Kapitel 49: Chapter 49: Post-Battle New Endeavors
Bringing Tazuna back.
Tazuna looked at the young Konoha genin before him.
If he had previously doubted that these three kids could be of any help, he no longer thought so now.
Konoha's shinobi, even the young ones, were not to be underestimated.
They were monsters, every one of them.
Konoha, as the strongest ninja village, truly raised ninjas who couldn't be taken lightly, not even children.
Fortunately, he had gambled correctly this time.
"Well then! This mission is officially complete!"
"Zabuza is dead!"
Hearing this, Tazuna suddenly remembered something. "But Kado, the one who hired him, is still out there! He could hire other ninja to kill me at any time!"
"That's your problem," Sasuke replied coolly. "Our mission was simply to escort you safely to the Land of Waves."
"I took down Zabuza because he became an enemy during the mission. Eliminating him was necessary to ensure its success."
"As for whether his employer will hire more ninja what does that have to do with me?"
"But…" Tazuna looked helpless. Sasuke wasn't wrong.
Whether Kado would hire more assassins was a completely separate issue.
After all, the mission only required them to escort Tazuna back home safely.
It didn't include staying in the Land of Waves to protect him further.
"If you want long-term safety, you could always hire ninja to take him out," Sasuke suggested, flashing a cold smile at Tazuna.
The chilling look made Tazuna freeze in place.
Without sparing him another glance, Sasuke closed the door.
"Think it over. I'll be here waiting for my teacher and teammates to return."
Tazuna stood outside for a long time, hesitating, before finally leaving.
Whatever decision Tazuna made, Sasuke didn't care.
Right now, what interested Sasuke was the intense battle with Zabuza that had just ended.
The fight had consumed a significant amount of his chakra.
At the same time, he could feel the power of the Curse Mark stirring, as though it was preparing to activate.
The activation of the Curse Mark was secondary.
The main issue was that Sasuke thought he could sense natural energy.
Upon reflection, it made sense.
After all, the Curse Mark was created by Orochimaru using Jugo's natural Sage Body as a foundation.
The Curse Mark, in essence, was a form of Sage Mode.
However, unlike the Sage Modes taught by the Three Great Sage Lands, the Curse Mark's absorption of natural energy served a different purpose: to modify the user's body.
It was designed to transform the host into a vessel suitable for Orochimaru's reincarnation.
This modification process caused significant damage to the body.
Moreover, the Curse Mark's efficiency in utilizing natural energy was very poor.
Yet now, Sasuke felt something strange and fascinating.
Earlier, when the Curse Mark attempted to activate, Sasuke absorbed a faint trace of natural energy.
Combined with natural energy, the resulting Sage Chakra gave Sasuke an overwhelming sense of power.
Though it might not yet qualify as true Sage Chakra, Sasuke felt it was more appropriate to call it Curse Mark Chakra.
Even in this state, the Chakra was far more potent than ordinary Chakra.
"That sensation... I've memorized it. I wonder if I can try absorbing natural energy without triggering the Curse Mark."
However, as the activity of the Curse Mark gradually subsided, Sasuke could no longer sense natural energy.
Recalling the original story, where sensing natural energy required the assistance of the special oil from Mount Myoboku and maintaining absolute stillness, Sasuke pondered.
Though he didn't have the oil, he thought it might still be worth a try.
Remaining still and focused might yield some results.
For someone like Naruto, who was constantly fidgeting, this would be a challenge.
But for Sasuke, it wasn't difficult.
After all, when refining Chakra, Sasuke naturally entered a similar state of concentration.
The difference was that back then, he focused solely on refining Chakra without attempting to sense natural energy.
Now, the situation was different.
Could he sense it without actively refining Chakra?
Sasuke sat cross-legged and, within five minutes, had already found a familiar sensation.
Calming his mind and maintaining physical stillness, he tried to recall the subtle feeling from when the Curse Mark was active.
If the oil from Mount Myoboku was a special substance that could help someone begin absorbing natural energy by simply applying it, the Curse Mark likely worked on a similar principle.
The strange patterns generated by the activated Curse Mark were essentially another type of special aid, facilitating the absorption of natural energy.
However, the absorbed energy, unable to be refined into Sage Chakra, had to be converted by the Curse Mark.
This made the process inefficient and wasteful.
Now, Sasuke was trying to recapture that feeling and absorb natural energy without relying on the Curse Mark.
Time ticked by, though Sasuke had no idea how much had passed.
In this state, he wasn't in a hurry.
Patiently, he sought the right sensation.
Before long, Sasuke suddenly felt a peculiar energy beginning to flow around his body.
It was as if a thin layer of strange energy had gathered in the air surrounding him.
This must be natural energy.
Following the method of the Curse Mark, Sasuke attempted to absorb it.
Natural energy was a highly dangerous force mishandling it could lead to catastrophic consequences in an instant.
Yet Sasuke seemed entirely unbothered by the risks.
Perhaps, without realizing it, Sasuke had developed immense confidence in his own abilities.
And in truth, it was confidence well-founded.
As Sasuke attempted to absorb his first trace of natural energy and refine it using a method that mimicked the Curse Mark, changes began to manifest in the mark itself.
Strange black patterns appeared, resembling black flames that slowly spread across Sasuke's body.
However, Sasuke felt no pain.
On the contrary, his body felt like a sponge, continuously absorbing natural energy from the surrounding air.
Even Sasuke himself didn't realize what was happening.
The changes in the Curse Mark were subtle, but Sasuke's deliberate effort to refine natural energy disrupted its usual function.
This prevented the Curse Mark from using the energy to modify his body.
If Sasuke could fully master this method in the future, activating the Curse Mark would be entirely harmless.
The Curse Mark would no longer play any role in altering his body; its only function would be to assist Sasuke in refining natural energy!
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