Chapter 16

[Toneri's POV]

Say, what would you call someone who has a lot to do but instead of doing them, he's just lazing around his couch doing absolutely nothing? The answer is procrastination, right? Well, some may call it laziness, some say it's the state of not being bothered, but some intellectuals may call it preserving energy.

What am I ranting about? Well, nothing actually. I have a lot of tasks I have to do and I just feel like not doing them. I ask the void, this happens to you too, right?

"Ahh..." I let out a small grunt while hanging upside down from the couch

When I first appeared in this world, the first on my mind was to survive and get stronger. Sure, I've learned some of the OG Toneri's skills, but I still haven't fully mastered them yet. Only about 60%.

And that's not all. I just can't keep relying on my jutsus, I need to use taijutsu, kenjutsu, and my Tenseigan during battles. But since the world I'm in doesn't have any shinobis, I'm stuck on self-learning.

'I wonder if there are shinobis like the ones in the Naruto world in Japan...'

And now, here I am. Mind full of tasks and things to worry about. The effects of the upgrading are slowly fading away as 4 hours had already passed since the events of Selner upgrading me.

'There's also Ryuu's invite... Hah...'

Normally, some people would start doing their task, right? Well for me, that's a no. I want to take a break. Sure, I've only been a hunter for... 2 months? But believe me, going to gates and clearing them and repeating the same shit all over again gets repetitive FAST.

'Well... Whatever.'

"Hah..."

'I guess I should training on how to learn sage mode... A bit risky but I don't know if I don't try...'

I slowly stood up from the soft, warm, and comfy couch that I was slouching on and excited my room.

I intend to go to the mountains where natural energy is rich... I think. If there are ones, in the first place.

Closing the door behind me, I don't intend to use Chakra mode to fly there. I think I'll just run there while my appearance is changed.

And so that I did. I used a simple transformation jutsu, changed my hair color to Auburn, dark-brown eyes, and to finish it off, glasses. The typical Clark Kent type of disguise.

And so, I started my walk.

* * *

Currently, I'm through a park. It was peaceful here. There's not much of a people making the environment quiet. In the distance, I could hear some birds chirping which adds more to that relaxing vibe

A small smile couldn't help but form on my face.

I have to admit. This was a good change of pace.

Although, there are some problems. For example, the people I passed by walking here. Some looked at me and whispered to the person next to them, and oh boy was my anxiety that time rose. It was not until I heard what they were whispering that I found out that they were just admiring my looks. I have to admit, my face is quite handsome. Is this narcissism?

Anyways... I ignored their whispers and continued walking to my destination. Sure, I could've used a car but I think stretching legs is good for me too.

But then, a voice came from behind me

"Toneri? Is that you?"

I turned around to see a woman with blonde hair wearing tight sweat pants, a white shirt, and a sweatband with a small towel hanging on her shoulder

"Cha Hae-In?" I asked

Yup. It was Hae-In who I presume to be exercising in the park.

Though, there is something that is bugging me.

"What are you doing here? And how did you find out it was me?"

How was she even able to notice me? I changed my outside appearance!

Then, she gave out a small laugh and answered me "As I thought, it was you!"

"Umm... My question?" I asked helplessly

"Umu... A woman's instinct's." She gave me a small wink

She then asked past me and whispered silently. Of course, I heard it. "I knew it, that familiar minty smell... It could only be him... Or Hunter Sung..."

Ah. So that's how. Wait a minute, me and Sung Jin-Woo share the same smell to her? What the hell? I don't know why, but for some reason, the way I phrase that sounds awfully misleading...

Before any weird images appear in my mind, I quickly asked her "So what are you doing here? I assume jogging?"

She then sat on a bench near us and replied to me "Yes, my guild leader gave me a day off today."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. I was about to ask something again but was cut off.

"So, why are you here, Toneri? And how were you able to change your appearance?" She asked curiously while wiping her forehead with the small towel she has

Hearing this question, I also went to the bench she was sitting on and sat down "Same as you, actually. Just taking a break from the gates... As for my appearance change... Just a small trick."

Hearing this, we both stayed silent for a while before I stood up. "Well, I better get going, there's still something I need to do."

After saying that, I waves at her and started to walk. But I was stopped when she spoke to me again "Wait, can I come?"

I stopped for a while and digest what she said. Come with me? Woman, I'm attempting to get the sage mode and I don't want any distraction that may disturb me... But then again, if I do fail, then there will be someone to help me if I turn to stone...

'Decisions... Damn it...'

I grunted for a while scratching my head thinking deeply for the final decision

"Are you sure?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow

She then replied with a smile "Of course! And from the looks of it, you aren't intending on going to some kind of formal meeting. So it should be fine, right?"

"If you say so... Then alright."

Hearing my reply, she smiled and walked beside me.

We stopped by for a moment at her house so she can change. And so, I traveled with a companion. A female, at that.

* * *

"Huff... Huff..."

It took a lot of time to reach the foot of a mountain and let me tell you. Rural areas like these are far from Seoul, the place where I live. Nonetheless, it was a good walk. As for Hae-In? Well...

"Huff... That... Was a LONG walk..." Cha Hae-In said while wiping off her sweat

"Why? You tired?" I sneered

She then looked at me and countered "Humph! Do you think a 2-hour walk is enough to wear me down?"

I didn't reply and just hummed while smiling.

It was already nighttime, by the way. It took 2 hours of walking to reach here. Of course she would be tired. As for me? Although a bit tired, I'm still good. I have good stamina, after all.

As for the mountains side I'm talking about is a mountain located beside a highway. You know, when you're traveling to rural areas, you're bound to come across roads like this.

"Alright... Let's go" I said to Hae-In

"Huh? W-Woah...!"

Seeing her tired, I picked her up in a princess-carry position and assumed the position of squatting.

"W-Wait...! Wha-What are you doing!?"

*WOOSH——*

With a simple jump, I launched into the air while holding Hae-In in my arms.

'Holy crap, I'm fast.'

I'm practically a blurry figure if there were any witnesses here.

And uhh... I'll ignore the screeching Cha Hae-In is making right now. 'Is she... Afraid of heights? Or just purely shocked by my sudden actions...?'

Landing on the mountain, I put Hae-in down and let her collect herself as it looked like she was a bit dizzy.

I went to find a good place where there were no disturbances and sat on a lotus position.

Then, the collected Hae-In appeared and asked me "Why are we... Even here...?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Can you guard me? I want to try something and if I'm disturbed, something dangerous might happen to me." I just flatly said. I trust her. It wasn't a blind trust, I mean, I know her pretty well from the original series so... I think it's fine.

Hearing my answer, she suddenly turned all serious and got the situation. She nodded at me and sat under a tree near me.

Seeing her keep an eye on me, a sigh of relief escaped my mouth.

'At least there's a fail-safe plan... Alright, let's start...'

I have to admit. I was nervous. If there is Natural energy here, and I accidentally absorb too much or too little of them, I'll turn to stone. Even if Cha Hae-In is here, I still need to avoid getting turned to stone.

'Okay, okay... Calm down... You know the rules... If you sense something wrong... Just release the natural energy from your body... And you're fine... I think...' I convinced myself

"Huff... Huff..."

It's gonna be fine. I hope. Please.

Gathering all my courage, I started the first stage of learning sage mode. The first step was to sense Natural Energy around you. Since I'm a sensor-type, I have natural high-sensation. And with the Tenseigan, that amplifies by at least a hundred. I just chose to block the heightened senses when I first came to realize this as I get too sensitive around my surroundings which were annoying as hell.

'Alright... Let's start!'

Giving some sign to Cha Hae-In by nodding, I started the first phase.

Activating my Tenseigan, I began to sense the energy around me. Earth, atmosphere, and the surrounding areas.

Not long after starting my sensing, I felt something.

'Huh? This...'

While I was searching for an energy similar to my chakra, I found something interesting. It feels... Weird? Like some kind of contaminated chakra... But is built differently...

'This is... Mana?'

Yes, the one I'm sensing is the mana that the hunters of this world are using. Since I'm sensing the atmosphere, mana can also be sensed as it is everywhere in this world. Furthermore, with Hae-In here, her body naturally collects mana around her automatically, like other hunters.

'It's such a weird feeling... It's like chakra... But feels dirty and gross... But at the same time emanates power... Is this what Cha Hae-In feels when she smells mana?'

It was an unfamiliar feeling. I never truly got to sense the mana of hunters because I wasn't too bothered to, moreover, as I stated before, I lowered my heightened senses, so I wasn't able to sense things like mana.

But then...

'This...!'

There it is! Energy comparable to my chakra... But more cleanse. It's rich in energy... There's no doubt about it!

'Natural Energy...!'

It was so hidden underground that it took too long for me to sense it. But It was there! This familiar feeling of chakra... It can only be natural energy!

A forced smile appeared on my face. Why? Because I just discovered a double-edged sword. On the other side, learning sage mode isn't impossible. And on the other, I have to learn sage mode, meaning the possibility of me turning to stone is present.

Some may ask, why am I trying to get the Sage Mode? That's an easy question. Although, yes, although the Tenseigan Chakra Mode is much more powerful than the Sage Mode by many leagues, Sage mode helps me use a wide variety of Jutsu such as the Jutsus Naruto used when he learned Sage Mode.

As for the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, or TCM for short, I don't really know if it works the same way. Although, I speculate that the TCM only boosts Jutsus that requires the help of the truth-seeking orbs.

Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with pursuing far greater strength than I already have. After all, that is my original goal; Become powerful and survive.

*Gulp*

Getting out of my internal monologue, I let out a nervous gulp.

There was a question hovering above my head. How is there Natural Energy in this world? I don't have much evidence to back up this theory, but I theorize that every world has Natural Energy in it.

How was I able to come to this conclusion? Simple. Remembering the ten-tails, I vaguely remember Hagoromo saying something about the God Tree feeding off the blood of warriors on the planet it is planted at. Not only that, but it also feeds off an energy called Natural Energy that already existed on the planet long before Kaguya arrived. So I theorize that like all planets, the planet I am on already has Natural Energy

(A/N: It's true. I mean, the Toads of Mount Myōboku had been using Nature Energy even before Kaguya came. Gamamaru (Toad Sage) even taught Hagoromo how to use Senjutsu and Hagoromo used the same method to distribute chakra to the people by calling it Ninshū, which is now a bastardized version called Ninjutsu. Correct me if I am wrong, it's been 2 months since I finished watching the Naruto anime)

'But wait...'

If this world has Natural Energy... What happens if, hypothetically speaking, something like a god tree is planted here? Won't the God tree be powerful as hell? I mean, considering earth's history and the number of god trees planted here is zero, doesn't that mean that the planet is rich in natural energy? And I mean that by A LOT.

Then, a realization came to me that made me smile.

'If this planet is abundant in natural energy... And I'm the only one who can sense and absorb and use it... Don't I technically have an unlimited supply of Senjutsu chakra?'

Shaking off that idea from my mind, I immediately prepared myself.

'Alright... I'll do what Mount Myōboku taught Naruto... That is balancing Natural Energy with my chakra... Since I already have a shit-ton of chakra, this can be done easily done as Fukasaku said something about people with giant reserves of chakra able to do this with ease.'

Stopping what I am doing, I slowly stood up from my lotus position and made a firm decision 'Learning Sage Mode isn't easy... I need to learn it step-by-step according to the anime...'

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A/N: I finally confirmed my theory. Coffee does give me the energy to write chapters. I mean, I just finished drinking one cup, and an hour later, the urge to write chapters suddenly appeared and I couldn't help but write this one.

Furthermore, my teachers from my school are busy finalizing our grades giving us no classes, giving me chance to write chapters undisturbed. Truly, a godly day it is.

But sadly, I have a stomach ulcer and I can't keep drinking coffee every day or my stomach will fucking hurt. And trust, it hurts real bad.

And by the way, this fanfic has reached 1M views :0

Additional note: The author wants to keep a healthy mentality, so keep the saltiness down, thanks. I generally ignore the salts but for some reason, a certain user had been bombarding my notifications every 5 minutes or so. I mean, I left webnovel for 2 hours and arrived back with 70+ notifications and it came from the paragraph comments from the same person.

Yeah, I'm pointing at you.