Ten Thousand Fathom Peak.
Yuzuru sat beside Hakujun, feeling the biting cold around him and slowly absorbing it into his body.
Although his Ice Release bloodline gave him an extremely high tolerance for cold deep within his genes, this cold-laden natural energy was far more terrifying than ordinary natural energy.
Only by fully mastering and growing accustomed to this natural energy could he activate Ice Release Sage Mode. He had to fuse this natural energy with his own genes.
Beside him, Hakujun watched Yuzuru intently, afraid something might go wrong.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
When Yuzuru opened his eyes, Hakujun nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. You're very talented, even more so than some of the youngsters in my clan. They find it hard to settle down."
"Actually, it's not quite finished yet."
Yuzuru shook his head.
"Natural energy really is powerful, but the problem is that this planet doesn't have that much natural energy to squander. Besides, replenishing it is far too much trouble, so there's still one final step."
"Combine natural energy with chakra, using chakra as the primary component and natural energy as the supplement, and fuse them into senjutsu chakra. That way, we won't waste too much natural energy. After all, chakra is easy to replenish, but natural energy isn't, and there isn't that much of it."
Hearing this, Hakujun nodded. "You're right. If this method succeeds, we won't have to stay confined to this place either."
"Compared to here, natural energy in the outside world is far too scarce. If our species went outside, we'd absorb vast amounts of natural energy and cause great damage to nature. By contrast, if we could fully master chakra too and form senjutsu chakra, we wouldn't consume so much natural energy. We might even be able to use chakra alone."
The more Hakujun spoke, the brighter his eyes grew. He then looked at Yuzuru, his eyes full of anticipation.
"You can't leave it all to me, can you?"
Yuzuru smiled helplessly.
"Don't you have chakra now too? And more than I do. You could try it yourself."
"The main problem is that I'm still not very proficient at controlling chakra."
For once, Hakujun looked a little embarrassed.
"All right, then. I'll do it."
"Thank you."
"But I'm hungry. Let's eat something first."
"There's snake, rabbit, and deer. Which do you want?"
"Snake."
Hakujun flapped his wings and left. Before long, he returned with a python over ten meters long, and Yuzuru expertly lit a fire to roast the meat.
Soon, the human and the falcon were feasting.
After eating and drinking their fill, Yuzuru resumed his training.
Before he knew it, several more months had passed.
Then, one day, Yuzuru's long hair suddenly turned white. Pale blue markings appeared at the corners of his eyes, extending to his temples like long, narrow lines of eyeshadow. Finally, luminous white energy enveloped his body, and an astonishing chill radiated from him.
Beside him, Hakujun watched with delight and disbelief in his eyes.
"To think you actually completed it."
When Yuzuru opened his eyes, he looked at the senjutsu energy covering his body and nodded in satisfaction before slowly drawing it back inside.
Creating an ice mirror out of thin air, he carefully examined his Sage Mode.
There was no heavy eyeshadow, only an additional long, narrow marking. His body hadn't changed at all; only his hair had turned white.
Still, it wasn't bad.
"How is it? Did you succeed?"
Hakujun asked eagerly.
"I did. Natural energy consumption has dropped dramatically. Look, this is the new senjutsu chakra."
Yuzuru condensed a mass of senjutsu chakra in his hand for Hakujun, then deactivated Sage Mode.
"Indeed, its power is no less than that of pure natural energy."
"Come with me. Let's have Gen'a take a look. He might even be able to improve it for you."
With that, Hakujun grabbed Yuzuru and flew toward a distant mountain peak.
Many varieties of crow gathered here. Their eyes lacked that intense wildness and instead held greater intelligence.
Sensing their arrival, Gen'a had them come straight to his nest.
After Yuzuru and Hakujun explained why they had come, Gen'a was surprised as well.
"Actually, I've been working on this too. Because of the constraints of natural energy, we can't leave this place or fight as we please.
"Every time we replenish our natural energy, even here, it causes an enormous depletion of the natural energy outside.
"But if we seal away our natural energy and use only chakra, we won't need to absorb natural energy. Then we'll be able to go out and fight as we please, without worrying about the damage we cause to nature by replenishing our energy."
Gen'a explained his thoughts, then looked at Yuzuru. "All right, let me see your senjutsu chakra."
Yuzuru activated Sage Mode. Long, narrow lines of pale blue eyeshadow appeared at the corners of his eyes, extending all the way to his temples, and his gaze became exceptionally sharp.
He raised his hand and released a mass of senjutsu chakra for Gen'a.
After examining it carefully, Gen'a couldn't help nodding repeatedly.
"This energy is almost indistinguishable from natural energy."
"Is there a way to reduce the natural energy consumption further? By adjusting the ratio of natural energy to chakra?" Yuzuru asked.
"I'll have to try it first. Come back in a month. Oh, and although the natural energy in your body is quite good, it's still not enough. Go find Purple Eagle. He'll help improve your physical constitution so you can absorb more natural energy," Gen'a told Yuzuru.
"That fellow had better not throw little Yuzuru into the Lightning Pool, or else!"
Hakujun couldn't help speaking up.
"The Lightning Pool is indeed dangerous, but its benefits are great too. Perhaps his Sage Mode will gain something new from it."
Gen'a wasn't worried. If anything, he seemed rather expectant.
"Hmph. I'll take little Yuzuru over there, then."
With that, Hakujun grabbed Yuzuru and left again.
Although Yuzuru had grown accustomed to being carried around in Hakujun's claws, he wanted to sit on Hakujun's back more.
"In your dreams!"
Noticing Yuzuru's gaze, Hakujun knew at once what he was thinking and refused him without the slightest courtesy.
"Stingy."
The moment the word left his mouth, Hakujun opened his claws, and Yuzuru went straight into free fall.
"Holy shit! No, help!"
A trace of smugness flashed through Hakujun's eyes. Then he dove and caught Yuzuru securely.
"I was just joking. Look at you-you can't take a joke at all."
"Could you tell me about the Lightning Pool?"
"No need. We're already here."
Just after Yuzuru spoke, Hakujun landed with him.
An enormous purple figure immediately appeared, looking at Hakujun and Yuzuru.
"What did you bring the little fellow here for? Wasn't he learning to absorb natural energy from you?"
"It's been almost two years. He learned that long ago. This time, Gen'a sent him here for you to improve his physical strength. If necessary, you can use the Lightning Pool too."
Recalling Gen'a's last words, Hakujun remained worried, but still decided to let Yuzuru try the Lightning Pool.
"Is that so? All right, leave him here. Come back in six months."
"No. He has to go back to Gen'a in a month."
Hakujun shook his head.
"A month?"
Purple Eagle froze for a moment. "What can you accomplish in a month with a human's frail body?"
"He's different."
Hakujun shook his head.
"All right, I'll give it a try. But the process might not be so gentle."
"Mm. I'll be off, then."
Hakujun spread his wings, soared into the sky, and left.
Looking at the giant purple eagle before him, Yuzuru couldn't help feeling that something was amiss.
"Kid, I'll transform you in one month!"
With that, a feather fell from Purple Eagle's body.
"Starting today, wear it every day."
The instant Yuzuru picked up the feather, his hair stood on end.
Purple Eagle grinned as well.