Saturday, three in the afternoon.
It was the time designated by the Main House elders for handling affairs collectively.
Hyuga Seisen changed his clothes and left home, preparing to report the Caged Bird bounty incident to the Main House.
The Hyuga Clan's territory was clearly divided into two major areas: the Main House and the Branch House.
The Branch House area was crowded and cramped, packed with low buildings and small courtyards. Every household was squeezed tightly together, leaving barely any room to breathe.
Meanwhile, though the Main House area was roughly the same size as the Branch House's, its sparse population and abundant land allowed broad, luxurious mansions to stand one after another in imposing grandeur.
Only a single road separated the two areas, yet at a glance, they seemed like two entirely different worlds.
He arrived at the Main House elders' compound and submitted the scroll detailing the Caged Bird bounty incident.
Information concerning such a major event was self-evidently important to the Hyuga Clan.
By convention, submitting intelligence of this level counted as a contribution to the clan.
He could choose to learn either the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or Rotation.
After careful consideration, Hyuga Seisen chose Rotation.
However, the prerequisite for learning the secret technique was complete mastery of the Branch House's Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.
Hyuga Seisen had not yet met that requirement, so he could only return for now.
Once home, he began analyzing the possibility of cultivating Sage Mode according to his plan.
Senjutsu Chakra was formed by mixing spiritual energy, physical energy, and Natural Energy.
The three had to remain balanced. If there was too much Natural Energy, one could easily turn to stone.
If there was too little Natural Energy, it could not be successfully mixed into Senjutsu Chakra.
According to Sage Fukasaku's explanation when Hokage cultivated senjutsu, the ratio of the three needed to remain at 1:1:1.
In other words, two portions of ordinary chakra plus one portion of Natural Energy could be mixed into Senjutsu Chakra.
Following Hokage's cultivation process, one first applied toad oil to sense Natural Energy.
Once the body adapted, one would control the absorption of Natural Energy without applying toad oil.
During this process, the body had to remain still, while the ratio of Natural Energy had to be strictly controlled.
He had already completed the step of sensing Natural Energy through Spirit Particle Gathering, so he could skip the stage of applying toad oil.
But absorbing Natural Energy afterward would not be so simple.
In the original story, Sage Fukasaku stood guard with a stick during this step at Mount Myoboku, constantly dispersing the Natural Energy whenever someone began to petrify.
Even so, aside from the Sage of Six Paths, only Jiraiya, Minato, and Hokage had ever been mentioned as successfully cultivating it over the centuries.
Most others had basically turned into statues, becoming part of Mount Myoboku's scenery.
That showed just how difficult this step was.
One careless mistake, and he could die right here.
But to simply give up on exploring it like this, Hyuga Seisen truly could not accept that.
The original story mentioned that cultivating Sage Mode required an enormous amount of chakra to avoid being devoured by Natural Energy.
But in truth, if the problem of Natural Energy devouring someone could be solved, Sage Mode was even more necessary for those with little chakra than for those with abundant chakra.
Adding one-third Natural Energy to chakra could increase the power of ninjutsu twofold or even severalfold, while also granting Natural Energy perception and improving bodily reactions.
That meant using only two-thirds of the original chakra amount to achieve a greater effect. For every three ninjutsu used, one could save enough chakra for another. For someone with little chakra, that was an enormous improvement.
The difficulty of Natural Energy lay in controlling it so that it remained at one-third.
Though he did not have the Uzumaki Clan's enormous chakra reserves to serve as a buffer,
if he combined the Byakugan with pressure point strikes, could he regulate the amount of Natural Energy absorbed within a certain area of his body?
Then, based on that precisely measured amount of Natural Energy, he could refine a corresponding amount of chakra, thereby ensuring that the ratio of the three remained balanced.
Even if his limited chakra meant Sage Mode would not last long enough for him to use ninjutsu as freely as Hokage did,
the improvement would still be immense even if he used that small amount of Senjutsu Chakra solely in taijutsu combat.
Hyuga Seisen sorted through his ideas one by one, preparing to gradually verify their feasibility.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A sudden series of knocks shattered Hyuga Seisen's train of thought.
Who is it?
He got up and opened the door, and a fat man appeared in his view.
The moment the fat man saw Hyuga Seisen, he grinned and leaned closer.
"I heard you were injured, so I came to see you."
Though the fat man spoke words of concern, his round head kept peering through the doorway while his nose twitched, sniffing for something.
"What did your grandma cook for you again? It smells so good!"
As he spoke, he unceremoniously shoved Hyuga Seisen aside with his bulky body and strode inside as though he owned the place.
"Hyuga Ryosuke, you're here to mooch food and drinks again."
Somewhat helpless, Hyuga Seisen closed the door and followed him inside.
The fat man was named Hyuga Ryosuke. He had been the previous owner's neighbor, and the two had grown up together.
But his talent was better than the previous owner's. He had graduated at nine, and three years had passed since then.
When they were children, his parents were away from home year-round, so whenever he came over to play, he often stayed for meals.
Over time, they became familiar with each other.
"What do you mean, mooching food and drinks? That sounds awful."
Hyuga Ryosuke refuted him righteously, though his feet did not slow in the slightest as he headed straight for the kitchen. "I came to check on you, and our grandma..."
"Hey, Grandma, I'm here to help..."
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