Reporting the Situation

Saturday afternoon, three o'clock.

It was the time designated by the main family elders for the centralized handling of affairs.

Hyuga Seisen changed his clothes and headed out, preparing to report the Caged Bird bounty incident to the main family.

The Hyuga Clan's territory was clearly divided into two major areas: the main family and the branch family.

The branch family's area was crowded and cramped, packed with low buildings and small courtyards. Every household was pressed tightly together, leaving scarcely room to breathe.

The main family's area, despite being roughly equal in size to the branch family's, had far fewer people and far more land. Broad, luxurious mansions stood throughout it, imposing and grand.

Only a single road separated the two areas, yet at a glance, they seemed like two entirely different worlds.

He arrived at the main family elders' compound and submitted the scroll concerning the Caged Bird bounty incident.

Information about an event of this magnitude was self-evidently important to the Hyuga Clan.

By convention, submitting intelligence of this level counted as a service to the clan.

He could choose to learn either Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or Rotation.

After weighing his options repeatedly, Hyuga Seisen chose Rotation.

However, the prerequisite for learning the secret technique was fully mastering the branch family's Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.

Hyuga Seisen had yet to meet that requirement, so he could only return home for now.

Once home, he began following his plan and analyzing the possibility of cultivating Sage Mode.

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 three needed to maintain a ratio of 1:1:1.

In other words, two portions of ordinary chakra and one portion of natural energy could be mixed into senjutsu chakra.

Following Hokage's training steps, one first applied toad oil to sense natural energy.

Once the body had adapted, one would control the absorption of natural energy without applying toad oil.

Throughout the process, one needed to remain still and strictly control the ratio of natural energy.

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, Mount Myoboku had Sage Fukasaku standing guard with a stick during this stage, constantly dispersing the natural energy whenever the trainee showed the slightest sign of petrification.

Even so, aside from the Sage of Six Paths, only Jiraiya, Minato, and Hokage had been mentioned as succeeding in senjutsu training over the past thousand years.

The others had basically all turned into statues, becoming part of Mount Myoboku's scenery.

That showed just how difficult this step was.

One small mistake, and he could end up dying here.

But honestly, Hyuga Seisen was unwilling to simply give up exploring it.

The original story mentioned that one needed an enormous amount of chakra to cultivate Sage Mode without being devoured by natural energy.

But if the problem of natural energy devouring the user could be solved, then compared to those with abundant chakra, those with little chakra needed Sage Mode even more.

Adding one-third natural energy to chakra could increase the power of ninjutsu twofold or even severalfold, while also granting natural energy sensing and improved physical reactions.

That meant using only two-thirds of the original chakra amount to achieve a greater effect. Every three ninjutsu techniques would save enough chakra for one more, an enormous improvement for someone with little chakra.

The difficulty with natural energy lay in controlling it so that it remained at one-third.

He might not have the Uzumaki Clan's immense chakra reserves as a buffer.

But if he used the Byakugan together with chakra point strikes, could he regulate the absorbed natural energy within a certain area of his body?

Then, based on that fixed quantity of natural energy, he could refine a corresponding amount of chakra, ensuring that the ratio of the three components remained balanced.

Even if his low chakra reserves meant he could not maintain Sage Mode for long or use ninjutsu as freely as Hokage did.

Even using that small amount of senjutsu chakra in taijutsu combat would be a tremendous improvement.

Hyuga Seisen sorted through his ideas one by one, preparing to gradually verify their feasibility.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A sudden series of knocks broke Hyuga Seisen's train of thought.

Who is it?

He got up and opened the door, and a fat man appeared in his field of vision.

The moment the fat man saw Hyuga Seisen, he grinned and sidled closer.

"I heard you were hurt, so I came to check on you."

Though the fat man spoke words of concern, his round head kept craning toward the doorway as he sniffed around.

"What delicious food did your grandma cook this time? It smells so good!"

As he spoke, he unceremoniously squeezed past Hyuga Seisen with his bulky body and strode inside as if he knew the place by heart.

"Hyuga Ryosuke, you're here to mooch food and drinks again."

Hyuga Seisen sighed helplessly, shut 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 years old, and three years had passed since then.

When they were young, his parents were away from home year-round, so whenever he came over to play, he would often stay for meals.

Over time, they grew familiar with each other.

"What do you mean, mooching food and drinks? That makes it sound so bad."

Hyuga Ryosuke retorted righteously, but his feet did not slow in the slightest as he headed straight for the kitchen. "I came to check on you, and Grandma too..."

"Hey, Grandma, I'm here to help..."