In the Ninja Realm, there are countless examples of Ninjas dying due to chakra depletion from battles.
Therefore, chakra can be seen as an essential energy element for the body's life activities.
Without this energy, the body will cease to function and fall into a state of death.
Although there are many causes of death, dying from exhaustion is, in Hakushi's view, the most special type of death.
Even though the mystery hasn't been solved yet, the current experimental results have led to some unexpected outcomes, opening a mysterious door to an unknown path.
A vitality potion infused with Natural Energy was accidentally injected into a laboratory mouse. After extracting all the chakra from the mouse, it briefly replaced the role of Life Energy, maintaining life functions for a certain period.
Whether it's a special case or universally applicable, Hakushi immediately started a new experiment.
Twenty more mice were taken out, all injected with the same vitality potion, their chakra completely extracted, and placed in a glass case for observation.
Hakushi observed that sixteen of the mice, even with the vitality potion as an energy supply, died immediately in the glass case after their chakra was depleted.
Of the remaining four mice, one lay on the ground feebly, eyes blinking slowly, and soon stopped moving, losing its life.
The second mouse had a similar reaction to the first, lasting only a few seconds longer before falling motionless.
Next was the third mouse, which was in good health and showed no signs of weakened breath due to loss of chakra; instead, it hopped around energetically within the glass case.
The changes in the fourth mouse amazed Hakushi even more. After taking the vitality potion, its body surprisingly grew larger, and its eyes turned a more vivid red, exuding a particularly dangerous aura.
"This is..."
An experimental assistant showed a look of surprise, gazing intently at the mutated mouse.
"I didn't expect the vitality potion to have this effect, almost like consuming energy hormones that match the body, uncovering latent potential within."
Hakushi gave an objective evaluation.
The fourth mouse was clearly beginning to mutate in an unknown direction.
Even Hakushi could not predict the outcome of this mutation.
Hakushi then turned his gaze back to the third mouse. Originally vigorous, it suddenly entered a weakened state, lying motionless in the glass case, just like the first two mice.
Hakushi opened the glass case and took out the only surviving and mutated mouse, holding it in his hand for observation.
Hakushi sensed its body was filled with abundant and vigorous Natural Energy.
Though it's uncertain if it will suddenly weaken and die like the other mice in the long run, for now, the mouse's Life Energy is extremely abundant, showing no signs of Life Force depletion.
Moreover, the experiment has proven that chakra can indeed be replaced by another energy source to supply life functions.
This energy supply is related to Natural Energy.
However, there's an issue. Previously, when Hakushi directly used Natural Energy to replace chakra as a life-supporting energy source, all the experimental mice invariably died.
But after special processing, Natural Energy, when formulated into a vitality potion, could indeed provide life-sustaining energy to organisms.
The experiment's successful result shows that life activities can continue even without chakra.
Then why couldn't raw Natural Energy serve as Life Energy supply, while the extensively processed vitality potion could achieve this?
Returning to the essence of the problem, without chakra, body life activities would cease, but special processed Natural Energy can replace it.
Chakra does not originate externally but is based on the fusion of the body's physical and spiritual energy, making it essentially a product processed by the body's 'factory'.
Proving the correctness of the experiment indeed pleased Hakushi.
It also meant being a step closer to unraveling the Bird in a Cage's process.
Yet, the connection between chakra and Natural Energy left Hakushi increasingly perplexed.
When compared, the two energies have an indescribable sense of discord.
"I feel like there's a very important piece missing here. Only by finding this piece will all the issues regarding chakra and Natural Energy be resolved."
Unfortunately, what this 'piece' is, or where the answer to the problem lies, Hakushi has no clue, leaving him only to brood endlessly, exploring new paths to prove that the 'piece' exists.
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After this, Hakushi continued to dedicate himself to the research of Natural Energy replacing chakra to support life activities.
If previously this experiment was an ethereal speculation, the accidental discovery that day made Hakushi confident that there is great feasibility in Natural Energy replacing chakra to supply essential life activity energy to the body.
Since the experiment itself didn't demand high manipulation difficulty, Hakushi assigned it once again to the five experimental assistants, who were responsible for recording the detailed process of the experiment.