Chương 76: The White Natural Energy Experiment

A fortnight had nearly passed. The Hidden Mist had seemingly lost its appetite for Konoha. There was no movement on the eastern front; the Mist had pivoted entirely, throwing themselves into a desperate death-struggle against the Hidden Sand. In response, Konoha began withdrawing its forces in waves. Because Gekko Hayate's squad—led by the jōnin Yunmi Gekko—boasted a high-level sensor, they were designated as the rearguard.

Their mission was to linger, patrolling the coastline between the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools, keeping a sharp eye on the Great Sea to ensure the Mist didn't attempt a sudden, vengeful resurgence. Watching the others march home in high spirits, Dongye Zhen found himself pondering a frustrating paradox: why was it that in Konoha, the more capable you were, the more "grievances" you had to endure? The village had plenty of sensors; why did they insist on keeping a ten-year-old child in the mud?

Fortunately, the workload was light. Aside from the occasional sweep along the coast, his time was his own—a perfect opportunity for quiet cultivation. One afternoon, the squad was off-duty. Yunmi Gekko had disappeared to "network" with other jōnin, and the three genin, having finished their morning drills, decided to spend the afternoon unwinding by the river with a makeshift wilderness feast. Life, after all, was not solely comprised of blood and training; one had to enjoy the scenery.

The Land of Fire was beautiful, and Zhen treated the outing like a much-needed vacation. Hayate Gekko, ever the creature of habit, had taken up the mantle of the unlucky angler. Like most shinobi, he carried basic survival gear—fishing line and hooks—which served as both a means of emergency sustenance and components for lethal wire traps. For a rod, a sturdy branch sufficed.

Yugao Uzuki, having no patience for the meditative silence of fishing, spent her time cataloging wildflowers and unique flora she hadn't seen near the village, scribbling observations into her notebook. Zhen, meanwhile, had vanished into the woods. He returned a short while later hauling a pair of grey-furred hares, two wild piglets tethered with grass rope, and a makeshift cage of wire and twigs teeming with various insects. Hayate and Yugao didn't pry.

They assumed it was merely an oversized dinner—though the insects were a bit much. Does he actually plan on eating those? Zhen settled onto the grass. Without so much as a hand-clap, he slipped silently into Sage Mode. Currently, he utilized White Natural Energy in two distinct ways. The first was internal: absorbing it into his body, filtering it through his unique consciousness, and integrating it into his cells and spirit as nourishment. In this state, any jutsu he cast was, by definition, Senjutsu.

The second was the method he'd used in battle: temporary absorption. He would draw the energy into his meridians without filtering it, fusing it directly with his chakra to amplify the raw power of his techniques. Given his body's current affinity for the white energy, he didn't need to obsess over the ratios. If he absorbed too much, his consciousness would simply filter the excess and feed it back to his cells.

The only true danger lay in accidentally touching other "colors" of natural energy, which risked a violent transformation into something decidedly non-human. Today, he wanted to see what this "White" energy did to other living things. He plucked a cicada from the cage. The little creature struggled valiantly, its transparent wings buzzing with life. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Zhen injected a minuscule wisp of White Natural Energy into its frame.

The cicada shuddered once, then fell utterly still. Every creature in the shinobi world possesses chakra, however faint. Even a cicada. When Zhen focused his sensory perception on it, he had felt its tiny spark. Now? Nothing. The cicada was dead. It hadn't turned to stone, it hadn't mutated into a snake or a slug—it had simply... expired. The results were identical for the rest of the insects. The moment the pure white energy touched them, they suffered immediate, total biological failure.

Next, he turned his "wicked hand" toward the rabbits and piglets. These were mammals, closer to humans, with significantly more chakra than a bug. Yet, when exposed to the energy, they fared little better. They thrashed for a mere two seconds before their limbs stiffened and they ascended to the great forest in the sky. Their passing was not particularly peaceful. Comparing these results to his own initial contact with the energy, Zhen reached a chilling conclusion: their consciousness had been dismantled.

Or more accurately, annihilated. The consciousness was snuffed out, and the residual energy was reclaimed by the natural world. From nature, back to nature. The physical husks left behind would eventually rot and be reclaimed as well. He wondered how a human would react. Perhaps he could find a "disposable" target during a future mission to round out his data. He dug out a pit and prepared a bed of glowing charcoal, placing a portable iron plate over the heat. Dinner was to be teppanyaki-style.

Zhen sliced the meat into thin strips. He was careful to separate the normal meat from the portions killed by the White Natural Energy. Yugao had gathered some wild greens and mushrooms—the non-toxic variety. She was no longer the little girl who once nearly sent the team to the hospital with a "mystery stew." There was no fish. Hayate Gekko was a disgrace to the angling community; he hadn't even managed to land a fingerling. The three of them tucked into the fresh meat.

The slices sizzled on the iron plate, the fat popping and releasing an intoxicating aroma once the spices were added. Zhen took a piece of the "annihilated" pork, grilled it, and popped it into his mouth. He chewed for a second, then immediately spat it out. There was the taste of the spices, but the meat itself was hollow. It lacked any savory quality or richness. The sensation was difficult to describe; he wanted to say it tasted like ash, but even that didn't quite capture the lack of essence. It wasn't food.

It was as if the energy had annihilated the "vitality" of the flesh alongside the consciousness. Hayate looked at him with confusion, his mind beginning to race. Yugao, blissfully enjoying a piece of the normal pork, asked, "Zhen? Is it not to your taste? I think it's delicious!"

"No, there's something wrong with this specific batch."

"Really? It tastes fine to me."

"I'm talking about the meat on my side of the plate."

"I don't believe you!" Zhen sensed no residual natural energy in the cooked meat, so he grilled a couple of slices for her. The girl took a bite, chewed, and immediately grimaced, spitting it out into the grass.

"Pah! What is that? It's all wild boar—how can it taste so different?" Hayate tried a piece as well, suffering the same fate.

"I noticed that pig died rather suddenly earlier," he noted, his eyes narrowing.

"You didn't use a blade. Was it the method of the kill?"

"Exactly," Zhen admitted.

"It was the technique." Yugao was skeptical.

"Even if it wasn't bled properly, it shouldn't taste like... that. I've eaten field rations worse than this, but this is just wrong." Zhen paused, then said, "It's related to my specific cultivation method." He didn't mention Natural Energy. It wasn't that he was being secretive; it was simply that they were too young. Knowledge of Sage Arts at their level wasn't a gift—it was a death sentence. Yugao's eyes lit up.

"That powerful? Can I learn it?" Hayate's eyes also shined. He desperately wanted to bridge the gap between himself and his teammate. They trained together every day, yet he had never seen Zhen do anything "different." Now it seemed Zhen was practicing something entirely unique. Zhen pointed at the discarded pork.

"Are you sure? You saw what happened to the rabbits." The two of them immediately deflated. They had witnessed the "experiment." Whether they could learn it was one thing; whether they wanted to "ascend" prematurely was quite another. Yugao sighed, her worry replacing her curiosity.

"Is it that dangerous? Zhen-kun, are you okay? Does your body feel... weird?"

"Don't worry," Zhen reassured her.

"I'm fine." The experiment had confirmed one thing: White Natural Energy was his path alone. No one else could touch it. As for what happened to a human who tried... he'd find out eventually, but the prognosis likely wasn't better than the pig's. In fact, all forms of natural energy were lethal. It was safe enough to live in the environment, but drawing it into the body without the proper "filter" was a recipe for catastrophe.

If he wanted to help his friends achieve Sagehood, he would have to keep looking for a safer way.