Chapter .4 The Old Sages

"All right, guys, the first thing I'd like to try is getting a job at Aoki's," my aunt's ear perked, and she looked at me curiously, but my uncle was the one who stopped me and asked, "First, why do you need a job? You'll be making plenty of money soon enough. If you need money to start your training, you can just let us know how much you need. Second, why specifically work there?"

"Okay, let me talk. I'm going to explain," I sighed at their eagerness. "That is the only place I'd like to try to get a job. For one, they are 'Masters in sealing technique,' and they have a big shop there that needs to be maintained, so I have a really good chance of getting a job there."

They both nodded, their eyes indicating they wanted me to keep talking, so I did. "Secondly, they have their private training ground, and it looks good enough to me. I just looked into it when I was walking by on the way to our restaurant. With that, I'll be close to you guys for the time being and keep up with my training, but it's only possible if they allow me to use it." My aunt was looking at me like she was figuring something out, so I continued.

"As you guys know, only ninjas can be 'Masters of sealing art.' If things work out, I may be able to learn a thing or two even before I join an academy. Look, I even wrote a résumé for the job to represent myself in a good light, which took me a good hour." I showed them the curriculum vitae I so painstakingly wrote, my chest puffing like a bird.

"Hmm, nice details you put in there, little champ. Well done. I don't see why you would be rejected with this much preparation," Uncle said, giving the paper to my aunt to read.

Aunt Ayame read the paper, put it in her pocket, and asked, "When are you planning to apply for this job?" I was expecting the paper back, but I guessed she had plans of her own. "I will go tomorrow morning after breakfast. I want to avoid rush hour before I go there. I don't want to be too early and be a nuisance to them and get ignored the first day; it'll be a 'bye-bye' job. So, I'm guessing I'll go around 11 am."

After I finished explaining my plan, Aunt said, "Okay, we will go with you tomorrow, and we will leave at 10 o'clock. Be ready by then." All I could say was, 'Yes, ma'am.' Her words were final, and it might work in my favor, knowing I am still a child.

With that, our discussion was done, and so was dinner. We were just having tea now. Kids were playing right next to us; they wouldn't stay still even for a minute. When they noticed my gaze, they ran toward me on cue, "Nii-chan, play with us." They darted toward me, hugging my legs.

"Okay, okay, I will play with you. Tell me, what would you like to play?" As expected, "Dodgeball," both said at the same time. "All right, then, go get all the balls in the garden, then we'll play." This is a game I play with kids where they hit me with soft balls, and I dodge them with my eyes closed.

It works as training for me to help develop a 'danger sense' in the future. Of course, no luck so far; as for kids, they just want to hit me, which I do get hit all the time. They would just giggle at that. We played the game for an hour; by then, both of them got tired, so I carried them to their room, where they fell asleep like logs.

Then I went to my room, tucked my legs into the blanket, and started meditating. For me, it was to keep my mind peaceful and quiet. All I do is just simple natural breathing, and that is all I need. I don't have chakra to manipulate, and to make matters worse, my chakra network is mutated. Then again, I won't be using the chakra network.

About a thousand years ago, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, who was the first one to understand and teach the mystery of chakra, created the 'Shinobi Sect' (Ninshū), which was more like a peaceful religious gathering for like-minded people. In time, this knowledge got weaponized, and chakras started being used as a destructive method for fighting by ninjas (Ninjutsu).

But the thing is, there has always been a type of energy that existed ever since the beginning of time called 'Natural Energy.' That era was called 'The Era Of Sages.' It's been said that Toad Sage was the one who taught Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki the sage mode. But of course, there was one big problem: while training under Toad Sage, when Hagoromo tried to use the Natural Energy with his Chakra network, it created imbalances, which caused him to be petrified. But Toad Sage helped him. In time, he learned to balance both energies and become 'Immortal.'

Later, he gave up on his physical body and only stayed in his spiritual body and has been watching over the physical world ever since, protecting it from external threats. …Which is, of course, questionable; the bastard might be peeping for all we know. All old coots are perverts in the Naruto World. I want that power so bad ...*cough* I mean, for World Peace ...yup, that's what I meant.

So yeah, I'll be training the 'old natural way,' and will be training the Natural Energy Network. We will see where it leads me, however long it takes, whatever hardship I have to face, I'll walk through it smiling ...GUY SENSEI ...HERE I COME ...YOOUUUTHHHH.

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A/N:

1. CHAKRA: Just wanted to clarify a few things... Yes, guys, Chakras are real. "Chakra" literally means spiral, so we have seven main Chakras, and there is a network of Chakras that extends throughout the body. Through yoga, you can improve this network in real life.

2. NATURAL ENERGY: There are many names for this energy—Chi or Qi in Chinese (in cultivation novels, you may have read it as 'Breath'; there is nothing more natural than breathing), Ki in Japanese, and Prana in India. And yes, there is also a Chi network that can be improved with Tai Chi or Pranayama in real life.

Now, both networks exist in every single being, even in animals. And they both have nothing to do with each other. They neither create imbalance with each other nor mix with each other. They are two completely different things.

Oh and dantians are also real, in fact, there are three... no bs... D.

Enjoy!