Natural Energy Sage Body

Karin's mother had managed to recover this time not only because she had rested well these past few days, but also because the Military Ration Pill Lin Chongshu had secretly slipped her had helped immensely.

Military Ration Pills with that kind of effect were normally only given to her by the village when there were too many injured people and she had been bitten to the point of near collapse, to restore her strength.

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The chunin saw what Lin Chongshu had given Karin's mother but said nothing. If Lin Chongshu was willing to spend his personal supplies maintaining the village's ninja tools, he was more than happy to let him.

Lin Chongshu returned to his place and leaned against the mountain wall.

He knew there was a price to doing this. If he treated Karin's mother too well, it would become harder to draw negative emotions from her in the future.

But he could not just watch her die. She had to stay alive for him to have a chance.

Getting her body might be satisfying for a while, but getting her heart would unlock far more positions.

That evening, the chunin arranged the watch rotation, and everyone finally began to rest.

The temperature difference between day and night in the mountains was considerable. Wind howled as it poured through the cracks in the rocks.

Suddenly, the system notification sounded.

[Detected strong negative emotions from Jugo toward the host: rage. Jugo has lost his mind due to Cursed Seal Transformation and equally hates everyone present. Determined to be indiscriminate hostility. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Natural Energy Sage Body +1.]

Before Lin Chongshu even opened his eyes, his body had already rolled to the side.

A figure crushed through the spot where he had just been lying, and the stone slab it landed on cracked beneath its feet.

The beast-like Jugo was a size larger than he had been in the photographs. His skin had turned grayish-brown, several thick bone spikes bulged from his back, and an incoherent shrill laugh came from his mouth.

"Kill all of you! Hehehehe!"

The chunin was the first to react. He formed hand seals with both hands and sharply inhaled.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

The difference in air pressure tore several high-speed wind blades through the air, slashing toward Jugo with piercing whistles.

But when the wind blades struck his chest and shoulders, they left only a few shallow white marks. They did not even break his skin.

The chunin did not stop. His hand seals changed in rapid succession as he took a deep breath, his chest swelling. "Fire Release: Garuda!"

Three streams of flame erupted from his mouth, converging in midair into a fire pillar shaped like a dragon and crashing into Jugo.

Jugo was swallowed whole by the flames. The heat warped the surrounding air, and several genin instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces.

When the flames dispersed, Jugo was still standing where he was. Black smoke rose from his grayish-brown skin, and a small patch of the bone spikes on his chest had been scorched black.

He looked down at his chest, then raised his head. The grin on his face widened further. "Hehehehe!"

They had not broken through his defense at all.

The genin also began to counterattack in a flurry of panic.

One genin flung out three kunai wrapped with Explosive Tags, which pinned themselves into the ground in front of Jugo.

Another genin threw several shuriken at the same time, shooting them toward Jugo.

Jugo could not even be bothered to block. The Explosive Tags only blackened a small patch of skin on his leg, while the shuriken clanged off his body, leaving behind not even a red mark.

Jugo's red eyes swept toward Lin Chongshu, and the system notification immediately sounded.

[Detected strong negative emotions from Jugo toward the host: rage. Reward extraction complete. Obtained: Natural Energy Sage Body +1.]

Lin Chongshu did not even need to look up at him. The instant his mind gave a ding, he immediately dodged to the side.

He rolled to the left, and the spot where he had just been standing was smashed into a crater by Jugo's fist.

At that moment, a genin crouched down and slapped both hands onto the ground. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

Two sharp stone spikes suddenly thrust up from beneath Jugo's feet, stabbing toward his abdomen and chest from directly below.

The stone spikes struck his body with dull impacts. They did not pierce through him, merely holding him back for an instant.

Jugo looked down at the stone spikes still pushing upward beneath his feet, raised one foot, and stomped down. The spikes snapped at their roots and shattered into several pieces.

Then Jugo threw a punch, instantly sending that genin flying. He did not move again.

[Detected strong negative emotions from Jugo toward the host. Reward extraction complete. Obtained: Natural Energy Sage Body +1.]

The system notification and Jugo's fist arrived almost simultaneously.

As if he had activated Observation Haki, Lin Chongshu abruptly retreated, Jugo's fist sweeping past the tip of his nose.

Jugo's strike missed. Before his gaze could lock onto Lin Chongshu again, he was distracted by a shuriken thrown by the chunin and turned to pounce in that direction.

Lin Chongshu took the chance to widen the distance by several more steps.

He felt his body becoming lighter and lighter, while strength steadily filled him. Natural energy was pouring into his body from every direction.

That was also a trait of Jugo's Sage Body. When his emotions fluctuated, he could not control the absorption of natural energy.

Lin Chongshu was absorbing Jugo's power as if licking blood from a blade's edge. Every time the system notification sounded, he knew Jugo had targeted him again. He would immediately dodge, then wait for Jugo to be drawn away by the others.

One notification, one dodge, one absorption.

More and more genin fell. Lin Chongshu counted the fallen figures in his heart as he slowly moved toward the edge of the battlefield.

By the time Jugo's gaze swept over the last genin still standing, Lin Chongshu had already retreated to the edge of the mountain's shadow.

At that point, only the chunin, who could not escape, and that genin remained on the battlefield.

Jugo charged forward. Seeing the huge grayish-brown figure rushing at him, the genin frantically switched to the hand seal he knew best. "Wind Release: Air Current Dance!"

Two weak gusts of wind pushed out from his palms.

The wind carried sand and dust toward Jugo's face, but Jugo did not slow down. One punch tore through the sandstorm.

The genin was instantly sent flying. His back slammed into the mountain wall, a bone spike punched a large hole through his chest, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He was taking more breaths out than in.

"You stinking woman! Hurry over here!" Clutching his chest, the genin shouted toward Karin's mother with the last of his strength.

Karin's mother reflexively rolled up her sleeve and was just about to step forward when a hand grabbed her arm.

She turned around and looked at Lin Chongshu with a confused expression.

"Do you still want to live the way you used to?" Lin Chongshu asked.

His voice was not loud, nearly drowned out by Jugo's roars, but she heard it.

The wounded man was cursing Karin's mother from the bottom of his heart, hating her for not immediately rushing over to let him bite her.

Now that he saw Lin Chongshu actually stopping Karin's mother, the resentment in his heart immediately shifted to Lin Chongshu.

[Detected strong negative emotions from the target toward the host: anger. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Chakra +1.]