Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"If you want to learn Sage Mode, the first thing you must do is sense natural energy," Katsuyu explained in a gentle tone.

"Natural energy exists everywhere in the shinobi world, but its concentration varies greatly depending on the location."

"Places like Mount Myōboku, the Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave—those three came to be known as the Holy Lands because of their extremely rich natural energy."

"It's much easier to study senjutsu in the Shikkotsu Forest than in the outside world."

"However, unlike Mount Myōboku, the Shikkotsu Forest doesn't have something like the toad oil."

"If you want to perceive natural energy, your success still depends on your own talent."

Hyuga Naraku nodded slowly.

The secret toad oil from Mount Myōboku, when applied to the body, helps attract natural energy.

It's extremely effective for beginners in sensing it.

Practicing senjutsu there becomes significantly more efficient.

"The reason Jiraiya kept urging you to go to Mount Myōboku for sage training is because of all this," Tsunade complained.

"And more than that—Mount Myōboku's entire sage training system has become nearly complete."

"Even if you lose control while absorbing natural energy, the Two Great Sage Toads can directly extract the rampaging energy from your body."

Tsunade could understand Naraku's indifference toward the toads' prophecy…

But choosing a more difficult and dangerous path just to avoid Mount Myōboku?

It felt downright unwise.

"I remember it took me three—"

Tsunade was mid-sentence when she suddenly stopped.

Her expression stiffened.

In her sensory range, the surrounding natural energy was clearly flowing toward Hyuga Naraku!

"Y-You!"

Tsunade pointed at Naraku, unable to form a coherent sentence.

The directional pull of natural energy could only be achieved after one successfully sensed it.

Once the sensing step was passed, one could actively draw in natural energy to themselves, and then refine it into chakra.

When Jiraiya completed his own sage training, Tsunade had also tried to train at the Shikkotsu Forest.

It took her three months just to sense natural energy!

"This is natural energy."

Naraku placed his fingers together in a familiar seal.

He was manipulating the natural energy around him—but not absorbing it into his body.

Outside this place, he could only vaguely feel that the air held something invisible—some sort of strange energy.

But here, in the Shikkotsu Forest, he could clearly sense the rich flow of natural energy everywhere.

"What did you just say?"

Naraku turned to Tsunade and asked calmly.

He had been fully concentrating on sensing natural energy just now.

He hadn't caught her previous words.

Tsunade's face turned dark with frustration.

Damn it—why!?

Why could he move so freely while sensing natural energy!?

She hadn't even dared twitch a finger back then. And now—

"It took me only three... three hours!" Tsunade said through gritted teeth, her voice trembling with strain.

Katsuyu didn't say a word. She didn't expose the truth either.

Naraku raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical.

"Tsunade-senpai, you have Senju blood. It should be easier for you to sense natural energy than most people."

The Sage Body passed down through the Senju clan wasn't quite the same as Sage Mode...

But it should have made learning senjutsu easier.

Still... the "three-hour" claim?

Considering Tsunade's famously impatient personality...

It didn't seem very credible.

"Pfft."

Katsuyu suddenly chuckled.

"Ah—my apologies. I just remembered something funny."

Katsuyu quickly tried to cover it up.

But Tsunade's expression was turning increasingly stormy.

She was clearly on the verge of exploding.

"L-let's proceed to the next step."

Katsuyu's body trembled slightly, clearly holding back laughter.

Thankfully, she had no face, so she didn't have to hide her expression.

"Absorbing natural energy and merging it into chakra—this is the critical step," she said seriously.

"You must balance the natural energy with your own chakra properly."

"If you lose control, the consequences can be very dangerous."

Katsuyu became solemn.

"Mount Myōboku has a special black rod that can knock excess natural energy out of the body when it gets violent."

"But here in the Shikkotsu Forest, I can only reduce the absorption rate of natural energy."

"If you take in too much, it may take me time to remove it—and during that time, the rampaging energy can damage your body."

Tsunade had failed at this very step back then.

Once natural energy goes berserk inside the body, it begins to petrify it—turning flesh to stone!

Tsunade had tried several times. But faced with such a risk, she had ultimately given up.

"For this… I've actually had a new idea recently."

Tsunade tapped the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead.

The Hundred Healings Mark.

"If your arm becomes petrified during sage training, just cut it off immediately."

"Then, with full activation of the Hundred Healings technique, and using Mitotic Regeneration: Creation Rebirth, your arm might grow back."

Naraku: "..."

This method...

Classic Tsunade.

And, honestly? It might actually work.

The human body could reconnect if cut in two under the right regenerative techniques.

So regrowing an arm wasn't totally impossible.

Still...

What an insane approach.

"I don't think I'll need to go that far."

Naraku politely declined.

Losing an arm to natural energy?

Is this really how Konoha trains its shinobi!?

It sounded more like the kind of stunt a reckless Cloud shinobi would pull!

With that, Naraku brought his hands together.

Behind him, a large number of Wood Clones began to grow from the ground.

Then, he raised one hand slightly—and black chakra rods formed by Yin-Yang Release shot out from his palm, embedding themselves into the clones.

"This really is Wood Style..."

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly.

She had heard rumors that Hyuga Naraku had mastered Wood Release.

Now, she was seeing it firsthand.

And honestly...

Even as the First Hokage's granddaughter, she hadn't seen much of it.

By the time she was old enough to remember, Hashirama had already passed away.

During her childhood, her grandfather had been too strong—no one had dared challenge him.

In Tsunade's memory, the only times she'd seen Wood Style used were for things like beds, chairs, or training structures.

"Can Wood Style help with the risk of natural energy?"

Tsunade asked curiously.

Her grandfather had mastered both Wood Style and Sage Mode.

Could there be some hidden application that allowed better control of nature energy?

"The key isn't Wood Style itself—but the Yin-Yang chakra rods I placed into the Wood Clones."

"Yin-Yang Release allows for the transmission of chakra."

"So I wondered... maybe it can transmit natural energy too."

As Naraku spoke, he carefully began to draw in natural energy once again.

But this time, instead of merging it with his chakra, he channeled it outward—straight through the black rod!

Crackle—crunch—

A Wood Clone next to him began to harden.

From the point where the black rod was inserted, the clone slowly started to petrify.

Before long, the clone—which looked identical to Hyuga Naraku—had become a "stone clone."

But Naraku's own body showed no signs of petrification.

End of Chapter 167