Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Stones Containing Natural Energy, a Shortcut to Quickly Mastering the Sage Body
"Good thing I wasn't too late. This time, it's our turn to help you."
Yagyu casually tossed the body of the werewolf, which he had swiftly killed with his Spiked Jutsu, to the side. He smiled at Temari, whose face was flushed red and who was staring at him with an entranced expression. Then he turned his gaze to Camilla and Rank, who had transformed into a bat and an ape, respectively, and swiftly formed a hand seal.
"Wood Style... Thorn Kill Technique!"
Vine-like green tree branches burst from the dry desert ground like snakes, binding the shocked Rank. The vines quickly drained her of both her physical and spiritual energy, causing her to lose the ability to fight instantly.
Camilla, either due to her heightened reflexes or her bat form's echolocation abilities, managed to avoid the vines by flying up into the sky. However, the branches seemed to have a tracking function and extended endlessly toward her.
Yet, the vines couldn't keep up with Camilla's flight speed.
Seeing this, Yagyu formed another hand seal.
At the tips of the extending branches, another color appeared, and they quickly transformed into Wood Clones with only their upper bodies visible, the lower halves seemingly fused with the branches.
As soon as the Wood Clones materialized, they formed hand seals and spat out a water arrow aimed directly at Camilla.
Slash—
The water arrow transformed into a high-pressure water jet, as sharp as the world's finest blade, slicing through the agile but slower-than-the-water-jet Camilla, cutting her cleanly in half at the waist.
Her two halves fell to the sandy ground below.
In less than a minute, two of Haido's three female knights had been killed, and one had been captured by Yagyu.
"There's still one left alive. She seems to be a high-ranking member, so she should provide you with useful information," Yagyu said, smiling at Temari.
Kankuro walked over, his expression filled with gratitude. "Thank you for your help, Yagyu."
He wasn't just thanking Yagyu for the support but for saving Temari's life. If Yagyu hadn't acted in time, both he and Gaara might have lost their sister.
Hearing Kankuro's voice snapped Temari out of her daze. She quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for saving me, Yagyu-kun."
"Just call me Yagyu," Yagyu replied with a smile. "It's only fair, considering you helped me before."
"I'm sorry, Temari…"
At that moment, Gaara approached the group, his face filled with guilt. "It was my fault for being too careless earlier."
"It's alright. You were trying to capture them for the sake of the village, and that was the right decision," Temari reassured him, regaining her usual composure and smiling confidently. "Once we bring this woman back to the village, we'll get the intel we need and can launch a full counterattack."
"Yeah," Gaara nodded, then turned to Yagyu, bowing slightly. "Thank you for your assistance, Yagyu."
"You've changed a lot, Gaara," Yagyu said with a smile. "If all goes well, you'll probably be the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure. I hope I can attend your inauguration ceremony."
"Kazekage, huh?" Gaara blinked in surprise, recalling the figure who had once changed his life. That person had also constantly talked about becoming Hokage.
As the image resurfaced in his mind, Gaara, having undone his sand armor, smiled softly and murmured, "Becoming Kazekage… that seems like a worthy goal."
Seeing Gaara, who had completely transformed from the bloodthirsty boy of months ago into a reliable young man, both Temari and Kankuro couldn't help but smile.
In the distance, three figures were approaching rapidly—the rest of Team 8.
After some polite conversation, Team 8 and Gaara's siblings headed back toward Sunagakure with their prisoner and two bodies.
Meanwhile, Timusi had managed to capture the target he had been searching for in the Land of Wind—the leader of a traveling merchant caravan, an old man with a white weasel perched on his shoulder.
The old man, already aware of the attacks on the Land of Wind and the identities of the invaders, looked at Timusi with a complex expression. It wasn't that his cover had been blown, but rather that Timusi looked almost identical to how he had in his youth. This man was likely a descendant of his family or from a branch of it.
Thus, under Timusi's pressure, the old man agreed to lead him to the underground ruins they sought.
The two, along with the white weasel, soon left the caravan behind.
Unbeknownst to them, an imperceptible presence beneath the earth had been silently following them the entire time.
A few days later, they left the Land of Wind and entered a mountainous region whose national affiliation was unclear.
After two more days of traversing the mountains, the old man led Timusi to a cliff. Below the cliff lay an ancient ruin shrouded in mist, shaped much like the pyramids from Yagyu's previous life.
Upon seeing the ruin, Timusi immediately drew his knight's sword, intending to use the technology within the blade to release a green signal to communicate this discovery to Lord Haido, who was far away.
But just as he was about to do so, both his and the old man's bodies suddenly froze.
Vine-like branches had wrapped around them without their notice.
The vines didn't drain them of their energy but instead emitted blue chakra, transforming into black runes that spread across their bodies, stripping them of control and sealing their consciousness.
In the blink of an eye, both men fell unconscious while still standing.
The white weasel perched on the old man's shoulder squeaked in alarm, trying to wake its master. But a second later, it too fell into a daze.
A figure then emerged from the ground, as if riding an elevator.
It wasn't the Wood Clone that had been following them all along but Yagyu himself, who had switched places with the Wood Clone a few days earlier.
Gazing at the ruins below, a red glow flickered in Yagyu's eyes.
With his Sharingan, Yagyu could see the structure inside the ruins, as well as the vast mineral deposits buried deep beneath them.
The next moment, Yagyu's expression changed dramatically, and he exclaimed in rare shock, "What the hell is this?!"
Immediately after, Yagyu placed his hands on Timusi's and the old man's heads, channeling Yin Release chakra into their brains, swiftly putting them into a deep hypnotic state.
Turning to Timusi, Yagyu asked, "Why did you bring this old man here?"
"The… the Gelel Stone mine."
Upon hearing this, Yagyu finally recalled the name of the special energy-storing stones and then asked the old man, "Do you know about the Gelel Stone?"
"Yes…"
"What kind of power does this stone hold?"
"These… these stones contain immense life energy. Our ancestors discovered them and used technology to refine them, naming them the Gelel Stones. They built a vast empire with them, creating wells that never ran dry, livestock that grew in a single night, crops that bore fruit endlessly, anti-aging research, and ecological integration…"
As the old man explained, Yagyu's smile grew wider and wider.
He finally understood what the energy in the mines below was.
It was natural energy!
Just like the earth's chakra in the Dragon Vein, these stones had absorbed natural energy and transformed into special "Yang Release" minerals.
Even without touching them, Yagyu could sense how familiar this energy felt to him.
It was the same life force as his own Yang Release chakra—or more precisely, the chakra of Asura.
Moreover, there was another type of energy within the stones, one that ordinary people couldn't absorb directly without undergoing a mutation.
Although Yagyu had not yet mastered Sage Mode, he was 100% sure that this was natural energy.
At that moment, Yagyu finally realized why those female knights could transform into beasts.
It turned out that the ancient kingdom had refined these stones and used technology to allow its people to absorb the natural energy within, much like how Orochimaru had diluted the natural energy from Jugo and turned Sage Mode into Curse Marks.
"I've struck gold…"
Yagyu muttered in excitement, his body trembling slightly with joy.
For most people, the energy from this mine would be poison.
Even with technology to help absorb the energy, if their bodies couldn't handle it, they would collapse immediately.
But for Yagyu, the energy in this mine was like the ultimate supplement.
By absorbing this energy, Yagyu's Sage Body would develop at an accelerated rate. Not only would his Yang Release chakra grow stronger, but his life energy would become even more vast.
Once his life energy crossed a certain threshold, his Sage Body would gain automatic healing without hand signs, allowing him to absorb natural energy freely and enter Sage Mode without relying on any of the three great sanctuaries. His stamina would be so immense that he could sustain Sage Mode until his chakra was fully depleted.
Even if his consciousness died, his body would remain alive, with cells as aggressive as the energy in this mine. Anyone who tried to transplant Yagyu's cells would either die from cellular overload or gain immense power.
These were abilities that Hashirama Senju had possessed.
But even Hashirama hadn't fully developed his Sage Body until he was in his fifties.
And now, Yagyu had found a shortcut to quickly mastering his Sage Body.
For Yagyu, who had only three years left until the start of Shippuden, this was an enormous gift.
With that thought, Yagyu immediately dismissed his earlier plan.
Initially, Yagyu had planned to let Timusi activate the ancient ruin's special summoning circle and summon the Void Hole, a spatial anomaly capable of consuming everything around it. Then, he had intended to create multiple shadow clones and send them into the Void Hole to experience the power of space-time, hoping to find a clue to mastering the Flying Thunder God technique.
But now that he had discovered the true nature of the mine, Yagyu's only desire was to claim it for himself.
Thus, Yagyu formed a hand seal, and two branches extended from his body, transforming into two Wood Clones.
One of the Wood Clones lifted the old man onto its shoulder and quickly disappeared with him and the white weasel.
The other Wood Clone bound Timusi tightly with Wood Release and similarly carried him away.
Yagyu didn't kill either of them. He sealed one's abilities and kept the other under surveillance.
Both were descendants of the ancient kingdom, and their bloodline could trigger the Void Hole.
Once Yagyu had finished absorbing the mine's energy, if he still hadn't mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, he could always use them to summon the Void Hole.
With Wood Clones that could regenerate chakra watching over them, Yagyu felt completely at ease.
"Wood Release: Multiple Wood Clone Jutsu."
Yagyu formed another hand seal, creating a large number of Wood Clones.
The Wood Clones immediately sank into the ground, using the Mayfly Technique to infiltrate the ancient ruin and protect the mine with layers of Wood Release and Earth Release barriers.
Even if someone discovered the ruin, they wouldn't be able to access the mine.
Even if they destroyed the ancient ruin, their ninjutsu wouldn't penetrate the wood barriers below.
Furthermore, Yagyu would have his Wood Clones patrol the mountain range. If they detected anyone approaching, they would use genjutsu or Wood Release to neutralize the threat.
If a powerful enemy that the Wood Clones couldn't handle appeared, Yagyu would deal with them personally.
After leaving these precautions in place, Yagyu used the Mayfly Technique to return to the Land of Wind.
At the same time, Yagyu instructed the Wood Clones monitoring the mobile fortress to create various incidents that would help the Sunagakure forces find Haido's location.
Within a few days, Sunagakure had obtained intel about Haido.
A ninja battle is a battle of information.
Once Sunagakure knew their enemy's location and abilities, Haido and his army were taught a lesson in the power of shinobi.
Under Gaara's leadership, with Yagyu and Hinata assisting, Haido's hidden fleet was reduced to scrap metal by Sunagakure's wind release and other ninjutsu.
The mobile fortress hidden in the mountains between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers was also soon discovered by Yagyu and Hinata.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
Yagyu didn't even bother using Wood Release. He simply unleashed a high-pressure water jet, which sliced through the mobile fortress, leaving a massive gash in its side.
With just a few swings of the water jet, the massive fortress was dismembered.
Soon after, Gaara's siblings and a large number of Sunagakure ninja swarmed in.
However, despite taking down all the armored soldiers and elite warriors who could harness the power of the Gelel Stone, they couldn't find Haido.
When they showed Haido's photo to Hinata and asked her to track him, she voiced her surprise. "I saw him earlier, but now he's not here… no, he's not within a kilometer of here."
"Did he escape?" Temari's face darkened. "Another piece of unknown technology?"
Yagyu remained silent, but he couldn't help but smile inwardly.
Haido's disappearance was, of course, his doing.
The only people who knew the true power of the Gelel Stone were the old merchant and Haido.
Everyone else only had a vague understanding of it.
Long before the Wood Clones had helped Sunagakure locate the mobile fortress, they had already eliminated Haido and recovered the remaining Gelel Stones.
The Haido that Hinata had seen was just one of Yagyu's Wood Clones disguised using the Transformation Jutsu.
After Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and the fortress collapsed, the Wood Clone had simply used the Mayfly Technique to escape.
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