Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Rumors
After driving off a wave of enemies, the group allowed themselves a brief moment of relaxation.
The Guard Ninja pushed his sensory abilities to the limit, activated his Byakugan, and scanned left and right, staying alert for another enemy attack at any moment.
Meanwhile, Might Guy, who had gone all out this time, quickly dashed and then collapsed on the ground, shouting in satisfaction.
[Youthful Spirit Never Dies!] A fiery spirit of youth calls to me!
Thanks to the Nine-Binding Seal, he could now effortlessly unlock the Sixth Gate without seriously damaging his body.
However, unlocking the Sixth Gate drained the cellular energy within his body. In such an intense burst state, he had already exhausted most of his physical strength.
"Let's rest here for a while and recover before we move out," ordered Satori Hyūga.
"They don't seem like they'll back down easily. We need to preserve our strength if we're to reach the Land of Fire safely."
Remaining calm in the face of advancing enemies, Satori began formulating his strategy.
Since the enemy had chosen to intercept him directly, there must be some purpose behind it.
Since he still had power left, he naturally wanted to press forward and uncover exactly what was going on.
The Guard Ninja looked troubled, as if about to speak, but Satori silenced him.
Returning home now would likely cause unknown disturbances. It would be better to charge straight ahead and break through their formation.
Still, Satori wasn't acting recklessly—he still had several backup plans that could boost combat effectiveness.
With these hidden options, self-defense would be more than sufficient.
He never treated life lightly—especially his own.
That was precisely why he had allowed the three others to take a break and preserve their strength and energy.
Walking over to Might Guy's side, he checked his condition and found that it was merely exhaustion—nothing serious.
After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a special drink from his backpack and handed it to Might Guy.
This was a new variant of the recently developed Chakra Supplement, created from extracted ninja beast cells, capable of restoring both physical strength and energy.
"Guy, drink this."
"Yes, Boss."
Trusting completely, Might Guy opened the bottle and gulped it all down in one go.
After drinking the Chakra Supplement, a surge of pure energy flowed through his system, replenishing every limb and joint.
In an instant, his physical strength and energy recovered significantly, as if he'd just devoured ten bowls of rice.
Although his body still felt somewhat tired, everything else had returned to good condition.
"What… What kind of treasure is this?!"
Feeling the changes inside his body, Might Guy—who always practiced strict training and self-restraint—was astonished.
He had lived a relatively simple life all these years—never encountering anything so amazing that could instantly restore his energy.
For Taijutsu practitioners, this was practically a legendary item—an endless source of energy replenishment.
With this substance, the path of Taijutsu could truly thrive and give birth to countless powerful masters.
The reason Taijutsu was difficult lay mainly in its demand for daily rigorous training and continuous physical refinement.
One day's training drained massive amounts of cellular energy, often resulting in fatigue or injury.
Possessing such a unique supplement allowed rapid recovery of both physical strength and energy after intense workouts.
Thus, one could immediately throw themselves into the next stage of training.
Seeing Might Guy staring at him with wide eyes, Satori Hyūga explained, "This is a new energy supplement I've just developed. It's not officially on the market yet."
"After we return, I'll start mass-producing it for sale. Then you can get your hands on it too."
Hearing that he would soon be able to drink supplements regularly, Might Guy became tearfully emotional.
His philosophy had always been: if talent isn't enough, make up for it with hard work.
The emergence of this supplement meant he could extend his Taijutsu training duration while reducing the time needed to recover energy.
"Wahhh, Boss, you're incredible! No wonder they call you a genius of the Hyūga clan!"
Faced with such an amazing item from Satori, Might Guy practically began worshipping him like a god.
[Improved] the Eight Gates technique, taming the wild chakra flow and reducing damage to the body.
Now he'd created an energy-boosting potion—practically tailor-made for someone training in the Eight Gates.
Seeing Might Guy so tearfully emotional, Satori turned away, leaving a mysterious silhouette behind, concealing his merits quietly without seeking credit.
He hadn't even mentioned that this was the low-tier version—there were higher-tier supplements he hadn't revealed yet.
But those high-tier chakra supplements were tailored specifically for personal use; they wouldn't really work for others.
After resting for half an hour, the group got back on their feet and continued forward.
All along the way, explosions kept ringing out, with countless obstacles and traps appearing one after another.
"It seems the enemy is trying to delay our journey, hoping to prevent us from reaching the Land of Fire quickly."
Based on the enemy's actions along the way, Satori deduced Danzō's goal.
Combining this with previously gathered intelligence, Satori started questioning Danzō Shimura's true motives.
Why try to block him instead of killing him outright?
By obstructing his travel, they likely didn't want him getting involved in the massage parlor grand opening.
But how did that benefit them? Unless they stood to gain significantly from the failure of the Hyūga Clan's massage business or somehow profited from harm done to Konoha.
While sprinting along the path, Satori thought deeply.
When he reached the border of the Land of Fire, approaching the first town near Konoha, he finally figured out Danzō's purpose.
In this town called Lamboo, Satori walked down the street with three companions, gathering intelligence.
He arrived near the first massage shop opened by the Hyūga family in this town.
The Hyūga Massage Shop stood empty and abandoned. Even passersby carefully detoured away from the store, avoiding it entirely.
This strange sight caused Satori to feel puzzled.
"What's going on? Why won't anyone go inside—even seeming afraid to enter?"
Just as Satori suspected some kind of monster might be hiding inside the shuttered massage shop, he noticed others watching him warily.
Seeing his Byakugan eyes, ordinary townsfolk clutched their clothes nervously and backed away.
Some muttered phrases like: "So terrifying—a white-eyed monster who can see through us!"
Satori remained silent.
Although the Byakugan could penetrate objects, it wasn't meant to look beneath clothing—it saw through flesh to reveal human anatomy.
Through the Byakugan's vision, he could only perceive chakra and the flow of meridians inside the body.
The other party's words and resistance were clearly a result of misinformation.
"I get it now," he said. "Now I see why our family's business has never taken off. With such bizarre rumors spreading around, who in their right mind would go to a massage parlor?"
"Shall we set the record straight, Master Satori Hyūga?" someone asked.
"Let it go," Master Satori Hyūga shook his head and refused. "Trying to explain will only make us look guilty, and no one would believe us anyway."
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