Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

"If there are no problems, we'll leave it at that for today. When you get home, practice diligently—memorize the hand seal sequence and work on increasing your speed. Tomorrow, we'll begin some basic missions."

After ensuring there were no further questions, Yamato dismissed them, allowing them to return home and practice on their own. Meanwhile, he planned to report the situation to the Third Hokage.

"No problem. We'll accept the mission... and we'll make sure to train our ninjutsu properly," they nodded in agreement. Before worrying about anything else, they planned to familiarize themselves with their newly summoned creatures.

Zixu, on the other hand, was eager to return home as soon as possible. He had something far more important in mind—training in Sage Mode.

After bidding farewell to Hyuga Chinano and the others, he returned to his room, locked the door, and used a soundproofing technique to ensure he wouldn't be disturbed. Then, he reached up and pulled down the small black snake that had been stubbornly clinging to his head, refusing to leave.

"Hmm… technically, I didn't summon this guy through spiritual communication. Even though it signed a contract with me, it's not returning to Ryūchi Cave for some reason. Could this be the doing of the White Snake Sage…?"

Zixu poked the little black snake's head with his finger. It looked utterly clueless—dull, almost foolish.

The snake, however, seemed quite attached to him. It lazily lifted its head, brushing against his fingertip with half-closed eyes.

"Well, whatever. Let me start practicing Sage Mode first. Since you're a snake from Ryūchi Cave, I hope you'll be of some use during my training…"

Of course, Zixu was just talking nonsense. The little black snake was completely useless at the moment. Still, it raised its tail and made a cheering gesture, as if trying to encourage him.

"Alright then… To practice Sage Mode, I first need to sense the natural energy around me and merge it with physical energy and spiritual energy in a perfect 1:1:1 ratio…"

With that, he drew the curtains, sat cross-legged on his bed, and took advantage of the residual sage chakra left in his body by the White Snake Sage to attune himself to the surrounding natural energy.

As he calmed his breathing and closed his eyes, he suddenly "saw" white energy floating in the air around him.

At the same time, he looked inward, observing the composition of his own chakra. Inside his body, he "saw" a sphere of energy—one half composed of blue chakra and the other half green chakra, perfectly divided.

"The next step is to merge the white energy into the sphere… This doesn't seem too difficult."

At this moment, Zixu had yet to realize the true danger of what he was attempting. Without hesitation, he began drawing natural energy into his body.

At first, he was extremely cautious, absorbing it slowly in small amounts. However, he quickly noticed that this approach wasn't working. The natural energy was simply too weak—it was immediately dispersed by the blue and green energies before it could fully integrate.

Left with no choice, he increased the amount he was absorbing.

What he hadn't expected, however, was just how powerful natural energy truly was.

The moment it entered his body, he felt the natural energy forcefully assimilating his existing chakra at an alarming rate. His body began to undergo terrifying transformations.

His once dark, deep eyes gradually became elongated, the irises shifting from pure black to golden yellow. Purple-black eye markings appeared beneath his eyelids, and his once normal skin became eerily pale—like fish scales left to dry under the sun for days. His teeth sharpened, and his lower jaw split toward his ears, making him look increasingly serpent-like.

"Damn… This natural energy is way too overwhelming…"

Zixu gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the raging sage chakra that was threatening to consume him.

Sensing the danger, the little black snake suddenly lashed its tail against him, striking his body with precision. The impact disrupted his energy flow, forcibly breaking him out of the natural energy absorption process.

Zixu collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Reaching up, he touched his face—he had returned to his original appearance.

After catching his breath, he sat back on the bed and prepared to continue training. He had always known that practicing Sage Mode was dangerous—but danger alone wasn't enough to make him give up.

He patted the little black snake's head, feeling slightly impressed.

"I wasn't expecting you to actually be useful. Maybe you really can be trained into a combat-type summon."

Rather than being discouraged, Zixu felt even more determined. The failure only fueled his ambition—he was determined to master Sage Mode.

However, as his training continued, he encountered an unexpected problem.

Natural energy wasn't unlimited.

At the very least, the natural energy around his house had already been completely drained.

By the time night fell, the little black snake was more energetic than ever, eagerly flicking its tail to urge him to continue training.

But no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't fully grasp the technique.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

Finally, he decided to switch things up.

Summoning a shadow clone, he channeled his devil's fruit into it.

The once-normal clone immediately fell into a state of decadence.

"Do you understand what I told you before? You need to grasp the essence of 'Silence' to fully develop the ability of the fruit. Silence is only the initial stage—don't just rely on your Silent Sleeping Technique. Apply the ability of silence to actual combat, slow down your opponent's movements. Eventually, when you refine it, it will evolve into an ability that extends to time and space..."

At this moment, Zixu felt like a parent both pitying and scolding a child who refused to fight back.

The silent clone reluctantly got up from the bed, created a soundproof barrier around itself, and earnestly tried to quiet the space around it—but the effect was negligible at best.

After dismissing his clone, Zixu turned his attention to the little black snake, making its wagging tail freeze mid-air. He formed a series of hand seals, and if Yamato were here, he'd probably have a heart attack from what he was about to do.

"Stay still and don't move around. This is Reverse Summoning Jutsu (Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu - 逆口寄せの術)!"

A familiar white mist spread through the room, and when it dissipated, only the silent clone and the little black snake remained.

---

As he felt the damp stone beneath him and listened to the soft sound of water dripping in the darkness, Zixu found himself feeling strangely at ease. He had always been more comfortable in the darkness of the night.

"Just as I thought… The natural energy here is incredibly rich. This place is practically sacred ground for training Sage Mode (Sennin Mōdo - 仙人モード)."

Before he had begun his Sage Mode training, he hadn't noticed the density of natural energy around him. But now, he was as sensitive to it as a fish was to water—as if he could physically feel the energy flowing through the air.

"You're here. Go train in senjutsu. Although the White Snake Sage (Byakusa Sennin - 白蛇仙人) won't interfere, we can still offer some assistance."

A shadowy figure flickered into existence like a ghost—her long tongue slithering out as she spoke in an eerie whisper.

Zixu reached out, pushing aside the face of the goddess who had tried to scare him. He had long since gotten used to her antics. Without wasting time, he sat cross-legged and began his preparations for Sage Mode training.

"How exactly are you going to help me?" He closed his eyes, focusing on the energy circulating within him.

"I'll make noise around you to distract you. And when you're about to turn into a snake, I'll slap you to snap you out of it."

Ichikishima-hime (市杵島姫), the mischievous serpent deity, let out a hissing laugh—clearly still holding a grudge from before when her scales had been dirtied by him.

"Suit yourself. That works, I guess. Thanks."

Zixu knew by now that none of them intended to harm him anymore, so he simply ignored them and focused on his training. However, he might have underestimated just how annoying their "noise" would be.

---

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind.

The natural energy in the air was so dense it felt like it would overflow. Unlike before, he could now easily sense it and draw it into his body.

"No, no… You can't absorb natural energy so recklessly. Before anything else, you must develop a mind that remains calm no matter the situation."

Ichikishima-himes's voice echoed through the cave, bouncing off the walls in an almost hypnotic rhythm—the eerie reverberation irritating him more than he'd admit.

"Stay calm… Steady the balance of the three energies…"

Zixu repeated the mantra in his head, trying to focus. But despite his efforts, he kept making mistakes.

Either he absorbed too much natural energy, or his physical and spiritual energies overwhelmed it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find the perfect equilibrium.

And when he was seconds away from transforming into a snake, a whip-like tail lashed against his body—violently yanking him out of the process.

---

"How many times do I have to tell you? Stop rushing into absorbing energy. You need to train your mind to ignore all distractions first."

The voices surrounded him once again—and this time, Zixu realized something strange.

Even their words carried the effects of genjutsu.

"I have to… completely shut out the outside world."

Suppressing the frustration creeping into his mind, he carefully analyzed their advice, then forced himself to ignore their voices entirely.

And sure enough, as he calmed his mind, he noticed details he had previously overlooked.

For example—until now, he had been forcefully pulling natural energy into his body, relying purely on his physical durability to suppress its rampaging effects. But if he continued this reckless approach, he'd probably self-destruct before he ever got a chance to use it in battle.

This time, he tried something different.

Instead of forcibly absorbing the energy, he relaxed his body—as if he wasn't even aware of the energy's existence.

And almost immediately—the energy flowed into him effortlessly.

Natural energy wasn't something that needed to be "seized" by force. It was something that naturally merged with those who were in harmony with it.

Just as he was beginning to grasp this concept—

"Pata~"

A sudden sharp sound startled him.

For just a fraction of a second, he lost control of the energy flow—causing his transformation to spiral out of control again.

---

"You must remain unaffected at all times and master your breathing..."

…

And so, throughout the entire night, Zixu practiced tirelessly. Though he hadn't fully mastered Sage Mode yet, he had at least become far more sensitive to the natural energy around him.

By sunrise, he was utterly exhausted.

"Yaaawn..."

Dark circles shadowed his eyes as he propped his chin up—stifling a yawn.

"Hmm? Zixu, it looks like you haven't been sleeping well lately."

Yamato noticed at a glance that Zixu's fatigue was evident—though his summoned beast, on the other hand, seemed perfectly well-rested—still sleeping peacefully on top of his head.

"Ah, sensei, yeah… I didn't get much sleep last night." Zixu stretched out his stiff muscles. "It's fine though. I'll sleep early for the next few days and I'll be back to normal."

Yamato nodded.

"Get some rest. We'll be taking on missions soon. This will be your first real mission—so make sure you're in top form."

At the mention of missions, the others immediately perked up.

"Mission? We're finally taking on a mission?"

Hyuga Chinano's eyes lit up with curiosity, and Aburame Hatsuizumi adjusted his glasses slightly.

"That's right. The sooner you start, the faster you'll understand mission procedures and gain experience. Never underestimate any mission—no matter how low-ranked it may seem."

Yamato turned to the group.

"If you're ready, follow me now. This is also a part of your training."

"Got it!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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