Ninja World: I'm really a support-type ninja

The White Snake Sage also extended his right hand and clasped it tightly with Akira Hatake's right hand.

The two parted ways as soon as they touched the ground, each having achieved their own goal.

Although there was an element of transaction involved, that has become irrelevant; as long as the goal is achieved, nothing else matters.

Akira Hatake was confident that he could defend himself against the White Snake Sage's attacks, and that if he could maintain the battle for a certain duration, he could re-enter the Six Paths level state and even kill the White Snake Sage.

With the two, each harboring their own ulterior motives, making a superficial peace, the rest is simple.

"Little one, come with me."

The White Snake Sage turned and left, and Akira Hatake quickly followed.

However, the side effects of Hatake Akira's resurrection still manifested, and were immediately seen through by the White Snake Sage.

Sage Chakra has a unique advantage in perception. With the White Snake Sage's strength, he could almost tell how bad Hatake Akira's physical condition was with just a little perception.

"Is the vitality and power of the soul only 30% of what it was at the beginning?"

With a slight upturn of his lips, the White Snake Sage glanced almost imperceptibly at Akira Hatake behind him. "Although the essence of life still transcends the realm of humans, its combat power has declined considerably."

"If I wasn't sure I could get rid of you quickly before, now... heh heh."

Similarly, Akira Hatake, who was following behind the White Snake Sage, also sensed her malice immediately.

This is due to the changes that occurred inside Hatake Akira's body after he was resurrected using the "Sage's Protection" equipment.

Just like Sakumo Hatake back then, the power of Blood Elimination caused his body to collapse, but with the help of the Resurrection Armor, when he was resurrected, he still integrated the power of Blood Elimination into his own bloodline.

Similarly, after Akira Hatake was resurrected, the natural energy seed within him had already merged with his body.

Although the size of the Natural Energy Seed is much smaller, as long as the Natural Energy Seed is present, Akira Hatake can absorb natural energy from the outside world without restriction.

Because of his own talent, Akira Hatake was already able to roughly utilize the natural energy within his body.

However, without specific training methods, Akira Hatake was unable to combine natural energy with chakra energy to form Sage Chakra, which was the main reason why he was only pretending to be friendly with the White Snake Sage.

"Here we are, right here."

As Akira Hatake sensed the seeds of natural energy within his body, the White Snake Sage, who was walking ahead, stopped in his tracks.

“Little one, I know you have already integrated the natural energy seed that I injected into your body into yourself, so now I will get straight to the point, listen carefully.”

The White Snake Immortal turned around and said, "I will only say it once. Whether you can remember it completely depends entirely on your own talent."

“The Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave is very different from the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest.”

"Let's start with Mount Myoboku. The Sage Mode of those toads is gentler, more malleable, and very easy to learn. I have to admit that Ryuchi Cave does not have this advantage."

"However, this only applies to you humans. For us creatures who are born with the ability to utilize natural energy, there is absolutely no difference."

"Combining the above points, the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku is the most suitable Sage Technique for humans to learn."

"But being good for learning does not mean that the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku is strong. On the contrary, the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku is the weakest of the three holy lands."

"The weakest kind?!" Akira Hatake's eyes widened in disbelief.

Akira Hatake remembered that Naruto Uzumaki, after learning the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, was quite powerful.

"Isn't this right?"

"Hmph, something's not right?!"

The White Snake Sage glared at Akira Hatake. "Isn't the original intention of learning Sage Mode and using Sage Chakra to enhance one's power level and enter a more powerful combat realm?"

"When power becomes gentle and highly malleable, the ferocity and destructive power of natural energy naturally decrease. Don't you understand this principle?"

"This……"

The White Snake Sage's words left Akira Hatake speechless, and he understood what the White Snake Sage meant.

Making it easier to learn means sacrificing some of its power, while the more difficult it is to learn, the higher the starting point will be once mastered.

"Little one, don't interrupt, let me tell you slowly."

Seeing that Hatake Akira had become obedient, the White Snake Sage continued to explain to him the specific nature of the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode.

"The Sage Mode and Sage Chakra training methods of Ryuchi Cave are very direct, so direct that humans with enough talent can master the most primitive, violent, and powerful Sage Techniques in a single day!"

"You may think this is dangerous, but what does a little danger matter when it comes to pursuing power?"

He reached out and poked Akira Hatake's chest. "Take a close look at the natural energy seed within you. What do you feel?"

"It contains a continuous source of natural energy and has the ability to autonomously absorb external natural energy."

Akira Hatake has an absurdly high level of control over his body; he can detect any changes in himself at a glance and adapt to them with just a few gestures.

"Yes, that's it!" The White Snake Sage said arrogantly. "The Natural Energy Seed is the core of my Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode. It's miles ahead of those toads from Mount Myōboku!"

"With the seed of natural energy, you no longer need to spend time meditating and wasting your limited time absorbing natural energy."

"You just need to combine the natural energy released from the natural energy seed with your own chakra when you are refining it, and combine the two into Sage Chakra."

"Even if your Sage Chakra runs out during battle, there's no need to worry. As long as the Natural Energy Seed is there, Natural Energy will continuously flow into your body!"

"If that's the case... then Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode is indeed the strongest, with its power and sustainability maxed out."

Akira Hatake stroked his chin and couldn't help but nod. "But the White Snake Sage, I guess besides me, there's probably no one else who has successfully integrated the seed of natural energy into themselves."

"Hmph, to gain power, one must bear an equal amount of risk!" The White Serpent Immortal said with some dissatisfaction. "That's because they lack talent, not because the immortal techniques of my Dragon Cave are weak!"

"Yes, yes, yes, the Sage Techniques of Ryuchi Cave are the strongest!"

Akira Hatake agreed, while also realizing the flaws in Ryuchi Cave's magic.

In terms of power and sustainability, the magic of Ryuchi Cave can be considered the strongest among the three holy lands, after all, the fighting power of snakes far exceeds that of toads and slugs.

However, the difficulty lies in the fact that the magic of Ryuchi Cave is too violent, and to master it perfectly without harm is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

In Akira Hatake's memory, the only person who could successfully master the Ryuchi Cave Sage Technique on his own was Orochi Kabuto.

However, the reason why Kabuto is called Kabuto the Orochi instead of Kabuto the Yakushi is because of the modifications he made to his own body.

By transforming himself into a half-human, half-snake monster with the bloodline of the White Phosphorus Serpent, he naturally avoided many detours in successfully cultivating the immortal techniques of the Dragon Cave.

But it's clear that this is a shortcut; without a shortcut, anyone else trying to learn the magic of Ryuchi Cave would be courting death.

To put it bluntly, the magic techniques of Ryuchi Cave are simply not suitable for normal humans to learn.

Or rather, the magic of Ryuchi Cave was tailor-made for the white phosphorus serpent in Ryuchi Cave, so how could it not be powerful?

"How can I combine the natural energy from the natural energy seed with my own chakra?"

Akira Hatake no longer worried about whether the Sage Techniques of Ryuchi Cave were suitable for humans to learn. In any case, he had already perfectly integrated the Natural Energy Seed. What he should be concerned about next was how to refine Sage Chakra.

"It's very simple."

The White Snake Sage snapped his fingers, "Let your spiritual power combine with the natural energy seed, and then rely on your body's vitality to nourish the natural energy seed. With these three methods working together, you will naturally be able to synthesize Sage Chakra on your own when refining chakra."

"So strong?!"

Akira Hatake was stunned. The essence of Ryuchi Cave Sage Technique is the seed of natural energy. All other methods and processes are completely dispensable.

"Of course!"

The White Snake Sage remained arrogant, "However, the bodies of you humans are very different from those of our White Phosphorus Serpent clan. Let me warn you, if you refine too much Sage Chakra... it can easily shorten your lifespan."

"You mean... using the sage techniques of Ryuchi Cave will deplete my life force?"

"Otherwise what?" The White Snake Sage looked at Akira Hatake as if he were an idiot. "In this world, if you want to gain the corresponding power, you must pay the corresponding price."

"So... the magic of Ryuchi Cave isn't perfect?" Akira Hatake muttered to himself.

"Little brat, I really want to swallow you whole!" The White Snake Sage couldn't help but fly into a rage upon hearing what Hatake Akira said. "The Sage Techniques of my Ryuchi Cave are the most perfect!"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

Akira Hatake nodded repeatedly, showing no desire to argue with the White Snake Sage.

Sitting cross-legged, Akira Hatake planned to refine the Sage Chakra from Ryuchi Cave. "Then, White Snake Sage, shall I give it a try?"

"Try it. The natural energy here is abundant and can slow down the rate at which the natural energy seeds absorb your life force."

"What?" Akira Hatake suddenly stopped. "Aren't natural energy seeds supposed to absorb natural energy from the outside world on their own? How is it connected to my life force?!"

"When the natural energy in the outside world is scarce, the amount of natural energy absorbed by the seed is insufficient for its existence. Therefore, your own vitality naturally becomes its nourishment."

"My darn thing!"

Akira Hatake finally understood why Manda always demanded offerings from Orochimaru whenever it appeared; it was because the natural energy in the outside world was scarce, and it needed to replenish its life force in this way...

After cursing under his breath, Akira Hatake still focused his mind on the natural energy seed within his body.

He can now completely overcome the shortcomings of the Dragon Cave Immortal Technique by relying on the passive effects of his various equipment.

Furthermore, once Akira Hatake learns the sage techniques of the remaining two holy lands, he should be able to complement the sage techniques of Ryuchi Cave, perfectly offsetting the shortcomings of Ryuchi Cave's sage techniques.

This trip to Ryūchi-dō is not the end for Akira Hatake...

Chapter 292 The seed has sprouted...

As the White Snake Sage said, after the seed of natural energy was obtained, the natural energy quickly combined with the chakra as Akira Hatake refined the chakra, forming a brand new Sage Chakra.

Feeling the newly generated Sage Chakra within his body, Akira Hatake's lips curled into a slight smile.

With this power, his combat strength has increased to a new level.

With his current strength, Akira Hatake no longer focuses his attention on the ninja world; his only concern now is the Otsutsuki clan from beyond the heavens.

Because the Otsutsuki clans from outer space possess the ability to absorb chakra, many conventional and unconventional ninjutsu in the ninja world are ineffective against them.

The only two techniques capable of harming the Otsutsuki clan from outer space are physical techniques and sage techniques.

In terms of taijutsu, although Akira Hatake is one of the best, he is still somewhat lacking compared to ninjas who specialize in taijutsu.

Take, for example, Might Guy who opened the Eight Gates Formation. Putting aside other factors, if his life or death was decided by physical combat with Hatake Akira, Hatake Akira would probably be in a very precarious position.

Therefore, since Akira Hatake had no intention of delving into physical techniques, the only area he could focus on was Sage Mode.

This was something Hatake Akira had planned long ago, and today he officially took his first step in learning immortal arts.

However, it wasn't without its regrets.

The magic of Ryuchi Cave has never required human cultivation since its inception; otherwise, it would not have disappeared from the human world over the past thousand years.

After learning the magic techniques of Ryuchi Cave in a human body, Akira Hatake immediately sensed a hidden danger within his body.