"Ancestor," Uchiha Cheng quickly seized the opportunity to curry favor. "Since you've appeared here, I take it you have a way to solve my physical problem!"
"Indeed. Three years ago, I discovered several souls carrying power from another world had appeared in the Ninja World. The future of the Ninja World is bound to be full of new upheavals, and it will need new power to help it. After all, I'm already dead, and my strength is limited. I can no longer protect the living world. As it happened, around that time, I discovered the changes in you. It was almost as if fate had led me to you—a perfect successor." The Sage of Six Paths spoke.
Power from another world? Several? Could there be other Transmigrators? Uchiha Cheng's heart tightened, but judging by the Sage of Six Paths' reaction, it didn't seem like he'd discovered Cheng's origins.
Could it be that the other souls carrying power from another world had concealed my presence? After all, I'm a blank slate. I have nothing at all. Even though I'm an Uchiha, I nearly got killed by the bloodline I was born with.
"Next, I'll draw Natural Energy into your body to cure your strange illness. Pay close attention to what you experience during the process. It'll be good for you."
The Sage of Six Paths pressed his staff against Cheng's brow.
Uchiha Cheng was connected to his body once more. Though his soul was in the spiritual world, he could now sense his physical body.
He could clearly feel endless Natural Energy surging toward him and pouring into his body. His life force, which had been all but drained away, began to flourish again. The surging Natural Energy kept flowing in, and his eyes began to exert a powerful pull, continuously absorbing the energy and turning it into his own strength.
That's a lot! Uchiha Cheng was taken aback. If not for the Sage of Six Paths, he couldn't imagine who else could have supplied this much energy.
As the Natural Energy flowed into him, a sense of fulfillment spread through his body, as if a traveler in the desert had suddenly found fresh water. During the process, the Natural Energy revealed itself clearly to him, allowing him to sense it more deeply and understand how to absorb it.
Sage Mode! He realized what was happening. The Sage of Six Paths wanted him to learn how to use Sage Mode during the process.
He didn't let the opportunity slip by. He tried to commit every subtle change to memory, repeatedly following the method from the original story to sense and absorb Natural Energy.
After an unknown amount of time, Uchiha Cheng realized that he could absorb Natural Energy into his body by his own power. The amount was minuscule, but it meant he'd taken his first step toward mastering Sage Mode.
At that point, the pull of his eyes began to weaken, then finally disappeared. The flow of Natural Energy gradually came to a stop as well.
"All right. Your bloodline has awakened," the Sage of Six Paths said, lowering his staff and nodding with satisfaction. "Now, try out your new power."
Uchiha Cheng slowly opened his eyes. Though they were in a spiritual space, his eyes had developed the same oval, purple patterns as the Sage of Six Paths'.
"Very good, very good." The Sage of Six Paths smiled as he looked at Cheng's eyes. "My task is complete. The next task is yours."
"Ancestor, you still haven't told me what the task is." Uchiha Cheng was confused. The Sage of Six Paths had said a lot, cured his illness, and awakened a new power for him, but still hadn't told him what the task was.