Imagining Senjutsu

Under the threat of the Cursed Seal, Shinnō didn't dare make a move. He obediently handed over his regeneration secret technique, along with some of his medical research.

It was getting late, and Orochimaru was worried that Shinnō's absence might arouse suspicion in the village, so he decided to take him back first.

To keep the location of the laboratory outside the village secret, they did as before: Orochimaru summoned a giant snake to swallow Shinnō, then the two of them returned to the village and found a secluded place to let him out.

The whole process was like a flawless infiltration.

Shinnō straightened himself up and pretended nothing had happened. In high spirits, he went to the hospital to see patients and give lectures. Honestly, his acting was nothing short of superb.

Watching him walk away, Orochimaru said, "I'm going to look over his research. Keep an eye on him. Contact me anytime if there's a problem."

"With your Cursed Seal on him, he won't dare do anything."

"Anyway, I'm leaving him to you."

"Understood." Akashi nodded.

At the hospital.

Shinnō carried on seeing patients as diligently as ever. After being tormented all night, his chest burned with heat, and cold sweat occasionally appeared on his brow. Still, he managed to put on a convincing act, wearing a warm, polite smile.

"Doctor, you look exhausted. You should make sure to get some rest," a few patients said.

"Dr. Shinnō, you don't look well. Did you not sleep properly?" other patients asked.

You people are so irritating. What's it to you? Shinnō smiled on the outside and cursed them inwardly.

Whenever he thought about it, he remembered the torment he'd endured last night.

He didn't want to think about it anymore.

The intense pain had faded, but the occasional stabbing ache still tormented Shinnō, as if constantly reminding him that his life was no longer in his own hands.

Until he had fully deciphered the Cursed Seal, he didn't dare disobey Orochimaru and Akashi.

After all, he had clung to life for the sake of revenge. Until he achieved his goal, he valued his life. And because he valued it so much, they had him completely under their thumb, leaving him no room to fight back.

Having something to lose meant having a weakness.

Akashi understood that. He had easily gained control of Shinnō by exploiting his obsession with revenge.

It was just like how Orochimaru would manipulate Sasuke many years later.

But what Akashi truly cared about wasn't Shinnō's goal. It was the Cursed Seal Orochimaru had implanted—the embodiment of another kind of energy.

Senjutsu.

The Shinobi World's most primordial power: the power of nature.

Besides the Three Great Sage Lands, the Dragon Vein and Moryo should also belong to this category of power. They were part of nature, eternal and unceasing. Humans could use them, but couldn't claim them as their own.

After chakra descended, the modern ninja world was born. Using chakra became the mainstream method of cultivation, and it spread everywhere.

The sages hadn't taken notice. They quietly guarded their own lands and watched the world go through its cycles.

Whether it was Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, the conflict between Ninshu's Asura and Indra, or the Otsutsuki aliens, everything was still in the hands of that old man at Mount Myoboku.

But Senjutsu wasn't easy to learn. Natural Energy was extremely difficult to master.

What's more, no matter which kind of Senjutsu one used, it seemed unable to make much of a difference against the godlike power of the Otsutsuki Clan.

Akashi had been thinking about this for a long time.

What if one kind of Senjutsu wasn't enough? What about two? If two weren't enough, what about three?

Could someone master all three kinds of Senjutsu at once?

If so, how could the three kinds coexist? Would each take up a third, or would they need to be divided according to some other ratio? Simply adding them together clearly wouldn't work. Could a secret technique harmonize them? What kind of technique could fuse Senjutsu together?

His earlier reasoning had led to one conclusion—

A natural cycle.

Snakes countered frogs, frogs countered slugs, and slugs countered snakes.

The three already formed a cycle of checks and balances. If the three kinds of Senjutsu followed this principle and connected end to end, circulating without end, wouldn't they blend together perfectly?

As for the power of the Dragon Vein and Moryo, they could be seen as yin and yang, placed at the very center of the three-Senjutsu cycle to blend and evolve.

Only the "one" from which all things began was still missing.

Someone else might have had no way to obtain it, but he had that "one"—a Seedling suspected to be from the God Tree.

One gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to all things.

That was everything he needed.

Based on the information and ideas he already had, Akashi had worked out a relatively viable theory of Senjutsu.

If it succeeded, he would possess the combined Senjutsu of every kind on the planet. He figured he wouldn't be at a disadvantage against the Otsutsuki Clan's visitors from beyond the stars.

"But Natural Energy is invisible and intangible. It must be pretty hard to get your hands on, right?"

Akashi looked up at the sky and couldn't help sighing.

To learn proper Senjutsu, he would have to go to the proper place. Forget mastering Natural Energy—even sensing it wasn't something he could figure out by himself.

The Shinobi World had never lacked talented people. If they could all sense it on their own, what would be the point of the sage lands?

Orochimaru himself hadn't fully mastered Senjutsu yet, so he couldn't tell Akashi Ryūchi Cave's secrets. Akashi would have to wait.

"For now, I'll use Shinnō's Cursed Seal to analyze it."

Akashi thought again of that generous doctor.

Night fell.

After finishing his shift, Shinnō had just walked out of the hospital when he saw Akashi waiting for him at the entrance with a beaming smile.

"Good evening."

"G-good evening... What do you want this time?" Shinnō blurted out, almost by reflex.

Akashi walked up to him and smiled affably. "What could I possibly be up to? I'm here to walk you home. Let's take a stroll. Don't you like going for a walk after dinner?"

Akashi's smile made Shinnō instinctively feel that danger was near, and he broke out in a cold sweat. "N-no, that's all right, isn't it? I still have to go back and write up what you asked for. I'm afraid I won't have time."

"You can finish it tomorrow." Akashi walked over to stand beside him. A snake had already slipped silently out of his sleeve and crawled into Shinnō's clothes.

Orochimaru's techniques came in very handy when you had the upper hand and wanted to bully someone.

A chill crept up Shinnō's back, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"Where are we going?"

"To the woods outside the village. Somewhere no one's around."

Akashi spoke casually.

The woods? Somewhere no one was around?

Shinnō had a bad feeling about this, as if something ominous was about to happen. But what could he do? He could only hope Akashi would go easy on him.

At Konoha Gate, the two of them brazenly walked out, using gathering herbs as their excuse.

The gate guard sighed. "That new doctor, Shinnō, is so dedicated. He's still going out to gather herbs this late. But with all the injuries and deaths lately... I hope he'll stick around for a while."

The person beside him nodded in agreement. "He cured my problem. I can perform like a man again now..."

"Hahaha, you really have no shame."

"But isn't the kid beside him Uchiha Akashi?"

"That's strange. Why is someone from the Uchiha Clan accompanying Dr. Shinnō? Maybe he's his new assistant. Whatever, it's none of our business."

Beneath the silver moon, the two guards chatted on and on.

Akashi had already led Shinnō into the woods outside the village, his eyes fixed on the Heaven Cursed Seal.