Pallas

Improving physical fitness is merely icing on the cake; changes in comprehension and potential are the fundamental factors.

He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness deep into his body; the feeling was hard to describe in words.

It's like someone who's worn matte glasses for years suddenly having them replaced with high-definition lenses; they can see completely different levels of detail when looking at the same thing.

He tried to mentally replay his battles with Akainu, Kizaru, Steel Bone Kong, and Saint Imu during the Summit War, and those details he hadn't had time to think about before were now vividly clear in his mind.

Akainu's Hound Dog will have a very brief charging motion in its magma-transformed right arm before it attacks; that motion itself is a warning signal with a sufficiently large lead time.

Saint Imu's Demonic Energy would contract slightly before attacking, and then explode—he had relied entirely on instinct to withstand it during the battle, and now, looking back, those overlooked window-of-prediction moments were glaringly obvious.

It's not just about fighting.

He recalled the report that Vallen had previously submitted regarding the research and development direction of the second generation of Genetic Enhancer. He had read it once and felt that the direction was correct, but the details still needed to be refined.

But now, as those raw research data are rearranged and recombined in my mind, several possible paths for improvement naturally emerge—could the phagocytic efficiency of the Hashirama Cells be further improved using Chakra resonance?

Could the compatibility differences between the Origin Drug and different Uchiha blood types be compensated for by adjusting the proportion of Senjutsu Chakra injected?

Thoughts sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, impossible to suppress.

He slowly opened his eyes, and a scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan spun slightly in his pupils.

The crisp sound of Shuriken the Training Ground outside the window still lingers. The Clan Academy bell has just rung, and a few children run past under the eaves, their wooden clogs making a clear clattering sound on the stone pavement.

He leaned back in his chair, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This is what Will Kin – not an immediate surge in combat power, but rather the opening of a door.

Behind the door lay his limit, the limit of the Uchiha, which had been redefined.

Natsu leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes. The moment his consciousness sank into the spiritual world, the familiar crimson-gold light enveloped him like a tide.

This space, existing between reality and illusion, is now many times larger than it was originally. The air is filled with the warm and gentle aura unique to Senjutsu Chakra, and in the distance, the dark golden half-body phantom of Susanoo standing quietly in the depths of the light mist.

Kunwu was the first to notice him enter.

The palm-sized, crimson-gold fox darted out of the light mist, its four short legs kicking wildly in the air, before crashing headfirst into his arms. Its bushy tail swept back and forth across his chin, and it let out a series of urgent purrs, as if complaining about why he hadn't come for so long.

Natsu reached out and pinched the back of its neck. Just as he was about to say something, Kunwu suddenly poked its head out from his arms, its two pointed ears turned half a circle, and stood up straight in a certain direction.

Its tail tip bristled into a ball of fur, and it emitted a low whimper that was a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

Then Natsu noticed something behind him.

It wasn't the fluctuation of Chakra, nor the aura of Senjutsu, but rather a more ancient, darker force, carrying a profound power incompatible with this space.

He turned around, his gaze passing over the layers of light mist, landing on the shadowy area at the edge of the mental space that was not yet completely covered by the crimson-gold light.

A giant beast was crouching there.

It was enormous; its hundreds-of-meters-tall form was extremely oppressive even in the realm of the mind, a world without physical limits.

Its dark red mane cascaded down its back like solidified lava, its bulging muscles rolled beneath its fur, and each breath sounded like muffled thunder from the depths of the earth.

Its horns were curved and menacing, and its dark purple pupils were quietly and scrutinizing him.

Pallas, a demon-type spirit from the Rock Kingdom, has become his contracted beast after being modified and strengthened by the system.

Natsu slowly exhaled and walked towards it.

Kunwu jumped from his arms onto his shoulder, its four little paws clinging tightly to his collar, its tail still bristling, but it refused to get off his shoulder.

When Natsu reached the giant beast, he couldn't even reach the joints of its front paws.

Pallas lowered his head, his nose less than a foot from his face, his breath carrying a strange smell of sulfur mixed with charred wood.

He raised his hand and placed his palm on its nose.

The crimson-gold Senjutsu Chakra flowed through his palm, gently enveloping Pallas's massive body.

The moment it was touched by this force, the behemoth trembled, its dark purple pupils dilated slightly, and then slowly narrowed.

It lowered its head and gently touched Natsu's shoulder with the tip of its nose, as if confirming something.

After confirming that it had done so, it quietly crouched down, its huge tail swaying slowly behind it.

Kunwu perched on Natsu's shoulder, cautiously extending its paw to quickly pat Pallas's nose before darting back and burying its face in Natsu's neck.

Pallas merely snorted, a faint, almost indulgent light flashing in his dark purple pupils.

Natsu patted its forehead and scratched Kunwu's chin, a slight smile playing on her lips.

The Void Demon Fox, the demonic elf, and now him, the holder of the Indra's Eye —this spiritual space is becoming increasingly lively.

Deep within a side hall of the Naka Shrine, a hidden door, engraved with Sealing Jutsu, slowly slid open, revealing stone steps leading to an underground training chamber.

This training room was personally supervised by Uchiha Natsu after the Summit War. The walls are inlaid with Chakra- powered cold lights, the floor is paved with obsidian slabs mined from the Origin Island mine, and the surrounding area is filled with Barrier Ninjutsu to suppress energy leakage.

At this moment, the six people were sitting cross-legged in the center of the cultivation room, each enveloped by a thick, almost liquid, Natural Energy.

Fugaku's brows furrowed deeply.

He was the most familiar with Sage Mode among the six—he had been the first to try cultivating it when Natsu had just received the inheritance of this Senjutsu from Kunwu.

That time, it took him three whole days to barely touch the threshold, while Natsu only took a quarter of an hour.

Now that he's picked it up again, he originally thought that with the combined benefits of Hashirama Cells and the Origin Drug, he could at least be faster than last time.

However, the truth is that his Susanoo can indeed sense Natural Energy and guide it into his body, but once that energy enters his meridians, it's like a wild horse that doesn't know its way around, refusing to merge with his Chakra.