Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 55 Return to the Battlefield

Hyuga Kanan's sudden outburst left these usually aloof members of the main family bewildered.

After withdrawing his spiritual power and aura, Hyuga Kanan nodded to his still-surprised father, Hyuga Kagaku, and left directly, not wanting to say another word to these people.

Hyuga Kageki watched his departing son, somewhat at a loss. He clearly felt unfamiliar with his youngest son, but the oppressive aura he had just witnessed was the first time he had truly come to know the other side.

The immense pressure on his soul completely overwhelmed this veteran elite Jonin, causing him to lose consciousness instantly. He felt as if his life was at the mercy of his opponent.

Looking at the elders who were getting up in a disheveled state, Hyuga Kagaku suddenly felt a bit bored, just as his son had said, they were bothering the other side with some trivial matters.

After the elders got up, they directly addressed the clan leader, demanding that he immediately use the Caged Bird Seal to kill Hyuga Kanan, in order to ensure the authority of the Hyuga clan's main family.

Looking at this group of somewhat decadent elders, Hyuga Kagaku decided not to give these old guys any face and spoke directly and calmly:

"If you elders are so kind, please use the Caged Bird Seal yourselves! I must remind you all, you all saw the state of Jianan's white eyes just now, and there is no longer any fluctuation in them. I cannot guarantee whether the Caged Bird Seal will still be effective, but you also experienced the aura that Jianan unleashed, and you also felt his attitude towards you. If the Caged Bird Seal fails and Jianan tries to kill you, I will not plead for you, so you will have to bear the consequences yourself."

In truth, Hyuga Kagaku was merely threatening them. He genuinely didn't know whether Hyuga Kanan's Caged Bird Seal would actually work, but he knew these elders, accustomed to a life of luxury, wouldn't dare gamble with something that might fail and threaten their lives. Unless they were certain the Caged Bird Seal would be effective, these cowardly old fogies wouldn't risk their lives.

This is also a way to fight for Hyuga Kanan's survival. He is willing to lose his life and power for the Hyuga clan, but that is when Hyuga Kanan truly threatens the Hyuga clan. Now, it is obvious that these old men are constantly testing his authority as the clan leader for that little bit of power.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Kanan, after leaving the meeting room, felt a pang of regret. That brief moment had consumed nearly half of his spiritual power, and it would take at least ten days to recover—meaning he had wasted ten days cultivating his spiritual power. However, he then considered that if he allowed the elders to continue testing and harassing him, it would likely take even longer, and thus he let it go.

Everything is for faster growth now; everything else can wait.

Furthermore, deep down, he felt that his time for peaceful cultivation was running out, and he would soon have to return to the battlefield. Now that the World Will had seen that it could enhance its authority by continuously absorbing and refining the soul energy of ninjas through Hyuga Kanan, it was impossible for him to cultivate peacefully in Konoha. It would definitely influence some people to send him to the battlefield to continue stealing the soul energy of ninjas.

Of course, he also felt good about being able to absorb and refine pure soul energy to accelerate his cultivation, but it was somewhat dangerous. After all, he was stealing the fruits of the Sage of Six Paths, and if he stole too many, it would be easy for the Sage to discover something. Even if the world's will helped him cover it up, if the Sage of Six Paths insisted on investigating, he would still be able to find out, and then the thief's fate would certainly not be so pleasant.

Hyuga Kanan quickly returned to his courtyard and, without delay, resumed his cultivation. He still had a little pure soul energy left in his Qiankun Inheritance Jade, which he could use to accelerate his cultivation.

Hyuga Kanan was so engrossed in his training that he lost track of time. Seven days had passed since he returned from the family meeting room. It seemed that the main branch of the Hyuga clan had completely given up on causing trouble for Hyuga Kanan, and had not bothered him at all during this time, allowing him to train in peace.

Two days ago, the pure soul energy within the Qiankun Inheritance Jade was completely exhausted. Now, he was relying entirely on his own slow cultivation. Although the speed had decreased significantly, Hyuga Kanan understood that he couldn't be greedy. Slower was better; it just meant more time. With ample natural energy, even at a slower pace, he would still make considerable progress every day. According to his estimation, he only needed another three months to reach the Qi Refining Perfection stage, at which point he would begin preparing for his breakthrough to the Innate Realm.

At dawn, Hyuga Kanan awoke. His nightly meditation on the Nuwa sculpture, constantly refining and strengthening his spiritual power, left him feeling exhausted. The process of absorbing natural energy helped alleviate this fatigue, giving him the energy to continue his meditation practice that evening. However, a voice from a Hyuga clan ninja outside the door, informing him to assemble at the gate for a new mission, interrupted his daily routine.

Despite his dejected state, Hyuga Kanan made preparations, gathered his belongings, and re-equipped himself for battle. He quickly headed towards the gates of Konoha. His spiritual senses gave him a faint feeling that this mission was arranged for him under the influence of the world's will. It seemed that something was subtly influencing the elders of the Hyuga clan's main family, causing them to take action.

For someone like me who dared to disregard the authority of the main family, the world's will could easily influence them. By constantly making them subconsciously believe their position was threatened, they quickly used their connections to get me back into the battlefield. But having survived such a dangerous situation last time, they should know that an ordinary battlefield couldn't kill me; there must have been some kind of arrangement.

Hyuga Kanan arrived at the gates of Konoha, went to the mission assignment area, received his mission assignment scroll, and quietly stepped aside to observe the mission.

The mission was simple: to escort a supply convoy transporting provisions for the troops fighting the Mist Ninja. Upon arrival, they were to follow orders from the frontline command. It was still an escort mission, but this time the escort personnel were much more conventional. They were led by two Konoha Jonin, surrounded by Konoha clan ninjas, all clearly quite skilled. After delivery, there were no orders for resupply or return; instead, they were to follow orders directly from the frontline command.

It seems that these Konoha clan ninjas are not just escorting supply convoys; they may also be replenishing the frontline troops. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't lead many troops at the time, only a group of powerful ninjas. Now that the war has expanded, more troops are needed to support them.

Furthermore, it seems that Kirigakure does not intend to directly confront Konoha, but only dispatches a force of nearly 3000 ninjas without increasing the number of ninjas on a larger scale. This may be because the power transition from the Second Mizukage to the Third Mizukage in Kirigakure is not as stable as that in other ninja villages. The Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village had designated their successors early on, resulting in the smoothest power transitions. Unlike the Second Hokage of the other villages, the Second Hokage of the Hidden Sand Village did not die suddenly; he was still alive, though his health had deteriorated and he was no longer capable of serving as Kage. He then designated the Third Kazekage. The Hidden Leaf Village inherited the position of Third Hokage with the will of the Second Hokage. Although there were some minor upheavals, they were quickly suppressed. Only the Hidden Mist Village had the most chaotic succession to the Third Hokage. No successor was designated, and the Second Mizukage died along with the Second Tsuchikage, causing constant turmoil in the Hidden Mist Village as they vied for the position. The Third Mizukage successfully rose to power by virtue of his strength and experience as the First Mizukage's bodyguard. However, the other major clans in the Hidden Mist Village were not entirely convinced and only obeyed orders without taking command. This prevented the Hidden Mist Village from launching a full-scale war against the Hidden Leaf Village, only sending a portion of its forces to attack the Land of Fire.

The pressure on Konoha isn't too great right now. The Sand Village has been repelled, and all that's left is to sign a peace treaty. The Iwa Village is being heavily suppressed by Konoha's frontline troops, and both sides have entered a war of attrition. However, in terms of war resources, the Iwa Village of the Land of Earth cannot compare to the Konoha Village of the Land of Fire. All the Iwa Villages can basically be considered defeated; Konoha will eventually wear them down and force them to retreat. Now, only the Kirigakure Village remains, and it's in turmoil and unable to use its full strength. Konoha can easily drive all the Kirigakure ninja attacking the Land of Fire back into the sea.

Hyuga Kanan, waiting at the gates of Konoha to assemble and depart, saw the mission scroll and roughly understood that the most dangerous period of the Second Shinobi World War was over, and Konoha was now in a position of advantage. The large-scale war would likely end in a year at most, and Konoha would most likely be the victor.

Unless the Cloud Ninja suddenly launches a war against Konoha, since the Cloud Ninja has not yet joined the Second Shinobi World War, they are only quelling the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku in the Land of Lightning and constantly encroaching on the surrounding small countries, and have no intention of joining the war.

Soon, the order to assemble was issued, and Hyuga Kanan went to join them to prepare for his second mission outside the village.

The large escort and transport teams began to head out of the gate, heading towards the battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure.

Hyuga Kanan secretly observed the other clan ninjas in the group, but he was most curious about the Inuzuka Kiba clan and the Ayuna clan.

One is the ability to fight alongside dogs and gain their sense of smell and speed—a truly ingenious ability. No such human has ever appeared in the records of the Qiankun Inheritance Jade; only half-demons can acquire certain special sensory abilities of demons. But the Inuzuka Kiba clan can achieve this through training, which truly intrigues Hyuga Kanan.

Another group is the Ayuna clan, who raise insects directly in their bodies. While observing the situation ahead with his Byakugan, he glanced at the body opposite him; its interior was filled with insects attached to its meridians, but all were in a dormant state. This kind of ninja who raises insects inside their bodies is similar to the Gu poison Hyuga Kanan remembered, but the fact that the Ayuna clan could raise so many inside their bodies and still maintain such health and vitality amazed Hyuga Kanan.

But these are all secret techniques of other people's families, and it's impossible to ask about them.

The journey was peaceful, with nothing unusual happening. After nearly a month of travel, the group finally arrived at the Konoha camp, the front line of the Mist Ninja War.