At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, Leo awoke from his meditation. His mind was clear and refreshed, his body felt ineEXPlicably comfortable, and his soul seemed to have undergone a subtle elevation.
Recalling last night's cultivation session, he remembered what had happened when his Observation Haki was upgraded to Level 3 — it had gained a new ability, allowing him to sense the natural energies that existed all around him.
As everyone knew, ordinary ninja chakra was generated from within one's own body, accumulated over years of cultivation.
But there existed another type of chakra — Sage Chakra — a special kind that didn't originate from the human body, but from nature itself.
Normally, this natural energy couldn't be perceived by ordinary ninjas. Only those who trained in one of the three sacred places — Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, or Ryūchi Cave — could come into contact with this force and thus learn Senjutsu (Sage Arts).
People like Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and later Kabuto Yakushi were such examples.
Even Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, could enter Sage Mode, though it was never eEXPlained where his inheritance came from — perhaps it was due to his being the reincarnation of Ashura.
Now, with the aid of his Observation Haki, Leo could also sense the power of nature. After a night of focused training, he could faintly feel a new kind of energy forming inside him — most likely Sage Chakra.
Natural energy comprised the five elements — wind, fire, water, earth, and lightning — but when processed through the human body, it became Sage Chakra.
Ninjutsu fueled by Sage Chakra was incomparably stronger than those using normal chakra.
However, he still didn't possess Sage Mode, so how was he supposed to use this newfound power? Moreover, the amount of Sage Chakra within him was still pitifully small.
"Observation Haki allows one to hear the voices of all things! Since nature is also part of 'all things,' it's that ability which lets me sense and draw close to nature itself!"
He didn't overthink it, but a realization dawned on him — even though he couldn't yet "hear the voice of all things," he could now feel the flow of natural energy.
Perhaps, when his Observation Haki reached its ultimate level one day, he could truly listen to nature and merge with it. Would that not be akin to the Daoist ideal of the unity of heaven and man?
In the original story, entering Sage Mode usually required half an hour of hand seals to gather energy, yet Senju Hashirama could enter it instantly.
Could it be that his very physique was inherently attuned to nature? After all, his Wood Release was unmatched throughout the ninja world.
If Leo's body could one day reach the same level, then even without the secret arts of the three great sacred grounds, he could automatically enter Sage Mode!
If that were possible, it would be a tremendous leap in power!
"It seems I'll have to take this step by step. For now, I'll just have to eEXPlore Sage Mode on my own."
With that thought, Leo rose and left his small wooden cabin.
As an ANBU trainee, he didn't yet have many duties, nor was he tightly restricted by regulations. So, while he had the time, he might as well focus entirely on improving his strength.
"My three types of Haki have already reached a bottleneck. Now that I've obtained one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades, the sword Enma, I can use it to hone my swordsmanship."
However, he quickly dismissed the thought of training with Enma directly — the weapon's unusual aura would raise too many questions about its origin.
So, he decided to simply buy a practice sword. He had saved up some money recently; it should be enough for a decent katana.
Without hesitation, he set out.
The shopkeeper at the ninja tool shop greeted him warmly — after all, the Konoha forehead protector tied around Leo's shoulder marked him as a ninja.
Even a lowly genin ranked far above an ordinary villager.
When Leo asked about ninja swords, however, the shopkeeper's eEXPression turned a bit awkward.
They had swords, yes — but they were eEXPensive.
Leo calculated the amount of money he had and realized he could only afford about half of the price.
Sure enough, no matter what world you lived in, being poor was always a problem.
"If you're short on funds, little ninja, you could always go to the Mission Hall nearby to take on a few jobs. You can earn quite a bit of pay that way," the shopkeeper suggested.
"Mission Hall…" Leo murmured. After thanking the shopkeeper, he turned and made his way toward the end of Konoha's main street.
The so-called Mission Hall was where ninjas picked up assignments. In a village like Konoha, with tens of thousands of ninjas, it was impossible for the Hokage to personally approve every single task.
Teams like Kakashi's Squad received missions directly from the Hokage only because of their special status — pure nepotism, really.
Soon, Leo arrived at the Mission Hall — a small, workshop-sized building staffed by two or three ninjas handling paperwork. Dozens of genin and chūnin crowded around, searching for available jobs.
Truth be told, if Leo really wanted to make money, he could just take an ANBU mission instead — the pay there was far higher than the public commissions offered here.
He was about to turn and leave when a sudden commotion caught his attention.
"Why not me? We're both genin! Why can he take a C-rank mission but I can't? That's discrimination, you hear me!" a loud, indignant voice boomed from within the crowd.
"Heh, you? A genin who only knows taijutsu wants a C-rank mission? What good would you be?" someone sneered.
"What's wrong with taijutsu, huh? Just because you can use ninjutsu you think you're special?" the deep voice shot back furiously.
"Sorry, yeah — being able to use ninjutsu is special."
"Hahaha!"
Laughter erupted through the Mission Hall.
"Taijutsu? Don't tell me that's—"
Leo pushed forward through the crowd, parting the onlookers with his arms.
"Hey!"
"Watch it!"
"Who's this kid?"
Ignoring the complaints, Leo stepped up to the front — and sure enough, standing there in his trademark green training suit and bowl-cut hair, face flushed with anger, was none other than Might Duy.
"Might Duy…" Leo blinked, surprised to see him here.
"I'll report this to the Hokage himself! This is discrimination against commoners!" Duy slammed his hand on the mission desk, his voice filled with indignation.
"If it were an ordinary C-rank mission, fine," one of the Mission Hall clerks eEXPlained patiently. "But this one's intelligence is incomplete — it could easily escalate into a B-rank or even A-rank mission. That's why the pay is so high, yet no one's taken it. You're the only one who applied."
The clerk clearly didn't want this to blow up into something that reached the Hokage's ears. After all, the Third Hokage was known for caring deeply about the welfare of his people.
"So it could be A-rank? No wonder the reward's so generous…"
Might Duy's eEXPression changed. He hadn't eEXPected such danger from what was labeled a C-rank task. Still, why would they post an A-rank mission under the C-rank list? That was practically misleading!
But despite the risk, his family was struggling — they barely had enough to eat. He had just gotten married; he couldn't possibly let his new wife go hungry.
Duy was a man devoted to his family. As a commoner ninja, his financial situation was precarious.
He had no choice — for the sake of his home and his loved ones, he'd have to risk it all.
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