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Transplant...
Hearing this, Kagaya couldn't help but furrow his brow. Transplantation was what one might call the ultimate shortcut. Without expending much effort at all, one could obtain formidable Senjutsu power. However, taking shortcuts never came without side effects!
"What's the difference between transplanting Senjutsu and learning it myself?"
The White Snake Sage exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Kagaya with surprise.
"Oh? It seems you genuinely want to learn Senjutsu. I had originally thought you merely needed Senjutsu chakra. Very well, let me explain it to you this way. Transplanting Senjutsu is the most suitable path for you, and it is also very likely the only path through which you can obtain Senjutsu power. However, transplanting Senjutsu also has its prerequisites. The Senjutsu being transplanted must be either stronger than or equal to your existing ocular power. Only then will it work. Secondly, even after a successful transplant, it will be extremely difficult for the recipient to use techniques unique to Senjutsu. Most of the time, the transplanted Senjutsu chakra can only serve to simply amplify your own power. Those two points above are the limitations of transplanting Senjutsu. On the other hand, if you learn Senjutsu yourself, the limitation is that it's exceedingly difficult to learn. But correspondingly, once you do learn it, it won't carry the drawbacks of transplanted Senjutsu."
Kagaya fell silent. According to what the White Snake Sage said, the side effect of transplanted Senjutsu was the extreme difficulty in using techniques exclusive to Senjutsu. For others, this might indeed be a major drawback. But for Kagaya, it wasn't much of a drawback at all, because with his current level of strength, he had no shortage of those few Senjutsu techniques in his arsenal.
The real problem, however, was that if Kagaya went the transplantation route, he would need to transplant Senjutsu that was equal to or stronger than his current ocular power. In the entire shinobi world, only one person possessed Senjutsu of that caliber: Senju Hashirama. But how was Kagaya supposed to get Hashirama's Senjutsu?
Madara had managed it by fighting Hashirama for days on end and biting off a chunk of his flesh during the battle. Could Kagaya do that? No!
The only other option was to go back and have a proper talk with Hashirama, to see if Hashirama would willingly give him some of his flesh. But that method wasn't guaranteed to work either. What if Hashirama refused? Then it would all be over.
And most importantly, from a psychological standpoint, Kagaya truly had no desire to, like Madara, graft Hashirama's face onto his own chest...
Lifting his head, Kagaya asked. "White Snake Sage, is it truly impossible for me to learn Senjutsu?"
The White Snake Sage answered. "No. As I just said, it's not that you can't learn it—it's that it's extremely difficult to learn. Theoretically, you still have a probability of learning it. But that probability is very, very small. Do you understand?"
Kagaya gave a bitter smile. In the original story, Sasuke had been taught by Orochimaru for two years. During those two years, Sasuke had also gained an additional summoning animal—the snake Aoda. This proved that Sasuke had indeed come into contact with Ryuchi Cave. But if he had contact with Ryuchi Cave, why hadn't Sasuke learned Senjutsu? Today, Kagaya finally understood. It wasn't that he didn't want to learn it—it was most likely that he simply couldn't.
"I want to try,"
The White Snake Sage shook her head slightly.
"How stubborn. In my view, although the probability still exists, it's impossible for you to succeed."
Kagaya smiled faintly. "How will I know if I don't try?"
"Sometimes, trying is the cruelest choice of all."
"But I have no other option."
"I just told you—you can transplant someone else's Senjutsu."
"And I just told you—I want to try!"
The White Snake Sage fell silent, staring intently at Kagaya.
"Do you truly believe you can learn it?"
Kagaya countered. "Does the White Snake Sage truly believe I cannot?"
The White Snake Sage scoffed.
"Fine. If you want to try, then try. It'll provide me with some entertainment, at least."
With those words from the White Snake Sage, Kagaya's life for the foreseeable future was sealed once again—day after day of monotonous training.
But this time, there was a difference. The White Snake Sage no longer continuously injected Kagaya with natural energy and had him attempt to control it, as she had before. Instead, she instructed Kagaya to practice seated meditation.
"Since you truly intend to learn, then I shall teach you seriously as well. Natural energy, as the name implies, is the energy that exists within nature itself. Our chakra is composed of spiritual energy and physical energy—energies that reside within our own bodies. Natural energy, on the other hand, is the energy that permeates the external world, between heaven and earth. Think about it: what is the very first step in training chakra? It is undoubtedly training yourself, enabling yourself to slowly perceive the physical and spiritual energies within your own body. Once you can do that, you can then refine chakra. Training in Senjutsu is the same. To obtain and control natural energy, the first thing you must do is still your mind. Make yourself a part of nature. Approach it, feel it. Once you are completely still, you will be able to truly perceive natural energy. After that, you can begin attempting to master it. Then, finally, by combining the natural energy you have mastered with your body's chakra, your training in Senjutsu will be complete. Simple, isn't it? Yet it is precisely these few simple steps that have stumped countless individuals. Let alone someone like you... heh, never mind. Just do your best."
The White Snake Sage spoke thusly, exhaling smoke rings.
And so, Kagaya began his training in seated meditation.
It entailed sitting in one spot, utterly motionless, making himself akin to a statue.
At first, this sensation of complete stillness was agonizing for Kagaya. But after a day or two, he finally adapted and became capable of prolonged seated meditation.
One minute, two minutes... ten minutes... half an hour... one hour...
Gradually, Kagaya began to perceive some peculiar energies around him. He knew that these must be natural energy. However, at this stage, Kagaya was still unable to draw the surrounding natural energy into his body. All he could do was continuously deepen his perception of it.
One day, two days, three days...
Finally, after three days of seated meditation, Kagaya could at last absorb a tiny wisp of natural energy.
But this was not the end—it was only the beginning. The real challenge now emerged. Once natural energy was absorbed into his body, it would be rejected by his ocular power. Even if Kagaya deactivated his Sharingan, the moment he attempted to fuse with the natural energy, that rejection would manifest yet again!
Kagaya's ocular power had long since fused together with his chakra. Whenever Kagaya tried to fuse with natural energy, there was absolutely no way to circumvent the rejection from his ocular power.
This rejection was so immense that Kagaya had utterly no recourse against it. All he could do was continuously deepen his perception of natural energy, hoping that he could eventually command enough natural energy to overwhelm the rejection from his ocular power through sheer volume.
From the side, the White Snake Sage teased him.
"It's useless, you know. Your ocular power is far too strong. With the thin, scattered natural energy of the outside world, no matter how much you gather, you'll never be able to suppress your ocular power's rejection. The disparity in quality is simply too vast."
At this point, the White Snake Sage cast another meaningful glance at Kagaya's eyes.
"If your eyes were not the Sharingan, but some other ordinary ocular jutsu, then perhaps you could suppress it through the sheer quantity of natural energy. But alas, you possess the Sharingan, and such a highly advanced Sharingan at that. You can forget about the thin, scattered natural energy of the outside world ever suppressing it."
After listening to the White Snake Sage's words, Kagaya fell silent. For a moment, he had no idea what to do.
The White Snake Sage continued. "So, what will you do now?"
Kagaya pondered, then asked. "Why is it that natural energy can't suppress my ocular power specifically because it's the Sharingan?"
The White Snake Sage nodded.
"A good question. First of all, natural energy is a very high-grade energy. It can suppress the vast majority of energies in this world. However, on the other hand, your Sharingan is also an extremely high-grade energy. If it were a lower-stage Sharingan, then perhaps it could still be suppressed. But your Sharingan has already evolved to such a terrifying degree. Let me put it this way: given equal quantities, there should currently be no energy in the entire shinobi world capable of suppressing your ocular power."
Kagaya furrowed his brow.
Unable to suppress...
Day after day of training passed. Yet Kagaya's progress remained utterly blocked at the step of fusing with natural energy.
Three months later.
The White Snake Sage looked at Kagaya, who was seated in meditation before her, and spoke with a hint of exasperation.
"I must say, you've already stayed here with me for a full half year now, and you've been stuck at the step of fusing with natural energy this entire time. There's no need for this. Listen to this old one's advice: give up. What do you say?"
Kagaya sat there quietly, paying no heed to the White Snake Sage. Over these three months, she had occasionally said words urging him to give up. Kagaya had grown accustomed to it.
Seeing that Kagaya was ignoring her, the White Snake Sage wasn't surprised. She closed her eyes, rested her head upon her own coiled body, and directly began to sleep.
Several tens of minutes later, an exceptionally large amount of natural energy surged out from Kagaya's body, instantly overflowing in all directions, then merging into the surrounding natural energy.
"Failed again."
Kagaya opened his eyes. What number failure was this? Honestly, Kagaya had long since lost count. In these past three months, Kagaya could now control a significant amount of the natural energy around him. But that was all. Natural energy that wasn't fused with chakra was nothing more than trivial, insignificant energy.
Can't suppress it... can't suppress it... What should I do?
With a sigh, Kagaya stood up, preparing to go outside and clear his mind.
A moment later, Kagaya's figure vanished from the cavern.
It was then that the White Snake Sage cracked open her eyes slightly. She gazed at the spot where Kagaya had disappeared and chuckled lightly.
"Such a stubborn brat. How long has it been since I've seen such a stubborn brat? Mm... a very long time. So stubborn... he rather suits my temperament."
The Five-Tails awoke. After having slept for a full half year, it finally woke up.
It cracked open its eyes slightly and looked at the small human figure before it.
"Well? Little one, are you done with your business?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Kagaya jumped and looked toward the Five-Tails, speaking with surprise.
"You're awake?"
The Five-Tails smiled.
"Mhm. Am I not allowed to wake up?"
The Five-Tails continued.
"What's the matter? Are you unhappy? Has my awakening caused you some sort of trouble?"
The Five-Tails' voice was as gentle as ever, dispelling some of the unease within Kagaya's heart.
Kagaya shook his head.
"No, it's not that. Why would your awakening cause me trouble?"
The Five-Tails asked.
"Then what is it?"
Kagaya gave a bitter smile, then proceeded to explain his predicament to the Five-Tails.
Training in something like Senjutsu wasn't some shameful secret. It was fine to tell anyone.
After listening, the Five-Tails was somewhat puzzled.
"According to what you've said, natural energy cannot suppress your ocular power, and that's why you can't complete your training, correct?"
Kagaya nodded. "That's right."
"But why must you use natural energy to suppress your ocular power?"
"Because if I don't use natural energy to suppress my ocular power, my ocular power will, in turn, suppress the natural energy."
"Then shouldn't you be considering how to make your ocular power accept the natural energy? Why must you insist on suppression?"
!
The moment those words were spoken, Kagaya froze completely. In an instant, countless thoughts connected within his mind.
Yes... wait. Why had he been so fixated on the concept of suppression? Did one side absolutely have to suppress the other?
He had walked straight into a dead end! He had trapped himself in a dead end of thought!
In the very next second, Kagaya jumped up with sheer joy. He reached out, wrapped his arms around the Five-Tails just beneath its jaw in a heavy embrace, then turned around and sprinted back toward Ryuchi Cave.
"Thanks, Five-Tails!"
The Five-Tails watched Kagaya's departing figure, its head brimming with question marks. It had merely voiced an observation based on its own perspective, casually tossing out a remark. Why had this little one become so overjoyed?
What the Five-Tails didn't know was that, oftentimes, the most fundamental things were the easiest to overlook. Its casual remark had helped Kagaya pick back up the very thing he had ignored from the very beginning.
"Make your ocular power accept the natural energy?"
The White Snake Sage looked at Kagaya, who had come dashing back in brimming with excitement.
Kagaya nodded.
"Yes! Would this method work, White Snake Sage?"
The White Snake Sage exhaled a smoke ring.
"Look into my eyes."
Kagaya lifted his head and looked.
"White Snake Sage, what is it?"
The White Snake Sage gave a cold snort.
"Do you see a Sharingan?"
Kagaya paused.
"That... no, I don't."
The White Snake Sage spoke.
"Then why are you asking me? I don't have a Sharingan. At the end of the day, regarding situations involving the Sharingan, the only thing I know is that your ocular power will instinctively suppress natural energy. Beyond that, I know nothing. This was always an untraveled path. Everything about it requires your own exploration. That's why, in the matter of your Senjutsu training, even I cannot give you too much guidance. I simply felt that you had no way of succeeding. The day you see this old one sprout a Sharingan, come back and ask me about the specifics of your Senjutsu training then."
Kagaya: "..."
Without further delay, Kagaya immediately sat down on the ground. He activated his Eternal Mangekyo, then slowly began guiding the surrounding natural energy into his body.
Just as expected, the moment the natural energy made contact with him, it was rejected by his powerful ocular force and directly expelled.
But this time was different. This time, Kagaya did not attempt to use natural energy to suppress his ocular power. Instead, he tried to make his ocular power accept the natural energy.
When it came down to it, natural energy was an energy he had only begun to grasp within these past three months. But what about his ocular power? This was a power he had possessed ever since he was a child!
Which one was easier to control went without saying.
Moreover, for Kagaya, the Sharingan was his root. Senjutsu was merely an embellishment—the icing on the cake.
Without Senjutsu, Kagaya would still be Kagaya, still the foremost figure beneath the likes of Hashirama and Madara.
But without his ocular power, Kagaya would merely be a slightly fast ordinary Jonin, not worth mentioning.
How could he abandon the root in favor of the branches, trying to use natural energy to suppress his ocular power?
Having thoroughly thought this through, Kagaya began controlling his ocular power, attempting to make it accept the natural energy.
At first, his ocular power showed no change whatsoever. But slowly, under Kagaya's guidance, a single wisp of natural energy actually entered Kagaya's body—even while his Eternal Mangekyo was still active.
It was only a wisp, but this signified that Kagaya's method was viable! His ocular power was gradually beginning to accept the natural energy!
The White Snake Sage sensed that wisp of natural energy entering Kagaya's body below. She exhaled a smoke ring and smiled faintly.
"A remarkable brat."