The following day, Aoki Tsuki visited the arena.
Oyashiro En is a master businessman. He manages the arena very well, and all kinds of wealthy merchants, celebrities, and high-ranking officials are willing to gamble away fortunes.
The Jashin Cult provides security, and both parties share the wealth; both are relatively law-abiding.
Thump!
As soon as I arrived at the gate, I saw a young girl kneeling down in front of me, her eyes filled with tears.
"CC, I've finally found you! Please, please take me in."
"Ah! Isn't this Hotaru? You... how did you find this place?" Aoki Tsuki was taken aback; the newcomer was none other than the heir of the Tsuchigumo Clan.
In exchange for ' Fury ' teaching this child Water Release Ninjutsu.
All that could be heard was Ying crying and sobbing:
"Waaah... Grandpa passed away, and I don't know how to live on my own. I heard you often mention the Land of Hot Water, so I came here to try my luck."
I never imagined I'd actually meet you, teacher. Grandpa was right; I was destined to become your disciple.
"Wait, I never accept disciples." Aoki Tsuki refused on the spot without even thinking.
Taking on disciples in the Hokage world? You've got a death wish!
At this moment, the servant Tonbee, who was standing to the side, seeing that the emotional scene was not going well, quickly stepped forward, walked up to Aoki Tsuki, and whispered:
"My lord, Miss is truly talented; she can already sense Natural Energy. That's why the old patriarch arranged for her to study under you."
"Really?"
Ying's physique allows her to imprint runes and store Natural Energy, leading him to speculate that she might be naturally close to nature, just like Jūgo.
"You'll soon see that, Miss. Show it to the teacher quickly," Tonbee urged Hotaru.
Even after the En no Gyōja died of old age, the potential enemies who coveted the power of the Earth Spider remained a significant threat, which is why the two of them had to endure so much hardship to wander here.
Only by seeking refuge under this mysterious teacher can one survive safely.
Ying quickly sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative state, trying to absorb Natural Energy. However, her emotions were too tense, causing the Natural Energy to go berserk.
"It's over? If this continues... we'll die!"
Ying panicked. She usually tried things cautiously, but this time, in her eagerness to demonstrate her abilities, she hastily absorbed the knowledge and messed it up.
Just then, a hand was placed on her back, and the turbulent Natural Energy immediately became docile and slowly dissipated.
A gentle voice echoed in Hotaru's mind, "Stop. I believe you have the ability."
"Hi!"
"However, some things need to be made clear: I don't accept disciples; you can continue to be my student."
Hotaru and Tonbee exchanged a glance, bursting into tears of joy. They had planned it out beforehand: the best option was to become his apprentice, the second best was to become his student, and the worst was to just make a living.
We are already very satisfied with the current result.
Ying quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, teacher."
"Yes, I already have two students, and you're the third. Remember, always treat me as your teacher, understand?"
Aoki Tsuki's expression was very stern. He knew that the local culture liked to break taboos, from patricide and fratricide to incest, so it was necessary to give them a heads-up.
Women who know him well are all unable to resist his charm and easily fall in love with him. In reality, he is a devoted man who is indifferent to all women except for Mimoto and Konan.
Yurika also coveted the Uzumaki Blood, but since the other party disagreed, she had to give up.
Ying had no idea what the deeper meaning of those words was, and nodded blankly, "I understand, teacher."
Coo coo... Coo coo...
"Have you not eaten for days?"
"It's been two days."
"Come with me."
Aoki Tsuki first took the master and servant to have a meal, and then settled them in the Jashin Cult before having time to do other things.
The Jashin Cult's Ninjutsu Research Institute.
Aoki Tsuki summoned Hino, the person in charge, and explained his needs.
"Chief, we've actually tried your idea before: imprinting runes onto ninja tools and using Natural Energy to propel flight."
"Any results?"
"We've tried several formations, but none of us have the ability to utilize Natural Energy. We need your personal participation in the testing."
Holy crap, he'd only thought of it a few days ago, and the research team had already anticipated it.
Aoki Tsuki reached out and patted Hino on the shoulder, saying, "It's secure. Your position is secure. As long as I'm still in the Jashin Cult, no one can touch you."
This is the benefit of power: as long as you're in that position, people will automatically offer you advice and think of your best interests.
The condition is sharing power and forming alliances.
"Thank you, Chief. I will definitely work even harder."
"Don't work so hard; just delegate the work to your subordinates."
Hino respectfully replied, "The leader's affairs are all important. Those subordinates are clumsy and incompetent; I feel more at ease having them supervise me personally."
Only now did Aoki Tsuki finally treat him like one of his own, Hino was secretly pleased.
"Hahaha... You're great!"
The two arrived at the laboratory, Hino took the scroll containing the relevant runes. Upon unfolding it, they discovered that there were several different array diagrams inside.
"Chief, these are several formation diagrams that we have repeatedly verified and are most likely to succeed. They were all designed to find prototypes in nature as much as possible, following your instructions."
Patterns in nature have been refined over time and possess hidden, potential value.
It either has high energy utilization efficiency, good stability, or good balance; in short, it conforms to some kind of chemical or mathematical law.
Aoki Tsuki himself enjoys copying other people's work, and he brings this habit with him when giving instructions.
Don't just blindly study things. If you want to study Natural Energy, find representative patterns in nature, copy them, and try them one by one. You'll eventually make some discoveries.
The scroll features classic patterns such as snowflakes, spider webs, Himawari heads, five-pointed stars, six-pointed stars, and trident patterns.
These array diagrams were engraved on the blade, and each one was tested.
Ultimately, they discovered that spider webs were the most energy-efficient and had good stability. However, inspired by this, Aoki Tsuki had an even better idea.
That's a Möbius strip.
This thing is truly magical; it represents infinite cycles and eternity.
Aoki Tsuki cut a strip of paper, pinched one end, flipped it 180°, then glued the two ends together and handed it to Hino.
"Design the array according to this pattern."
"Hi!"
Leaders have so many ideas; they can make decisions on a whim, and everyone below has to get busy. After a while, even the leader himself forgets about it.
'Huh? Did I say that? Did I say that?'
Konoha, Training Ground No. 8.
Rock Lee is working hard to complete 1,000 side kicks, and he still has 500 frog jumps, 1,500 push-ups, and 2,000 handstands waiting for him.
After Neji's disappearance, Rock Lee trained even harder. The aftereffects of forcibly opening the Five Gates Chunin Ninja Exams caused his physical abilities to decline.
After running 20 laps around Konoha Tenten, he would just sit there in a daze.
She focuses on summoning ninja tools rather than Taijutsu, so appropriate training is sufficient; she doesn't need to push herself too hard.
Might Guy walked over, Tenten immediately ran over upon seeing this, anxiously asking, "Teacher Kai, how is it?"
Rock Lee also slowed down his training and listened attentively.
Might Guy shook his head. "No news yet."
"Ugh! Where did this guy go? At least we knew where Sasuke went, but he just vanished. Could it be..."
" Tenten, don't be so pessimistic! You're making me feel the same way... Waaaaah..."
Might Guy burst into tears immediately. He had just sought comfort from Kakashi, and now, after being spoken to by Tenten, he couldn't hold back anymore.
Seeing this, Tenten also started crying, and the two of them cried even more and more sadly.
" Neji won't die!" Rock Lee shouted, as if talking to himself. "He's stronger than me, he'll be fine."
"Forehead..."
Might Guy explained, "Lee, nobody suspects Neji is dead; we're just worried he's defected."
"Sigh, even if the village doesn't pursue the matter, the Hyuga Main Family won't let him off the hook," Tenten added.
"Moreover, there are members of the Main Family in the pursuit team. Once they discover Neji's whereabouts, they'll probably activate the Cursed Seal immediately, and he'll be dead!"
Rock Lee was a little confused; he really hadn't thought about these things.
"Teacher Kai, is that Cursed Seal really that scary?"
"I don't know much either. It's said that the life of the Branch Family member who has this Cursed Seal is completely in the hands of the Main Family, and they can also be subjected to various cruel punishments."
In short, the Branch Family is powerless against the Main Family; Neji was punished and fainted more than Neji for disobeying members of the Main Family.
"It must have been incredibly undignified for someone as proud as Neji," Tenten said sympathetically.
"Why use such a cruel Cursed Seal against your own family? If it's just to protect the Byakugan, isn't that going too far?"
Rock Lee didn't understand this at all.
"Li, this is a matter between the Kekkei Genkai families, and even the village has no right to interfere," Might Guy reminded Rock Lee not to speak carelessly.
Hinata Main Family, and she was relegated to carrying out missions as an ordinary Genin.
Konoha Kurenai Yuhi, Jonin Konoha's four elite Jonin, came to visit, but was waved away by Hyuga Hiashi. Kurenai Yuhi didn't dare to say a word and left in a sorry state.
Konoha, a place that promotes the Will of Fire bonds and love, has its social hierarchy deliberately concealed, not eliminated.
Seeing the two students' dejected looks, Might Guy said, "I plan to take on more missions outside the school, and while I'm at it, I'll try to find Neji's whereabouts. What do you think of this plan?"
"That's the only way."
"Hey, youth shouldn't be about looking gloomy; we must face challenges head-on."
Might Guy clenched his fist, staring at the remaining two students, preparing to increase the training tasks.
Tenten immediately wore a bitter expression, while Rock Lee Li's eyes shone brightly, full of fighting spirit; Might Guy was his guiding light.
"Run 500 laps around the training ground... then do 5000 squats."
"Hi!!"
"Li, finish your daily training before joining us."
"Clear."
Might Guy's training method involves a wide range of muscles and requires a lot of time to see results. Only in this way can he withstand the impact of the Eight Gates Released Formation.