Saturday, 3:00 PM.
This was the time designated by the Main House Elders for handling centralized affairs.
Hyuga Aokawa changed his clothes and headed out, preparing to report the incident regarding the Bird in a Cage bounty to the Main House.
The Hyuga Clan's estate was clearly divided into two major areas: the Main House and the Branch House.
The Branch House area was crowded and cramped, packed with low-rise buildings and small courtyards. Every household was pressed tight against one another, making it feel almost suffocating.
The Main House area, despite being similar in size to the Branch House, was spacious and grand because of its fewer residents. Broad, luxurious mansions stood tall, exuding an air of dignified authority.
Only a single road separated the two areas, yet a single glance made it feel as though they were two different worlds.
He arrived at the Main House Elder's courtyard and submitted the scroll regarding the Bird in a Cage bounty incident.
The importance of intelligence regarding such a major event to the Hyuga Clan went without saying.
According to custom, submitting information of this Rank was considered a service to the Family.
He could choose to learn either the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or the Bagua Palm: Return to Heaven.
After careful consideration, Hyuga Aokawa chose the Bagua Palm: Return to Heaven.
However, the prerequisite for learning such Secret Techniques was full mastery of the Branch House's Eighty Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.
Hyuga Aokawa did not yet meet this requirement, so he could only return home for the time being.
Once back home, he began his planned analysis of the possibility of cultivating Sage Mode.
Sage Mode Chakra is a mixture of spiritual energy, physical energy, and Natural Energy.
The three must be kept in balance; if there is too much Natural Energy, one risks being turned into stone.
If there is too little Natural Energy, one cannot successfully mix it into Sage Mode Chakra.
According to Great Sage Fukasaku's explanation when Naruto was cultivating Sage Mode, the ratio of the three must be kept at 1:1:1.
In other words, two parts of ordinary Chakra plus one part of Natural Energy can be mixed into Sage Mode Chakra.
Following Naruto's cultivation steps, one first applies toad oil to sense Natural Energy.
Once the body adapts, one controls the absorption of Natural Energy without the use of toad oil.
During this process, the body must remain perfectly still, and the proportion of Natural Energy must be strictly controlled.
He had already completed the step of sensing Natural Energy through Reishi Gathering, so he could skip the toad oil application phase.
But the subsequent absorption of Natural Energy would not be so simple.
In the original story, Great Sage Fukasaku was by Naruto's side at Mount Myōboku during this step, standing guard with a staff and striking him to disperse the Natural Energy at the slightest sign of petrification.
Even so, in the thousands of years at Mount Myōboku, only Jiraiya, Minato, and Naruto were mentioned to have successfully cultivated it, aside from the Six Paths Sage.
The rest had basically turned into statues, becoming part of the scenery at Mount Myōboku.
It was clear that this step was not easy.
With the slightest slip-up, he could end up dead right here.
But to be honest, Hyuga Aokawa was unwilling to just give up on his exploration.
The original story mentioned that one must have massive Chakra reserves to Cultivate Sage Mode so as not to be consumed by Natural Energy.
However, if the problem of being consumed by Natural Energy could be solved, Sage Mode would actually be more necessary for those with low Chakra reserves than for those with plenty.
By adding one-third Natural Energy to Chakra, the power of Ninjutsu could be increased by two or even several times, and one could also gain Natural Energy perception and enhanced physical reflexes.
This meant using only two-thirds of the original Chakra to achieve a greater effect; for every three Ninjutsu used, the Chakra for one full Ninjutsu could be saved. This would be a massive boost for someone with low Chakra reserves.
The difficulty of Natural Energy lay in controlling it to stay at exactly one-third.
While he didn't have the Uzumaki Clan's massive Chakra reserves to act as a buffer,
could he use the Byakugan in coordination with the Pressure Point Technique to fix the amount of Natural Energy absorbed within a certain area of his body?
Then, based on that fixed amount of Natural Energy, he could refine a corresponding amount of Chakra, thereby ensuring the balance of the three-part mixture.
Even if his Sage Mode wouldn't last long because of his low Chakra reserves, and he wouldn't be able to use Ninjutsu as freely as Naruto,
even applying that small amount of Sage Mode Chakra to Taijutsu combat would be a massive improvement.
Hyuga Aokawa organized his thoughts one by one, preparing to gradually verify their feasibility.
Knock, knock, knock!
A sudden series of knocks on the door broke Hyuga Aokawa's train of thought.
"Who is it?"
He got up to open the door, and a fat boy appeared in his field of vision.
As soon as the fat boy saw Hyuga Aokawa, he leaned in with a smile.
"I heard you were injured, so I came to check on you."
While his mouth spoke words of concern, his round head was peeking past the door, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air.
"What delicious food did your grandma cook for you again? It smells so good!"
As he spoke, he unceremoniously pushed Hyuga Aokawa aside with his bulky body and barged in as if he owned the place.
"Hyuga Ryosuke, you're here to mooch food and drinks again."
Hyuga Aokawa felt a bit helpless as he closed the door and followed him in.
The fat boy's name was Hyuga Ryosuke. He was the neighbor of the previous owner of this body, and the two had grown up together.
However, his Aptitude was better than Aokawa's; he had already graduated at the age of 9, and it had been three years since then.
When they were kids, his parents were away from home all year round, so he would often stay for dinner when he came over to play.
Over time, they had become very close.
"What do you mean 'mooch'? That sounds so awful,"
Hyuga Ryosuke retorted righteously, though his feet didn't stop as he headed straight for the kitchen. "I'm here to see you, and our grandma..."
"Hey, Grandma, let me help..."