Chapter 31

Fuyōna tossed and turned in his bed. Something was bothering him, but he wasn't sure what it was. He opened his eyes to see what the reason was.

That being that, he was no longer in Fuyu's house and found himself at the peak of the mountain. The wind was so cold that his pants had already started to freeze over, and his body was shivering violently.

"what in the frozen hell is going on!" he shouted as he took a look around, trying to find out what was going on.

Hyōketsu suddenly appeared out of the blizzard leaning on his cane.

"This is the next step of your training. If you can survive this, then you will be ready to start learning to take in natural energy."

Fuyōna looked at the old Yeti like he was crazy.

"How in the hell am I supposed to survive this. I'll freeze to death up here!" He shouted.

Hyōketsu simply smiled, showing his fangs.

"if you want to learn sage mode, then you must survive on this mountain top for three days and nights without freezing to death."

Fuyōna has wrapped his arms around his body to try to keep warm, but it wasn't helping. He looked around to try and take in his surroundings to see that he could leave and get down to safety if he wanted to.

With that said, the old Yeti started walking down the steep path back down the mountain. Fuyōna shouting out to him as he did.

"Just how am I supposed to survive up here!" He asked.

"you must become one with the elements, one with nature itself. good luck!" Hyōketsu shouted as he finally faded into the blizzard, leaving Fuyōna alone with nothing but the howling wind to keep him company.

"One with nature..." Fuyōna said as he sat down on the ground, he was still shivering, and his teeth were even chattering from the intense cold.

He crossed his legs and closed his eyes as he tried to reaming calm. Whatever he did, panic wouldn't get him very far.

He had to relax his body and let himself become one with the elements around him. In this case, it was the freezing cold, befitting the horned Yetis and the Yuki clan.

However, that was easier said than done. Fuyōna had been at it for almost thirty minutes now, and all he had achieved was getting colder with small icicles hanging from his face.

His teeth were none stop chattering now as the cold was taking over, his body reaching its limits.

"I can't do this. I'm going to freeze to death," Fuyōna said through his chattering teeth.

Saikens voice snapped at him suddenly.

"you have to hold on Fuyōna, you have already come too far. You can't give up now!" The six tails said from inside him.

Fuyōna closed his eyes and entered his inner world so he could see the tailed beast. Saiken was sat in the snow in Fuyōnas inner world, looking quite comfortable.

Fuyōna was that cold that he couldn't stop shivering even inside his inner world.

"What am I supposed to do, Saiken? If I can't learn how to become one with nature, I'm going to freeze to death," he said, pacing around trying to get warm.

The six tails looked at him with a worried expression. I don't know what to tell you, Fuyōna. I can't even lend you my chakra to help due to Hyōketsu sealing your chakra. It's as if he is trying to get you to swim up a river without being able to swim." Saiken said.

Fuyōna was quiet for a moment when suddenly Saikems words sparked something in his mind.

"That's it!" He shouted suddenly.

Turning to look Saiken in the eyes, he almost jumped up at him.

"Saiken, you're a genius!" He shouted.

The six tails was confused and asked Fuyōna to explain.

"It's so simple, Saiken. What do you do when you can't swim against the current?" He said, making it around simple.

Saiken stayed quiet as he still didn't understand.

"If you can't fight the current, you go with it instead!" Fuyōna said as he turned around.

Saiken watched as Fuyōna disappeared from his inner world, and he took a back seat, watching what he had planned.

Fuyōna opened his eyes and took a sudden sharp breath as his body was starting to shut down from the cold. His fingers had even started to go blue, and if his idea didn't work, then he would not have another chance.

"Here goes nothing..." He said as he exhaled and gave in to the cold around him, relaxing his body, letting it succumb to the freezing temperatures.

His body suddenly stopped shivering, and his teeth stopped chatting. He was so still that you would walk right past him, not seeing him.

The snow started to pile on his lap and shoulders, ice forming around his body, seeming as if he had been frozen on the spot. Yet Saiken could see that his vitals were improving. His body was getting warmer, his pulse slowing down to almost undetectable levels as he became one with his environment. That's when Saiken saw it.

Saiken could see the natural energy surrounding Fuyōnas body, encasing him in a cocoon of warmth that protected him from the freezing temperatures.

Saiken has never met another being other than his father, the sage of six paths that could withstand such a large amount of natural energy.

From Saiken's experience, if someone took in too much natural energy without mixing it in a perfect ratio with their chakra, they would die. Usually being petrified. Yet here sat Fuyōna Yuki surrounded in nothing but natural energy with no chakra in the mix, and he was fine. In fact, he was more than fine. He was thriving.

The sensation was hard for Fuyōna to explain. He was fully aware of everything around him as if all of his senses had been amplified. He no longer felt any pain and could no longer feel the cold; in fact, he felt as if he was sat on a tropical beach with the sun shining brightly.

He remained in that same spot for the next three days, braving the weather without so much as a shudder. Time passed faster for Fuyōna as if he was in some sort of enlightened trance, and before he knew it, Hyōketsu had returned.

Fuyōna could sense his presence before he even got anywhere near him. Hyōketsu could see that Fuyōna had passed the test, and he was very pleased; he was displeased, however, about his lack of manner in greeting him.

"So you survived little Yuki." He said, trying to get his attention.

However, Fuyōna remained in his meditative trance, seeming as if he was ignoring the old Yeti.

Hyōketsu could see the vast amount of natural energy that was surrounding Fuyōna, and he was shocked. Never before had he seen anything like it, for he knew with that much natural energy he should be dead, yet his body was somehow absorbing it like vitamin D from the sunlight.

"Time to wake up, little Yuki!" the old Yeti shouted as he went to wack Fuyōna on the head with his cane. Fuyōna could feel his movements so clearly it was as if he was using his eyes to see.

His body was in such a relaxed state that it moved on its own, and he caught the cane in his hand before it could strike his head, to Hyōketsu's surprise.

Fuyōna opened his eyes and smiled at Hyōketsu before letting go of his walking stick.

"I don't think so." He said, getting a little big for his boots.

Hyōketsu laughed and leaned his weight back on his cane.

"Very good little Yuki, very good. You have survived the second test, but now comes your final test." He said, his expression becoming hard.

Fuyōna couldn't help feel the atmosphere around the old Yeti change as he suddenly developed a very intense killing aura.

"Your final test is to face me in battle." He said as he dropped his cane to the ground.

"Don't worry. You will have full use of all your abilities. You will need them." Hyōketsu said as he formed a few hand signs and released the sealing jutsu that was blocked Fuyōna's chakra.

Fuyōna could feel the sudden rush of his chakra igniting throughout his entire body, feeling stronger than ever.

Fuyōna stood to his feet as his body almost felt weightless. But his focus quickly shifted to Hyōketsu as it seemed the old Yeti was powering up.

"I won't go easy on you, little Yuki..." He said as his eyes suddenly glowed an ice blue as his small body grew larger and larger in size. All of his muscles had expanded, and the old frail looking Yeti that had been stood before him was gone. Instead replaced by a monstrous-looking demon.

Fuyōna took the initiative and allowed bones to form all around his body, encasing himself in a shield of razor-sharp spikes.

Hyōketsu smiled, showing his large fangs as he finished powering up.

"Here I come, little Yuki!" He shouted, his voice now deep and intimidating.

"Saiken, I need your chakra now!" Fuyōna shouted as he watched Hyōketsu vanish.

"Already on it, Fuyōna!" the six tails shouted as he allowed his chakra to spread out all over Fuyōnas body, covering him in a thick red chakra clock with six tails right off the bat.

Hyōketsu suddenly appeared, slamming his fist into Fuyōna so hard that the force sent him flying. His bone had taken the impact, but they were not strong enough to deal with Hyōketsus incredible power breaking from the force of the blow.

Fuyōna was still flying through the air and quickly slipped into an ice mirror, falling out of another not far from Hyōketsu.

"I'm not wasting any time here. I'll go all out from the get-go!" He shouted as he formed a load of hand signs with astonishing speed.

Hyōketsu knew where Fuyōna had gone as he could sense him thanks to his sage powers. Turning around, he charged head-on at him getting ready to unleash another powerful attack.

"Secret bone style jutsu! Lightning graveyard!" Fuyōna shouted. (in his head, remember, haha) Fuyōna slapped his hands on the floor, letting as much chakra as he could muster pump into the jutsu.

Suddenly giant bones, some as large as a house, shot from the ground, each of them sprouting more and more razor-sharp bones like branches from them all with a severe current of electricity flowing through them.

Hyōketsu had been surrounded by the jutsu and encased in the bone forest, trapping him as well as electrocuting him, getting a mighty roar of pain from the Yeti.

Fuyōna looked on as he tried to catch his breath. That jutsu had coat a massive amount of chakra, taking him down to only one tail of his chakra cloak, but it was worth it.

"That should stop you," Fuyōna said, seeming confident. However, the giant bones were suddenly smashed into pieces as Hyōketsu smashed his way through them with brute force.

Fuyōna was gobsmacked and couldn't believe his eyes. He had no time to react as Hyōketsu was on him again, not giving him any time.

"It will take more than that to stop me, boy!" He roared as he slammed his fist down towards Fuyōna, trying to crush him.

Fuyōna jumped back at the last second but was blown around by the force of the blow. He had never encountered such a monster before, and he almost felt helpless. Still, he tried his best to avoid being crushed as he dodged and was able to slip into another ice mirror, giving him a little time to come up with a new plan.

"He is a monster!" Fuyōna thought as he slipped into another mirror, trying to put some reasonable distance between Hyōketsu.

I don't have any other jutsu that will work on him. We have to enter tailed beast mode." Fuyōna said, speaking to Saiken.

The six tails nodded in agreement. "I agree, Fuyōna. This is not a battle you can win alone. However, your body is still not used to this form, so we won't have much time.

Fuyōna nodded. " It will have to do, Saiken. let's do it!"

Fuyōna slipped out of another mirror, expecting to hop into another one, but Hyōketsu pulled him down, catching him by surprise.

"Did you think you could run away!" He roared as he pulled Fuyōna to the ground slamming him into the side of the mountain.

Hyōketsu watched as the force of Fuyōnas body hitting the mountainside caused a massive avalanche that buried Fuuōna underneath it.

Hyōketsu wasn't even phased by the force of the avalanche and simply crossed his arms as he waited for the snow to stop.

"Are you really done already, little Yuki? I thought you had more fight in you than that!" Hyōketsu said, letting his arms fall to his side, waiting for a response.

He waited a little longer, and deep down, he wasn't sure if maybe he had killed Fuyōna.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you, kid..." He said as he turned his back, thinking the worst.

Suddenly the snow that held Fuyōna exploded as a massive body with six tails emerged in the powdered blanket.

Fuyōna had entered tailed beast mode, fully taking the form of Saiken. Hyōketsu watched with a smile on his face as he started to charge towards him, "Now you're getting serious!" He roared as the two of them clashed.

Fuyōna didn't waste any time trying to compete in a battle of strength. He quickly let loose a massive blast of corrosive gas, planning to trap Hyōketsu inside it.

Hyōketsu wasn't so naive, though, and used his frost breath to counter the gas, quickly taking the assault back to Fuyōna as he slammed a punch into his gut.

Nevertheless, his fist simply passed straight through Saiken's body, trapping his arm inside.

"You can't block this!" Fuyōna shouted as he let loose his corrosive slime, spitting it right into Hyōketsu face.

Hyōketsu had managed to block the acid with his free hand, it taking the brunt of the attack as the acid started to eat away at the flesh on his arm.

The Yeti let out a roar of pain as he quickly used his frost breath to freeze the acid on his arm, managing to neutralize its effect.

"Take this!" Fuyōna shouted as he used all six of his tails to grip Hyōketsu, each of them sliding around one of his limbs, with the other two engaging around his waist and neck, holding him in place.

Saiken opens its mouth as concentrated chakra started to build and build until it formed a mighty tailed beast bomb.

Hyōketsu was now the one on his back foot, he felt surprised that Fuyōna was capable of such extraordinary power even without sage mode, and he almost feared what he could become once he mastered it.

Hyōketsu smiled as he tried to pull Saikens tail from around his neck so he could speak.

"impressive boy, but did you really think it would be that easy!" He shouted.

"Sage art! Great hailstone jutsu!" Hyōketsu roared as he unleashed a massive jutsu.

Massive car-sized hail stones suddenly started to fall from the sky, striking Fuyōna and Saiken. They were that large that they even interrupted his tailed beast bomb as a massive hailstone struck him in the side of the head, knocking him down.

He lost control of the beast bomb, and it suddenly exploded, hitting both him and Hyōketsu.

The explosion was massive, and it even took out part of the mountaintop, taking a large chunk out of it. The blast could be seen from the Yeti village, and they wondered what the hell was going on.

Fuyu had not seen destruction like it and decided to rush to the top so he could assess the damage.

"Oh, no! Lord Hyōketsu must have gone too far!" he shouted as he jumped and ran as fast as he could.

Fuyu arrived at the top of the mountain, and it would seem that Kōri and Mō Fubuki had the same thought and had also rushed to where the battle had been taking place.

"Blast it, lord Hyōketsu! He always goes overboard!" Kōro shouted as he joined the others.

"How much you wanna bet he killed the kid?" Mō Fubuki said, chuckling.

Fuyu didn't seem amused and told them to pack it in.

The smoke was still thick in the air when the three Yeti arrived, and all they could do was wait to see what the aftermath would bring.

As the smoke faded, the small shadow of a hairy Yeti could be seen, and the others realized it was Hyōketsu.

"I knew it. He killed the kid!" Mō Fubuki said, slapping Kōri on the shoulder.

Fuyu seemed worried and ran over to the small Yeti. He could tell he was tired and worn out, having used a lot of strength.

"Lord Hyōketsu! What happened?" Fuyu asked as he went to aid him.

"Calm down, little Fuyu," Hyōketsu said as he slapped the larger Yetis hand away with ease.

Fuyu looked a little further and could see Fuyōna led unconscious in the snow.

"Yes, he is alive, Fuyu," Hyōketsu said as he sat down, taking in a breath.

Kōri and Mō Fubuki looked on from a little further away.

"looks like the kid managed to survive against lord Hyōketsu!" Kōri said, astonished at the result.

Even Mō Fubuki was impressed as he whistled.

"Damn, I didn't think he had it in him." He said, surprised.

"That boy is truly amazing... Even when faced with such overwhelming odds, he could still do so much and at such a young age. He is the first of his clan to pass this test. You should be proud of his Fuyu," Hyōketsu said as he stood back up slowly.

Fuyu sighed relief at the fact Fuyōna was still alive.

"Now pick him up. It's time for a feast!" Hyōketsu shouted as he started walking away as if nothing had happened.

Fuyōna woke later to the warmth of an open fire and the smell of good food. Fuyu and the others surrounded him and he shot up the memories of his past battle quickly entering his mind.

"Calm yourself, little Yuki," Hyōketsu said, taking a sip of his tea.

"The battle is over. You passed the test." He said.

His words calmed Fuyōna down and he relaxed only to feel the pain that was left, his body still in rough shape from the battle.

"That's right, kid, you put up one hell of a fight there," Fuyu said, smiling at him.

Hyōketsu suddenly cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. His eyes grew serious as he placed his teacup down on the table.

"Now look here, little Yuki. You have passed the tests, but the real training is yet to come... Give me three years. Yep, that should about do it. Three years of training and I will have taught you everything I know, giving you power beyond your wildest dreams."

Fuyōna was shocked, and he had to take time to think about the old Yeti's proposal. After all three years away from the village was along time, plus his absence would not go unnoticed. But the more he weighed up the pro's and con's, the more he decided he didn't have anything to lose. After all, he needed more power if he was to achieve anything in this world, furthermore now he was in the perfect place to obtain it.

Fuyōna stood to his feet and looked the old Yeti in his eyes.

"I accept your offer, lord Hyōketsu. Please teach me everything you know." Fuyōna said, bowing as he did.

Hyōketsu smiled a toothy grin as he looked at Fuyōna.

"Good choice, little Yuki, let the training commence."