Is That Yin Gathering to Replenish Yang?

Morning sunlight spilled over a small river outside Konoha, making its surface sparkle.

However, the tranquil scene was quickly shattered by an exasperated roar.

"Ahhh! I sank again! What the hell kind of training is this?!"

With a massive splash, Naruto Uzumaki dropped into the river like a weight, soaking Ebisu, the Special Jonin standing on the bank.

"Idiot!"

Ebisu pushed up his black round sunglasses, looking utterly frustrated. "Naruto, I've told you countless times! You need to continuously and steadily release Chakra from the soles of your feet! Your Chakra is as messy as a ball of yarn shredded by a cat!"

"Quit nagging! I know that too! But..."

Naruto climbed ashore dripping wet, shaking himself like a drowned rat. "I keep feeling like there's some strange force inside my body causing trouble. I can't focus at all!"

Under the shade of a willow tree not far from them, Ye Tian sat on a small portable stool, holding a homemade fishing rod as he stared blankly at the river.

More precisely, he was "fishing for enforcement."

Of course, this time he wasn't fishing for Rain ninja, but actual fish.

"Ahem... Ebisu-sensei, this is what they mean by 'haste makes waste.'"

Ye Tian slowly reeled in his rod. The hook was empty—because he had not put on any bait and was merely practicing the feel of Suspended Thread Pulse Diagnosis. "Naruto's current state is like a bucket filled with water that's still being shaken violently. How can you expect him to keep his balance?"

"Hmph, that's because his foundation is too poor!" Although Ebisu felt some sympathy for Ye Tian, this "patient," he had little interest in his training theories. "As an elite instructor, I have an obligation to correct his bad habits!"

Ye Tian shook his head without arguing.

Through his Divine Sense, Naruto's Meridians were indeed a complete mess.

The Five Elements Seal Orochimaru had left behind was like a lock, forcibly cutting off the flow between Naruto's own Chakra and the Nine-Tails Chakra, causing a conflict between the odd- and even-numbered sealing formulas.

"This sealing technique works on principles similar to the Cultivator world's Meridian-Severing Hand."

Ye Tian took a sip of Goji Berry Tea from his thermos and thought, It wouldn't be impossible for me to force it open with Spiritual Power. But that would disrupt the plot, and besides... if this fool doesn't go through this hardship, how will he ever meet that legendary Pervy Sage?

Thinking of that important figure who was about to appear, the corner of Ye Tian's mouth curled into an imperceptible smile.

"Ebisu-sensei."

Ye Tian suddenly stood, stowed his fishing rod in the bamboo basket on his back, and clutched his chest as he coughed twice. "Ahem... It's too damp here. It's bad for my joints. And Naruto seems to have trained enough, so how about... we go relax at the hot spring district over there? I heard hot water helps Chakra flow."

"Hot springs?" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up at those words. "Awesome! Let's go to the hot springs! I want iced milk!"

Ebisu had wanted to refuse, but seeing Ye Tian's frail expression—the kind that seemed to say he would die if Ebisu refused—and realizing Naruto truly was not in the right state, he could only sigh helplessly.

"Fine, just this once. Rest is also part of training."

Konoha's hot spring district steamed with heat.

Though it was daytime, business remained lively. White vapor drifted through the streets, and the air carried the scent of sulfur and... a certain hormone-filled atmosphere that made people restless.

"Whoa! So this is a hot spring!" Naruto excitedly rushed toward the entrance to the men's bath.

However, just as they passed the tall wall surrounding the women's bath—

A particularly lecherous and poorly restrained "heh heh heh" came from above the wall.

Ye Tian halted.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward the wall, which stood a full three meters high.

Within the range of his Divine Sense, an enormous and frightening energy fluctuation was crouched atop it.

That was not ordinary Chakra.

It was a kind of... vast, wild power, as though it had merged with the surrounding world and nature, yet carried a trace of uncontrolled violence.

"Natural Energy..."

Ye Tian's pupils contracted slightly, and stormy waves rose within his heart.

This was the first time since coming to the Naruto world that he had sensed such high-grade stuff from so close.

Compared to the Chakra ninja squeezed from their cells, this energy was closer to the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth in the Cultivator world. Though impure and mixed, even filled with a beastlike primal aura, its level had absolutely touched the threshold of Unity of Heaven and Man!

"So this is... Senjutsu Chakra?"

Ye Tian quickly analyzed it in his mind. Without being filtered through a Spiritual Root, it seems rather violent, but the sheer quantity is enormous. If my Spiritual Power is a clear little stream, then the energy inside this man... is practically the Yellow River carrying mud and sand!

"Who's there?!"

Though Ebisu lacked Divine Sense, the vigilance of an elite instructor allowed him to immediately notice something wrong.

He abruptly looked up and saw a tall figure with long white hair and a red vest, sticking his butt out as he lay atop the wall. He held binoculars in his hands, peeping through a gap into the women's bath!

"You shameless bastard! How dare you peep at the sacred Konoha hot springs!"

Ebisu flew into a rage, the sense of justice of a Special Jonin erupting at once. "Get down here!"

His figure flashed as he ran up the wall, intending to teach this pervert a lesson.

However—

"Don't make so much noise! It's getting to the good part!"

The white-haired figure did not even turn around. He merely waved a hand casually.

He did not form any seals.

With that simple wave, a visible blast of air erupted instantly. It was the fusion of pure strength and Chakra.

Bang!

Before Ebisu could even see his opponent's movement clearly, he was struck as if by a speeding train. With a scream, he flew back even faster than he had charged forward.

Boom!

He slammed heavily into the ground, rolled his eyes back, and immediately passed out.

"Ebisu-sensei?!" Naruto was dumbfounded.

One move?

That sunglasses-wearing uncle who always talked about being "elite" had been instantly defeated by a casual slap from this peeping pervert?

"So noisy. Young people these days really don't understand romance."

The person atop the wall finally turned around.

He did not immediately jump down. Instead, he struck an absurdly exaggerated pose—balancing on one foot, both hands waving, his white hair fluttering in the steam.

"Since you have sincerely asked!"

"Then I shall graciously tell you!"

"I am the Toad Spirit Sage Sudo of Mount Myoboku, also known as..."

Bang!

A huge burst of white smoke exploded, and a gigantic toad appeared out of thin air, carrying the man down to the ground.

"Pervy Sage... cough, no, Lord Jiraiya."

Standing nearby, Ye Tian watched the greasy middle-aged uncle wildly striking poses and forcibly suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth.

This was one of the legendary Sannin?

His whole style... truly was as bizarre as the rumors claimed.

"Who are you?" Naruto pointed at Jiraiya with a disgusted expression. "Why are you riding a giant green toad? And you were peeping just now, right? You were definitely peeping!"

"That was research! Research, understand?!"

Jiraiya roared righteously. "It's necessary observation for literary and artistic creation! I'm a novelist! Can a novelist's work be called peeping?"

"Tch, you're obviously just a pervy old man." Naruto looked down on him.

Jiraiya yelled in anger, preparing to teach this brat who did not know his place a lesson.

Just then—

A weak, gentle voice full of the air of "academic discussion" cut in.

"Ahem... Senior, I think you may have a point."

Jiraiya and Naruto turned their heads at the same time.

They saw Ye Tian leaning on his cane as he slowly stepped forward. Rather than accusing Jiraiya like Naruto had, he examined him from head to toe with an extremely professional gaze, as though an old Chinese physician were diagnosing a patient.

"Oh? Kid, you understand?" Jiraiya's interest was piqued, and he raised a brow.

"A little. Just a little."

Ye Tian pulled out a small notebook for taking notes from his clothes and began spouting nonsense with a solemn expression.

"I see that your complexion is rosy, your blood and vitality are abundant, and faint spiritual light seems to gush from the crown of your head... This clearly indicates that your Yang energy is excessive and your vigor has nowhere to go."

"Excessive Yang energy?" Jiraiya was baffled by the novel phrase.

"That's right."

Ye Tian pointed toward the women's bath, his tone as serious as though he were giving a lecture.

"A lone Yin cannot grow, and solitary Yang cannot flourish. The cultivation method you practice—Senjutsu—should follow an extremely firm and Yang-oriented path, causing an imbalance of Yin and Yang within your body. Therefore, you need to use your vision to absorb external Yin energy, allowing Dragon-Tiger Convergence and balance between Yin and Yang inside your body."

"How is that peeping? This is clearly a profound cultivation method of gathering Yin to replenish Yang!"

After finishing, Ye Tian cupped his hands toward Jiraiya with an expression of admiration. "Senior, you are willing to bear the scorn of the world for the sake of cultivation. This junior truly admires your devotion to the Dao!"

The entire scene fell silent.

Naruto's mouth dropped open so wide that his jaw nearly hit the ground. "B-Big Brother Ye Tian, what are you saying? Are you serious?"

Jiraiya, meanwhile, froze for several seconds.

Then his eyes abruptly lit up!

It was the wild ecstasy of finding a kindred spirit, a confidant, perhaps even a soulmate!

"Yes! Exactly! That's it!"

Jiraiya excitedly grabbed Ye Tian's shoulders—Ye Tian cooperatively swayed as though weak—and burst into laughter.

"Kid! You have good judgment! I always said everyone else is drunk while I alone am sober! What perversion? It's Yin-Yang harmony! It's sacrifice for art! I never thought Konoha had someone as knowledgeable as you!"

"Ahem... You flatter me, Senior."

Ye Tian discreetly freed himself from Jiraiya's claws and thought, This old pervert has quite a grip. As expected of someone skilled in body cultivation.

"Since we are fellow travelers on the same path."

Seizing the moment, Ye Tian pulled an ancient wine jar sealed with red paper from the treasure-box-like basket on his back.

"Meeting is fate. This is my family's Century-Aged Spirit Wine. I originally intended to use it to treat myself, but today I shall offer it to you, Senior, for your appraisal."

This was actually high-proof erguotou he had exchanged from the system store, mixed with a little Spirit Spring water and several stalks of Tiger Bone Grass from this world. It was low-quality medicinal wine to a Cultivator, but to a drunkard in the Naruto world...

Jiraiya suspiciously accepted the jar, pulled out the stopper, and took a sniff.

Boom!

An incomparably overbearing, spicy aroma of wine, carrying rich Spiritual Energy, instantly surged straight to the crown of his head!

"Good wine!"

Jiraiya's eyes immediately turned into stars, and drool nearly flowed from his mouth. He knew good liquor when he encountered it. Just from the scent, he could tell this wine was a hundred times stronger than that bland daiginjo stuff!

"Kid! I've decided we're friends!"

Jiraiya impatiently took a gulp and felt a line of fire slide down his throat, making all the Chakra in his body boil. "Amazing! This is incredible!"

Seeing that Jiraiya had completely fallen for it, Ye Tian gave Naruto, who was still staring blankly nearby, a meaningful look.

"Naruto, what are you standing around for? Ebisu-sensei is unconscious, and no one is teaching you now. This man is a master a hundred times stronger than Ebisu-sensei. Hurry up and ask him to take you as his student!"

"Huh? This pervy old man is that strong?" Naruto looked unconvinced.

"Hmph, kid, it looks like I'll have to show you something."

Jiraiya was in high spirits after drinking, and having met a "kindred spirit" like Ye Tian made his urge to show off explode.

"Watch closely! This is true water walking!"

Jiraiya flashed and instantly appeared on the river beside them. Unlike ordinary ninja, he did not tread carefully. He walked on the water as if it were level ground and even performed a tap dance, without creating the slightest ripple beneath his feet.

"Th-That's amazing!" Naruto stared in awe.

"Well? Want to learn?" Jiraiya smugly raised his chin.

"I do! Teach me, Pervy Sage!" Naruto immediately rushed over.

"Who are you calling Pervy Sage?! Call me Toad Sage!"

Watching the noisy old man and young boy over there, Ye Tian returned to his little stool and took out the wine jar that had barely warmed in his hands—Jiraiya had only taken one sip before Ye Tian snatched it back. After all, the wine was expensive.

"The plan worked."

Ye Tian narrowed his eyes as he looked at the white-haired man, who appeared improper but contained astonishing Natural Energy within his body.

"Jiraiya... Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu..."

"If I can get the method for absorbing Natural Energy from him and combine it with my cultivation technique..."

"Could I also create a Sage Mode belonging to Cultivators in this world?"

At that thought, the smile on Ye Tian's lips deepened.

This next month was destined not to be boring.