Natural Energy Seal

"Alright, let's stop here for today."

Uzumaki Mito ceased her instruction on the Four Symbols Seal.

Hyuga Hoshishaku glanced at the clock on the wall and, finding there was still some time left, hurriedly spoke up to ask:

"Lady Mito, I've managed to devise a new technique based on the Natural Energy Body Tempering Technique. Would you mind taking a look at it?"

As he spoke, he produced a ninjutsu scroll and handed it to Uzumaki Mito.

Beside him, Senju Yuto, his face full of curiosity, also leaned in, eager to see what kind of ninjutsu his friend had developed.

After Uzumaki Mito picked up the scroll, she spent over ten minutes reading it, the contemplative expression on her face never fading as she seemed to be mentally simulating the feasibility of the technique.

It was Yuto who spoke first, initiating a discussion with Hoshishaku.

"Hoshishaku, are you trying to store natural energy inside your body?"

Hyuga Hoshishaku nodded, then shook his head:

"Not just storing it in the body, but rather, building upon the Natural Energy Body Tempering Technique to store the natural energy that has already been refined through the meridians and acupoints."

He added after a pause:

"I feel that after we go to such great lengths to refine natural energy into a harmless state, it's a waste to simply use it to temper our meridians and then let it dissipate out of the body."

Senju Yuto was well-versed in both the Natural Energy Body Tempering Technique and sealing arts.

Hearing Hoshishaku's explanation, he immediately understood his friend's objective.

"So, you want to use sealing arts to create an artificial sea of energy within your body, much like a chakra sea, except this sea wouldn't be refined from the body's cells, but rather from natural energy refined outside the body and stored within that sealing formation?"

Hearing that Yuto had grasped his line of thought, Hoshishaku patted his head with a gratified smile:

"You guessed it; that is exactly what I'm thinking. By laying down a Natural Energy Sealing Technique formation within the body, it would function just like a chakra sea.

Even taking a step back, if it only served as a reservoir to simply seal the purified natural energy and prevent it from dissipating, the body would still maintain its vitality due to that pure natural energy."

At this moment, Uzumaki Mito set down the scroll and suddenly spoke:

"It's more than that. If you abandon the extraction of chakra from your body's cells and instead use the natural energy seal as your energy sea, as long as you can achieve a cycle, theoretically, your body would remain in Sage Mode at all times. The ninjutsu you use would also transform into senjutsu due to the change in energy. Most importantly, your lifespan would be greatly extended because you are no longer extracting chakra from your cells."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Hoshishaku looked at Uzumaki Mito with burning eyes:

"Lady Mito, is it possible for me to achieve this technique?"

Uzumaki Mito looked at Hoshishaku with approval and began to praise him:

"I must say, this is a truly genius idea, a miraculous concept, and the logic behind this sealing technique is already quite complete."

"However, once this technique is finished, it's highly likely that only the two of you will be able to practice it, as the prerequisite is having mastered the Natural Energy Body Tempering Technique. It's a bit of a pity."

"How about this: you two don't need to come to class for the next few days. I will do my best to help you complete this technique."

Beyond happy, Hoshishaku did not forget to express his gratitude:

"Thank you, Lady Mito! I believe that once this technique is complete, Yuto should be able to recover his mental energy and stand up completely very soon. Then he'll be able to go out and play in the village with me!"

Uzumaki Mito nodded with a smile, but her eyes held a new sense of gravity and seriousness; it seemed she was preparing to give this her all.

In truth, this was exactly what Hoshishaku had been waiting for from Lady Mito.

While he currently possessed many low-level and mid-level sealing techniques, attempting to develop a sealing technique that surpassed the difficulty of a high-level one like the Yin Seal was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Therefore, in the scroll for this Natural Energy Sealing Technique, he had used the principles of sealing arts to express his desired goal as best he could, rather than naively and arrogantly trying to develop a complete technique on his own.

Given his current pace of learning, he wouldn't have had a chance to attempt it for another twenty years.

Although he was certain that Lady Mito was only willing to help complete this sealing technique for the sake of her son, it made no difference to him.

The sooner Yuto fully recovered his health, the sooner he could settle the S-rank destiny commission.

The sooner this "Natural Energy Sealing Technique" was developed, the sooner he could begin "cultivating immortality."

Yes, cultivating immortality.

If he didn't cultivate, how would he deal with the enemies of the coming decades?

Never mind whether he would be too old to move by then.

Just considering the enemies of that era, those Otsutsuki who were immune to chakra-based ninjutsu—what would he use to fight them?

Even if he had drawn ten S-rank cards by then, without reaching the Six Paths level, he wouldn't even be qualified to step onto the stage, let alone win.

That was why, from the very beginning of addressing Yuto's mental energy issues, he had been thinking about whether he could enlist the help of the forbidden technique master, Senju Tobirama, to develop a cultivation technique for him.

After all, "Doraemon" Tobirama was a genius capable of developing the Impure World Reincarnation and the Flying Thunder God Technique.

In a world with the background of the Three Great Sage Regions, developing a cultivation technique shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Having achieved his goal through Uzumaki Mito today, he couldn't have been happier.

In return for his kindness, he found the red-haired Yuto increasingly pleasing to the eye.

"Let's go, I'm taking you to my barbecue restaurant for a massive feast!"

With that, he hoisted the boy onto the wheelchair without a word of protest, then pushed him along in high spirits, calling for Kenshi to join them as they headed toward the restaurant.

Hokage Building, Hokage Office.

Senju Tobirama held the latest statistical report, his expression so dark it seemed as if water might drip from it.

At that moment, Senju Hashirama suddenly pushed open the door to the Hokage Office and walked in with a heavy sigh.

It was clear he had lost everything gambling and had nowhere else to go but the Hokage Office.

Not receiving his brother's customary lecture, Senju Hashirama curiously leaned in to look at the report in his hands.

Soon, the guilty expression on his face vanished, gradually synchronizing with the grim look on his brother Tobirama's face.

"Why is it like this?"

He was the first to speak.

Tobirama rubbed his temples, not answering immediately.

"The purpose of Madara and me founding this village was to reduce death and bring about peace."

"But why, in the past year, have so many ninja died on missions, and so many children died on missions?"

There was a hint of sorrow in Senju Hashirama's tone; he seemed unable to comprehend why so many young ninja had perished on missions over the past year.

At this, Senju Tobirama spoke:

"Because the mindset of these ninja clans has yet to change. They still cling to the ways of the Warring States period, sending children who can barely hold a shuriken out on missions. Such children are no different from ordinary ones; the casualty rate is bound to be as high as it was during the Warring States period."

Upon hearing this, Senju Hashirama's voice rose a few notches as he asked:

"But why would they do that? Konoha today isn't as dangerous as the Warring States period. Why would they send those children to such dangerous places?"

"Sigh..."

Tobirama let out a sigh and continued to explain:

"Some families have no choice. They don't have the long-standing heritage of the Uchiha or the Hyuga, nor do they possess powerful ninjutsu or taijutsu. The best they have to offer might just be some low-level elemental techniques."