The Four-Tails captured

Neji felt that this natural energy seemed a little unnatural. It reminded him of something, so he asked, "In your eyes, does the sun contain an enormous amount of natural energy?"

Armored Dragon shook its head and said, "Father, the sun is too far away. I can't sense anything there."

Neji frowned. "In your eyes, does natural energy exist in everything?"

Armored Dragon nodded its enormous head. "That's right, Father. In my eyes, natural energy is everywhere, spread throughout the world. Flying insects, animals, humans, even stones and inanimate objects all contain natural energy. The only difference is how much."

Neji nodded, then thought of something and asked, "Could you try adjusting your chakra? When you create it, mix spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy in a ratio of one to one to one."

This was the optimal ratio for senjutsu chakra. If Armored Dragon could produce senjutsu chakra using that ratio, it would mean Neji could work backward from the senjutsu chakra to sense natural energy, allowing him to develop his own Sage Mode.

"Father, I'll give it a try. I think this may take quite some time," Armored Dragon said respectfully.

"Mm." Neji nodded. "There's no rush. Take your time."

He added a warning. "Don't experiment with your main body. Use a shadow clone first."

Sage Mode carried enormous risks. One careless mistake could cost a life, and Neji had no desire to lose the tailed beast-like creature he had worked so hard to create.

"Rest assured, Father. I understand. I'll work on learning the Shadow Clone Technique first," Armored Dragon replied.

Armored Dragon was not completely ignorant of ninjutsu. The two dragon claws Neji had fashioned for it were intended for performing ninjutsu.

When Neji first granted it life and consciousness, he had also given Armored