For Habara at this point, regarding his strength, he had already completed everything he could in the initial phase. Looking at the results, one had to say his luck was actually quite good; those extremely risky and somewhat risky experiments had all succeeded. Through these unconventional methods, his power had indeed advanced by leaps and bounds. But precisely because of this, he had also hit the bottleneck typical for an ordinary ninja relatively early.
Whether in terms of concepts or practical application, all the 'crude operations' were finished. Further efforts in these areas could no longer push Habara forward. This was a deeply regrettable situation. Although he was already stronger than most ninja, he could still be effortlessly crushed by those exceptional powerhouses who exceeded normal specifications…
It couldn't be helped. The gap between those exceptional powerhouses and ordinary ninja was like a vast chasm. This was both a fundamental truth of this world and a reality deeply ingrained in the blood of every ninja.
There were only two kinds of people in the shinobi world: those who could dominate it, and cannon fodder. A very clear line was drawn between the two. Anyone below that line, no matter how strong, was merely cannon fodder.
Habara had no particular desire to dominate the world, but conversely, he absolutely refused to become cannon fodder under someone else's domination. Therefore, under these circumstances, Habara planned to return to his initial focus, shifting his attention back to natural energy and Orochimaru's Curse Mark.
Of course, this didn't mean he intended to repeat his previous attempts. This time, his consideration was solely focused on "Sage Mode."
Initially, Habara had obtained some of Orochimaru's Curse Mark research data... one could even say he had diligently "assisted" Orochimaru's Curse Mark research on the front lines—after all, who could deny that the test subject is part of the experiment?... and through this, he achieved crude control and application of natural energy. What followed now was delicate work, which couldn't be rushed.
Fortunately, time was relatively plentiful. Those stirring up trouble were still waiting for the right time.
Theoretically—purely theoretically—it was impossible for Habara to achieve a perfect "Sage Mode" in just one week like a certain individual using cheats. That was somewhat unrealistic. Besides, they faced different problems. Naruto's main challenge was how to absorb natural energy without risk; as for the subsequent Sage Chakra creation process, it came naturally to him. Habara faced the opposite problem.
Thus, outside of babysitting and daily missions, Habara plunged headfirst into the archival records Orochimaru had left behind in Konoha.
Adapting to natural energy, even in large amounts, was absolutely no problem for Habara. However, "Sage Mode" requires balancing equal parts of natural energy, spiritual energy, and physical energy. This touched upon the most fundamental level of a ninja's chakra creation.
After some research, Habara found that natural energy and physical energy—these two internal energies—naturally tended to converge. For a ninja pushed to the extreme of chakra creation, or even "pre-creation," once these two internal energies were generated, they would immediately combine to form chakra.
But natural energy is undoubtedly external. When it enters the body's chakra pathway system, trying to combine it in equal measure with spiritual and physical energy to form large amounts of Sage Chakra is definitely very difficult… A third party interfering—sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard.
Making room for the 'outsider' required the 'insiders' to be accommodating.
Simply put, Habara discovered that fundamentally disassembling and reassembling the chakra creation process within the body was extremely difficult. To a significant extent, this step fell into the special category that depended solely on talent, not effort. Some could achieve "Sage Mode," others couldn't. Objectively speaking, this could actually be explained as "people's physical constitutions aren't the same."
Whether one could or could not—it was highly possible this was determined at birth.
After attempting to create Sage Chakra himself, Habara found that he indeed lacked the talent for it. This was understandable, perhaps even expected and reasonable, given how far removed he was from the Otsutsuki and their bloodlines.
According to his judgment, even if he obtained the orthodox Senjutsu training methods from the three Sage Regions, his final learning outcome would likely only reach the level of the "Toad Sage," Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was strong, but…
Jiraiya wasn't strong enough.
Jiraiya practiced from elementary school until his hair turned white, yet he still hadn't completely mastered "Sage Mode"... Okay, his hair was white in elementary school too, but the meaning was clear. Compared to Jiraiya, Habara had no desire to enroll in the course "Senjutsu: From Entry to Grave." He needed to shorten the learning process as much as possible.
If the opportunity arose, Habara certainly wanted to enter a "Sage Region" and experience the orthodox Senjutsu teaching process. But this required finding the right moment; it wasn't something he could do just whenever he wanted. Therefore, he wouldn't stop his own research in the meantime.
Although "Sage Mode" was lofty, it wasn't unattainable. If conventional thinking didn't work, then one needed brains… or rather, scientific spirit, reverse thinking, creativity, and unconventional execution.
Habara's line of thought wasn't complicated either. Since achieving the mixture for Sage Chakra was difficult relying on his own body's functions and mechanisms, why not use some auxiliary means? As everyone knows, a little assistance isn't really cheating.
If "internal" doesn't work, then what about "external"? It's hard to achieve a precise mixture of stomach acid, rice, and vegetable soup inside one's stomach, right? So, couldn't you just find a bowl, vomit the stomach acid out first, mix it properly, and then drink it back down? While the analogy might be a bit… clean and hygienic (he thought sarcastically), the underlying logic was quite straightforward.
Of course, "external" was just a broad description. In fact, Habara's idea was to use certain designed programs to accomplish this task. Or more directly, he decided to develop new seals to attempt certain functions… just as he had done to himself previously.
Overall, Habara didn't want to take the course "Senjutsu: From Entry to Grave." He wanted to major in "The Amazing Human Body: From Special Mutations to Bio-engineering." His ideas and methods were extremely un-ninja-like, but very scientific.
After a month of meticulous theoretical research, Habara decided to enter the technical validation phase. He didn't know if the upcoming process would be smooth, but everything has to start somewhere.
However, how did that saying go? Ah yes, all progress comes at a cost. For a great project to succeed, Habara naturally had to make his own contribution. He would not only contribute himself but even require others to contribute as well.
Early one morning, he directly sought out Tenzo and presented his request:
"Tenzo, there's something I'd like you to help me with, just a small favor."
"Help? What is it?" Tenzo asked, somewhat curious. Under normal circumstances, he would definitely help.
"It's like this: I'm planning to conduct a certain development experiment soon. To ensure the experiment proceeds normally, orderly, and effectively, I need some high-quality reagents."
"High-quality reagents? Do we need to go somewhere to trade for them? Leave it to me," Tenzo interpreted Habara's words simply as some kind of external mission.
"No." Habara shook his head, then pulled something out from behind his back.
Tenzo: "…"
He stared at the syringe Habara held—easily as thick as an adult's wrist—and froze completely. He just silently gazed at Habara; at this moment, silence spoke volumes.
Tenzo had happily come to work today, only to find someone seemingly in a fiery rush to get buried. He didn't care about Habara's experiment; he only cared that if he provided Habara with help, how could he ensure his own continued survival—normal, orderly, and effective?
How to describe Tenzo's thoughts at this moment?
Perhaps like this…
Orochimaru may have left Konoha, but he hadn't completely left Konoha. Or more accurately, he left, but only a tiny bit of him (his influence) remained behind.