A Surge of Confidence (Second Update)

"Since you’ve made up your mind and have this body, I’ll make the arrangements. Stay here for the time being. Don’t blame me if you die."

The White Snake Sage did not waste any words or make things difficult for Xu Yue. Since she had recognized his extraordinary nature, she did not mind doing him a favor. It would not cost her anything anyway…

Under normal circumstances, humans could not effectively make use of natural energy. Jiraiya relied on the two toad sages, Fukasaku and Shima, to help him gather natural energy, while Naruto first refined it through Shadow Clones using toad oil during his long stay at Mount Myōboku.

Ryūchi Cave originally had its own method. They had planned to assign a seasoned old Basilisk to assist Xu Yue, using snake venom to help him complete the first step.

However, the benefits of his constant practice with Force Sense finally erupted at this moment.

In a place like Ryūchi Cave, where natural energy was abundant, he sensed it even faster than the old Basilisk who had come to assist him!

When the White Snake Sage heard about it, she nearly dropped the smoking pipe from her mouth.

What exactly was hiding beneath the skin of this new creature…

"Natural energy…"

Sitting atop a flattened stone pillar within the cavern, faint snake scales emerged along Xu Yue’s cheeks. Strange patterns appeared around his eyes, giving him an evil, cold, and eerie aura.

Yet he seemed to have become even more handsome.

When he opened his eyes, they had turned into a snake’s vertical pupils.

With the aid of Force Sense, Xu Yue took the first step into Sage Mode training with remarkable speed.

Then, he discovered something interesting.

Based on the mysterious sensation provided by Force Sense, Xu Yue felt that this so-called natural energy and the Force were somehow connected.

The difference might lie in the different worlds, which caused the attributes of the two powers to diverge.

Natural energy could be regarded as the Force of the Naruto World!

Just as the natural energy in Ryūchi Cave was far richer than that of the outside world!

This should be a power that existed in every space.

If that was truly the case, then the ki of Dragon Ball and the spiritual energy found in cultivation worlds were likely similar manifestations as well.

But there was still too little information. He would have to wait until he truly arrived in similar worlds before carefully distinguishing the details.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Xu Yue moved on to the subsequent stages of training…

If obtained directly from the Reincarnation Space, Sage Mode would undoubtedly be an ultra-S-Rank Skill.

But interestingly, Xu Yue possessed an advanced Sage Body along with Force Sense. His compatibility with Sage Mode had completely reached the maximum level. He passed the originally life-threatening trial as naturally as water flowing into a channel. After the space determined that he had fully passed, the ever-greedy Reincarnation Space unexpectedly charged only two A-Rank Plots this time!

It even gave the long-oppressed Xu Yue an inexplicable sense of "gratitude."

With the Reincarnation Space’s intervention, Xu Yue no longer needed to spend much time on it.

Sage Mode was directly unlocked at its basic level. All that remained was increasing his total Chakra reserves and becoming familiar with its use.

Because the amount of Chakra in his body was still limited, Xu Yue estimated that his current Sage Mode could last for one minute. Even with Force Sense, he would need roughly ten seconds of preparation before entering it.

Any longer than that, and his own Chakra would be unable to balance the absorbed natural energy, creating a risk.

But after deactivating it, the super recovery speed of his advanced Sage Body allowed him to activate it again for another half-minute after a brief rest. He could repeat this cycle many times.

Relatively speaking, this made it more practical than both Jiraiya’s Sage Mode and Naruto’s early Sage Mode.

Moreover, due to the immense amount of natural energy absorbed, combined with his own Chakra being compressed and unleashed within a single minute, Xu Yue felt that his overall capabilities had increased by at least fivefold while Sage Mode was active!

Beyond that, the power of ninjutsu used in Sage Mode, aside from the inherent attack boost from senjutsu Chakra, could actually absorb natural energy directly.

Xu Yue tried a senjutsu-enhanced Great Fireball Technique. The blazing white flames melted the cavern’s stone pillars into lava. The effect was simply outstanding.

The unity of spiritual power, physical power, and natural power.

Was this the so-called Unity of Heaven and Man…

The boost from Sage Mode was probably even more terrifying than opening the Eight Inner Gates up to the Seventh Gate.

Of course, the Eight Inner Gates also had their own advantages for the current Xu Yue. He estimated that the first few gates could remain active permanently without placing too great a burden on his body. This could directly raise his Chakra limit.

Activating the Gate of Opening before using Sage Mode could let Sage Mode last, uh, another twenty seconds…

Compared to Sealing Jutsu and Orochimaru-style Substitution Technique, which could only improve Xu Yue’s ability to respond and could not truly raise the upper limit of his combat strength…

Sage Mode and the Eight Inner Gates, despite their various restrictions, could undoubtedly greatly enhance Xu Yue’s absolute combat power.

In the past, when facing Kage-level big shots, Xu Yue only dared to sneak in an attack with Flying Thunder God and see whether he could use Kamui to make them drink foot-washing water. But compared to his battle experience against the Fourth Kazekage…

Xu Yue felt that, at the very least, he now dared to confront one head-on alone while in Sage Mode.

If the battle still was not over when Sage Mode was about to end, he could use Flying Thunder God to escape.

Though the Fourth Kazekage was a mere minnow in the later stages, this was still the early stage, wasn’t it…

"Since Sage Mode didn’t use up an S-Rank Plot, I can indeed consider it."

Xu Yue never made overly rigid plans. He simply followed his priorities. Once he made a different judgment and adjusted his plan, he would add follow-up options.

Because the Reincarnation Space’s intervention had greatly reduced the time Sage Mode was expected to take, and because the Plot Point cost had not used up that precious S-Rank Plot, Xu Yue immediately prepared a backup plan.

After going to bid farewell to the White Snake Sage and express his thanks, he left Ryūchi Cave and returned to Konoha…

Hyuga Clan grounds

Xu Yue’s arrival directly brought about a personal meeting with Hyuga Hiashi.

Xu Yue had already done the Hyuga Clan a favor, and now he had begun to distinguish himself on the battlefield as an obvious rising star. Whether for public or private reasons, Hiashi would not neglect him.

If not for the surname "Uchiha," he probably would have tried to win Xu Yue over through their relationship long ago.

"Yue, you truly are a rare guest. You’ve been back from the front for so long, yet you haven’t visited."

Hyuga Hiashi already looked quite mature. Judging by the timeline, Hinata’s generation would soon be born as well.

And when the two met, there was not much awkwardness between them.

If Hyuga Shota, a member of the main family, had not died, Xu Yue’s relationship with the Hyuga Clan would likely have been even closer.

"You’re too kind, Brother Hiashi. You know my situation as well. I’m practically invisible in the clan, and the place my teacher arranged for my internship is also somewhat… hehe."

Xu Yue gave a self-deprecating smile. He seemed to get along rather well with Hyuga Hiashi, without any sense of distance between them.

Having already become clan head, Hyuga Hiashi naturally knew what Root was. But since it had been arranged by Xu Yue’s teacher, Orochimaru, he had no intention of interfering.

Instead, he changed the subject and exchanged pleasantries with Xu Yue.

More than halfway through their conversation, after they had changed to a fresh pot of tea, Xu Yue finally revealed why he had come.

"By the way, Brother Hiashi, the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan stands unmatched in the ninja world. Your understanding of the human body’s mysteries is probably the most detailed. As you know, I’m a medical ninja, so I was wondering whether I could obtain some detailed books on the meridian system from you…"

The previous chapter title was wrong—it should have been Ryūchi Cave. The title can’t be changed, but it probably won’t affect the reading~, second update~

Keeping fish for too long turns you into a salted fish, so please support with subscriptions of all kinds~

The protagonist isn’t weak now, but his strength fluctuates greatly. However, because of his personality, he has always played to his own strengths and maximized his efficiency. Aside from unexpected goofballs like Raiga, he can generally keep things under control…