"Only three days of food?"
"You will soon understand," Shisui replied calmly, "why it is three days."
Naoto entered the dining hall and followed Shisui's gaze. Only then did he notice the staggering mounds of high-energy provisions: rows of dried at, crates of specialized military rations, and several large vats filled with thick nutritional fluid.
Three days later, the aning of Shisui's words beca visceral.
The amount Naoto consud in those seventy-two hours was equivalent to sixty days of his previous intake.
As the food entered his body, the white tendrils within his flesh instantly absorbed and converted the nutrients into raw energy reserves. He had done almost nothing but eat, digest, and repeat.
While the technique did not grant him immortality or the legendary five hearts of Kakuzu, it provided sothing potentially more terrifying: the potential for limitless physical growth and the ability to awaken all five elental natures through energy refinent.
This growth was gradual and capped by the strength of his own spiritual control. However, as his body strengthened, his spiritual energy would passively increase through training, creating a slow but steady feedback loop of power.
Shisui observed the fully recovered Naoto. "Every drop of White Dew requires a colossal amount of energy. Your constitution is better than I expected; you recovered faster than my projections."
Shisui didn't ntion the "efficient" alternative. While the original Earth Grudge Fear could pluck hearts, this new version could technically drain biological energy directly from living beings.
The white threads were capable of siphoning the life force of corpses or the dying—a thod far faster than eating dried at. But for now, Shisui chose not to expose Naoto to such a grueso reality.
Naoto wiped his mouth, a new fire in his eyes. "By the way, didn't you say you wanted to spar? I'm ready."
Shisui allowed himself a rare, thin smile. "You seem confident."
"Let's find out."
The Underground Training Ground
Two shadows blurred across the cavern, the hum of insects clashing with the whistle of displaced air. Ten minutes later, Naoto was on one knee, gasping for breath. His clothes were riddled with tiny tears—marks left by the mandibles of Shisui's hive.
Shisui stood several paces away, his expression unruffled.
"Your chakra volu now exceeds that of most Elite Jonin," Shisui appraised. "The density is also impressive, but you are still a world away from the true top-tier powerhouses."
He walked over and extended a hand. "Do you know what you're missing?"
Naoto took the hand and pulled himself up. "What?"
"Spirit." Shisui looked him dead in the eye. "Your Nindo—your ninja way—is not yet firm. You have the power, but your will hasn't fully caught up. That requires ti to temper and experiences to settle the soul."
Naoto remained silent, nodding slowly. Coming from a man from a Great Village who possessed such terrifying knowledge, the advice felt like gospel.
"Furthermore," Shisui continued, "you are currently only utilizing about forty percent of your body's potential. In the coming months, you still have much to learn."
At the ntion of "learning," Naoto felt an instinctive internal resistance. For the next several months, he remained in the subterranean palace, spending ninety percent of his life away from the sun.
However, this phase of study wasn't the brain-lting theory of before; it was the practical application of ninjutsu.
Shisui's teaching wasn't a forced infusion of facts but a guided evolution. He taught Naoto the chanics of various jutsu, the theory behind shape and nature transformation, and the fundantals of sealing.
Shisui placed a thick stack of handwritten manuals before him. "I do not use the Five-Elent styles myself, but coming from Konoha, I understand the underlying theories. Whether you can master them is up to your own effort."
Naoto studied with a fervor he had never known. He knew this knowledge was priceless—the kind of secrets no amount of money could buy in the outside world.
Spring, Year 37 of Konoha
By the ti the frost began to lt, Naoto could finally fight Shisui to a draw—provided Shisui didn't use his full strength.
"It is enough," Shisui said, recalling his insects. "You can now wield sixty to seventy percent of your body's power. The rest you must discover in the heat of real combat."
Naoto nodded, then looked at his ntor seriously. "What about the barrier? You promised that once the experint was done, you would open the village. It's been over two years. The ninjas and villagers... they're like a powder keg waiting for a spark."
"Do you know why they have beco like that?" Shisui asked.
"They want their freedom."
"Wrong," Shisui shook his head. "It is because their lives have beco too easy. There is an old saying: 'When one is warm and well-fed, one's thoughts turn to mischief.' That is their current state."
Naoto didn't quite grasp the "old saying," but he understood the sentint. He still didn't fully comprehend why so people—especially the shinobi—grew more irritable as their quality of life improved.
"Rest assured, I keep my word," Shisui said. "In three days, I will open the barrier. Villagers and ninjas will be free to co and go.
But you must promise : reveal nothing of what happened here. No one must know my true identity. And I need you to watch the village—ensure no foreign spies slip through the cracks."
Naoto nodded solemnly. "I swear. I will reveal nothing. I will protect this village and keep the spies out."
"I believe you. I hope you can live up to that."
With that, Shisui allowed him to leave the hive. Ard with the Five-Elent transformations and a body that could weather almost any storm, Naoto had beco a "Little Kakuzu." Against ordinary or even Elite Jonin, he was now a formidable force.
Shisui let him take over the village's security, effectively making Naoto the public face of Takigakure's defense.
This served as a perfect shield while Shisui turned his attention to the White Dew. He needed to test its toxicity and find the most efficient way to utilize its staggering life-force potential.
As for the risk of Naoto betraying him? Shisui wasn't worried. From the day they t, Naoto had been the easiest target to control—not through fear, but through his inherent goodness and his inherited will to protect the village at any cost.
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