The Taotie Technique, Transcendent!

In the original work, the Five Nature Transformations were exclusive to Chunin and above.

There were only three legitimate channels for most ninja to learn high-level ninjutsu.

The first was clan inheritance, which included secret techniques as well as knowledge passed down from fathers to sons in civilian ninja families.

The second was rewards for military merit; the village would sometimes grant ninjutsu as a reward to ninja who completed missions.

The third was instruction from a teacher. The ninja squad system pioneered by the Third Hokage gave civilian ninja the chance to learn ninjutsu from their team leaders. Furthermore, there were master-disciple relationships that were akin to passing down a mantle, such as Akimichi Denji and Tsunade, or Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato with Jiraiya.

Akimichi Denji was practicing ninja tool throwing under the guidance of Yamanaka Ino; today's practice focused on kunai.

Relatively speaking, they were much easier to control than shuriken.

Uchiha Sasuke, however, kept casting serious glances his way, seemingly still sulking over yesterday's defeat.

With Uchiha Sasuke's level of skill in ninja tool throwing, he no longer needed to practice, and he answered Uzumaki Naruto's questions with occasional impatience.

When school ended in the evening, Uchiha Sasuke left in a hurry.

Hyuga Hinata also departed a step ahead of the others.

This caused Akimichi Denji's plan to farm Wish Points to fall through.

Akimichi Denji, Akimichi Choji, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru walked back together.

Because he had agreed to Naruto's request for a free meal, Uzumaki Naruto now always walked home with him.

At first, he had worried that Sarutobi Hiruzen might have objections, but after being taken in as a student by Tsunade, Akimichi Denji felt at ease. The Akimichi Clan already belonged to the Hokage's faction, and helping Sarutobi Hiruzen look after the isolated Nine-Tails Jinchuriki could actually help Naruto develop a sense of belonging to the village.

It was already generous enough that he didn't demand Sarutobi Hiruzen be eternally grateful to him.

Akimichi Denji watched Akimichi Choji eating Three-Color Dango on the road, muttered a complaint about him being a glutton, and helplessly swallowed a Military Ration Pill.

Logically speaking, characters from the original work all had the chance to trigger Wish Points.

But his unlucky younger brother had never triggered one.

Thinking this, he snatched the dango away from Akimichi Choji.

Akimichi Choji stared at Akimichi Denji with longing, jumping in anxiety: "What are you doing?"

"Suddenly felt like eating some." Akimichi Denji was not polite in the slightest, biting off one of the three-color dango.

This was a signature delicacy in the world of the Hokage; a skewer consisted of pink, white, and green dango. It was a sweet treat that both Mitarashi Anko and Uchiha Itachi enjoyed.

The skewer originally had three, but after he ate one and Akimichi Denji snatched another, only one remained.

Akimichi Choji, like a frantic king, reached out to snatch it back.

Akimichi Denji dodged easily, staring at Akimichi Choji.

"Give it back!" Akimichi Choji said.

Akimichi Denji nodded with satisfaction and handed the final green dango to Choji.

"Here. Take it."

Akimichi Choji hurriedly took it and shoved it into his mouth, terrified that Akimichi Denji would snatch it back again.

"Ding! Congratulations on fulfilling Akimichi Choji's wish [Give me back my Magic Dango], Wish Point +1."

Akimichi Denji's eyes lit up; so it could work like this.

He looked at Akimichi Choji as if he had discovered a gold mine.

Akimichi Choji shivered, not knowing what his older brother was planning with that predatory look.

Returning home, he finished dinner and sent Uzumaki Naruto on his way.

In the courtyard, Akimichi Denji looked at the two Wish Points on his panel; these were contributed by Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji today.

He looked at the panel.

[Ninjutsu: Chakra Refinement Technique (Transcendent), Taotie Technique (Master), Strength of a Hundred (Transcendent), Multi-Size Technique (Proficient), Delicate Illness Extraction Technique (Novice)]

Previously, the Taotie Technique couldn't be leveled to Transcendent due to the lack of the Multi-Size Technique, but now it was possible.

Akimichi Denji didn't hesitate for long before adding the points to the Taotie Technique.

The Taotie Technique was a growth-type skill that could accelerate his development, and it was only one step away from Transcendent. He was very much looking forward to its effects.

Generally speaking, there was a qualitative leap between Master and Transcendent. The improvement was the greatest.

Years of memories regarding the Taotie Technique and the Multi-Size Technique flooded his mind, and he felt a sense of bloating.

Closing his eyes to digest the information for a while, Akimichi Denji gained some insight.

He finally understood why the Taotie Technique required the Multi-Size Technique to advance.

[Ninjutsu: Taotie Technique (Transcendent)]

[Effect: Automatically runs at all times, digestion ability ×5. Slowly increases physique, slightly amplifies the effects of the Multi-Size Technique. Can devour and absorb any form of energy.]

The Transcendent effect of the Taotie Technique only added one sentence: "Can devour and absorb any form of energy."

But Akimichi Denji couldn't help but feel his breathing quicken.

Any energy!

Any!

These two short words instantly sparked two hypotheses in Akimichi Denji's mind.

First, Since chakra in the ninja world is composed of physical energy and spiritual energy, if he could devour any chakra, did that mean he could devour the chakra of others?

Furthermore, Akimichi Denji knew that besides physical and spiritual energy, there was also natural energy.

Combining these three in equal proportions could form Sage Chakra!

However, the absorption of natural energy was incredibly complex; ordinary people couldn't even perceive it.

Only the three great sacred sites possessed methods for sensing natural energy.

For instance, Mount Myoboku used toad oil to assist in sensing natural energy, requiring one to sit still on a dangerous mountain peak, maintaining a state of absolute stillness to absorb and deconstruct the natural energy.

And sensing was merely the first step; more importantly, one had to balance natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy at a 1:1:1 ratio to form Sage Chakra.

The difficulty of this training was immense, and the risks were equally high.

The consequences of failing were clear; for example, Jugo from the original story was born with the ability to absorb natural energy, but once the natural energy within him spiraled out of control, it led directly to mental collapse and physical mutation.

Those who failed their training at Mount Myoboku would eventually turn into stone frogs.

Precisely because of this, once the training was successful, the boost in strength was massive.

This was an endgame-level ability!

But if he could absorb natural energy...

Akimichi Denji's eyes gleamed, and his heart couldn't help but beat rapidly.

Suppressing his excitement, Akimichi Denji didn't rush to experiment; he already possessed the Multi-Size Technique, and if he petrified the wrong body part, the consequences would be far from pleasant.

The first hypothesis, however, was worth a try.

With that thought, he called Akimichi Choji into the courtyard.

Akimichi Choji looked at him with a guarded expression, unsure of what his brother was up to now.

He was still holding a grudge over the Three-Color Dango from the afternoon.

Akimichi Denji spoke.

"Focus your chakra into your fist and hit me."

"Why?" Akimichi Choji felt his brother was becoming increasingly strange.

"Don't ask, aren't you still angry about me taking your dango this afternoon?" At the mention of this, Akimichi Choji forgot everything else.

"You said it yourself, no backing out."

"Hurry up."

Akimichi Choji, fueled by the desire to avenge his Three-Color Dango, struck at Akimichi Denji.

He felt as if he had hit a mountain; Akimichi Denji didn't budge an inch.