my Sage Mode? Seimei, let me show you now: a true Sage who commands natural energy!"