He continued without pause, riding the momentum. At least there was some progress, and his control had grown more refined.
After nearly two hours of intense concentration, a breakthrough arrived. Enso managed to maintain a single silk ball for a full minute before it dissolved. It was a small success, but it filled him with a genuine sense of accomplishment.
Tengen watched in silence. The original thousand silk balls had long vanished, but now he released twenty thousand more. The glowing spheres cascaded down like golden rain, surrounding Enso in a shimmering storm.
Without a word, Tengen stepped back, giving Enso the space to work without interruption. This exercise demanded complete focus and mastery of both body and mind. It tested his endurance as much as his skill.
Enso threw himself into the training. The day passed in a blur, filled with failure and fleeting successes. Each vanished silk ball was quickly replaced. Gradually, his control sharpened. By the time dusk arrived, he could maintain a silk ball for ten minutes at a time.
It took three full days before he could stabilise a single silk ball consistently. During this period, Tengen returned every two hours, spitting fresh silk balls for Enso to practise on. The steady support helped drive Enso's persistence.
Once Enso could stabilise one silk ball without fail, Tengen raised the difficulty. He produced twice the number and instructed Enso to maintain two simultaneously.
This new challenge demanded absolute focus. He had to divide his attention between two unstable orbs, each requiring equal care. A single lapse meant failure. His body and mind were pushed to their limits.
After an entire day of this exhausting routine, Enso succeeded. For the first time, he was able to maintain two silk balls without losing control.
But Tengen smiled coldly. Without warning, he spat out three times the usual number, flooding the air with thousands of golden orbs.
"How many silk balls do I need to maintain before I can actually gather Nether Energy inside my body?" Enso shouted. Exhaustion and frustration crept into his voice. His patience was fraying after days of relentless repetition.
"Twelve," Tengen replied calmly, then disappeared from sight.
Enso gritted his teeth but pressed on. He continued gathering the silk balls, infusing each with his chakra, refusing to yield.
He understood now that progress would come gradually. The number of silk balls he could maintain would increase over time through consistent effort. By the end of the fourth day, he could control four simultaneously without failure.
His progress was fuelled by daily meals of Roc meat, a luxury compared to the bug diet. If he had to rely on insects like Naruto from the anime, he thought wryly, he would surely go insane.
The Roc was a fierce predator, often preying on spiders. Enso had learned that since the Roc hunted the spiders, the spiders would also hunt the Roc as food. After all, they were no mere prey after evolution.
At last, on the tenth day, Enso reached his goal. He could maintain twelve silk balls at once, meeting the requirement Tengen had set.
At that moment, the six elders appeared to congratulate him. Their solemn presence affirmed that he had passed the first critical stage.
Enso smiled, pride and relief washing over him. It was the first time he had poured so much effort into something outside his sword art. The feeling was new and exhilarating.
Next, Tengen demonstrated the next phase. His sclerae turned black again as the Nether Energy coalesced behind his back. Slowly, eight long spider legs sprouted from his body, moving with terrifying grace and precision.
"This is why I asked you to practice maintaining so many silk balls," Tengen explained. "Controlling these eight spider limbs along with your own four requires incredible focus and balance." Tengen trained Enso using his human form because it would speed up the progress compared to the original spider form.
Enso immediately copied the technique. Thanks to his recent training, he found this step far easier than expected.
Together, they ran across the training grounds, Tengen teaching Enso how to move with the spider legs. The coordination was awkward at first. Any misstep wasted valuable Nether Energy, forcing Enso to repeat the movement until it became fluid.
After three days of intense practice, Enso could manoeuvre the spider limbs with a natural grace.
Unlike Sage Mode, which marked the user's face visibly, this power altered Enso's eyes. One took on a strange, almost lifeless appearance reminiscent of the Reanimation Jutsu. Reflecting on this, Enso realised that Hayama's eyes had a similar look under the Curse of Killing.
After three days of basic exercises and manoeuvre control with eight Spider Blade Limbs, Tengen called Enso to spar with him. It was the first real test, and for the first time, Enso got completely overwhelmed.
But it was quite effective as he slowly adapted to using the eight spider-like limbs in addition to his own body. Although he was physically capable, coordinating all of them in combat was another matter. It took an entire week of one-sided matches before he could even begin to retaliate properly against Tengen.
Enso was furious, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not win. The eight additional limbs gave Tengen a massive advantage in both defence and offence. His agility and dexterity were just out of this world, not to mention the combat experience he possessed.
This was nothing like his fight against Kin during the qualification battles. Kin had been powerful, but manageable. To make matters worse, Tengen's physical strength, even without using any Nether Energy, was already many times greater than Enso's.
Meanwhile, the other six spiders were undergoing training in Nether Energy under Hana's guidance. Enso observed them from a distance during his breaks, occasionally catching glimpses of their progress. Yet something about the hierarchy didn't sit right with him.
Tengen, despite being the strongest among them, showed no interest in leadership. He didn't address Hana with the same reverence the others did, nor did he follow their customs.
The thought began to nag at Enso's mind. One afternoon, as they rested between sparring sessions, he finally asked the question that had been building inside him.
"Master," he began cautiously, "considering your strength in combat, you could become the leader if you wanted to. So why choose to stay as the right-hand man?"
Tengen chuckled, visibly impressed by the question. It wasn't something most would dare ask, especially not from an eight-year-old.
"Being a leader takes more than strength," Tengen replied. "It's an annoying job. I'd rather be on the front lines than deal with all that responsibility. Hana isn't weak. She has a natural gift for leading and managing others. But you're right. I'm the trump card of our race. So you should feel lucky I've been the one training you."
There was no arrogance in Tengen's tone, only plain honesty. Enso sat quietly, letting the words sink in. It wasn't the answer he had expected, but it carried a kind of weight that made sense to him.
"You really don't want to be the leader?" Enso asked, still puzzled.
Tengen leaned back against a rock, arms crossed, his expression calm.
"I don't want the burden," he replied. "I'm not built for that. I'm built for war."
And somehow, that made him respect Tengen even more.
The Combat Spider lineage was rare. In this generation, aside from Tengen and Kin, only three others had been born from that bloodline. But every single one of them carried an overwhelming presence, the kind of raw power that left no room for doubt.
Over the past few days, Tengen had kept a close eye on Enso. Not just his techniques, but his attitude. The way he absorbed criticism, the way he never backed down even after being crushed in every spar. There was something familiar in that fire. It reminded Tengen of himself, long ago.
"You've managed to wield Nether Energy for a full hour without interruption," he said, tossing Enso a flask of water. "That's something to be proud of."
Enso caught it, panting slightly. "The others can't?"
"Most can't hold it for more than thirty minutes," Tengen replied. "Your control is exceptional for someone your age. That means you're ready."
"Ready for what?" Enso asked, curiosity sparking through his fatigue.
"It's time you start learning our original techniques. The ones that don't rely on Nether Energy," Tengen said, his tone calm but firm. "Follow me. Having more options than your enemy is never a bad thing."
He turned without waiting for a reply and began walking toward the deeper training grounds. His pace was steady, confident.
Enso didn't say a word. He simply followed Tengen, curious about what came next.
Tengen led Enso to a wide, open field where Hana was overseeing the training of the other six spiders. The atmosphere was intense but focused. Unlike Enso, who had been learning to master Nether Energy through control and flow, the others took a very different approach.
They weren't interested in shaping the energy itself. Instead, they used it to alter their physical forms. If they succeeded, they could shift into nearly any shape they desired during combat, not just human or spider.
As they approached, Tengen raised his voice slightly.
"Hana. I think it's time we teach Enso some of our signature techniques. The ones that don't rely on Nether Energy. His swordsmanship is already solid, but if he learns to use spider silk, it'll be a lot more useful in the long run."
He paused, then added, "I'm thinking of taking over Nether Energy training for the younger ones. Maybe you could handle teaching him your silk techniques?"
Hana turned toward them, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Enso. There was something different in the way Tengen spoke. She could tell he had acknowledged the boy fully. That was rare, especially when it came to someone who wasn't one of their own.
"You can take over if you like," she said, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "But just so you know, those kids aren't exactly prodigies. You'll feel like you've bitten into a fresh lemon every day for the next few months."
Tengen gave a small laugh, and even Enso couldn't help but smile. Despite the casual tone, something had shifted. He was no longer just an outsider watching from the edges. He was being brought into the fold.
Tengen's face immediately darkened as he looked around and saw Kin attempting to walk with a half-transformed human arms, falling repeatedly and getting tangled in his own limbs.
He watched as a few others stumbled through transformations that looked more like malfunctions. With each passing second, his regret deepened, but by the time he turned to speak, Hana and Enso were already gone.
Hana brought Enso to the same arena where he had once sparred with the six spiders.
"Back then, the golden armor you used to defend against Kin reminded me of how we spiders manipulate chakra. That's why I'm going to teach you how to fight like we do, without relying on Nether Energy," Hana said, her tone firm but calm. "I'll demonstrate each move only twice, so pay close attention. You won't get a third look."
She stood before him in her human form, composed and steady. Slowly, she raised her hand. A thread of chakra shimmered into existence, weaving from the pores of her skin like a silver filament. Within moments, her entire hand was wrapped in a sleek, translucent glove made of spider silk.
"The human body may be weaker than ours in raw durability," she continued, "but it has its own advantages. Your skin breathes and reacts faster, and your pores allow energy to be released more efficiently. That gives you quicker responsiveness in certain situations."
She extended her arm, letting the light catch the web-like silk around her hand.
"Spiders like us have dense carapaces and natural silk glands. You don't have those in this form. But even without them, you can still create silk. All you need is a liquid source such as sweat, blood, or even acid, and the right chakra control. When those elements are fused and molded properly, you can produce functional webbing just like I do."
Enso watched her every movement, his eyes locked onto the transformation of energy into form. The technique seemed delicate, even graceful, but he could feel the weight behind it. It was not just artistry. It was purpose forged into thread.
Hana took off her silk gloves and handed them to Enso so he could feel the texture.
"I combined sweat and blood to create these gloves, which makes them stronger than ordinary fabric. If I wear them and let my chakra flow through, they can withstand cutting attacks from weapons like blades. I'll show you one more time."
She performed the technique again. In an instant, silk covered her hand, forming a new glove with seamless precision.
Her teaching style was far better than Tengen's. He only showed how to fail, never how to succeed. Still, Enso pretended to mess up a few times before finally forming a perfect pair of silk gloves around his hands. He didn't want to reveal his Migeiko yet. Even though he trusted the spiders, he was still a Shinobi, and a Shinobi never shows all their cards unless absolutely necessary.
Hana smiled proudly, convinced she was the better teacher.
"Let me show you another trick. This one is fundamental to our existence, creating different kinds of webbing."
She extended her hand, producing multiple threads of silk from her fingers and weaving them together into a thick rope. The webbing had a sticky quality, allowing her to shoot it at one of the stone walls surrounding the arena. With a strong grip, she swung herself across the field like a spider woman, launching multiple lines with ease and grace.
Enso watched in awe. Who would have thought he would end up seeing a real spider woman in this dimension?
After taking a lap, Hana returned to her original position, her movements fluid and confident.
"Different kinds of liquid inside the human body allow you to create multiple types of webbing," Hana explained, holding her palm open. "The one I just used was made with a fifty-fifty mix. Fifty percent stickiness from sweat and fifty percent strength from blood. This mixture is strong enough to handle heavy weight and sticky enough to grip solid surfaces."
She raised her hand again. "Watch closely. I'll show you once more."
This time, her movements were even faster. In a blink, she formed the web and launched it across the field, grabbing hold of a large chunk of stone. With a flick of her wrist, she swung the rock around like a wrecking ball, the silk acting like a whip that wrapped tightly around it.
Then, with a smooth motion, she hurled the stone high into the sky. Invisible threads of silk waiting above sliced it into small fragments, which rained down like falling debris.
Hana remained calm. With perfect timing, she launched another thread of silk and snatched Enso's sword from its sheath. In one motion, she spun the blade in a circular arc, reinforcing it with chakra-infused silk to create a spinning shield. The barrier deflected the falling stones with ease, keeping both of them unharmed beneath the protective swirl.
Enso watched with wide eyes. Her precision and creativity amazed him. The potential of silk went far beyond just trapping or binding. If used correctly, it could be a tool to protect, to save, and even to strike from a distance.
Hana had demonstrated more than just strength. She had shown him how to manipulate and control silk length, how to adapt it to the situation, and how to maintain tension while maximising flexibility. It was a truly versatile ability, one Enso immediately recognised as invaluable.
After a few trial runs and intentional failures, Enso managed to replicate her technique with surprising accuracy. He formed a functional web line, swung a stone, and even practised cutting midair targets. His enthusiasm grew with every success.
"Your Sticky Gold Armour, made from blood, is quite creative," Hana remarked, smiling as she stepped forward. "Blood allows for powerful chakra flow. But now I'll show you how to turn it into a weapon. A proper offensive technique. Watch closely. We spiders have more than just silk in our arsenal."
She extended her silk and dragged a human-sized boulder across the arena until it landed with a heavy thud in front of Enso. Then, raising her hands, she focused her chakra. A golden sheen spread across her fingertips, forming razor-sharp claws over the first phalanges of each hand.
* Initially, I wasn't planning to release a new chapter today, but I managed to find some time. From now on, I'll be releasing five chapters a week, taking Saturdays and Sundays off. See you all on Monday!
Hey everyone, if you've made it this far and haven't left a review yet, please consider doing so. It would really help me out.