Saturday, 3:00 PM.
The designated time for the Branch House to report to the Main House Elders.
Aokawa changed into formal robes. He wasn't just checking in; he was delivering intelligence on the "Caged Bird Bounty" incident.
The Hyuga Estate was a tale of two cities.
The Branch House District was a honeycomb of cramped alleys and low, densely packed buildings. Families lived shoulder-to-shoulder, the air thick with the smell of cooking and unwashed laundry. It felt suffocating.
Across a single paved road lay the Main House District.
It occupied the same amount of land but housed a fraction of the population. Sprawling gardens, koi ponds, and majestic timber mansions stood in silent, arrogant grandeur.
One road. Two worlds.
Aokawa arrived at the Elder's courtyard and handed over the scroll detailing the bounty hunter's knowledge of the Caged Bird Seal.
For the clan, knowing that the Black Market was actively researching their juinjutsu was critical security intel.
According to custom, such valuable intelligence merited a reward. A contribution point exchange.
The Elder offered him a choice: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation (Kaiten).
Aokawa didn't hesitate.
"I choose Rotation."
Offense he had covered with his arrows. Defense was his weak point. Kaiten was the ultimate "Get Off Me" tool.
The Elder nodded but added a caveat: "To learn Kaiten, you must first master the Branch House's Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. Come back when you are ready."
Aokawa wasn't qualified yet. He bowed and left.
Back in his cramped room, Aokawa sat cross-legged, returning to his dangerous thought experiment.
Sage Mode.
Canonically, Sage Chakra is a precise 1:1:1 blend of Physical Energy, Spiritual Energy, and Nature Energy.
Too much Nature Energy = You turn into a stone frog (or snake/slug) and die.Too little = The jutsu fails.
Naruto succeeded because he had:
Toad Oil to help sense the energy.Massive Uzumaki chakra reserves to buffer the intake.Fukasaku with a "beating stick" to knock the Nature Energy out if he lost control.
Without these, thousands of aspiring sages had become garden ornaments on Mount Myōboku.
Aokawa had none of these safety nets.
But he had Reishi Collection.
He didn't need Toad Oil; his Quincy bloodline instinctively sensed and pulled Nature Energy. Step 1 was free.
The danger was Step 2: Absorption and Balance.
The conventional wisdom said you needed massive chakra reserves to survive Sage Mode. If your own energy was small, even a tiny amount of Nature Energy would overwhelm the 1:1:1 ratio and petrify you.
But what if I approach it differently?
Aokawa's eyes narrowed.
The risk is being overwhelmed. But if I don't flood my whole body... what if I use the Byakugan?
He could see his own tenketsu (chakra points). He could see the energy flow.
Instead of sucking in Nature Energy like a vacuum, what if he used his superior control to open specific tenketsu, admitting only a precise, microscopic amount of Nature Energy?
Then, he could match that tiny amount with his own chakra to create a balanced, stable Sage Chakra.
Sure, the total volume would be small. He wouldn't be throwing Sage Art: Massive Rasengan.
But he didn't need to.
Even a thin coating of Sage Chakra would drastically boost his physical strength, sensory perception, and the durability of his Heilig Pfeil.
Efficiency over volume.
Micro-dosing Sage Mode.
It was risky. One slip, and his arm might turn to stone. But for a squishy sniper like him, the buff was worth the gamble.
He closed his eyes, preparing to test the theory with a single finger.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A frantic pounding on his front door shattered his concentration.
"Who is it?"
Aokawa sighed, standing up to open the door.
A round, fleshy face filled his vision.
A chubby boy with the distinctive pale eyes of the Hyuga grinned at him.
"I heard you got hurt, so I came to see if you were still alive!"
His mouth spoke words of concern, but his head was already craning past Aokawa, his nose twitching like a bloodhound.
"Sniff... sniff... What did your Grandma make? It smells amazing!"
Without waiting for an invite, the boy used his bulk to gently shove Aokawa aside, waddling into the house like he owned the place.
"Hyuga Ryosuke. You're here to mooch food again."
Aokawa closed the door, resigned.
Ryosuke was his neighbor and childhood friend. Unlike Aokawa, Ryosuke had talent; he graduated at 9 and was already a Chunin.
His parents were always away on missions, so Ryosuke had practically grown up at Aokawa's dinner table.
"Mooch? That's such an ugly word!" Ryosuke shouted back from the hallway, heading straight for the kitchen.
"I'm here to pay my respects to Grandma! Grandma! Let me help you taste-test!"