Chapter 136: Breakthrough

In fact, when the last trace of killing intent in Natsuro was wiped away, nothing particularly special happened in the outside world. There were no celestial phenomena accompanying the protagonist's breakthrough.

In that moment, it felt as if everything fell into place; his Void State had reached the next level.

It was as if he had already filled the reservoir to the brim and was just waiting for the moment when the dam would break. Now that the dam had suddenly disappeared, the water that had already accumulated would naturally burst forth.

After breaking through the Void State, Natsuro felt a tremendous change in the world he observed through his eyes.

Those natural energies that once only existed in his perception could now be seen with the naked eye if he wished to do so; of course, he could also choose to ignore them if he didn't want to see them.

Natsuro reached out his hand, passing through the natural energies he could see, and those energies scattered without showing any inclination to be absorbed into his body.

He could feel that if he wanted to, he could absorb those natural energies.

Yet, Natsuro didn't choose to do so. Although he felt that even if he absorbed them without mastering the right proportions, he wouldn't be petrified, it would ultimately be an unwise decision to gamble with his life.

Thus, Natsuro realized that he would likely need to find time to visit Mount Myōboku again.

However, thinking about the current time, with the third round of the exams about to start, he figured that Orochimaru must have already begun his plans. He had no time to visit Mount Myōboku at this moment.

Of course, this change wasn't limited to just that; he felt that the natural energies seemed somewhat different, as if they contained something. However, Natsuro could only sense it without being able to discern the specific differences.

He probably still needed to deepen his Void State to understand better, Natsuro mused with a hint of regret.

It was clear that the Void State was merely a preliminary stage he had developed based on learning the Sage Mode, yet it continued to improve with no end in sight.

Natsuro had long surpassed the requirements for learning Sage Mode. He felt that if he were to learn Sage Mode, he should be able to do so quickly, right? Naruto took about a week, so what about him?

However, he knew that Naruto's success stemmed from his protagonist's halo; it was simply how the plot unfolded. Even if he struggled to learn it, there would be a reason for him to succeed, so he couldn't use Naruto as a reference. In terms of normal training, the best example would actually be Jiraiya.

Jiraiya wasn't without talent, but despite studying Sage Mode for so many years, he still hadn't learned to use it on his own, demonstrating just how difficult it was.

Moreover, it was best not to interrupt the learning process for Sage Mode; otherwise, it would waste even more time.

As Natsuro contemplated, he ultimately decided to visit Mount Myōboku only after he dealt with recent matters and freed up some time.

The only time he would need Sage Mode in the near future would likely be during the third round of the exams tomorrow. Even if he was confident, he didn't think he could learn Sage Mode in just one day.

Since he wouldn't need it during this period and wouldn't require it for later events, there was no need to rush.

His goal for mastering Sage Mode to perfection was set at two years; that timeframe already accounted for a significant portion of his overall learning time.

After making his decision, Natsuro sat cross-legged and continued to explore the changes in his Void State.

For example, perception...

Once he fully entered the Void State, he couldn't help but be taken aback; the range of his perception surprised him. If he had this range previously, he could have sensed Ino's signals from the comfort of his home instead of going to the center tower of the Forest of Death.

However, the change in the perception range was within Natsuro's expectations, yet it still brought him considerable delight.

Then, after a long time, Natsuro took a rare moment to observe his body.

First was his chakra; he could now see it more thoroughly, in terms of both form and nature. With further study, his ninjutsu would be further enhanced. To Natsuro's surprise, besides wind and lightning, he could even see a trace of fire affinity.

Even compared to wind and lightning, this trace of fire seemed minuscule, like a stream versus an ocean. But Natsuro understood that the fire-style ninjutsu he learned had made some impact, leaving a trace of the fire element within him. However...

Using this trace of fire to perform fire-style techniques would undoubtedly yield limited power, and developing it to the same level as wind and lightning would require who knows how many years.

Thus, Natsuro never considered training to develop all attributes through physical training. Previously, while he didn't know the exact speed, he had learned that it required a massive amount of time, and such attributes would essentially never catch up to his original ones.

Looking at the vast difference between fire and wind/lightning, it would indeed be strange if he could bridge that gap!

In addition to that, Natsuro also noticed the deficiencies in his physical form. He could sense the damage left by his physical training, as well as identify areas that hadn't been exercised properly before...

This discovery made him realize that his lightning release stimulation would seem to be useful again, and he was somewhat surprised by the extent of damage he had accrued. Had he really left so many injuries? He hadn't noticed them during his medical ninjutsu training...

These must be more subtle damages that wouldn't be discovered through normal methods.

Arc lightning jumped across Natsuro's body, and soon, just as he had anticipated, lightning release massage was effective on those areas that hadn't been trained. He also channeled medical chakra into those injured areas, quickly initiating their repair.

This time, Natsuro took quite a while, but the effect was remarkable; he felt a level of comfort he had never experienced before. This state was perhaps only something a newborn baby could possess in terms of a perfect body.

No, even a baby would have experienced some compression and would have some damage. So, the current state...

If he had to describe it, he could only say it was perfect and flawless!

Natsuro couldn't help but smile; this had tremendous benefits for the coordination of his body and subsequent enhancements. Even now, he felt that his physical techniques should have improved significantly.

After observing his body, just as he was about to withdraw, he suddenly froze. It seemed he had spotted something different—a place filled with light. Although he could see it, he couldn't discern exactly which part of his body it originated from...

"What is this?"

Filled with curiosity, Natsuro didn't hesitate and guided his consciousness into that white light.

Soon, Natsuro was completely stunned because he saw himself, and at that moment, he understood what he was witnessing. It was his soul!

However, if that were all, Natsuro wouldn't be so surprised, since souls indeed existed in the world of Naruto; for example, the Shiki Fujin seals souls (Shinigami from Dead Demon Consuming Seal).

Yet, the silhouette he saw had two figures! He had two souls!

How could that be possible? Natsuro stared at the two identical souls, aside from size, frozen in place, unable to think clearly. Can a person really possess two souls?

Quickly, Natsuro began to formulate his own theory: the larger soul likely belonged to him from his previous life, while the smaller one belonged to the original Natsuro.

This caused a frown to appear on Natsuro's face. If the original host's soul grew strong enough, would it eventually consume him?

Then what would that even mean? Was this considered soul-seizing?

Natsuro took a step closer and eventually touched the two souls, and in that instant, he felt as if he understood something.

Indeed, these were two souls, but the worrying scenario he had feared was completely unfounded; the other soul was entirely devoid of consciousness.

When he came to this world, the original host had yet to see the world before dying from malnutrition, grieving over her husband's death during her pregnancy.

All that remained of the original host was the purest form of spiritual energy, and he had been drawn to this dissipating energy, ultimately inhabiting this body and connecting to its life force to be reborn.

This revelation eased his concerns; at least he hadn't killed an innocent soul. Simply occupying a shell was something he could accept.

This power had no consciousness; it was completely blank. The moment he entered this body, the spiritual energy had already been stamped with his mark, forming a soul entity linked to his own, without fully dissipating.

However, it still lacked an independent consciousness; all its thoughts were reliant on Natsuro's soul. Whatever Natsuro thought, it would think too, as if Natsuro's soul was the main system and it was merely an auxiliary system.

An auxiliary system cannot exist independently of the main system, but Natsuro felt that he could choose to change the main and auxiliary systems without any impact on himself. This was because, fundamentally, the two souls were identical in essence; they simply existed as two.

At that moment, Natsuro had an epiphany. He finally understood why his spiritual power had been so strong since childhood and why it grew so rapidly.

It was clear that his own soul, which had traversed here, was powerful, and the reason for his rapid growth was that he had always possessed two souls, leading to a growth rate that was more than double.

Moreover, he felt that these two souls likely had more functions, but he couldn't think of what those might be at the moment.

With this realization, some strange events from his childhood were also explained. He had been able to easily break through his limits; he had thought this was due to his strong soul, as he remembered that his willpower in his past life was not particularly strong. Now, it seemed that his willpower had been augmented.

He also understood why it was so difficult for him to achieve a state of stillness. That was because he had two souls that both needed to calm down.

However, at present, this didn't matter much. The existence of the second soul was beneficial, allowing him to easily reach an existence at the level of a Kage, and he had yet to reach his limit!

Knowing that he wouldn't face the risk of developing a secondary personality, Natsuro sighed in relief and carefully observed his soul. In the end, he noticed a strange mark on his soul's forehead.

"What is this?" Natsuro furrowed his brows, pondering what was so special about his soul.

If the Nine-Tails were present, it would recognize that the mark Natsuro saw was the same one it had seen at that time, though the Nine-Tails would notice that this mark appeared clearer than what it had observed.

Natsuro wanted to understand by touching it, but this time nothing happened. He still didn't know what this mark was or when it had appeared.

This puzzled Natsuro, as he stared closely at the mark, sensing that it seemed to represent a profound and mysterious power, one he could not comprehend or grasp.

Ultimately, Natsuro gave up on this line of inquiry and continued to observe his soul, finding nothing else particularly notable.

Finally, he opened his eyes to the outside world, revealing a hint of confusion in his gaze. The changes brought about by the breakthrough of the Void State left him bewildered.

Two souls, and that mark...

What could they all be?

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Currently on Chapter 185 - Naruto Leaves the Village