"So your so-called quick way to fall asleep really is knocking people out?"
"Of course not."
Cangyue casually tossed it aside.
The brick flew back to the corner and hit the floor with a clack.
"Just kidding."
He had no grudge against Deidara, so he certainly wasn't going to crack his skull open with a brick.
Besides, unconsciousness and sleep were two different things.
Simply knocking someone out might not trigger Eternal Dream.
Cangyue raised his right hand.
"Come here."
Deidara hesitated, but still walked over to him.
Pain and Konan were both present.
Even if Cangyue wanted to attack him, he wouldn't act recklessly in front of the leader of the Akatsuki.
"Lower."
Deidara lowered his head, his expression dark.
Cangyue pressed his palm against Deidara's head and focused his consciousness on the green entry.
[Share "Eternal Dream" with the target?]
"Share."
An invisible force flowed through his palm into Deidara's body.
The shared effect was only one-third as potent as Cangyue's own, but it was enough to let someone continuously refine chakra, absorb experience, and slowly strengthen themselves while asleep.
Deidara's body gave a slight shudder.
He felt no chakra invading him, nor could he detect any Formula.
Yet somehow, his body seemed to have gained an instinct it had never possessed before.
He couldn't describe it or explain it.
But he instinctively felt that it was beneficial.
"That's it?"
"Try sleeping."
Still skeptical, Deidara returned to the table.
"If it doesn't work, you owe me a work of art, hmm."
With that, he slumped over the table and closed his eyes.
He had only intended to pretend to sleep for a little while.
But in less than half a minute, his breathing gradually steadied.
He had actually fallen asleep.
Watching Deidara sprawled over the conference table, Konan felt a slight twitch at her temple.
First, Cangyue had arrived late with breakfast.
Then Hidan had been pinned to the floor.
Now someone was sleeping right in front of them.
Just what did they think this conference room was?
"Enough."
Konan was about to step forward and wake Deidara when Pain caught her wrist.
"Wait."
Konan looked at him in confusion.
The Deva Path's Rinnegan remained fixed on Deidara.
Through those eyes, he could see that Deidara had indeed entered deep sleep.
Yet his chakra had not become completely dormant.
His body's cells were refining chakra on their own.
The process was very slow.
But it was steady and continuous, without any sign of losing control.
This wasn't mere recovery.
Deidara really was training in his sleep!
Pain's grip on Konan's wrist tightened slightly.
[Valor Points +50]
Konan followed his gaze and observed for a moment, the displeasure on her face gradually turning to surprise.
"It's real?"
"Yes."
"But all Cangyue did was touch him."
Pain did not answer.
If the effects of Dream Training could be bestowed on others so easily, then its value was certainly no less than that of any high-level secret technique.
[Valor Points +30]
Beside the conference table, Itachi had already activated his Sharingan.
Not a single trace of chakra flowing through Deidara's body escaped his scrutiny.
Precisely because he could see it so clearly, he found it even harder to believe.
Dream Training wasn't a rumor.
It wasn't an excuse Kambara Sogetsu had invented to conceal the source of his power.
It truly existed.
And it could be passed on to others!
That meant the so-called Dream Training Sasuke had received most likely had genuine effects as well.
Itachi recalled the intelligence from Konoha.
Naruto's chakra control had improved overnight.
Cangyue's swordsmanship had advanced by leaps and bounds after he woke up.
Sasuke had begun practicing with a sword while blindfolded.
Those seemingly absurd reports suddenly all had a reasonable explanation.
[Valor Points +100]
Kisame stared at the sleeping Deidara and grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.
"Incredible."
"His chakra can keep growing on its own even after he falls asleep."
"If it continues for several hours every day, that'll add up to quite a lot."
Kakuzu had lived for decades, yet even he could not explain the phenomenon before him.
No hand seals were needed.
No conscious circulation of chakra was required.
He hadn't even seen Cangyue leave behind any Formula.
A touch on the head, and someone could train in their sleep?
He had thought Earth Grudge Fear was already unmatched, only to discover something even more outrageous.
Whose subordinate was this guy?
In the shadows of the hall, a lone Sharingan quietly watched Deidara.
Tobi had not gone to wash the dishes, of course.
After leaving the conference room, he had casually tossed the bowls and chopsticks to a White Zetsu, then used Kamui to sneak back inside.
Last night, Obito had personally witnessed Cangyue sitting motionless with his legs crossed, only for his strength to undergo a sudden transformation.
At the time, he had still suspected Cangyue of using some method he couldn't detect.
Now Deidara was living proof right before his eyes.
Growing stronger by sleeping.
Such an absurd secret technique actually existed!
And this kid had something so ridiculously powerful, yet instead of hiding it away, he was sharing it.
What a genuine guy.
[Valor Points +50]
Kisame finally could not hold back any longer.
"Could you let me try it too?"
Cangyue's eyes brightened slightly.
The more people he spread Dream Training to, the faster Eternal Dream would improve.
Every one of these Akatsuki members was powerful, making them ideal practitioners.
"Sure."
Cangyue beckoned to Kisame.
"Bring your head over."
Kisame obligingly lowered his head.
Normally, ninja of their caliber would never readily accept a secret technique of unknown origin.
But Pain possessed the legendary Rinnegan.
He had personally observed the entire process without intervening.
That was enough to show that Cangyue had left nothing dangerous inside Deidara's body.
Besides, why turn down a free benefit?
After Cangyue shared the entry with him, Kisame sat down and leaned against Samehada.
A short while later, he too fell asleep.
His vast chakra continued circulating slowly through his body.
The effect was exactly the same as Deidara's.
Around the conference table, everyone's gaze changed.
[Valor Points +30]
"I want to try it too."
A low voice came from within Hiruko.
Everyone turned toward Sasori.
Hidan in particular wore a strange expression.
"Even your body's a puppet. Do you still need to sleep?"
"That's precisely why it's worth testing."
Sasori also wanted to know whether this power acted on the body, the mind, or chakra itself.
Cangyue was equally curious.
He pressed his hand against Hiruko's outer shell and transmitted the shared effect of Eternal Dream inside.
A moment later, the light in Hiruko's eyes dimmed.
Sasori voluntarily halted most of his conscious activity, entering a state akin to dormancy.
Even more absurdly, the chakra core inside his body also began circulating slowly in a fixed pattern.
Sleep had become dormancy.
Dream Training still worked.
The conference hall fell silent once again.
Even someone who had turned himself into a puppet could train?
This secret technique simply defied all reason!
[Valor Points +40]
Hidan finally could not sit still any longer.
"I want it too!"
Cangyue picked up the brick he had tossed aside earlier.
"Come here."
Hidan's expression darkened.
"Wait!"
"Why do they only need a touch, but when it's my turn, you need a brick?"
Cangyue looked perfectly serious.
"Your constitution is special."
"I need a brick to assist with a secret technique before I can pass it on to you..."
He certainly wasn't taking the opportunity to settle a personal score.
Hidan didn't believe a word of his nonsense and took a step back.
"There's no such secret technique!"
Cangyue sighed softly. "You're just scared."
"Who the fuck wouldn't be?"
Hidan turned to leave.
But Cangyue instantly appeared behind him and brought the brick down!
Thud!
Hidan fell flat on his back.
A moment later, he actually started snoring.
Ah, to be young-he fell asleep the moment he hit the ground.
Watching this, Pain found himself unable to tell for the first time whether Hidan had activated Dream Training or had simply been knocked unconscious.
Still, his chakra had also begun circulating slowly.
The result was right.
The method, it seemed, no longer mattered quite so much.
Next, Kakuzu and Zetsu accepted the sharing one after the other.
Apart from Pain, Konan, and Itachi, almost everyone in the meeting room who could sleep was asleep.
One slumped over the table.
One leaned against a Ninja Blade.
One stood motionless, as though he had shut down.
And one lay on the floor with a fresh lump on his forehead.
The meeting hall, originally packed with dangerous Missing-nin, had somehow become a mass nap session.
Pain stood before the head seat, gazing at the members sprawled every which way with an indescribably forlorn expression.
He had gathered everyone to assign missions.
Yet before he could hand out any assignments, half of them had fallen asleep.
[Valor Points +20]
Cangyue suspended the Flame and Thunder Swords side by side in midair, spread his Red Cloud Cloak over them, and lay down comfortably.
"Boss."
"A proper organization should schedule reasonable nap breaks."
He pillowed his head on his hands and closed his eyes.
"Don't disturb us."
"We need to rest well before we have the energy to work."
Pain did not answer.
Looking at a roomful of sleeping Akatsuki members, Konan had no idea where to begin dealing with this either.
Outside the window, the rain continued to patter.
A moment later, Cangyue's breathing settled into a steady rhythm too.
For the first time since its founding, the Akatsuki adjourned a meeting because everyone was taking a nap.
Before you continue