Unlike the first time he practiced, Aozora did not use chakra this time to suppress the effects of the Katsuyu oil, nor did he resist the invasion of natural energy.
After his initial training, Aozora realized that the amount of Katsuyu oil Tsunade had applied was just right—perfectly within his tolerance range.
Moreover, if anything went wrong, Tsunade would timely extract the Katsuyu oil. He wasn't really in much danger.
Since that was the case, Aozora relaxed and decided to fully experience and feel the natural energy.
The natural energy between heaven and earth was infinite yet imperceptible. Only when vast amounts gathered could people sense it.
When streams of natural energy, as fine as threads, entered Aozora's body through the Katsuyu oil, he gradually began sensing its texture.
It felt both simple and vibrant—alive with energy, yet utterly silent…
Instinctively, Aozora activated [Dao Yin Lian Qi], slowly using his chakra to circulate the natural energy through his meridians in a full cycle.
Each time the natural energy passed through, the vitality of the cells near his meridians was drained away, making them appear somewhat duller.
Only after his own chakra flowed through were these cells replenished and revitalized.
During this process, Aozora also tried to fuse his chakra with the natural energy. However, natural energy was unpredictable and elusive; harmonizing it with physical and spiritual energies to form Sage Chakra proved extremely difficult.
Fortunately, Aozora had an abundant supply of chakra. While controlling the natural energy through circulation cycles, he gradually worked on blending his chakra with it.
Again and again, Aozora worked tirelessly to harmonize his internal chakra with natural energy.
He didn't know how long had passed when suddenly he felt Tsunade extract the Katsuyu oil again.
The natural energy, like drifting rootless water, slowly started dispersing, but Aozora refused to give up.
He kept circulating his chakra, trying to integrate with the natural energy and drive it along the meridian pathways.
Even as the energy started to fade, it kept flowing through Aozora's body in cycle after cycle.
Feeling his internal chakra about to run out, Aozora sighed, no longer insisting on holding onto the last trace of natural energy.
Much to his surprise, even after most of this energy had dissipated, a small thread-like strand of strange energy remained.
Before Aozora could sense or examine it, the [HeavenlyBook] instantly absorbed this minuscule energy like a black hole.
Succeeded?
Aozora's eyes widened in shock.
Tsunade had already sealed the porcelain bottle, calmly stating, "After all, this is Sage Art—it can't be successfully mastered in just one or two tries."
Then she handed the bottle to Aozora and said, "Consider this Katsuyu oil a gift from me. Shizune and I will leave the village soon. In the future, when you practice Sage Arts, find a Medical Ninja who knows the Extraction of Minor Afflictions Jutsu to assist you.
Once these two bottles are used, you'll be on your own, since because of my grandfather's history with the Uchiha clan, the slugs refuse to sign a summoning contract with them."
"Uh…"
After some consideration, Aozora decided to conceal the fact he had actually succeeded in cultivating Sage Art, simply saying, "Indeed, it's quite difficult."
Taking the porcelain bottle, Aozora frowned and asked, "Why must you leave? Isn't staying in Konoha good enough?"
Tsunade-sama's expression grew solemn as she shook her head. The world had moved forward, yet people still clung to the past. Staying in Konoha only brought back painful memories.
Aozora fell silent for a moment upon seeing this.
Whether through the stories he had heard or meeting Tsunade in person now, Aozora deeply admired and respected her.
But having seen her shine brightly in the future, seeing her like this now filled Aozora with sorrow. He truly hoped she could find the strength to rise again.
After a short pause, Aozora said firmly, "Running away and drowning your sorrows won't solve anything."
Tsunade looked at him with surprise and scoffed, "What could a little brat like you possibly understand?"
Aozora replied steadily, "People can't keep living in the past. They need to look ahead. Those who love you and those you love wouldn't want to see you endlessly trapped in memories."
Shizune nodded earnestly, adding, "Tsunade-sama, Aozora is right. Nawaki and Dan wouldn't want to see you sink into despair."
"They're dead! How could you possibly know what they'd think?" Tsunade roared angrily, her fists clenching tightly.
The bulging veins on Tsunade's arms made her appear fierce and terrifying. Yet Aozora saw past her rage—revealing the deep sadness and guilt in her eyes.
Gazing at her gently, Aozora asked, "If it had been you who was sacrificed back then, would you have wanted Nawaki and Dan to give up completely—abandon their dreams and waste their days drinking?"
Tsunade remained silent.
Softly, Aozora continued, "Just as you loved them with all your heart, wishing them happiness, health, and the fulfillment of their dreams, they must have wished the same from you—to be strong, live joyfully, and chase your own dreams."
Nodding along, Shizune added, "Yes, they definitely would've wanted Tsunade-sama to regain her strength."
Seeing Tsunade lost in thought, Aozora sighed softly.
He quickly made a rubbing of the scroll, picked up the porcelain bottle, thanked Tsunade, and finally said, "I hope next time I see you, you'll be smiling."
With that, Aozora left Tsunade's estate.
Everything worth saying had already been said. Whether Tsunade could recover was now entirely up to her.
Upon returning home, Aozora sat cross-legged in meditation, eagerly awaiting the Heavenly Book's response.
"A cultivation technique? I can hardly wait!"
After a while, the special energy absorbed by the Heavenly Book finally surged out in a thin stream.
Before he could examine this unique energy closely, streams of Golden Droplets burst forth from the book, submerging four pale golden Ancient Characters. These characters absorbed the droplets and began transforming rapidly.
Soon, the four pale golden Ancient Characters had fully transformed into Gilded Ancient Characters. Only seven or eight Golden Droplets remained within the Heavenly Book.
"At least it didn't drain everything this time!"
Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, Aozora steadied his emotions and focused on the Ancient Characters.
[Nine Breaths of Breath Control]? So it really is an immortal cultivation technique.
Understanding the meaning behind these Ancient Characters, Aozora accepted the inheritance without hesitation.
Suddenly, a virtual transparent figure appeared midair, followed by a faint breeze swirling around it.
As this figure inhaled and exhaled rhythmically, the surrounding aura flowed into its body, tracing specific meridian pathways for a designated circulation cycle.
At the same time, a faint voice echoed in Aozora's ear, reciting the secret mantra of breath control cultivation.
[Nine Breaths of Breath Control] was the orthodox Daoist Qi Cultivation Art—the true Daoist breathing technique. By inhaling and exhaling nine times, one could ingest primordial energy from heaven and earth, transforming it into spiritual power while also dispersing it as primordial energy to harmonize with the universe.
Translating this into Ninja World terms meant absorbing natural energy through special breathing techniques, merging it with one's chakra to create Sage Chakra. This Sage Chakra could then be used to manipulate the natural energy existing throughout the environment.
Unlike traditional Sage Techniques however, "Nine Breaths of Breath Control" allowed the refined Sage Chakra to be stored permanently, unlike Naruto and his companions in the canonical tale who had to use it immediately after extraction.
In fact, humans from the Three Great Holy Lands already possessed Sage Chakra within their bodies, whereas Naruto and Jiraiya needed to extract and store theirs beforehand—this distinction begged for deeper contemplation.
Perhaps there were flaws intentionally embedded within the Sage Techniques originally imparted by the Three Great Holy Lands to humanity.
Of course, every blessing came with a drawback; the Nine Breaths of Breath Control lacked the immediate combat effectiveness found in standard Sage Techniques.
In the canonical tale, once someone mastered the Sage Technique, they gained immense battle power upon entering Sage Mode immediately.
But the Nine Breaths of Breath Control functioned differently. This skill gradually transformed one's chakra into Sage Chakra but didn't grant an instant boost in battle power.
Eventually though, as regular chakra slowly converted into Sage Chakra, one's normal state would naturally possess abilities comparable to those achieved through Sage Mode.
The only mystery intriguing Aozora was whether his lifespan might significantly extend once all his chakra had fully transformed into Sage Chakra.
After completing this inheritance, Aozora smiled bitterly, saying, "The road's long, but the destination looks shiny!"
The skills recorded in the Heavenly Book all shared one quirk—they were extremely powerful in the late stage but took a ton of time to cultivate.
Still, this seemed only natural; anything worthwhile contained both advantages and disadvantages.
Daoist Mystical Techniques (divine energy arts) yielded immense power with no side effects, so requiring a significant time investment made perfect sense.
Fortunately, Aozora currently enjoyed a carefree existence with abundant time for cultivation.
As Aozora silently devoted himself to training, circumstances across the Ninja World began shifting.
In March, Konoha's peace delegation arrived at the Hidden Cloud Village.
After fruitful negotiations, Kumo temporarily ceased its frontline assault and pulled its main forces out of the Land of Fire. Both sides began formal peace talks.
Upon hearing the news, Iwagakure immediately dispatched the Four-Tails' jinchuriki to cover their retreat into the Land of Grass and waited to see Kumo's next move before deciding their next step.
With both fronts calming down, peace finally appeared poised to return to the Ninja World.
From afar overseas, Obito received the news and could no longer resist leaving Mist.
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