While Jugo sat quietly to the side, fully concentrated on absorbing Natural Energy, Takuno did not just stand by and watch.
He gave a brief instruction to Haku beside him, then used Wood Release Ninjutsu to create a solid wooden rocking chair with an ancient charm out of thin air.
After settling his original body comfortably onto it, Takuno immediately performed the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.
His consciousness left his body and sank into Haku's form.
Takuno's goal was clear and deep; he needed to use Haku's Ice Release body again to personally experience that bone-chilling Chakra flow and morphological change.
This wasn't his first attempt, but this time he was determined to cross-reference and deeply integrate his current insights with the experience he had accumulated during his previous independent research on the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
This kind of 'immersive' secondary realization with specific questions in mind should be helpful for him to master Ice Release.
Conducting experiments while controlling Haku's body felt completely different from when he used others as materials before.
Unlike those resistant subjects whose sub-consciousness constantly struggled against his intrusion of will, Haku made the experience exceptionally smooth and fluid.
Despite this, a trace of unrelaxing vigilance remained deep within Takuno's heart, maintaining his guard against Haku; this wariness seemed to be a way of life rooted in his instincts, making it difficult to fully let down his guard regardless of who the person was.
Time flowed quietly in the silence.
Takuno's consciousness continued to wander within Haku's body, meticulously pondering the various mysteries of Ice Release Chakra.
Meanwhile, under the same moonlight, Jugo nearby was undergoing an unprecedented, almost revolutionary experience.
He realized with astonishment that the passive suction within his body, which he could never control and which constantly devoured the omnipresent Natural Energy, had stopped for the first time!
For Jugo, the impact of this was incomparable.
Throughout his past life, his body had been like a bottomless pit, greedily sucking in the thin or unstable Natural Energy from his surroundings at all times.
As soon as one area was sucked dry, new energy would slowly pour in, repeating in a never-ending cycle.
However, at this moment, although he had already accumulated quite a bit of Natural Energy in his body, that instinctive, uncontrollable 'pumping' action had truly ceased!
This was exactly the target scenario Lord Takuno had revealed to him earlier!
In an instant, an unprecedented, intense desire like that of a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood ignited in Jugo's eyes!
Since the Lord could use this miraculous barrier method to let his body temporarily escape the fate of passive absorption, did it mean that the Lord also had the ability to help him completely solve this cursed fate?
To end the suffering of those periodic violent outbursts at the source? This thought made his heart surge with emotion.
However, the steady temperament he had honed since childhood allowed Jugo to quickly calm down; he understood that now was absolutely not the time to make such a request.
Therefore, that plea had to be suppressed deep in his heart, patiently waiting until after the Lord had used his body to complete the exploration of the intended goal before he could solemnly bring it up.
He silently suppressed that churning hope.
If Takuno could see Jugo's thoughts right now, he would certainly look upon his forbearance and rationality with appreciation.
He had indeed considered that once he successfully used Jugo's constitution to test Sage Mode, if Jugo made a request...
He could completely base it on the principles of this successful barrier technique to custom-tailor a sealing mark on Jugo's body, directly blocking that passive absorption power from the source and solving his problem.
But Takuno had a more far-reaching consideration in mind: when the barrier succeeded and Jugo was able to temporarily escape his uncontrolled ability to absorb Natural Energy, he actually gained the key opportunity to truly master his own abilities.
The trouble of passive absorption had caused the Jugo in the original story to forever miss the possibility of experiencing a complete 'Sage Mode'; he was always on the dangerous edge of imbalance, with no luxury to finely perceive and coordinate the ratio of Chakra to Natural Energy.
And this precious 'breathing room' provided by the barrier was precisely what made all of this possible.
Through the Sage Mode experiment led by Takuno, if the test was successful, Jugo, as the owner of the body, would simultaneously and deeply comprehend the core of this mode; he himself would be able to use the barrier to activate Sage Mode!
What kind of picture would that be?
Imagine: a child less than ten years old, whose basic strength might still be thin, could possess the power of a Kage-level combatant at minimum by relying on the might of Sage Mode!
This might be far inferior to the experienced Jiraiya, but the qualitative change in his power would have already stepped into the ranks of top-tier Shinobi.
After all, in this Shinobi World, Kage-level definitely counts as a powerhouse!
This could be considered a case of 'when one person attains the Dao, even their pets ascend to heaven' in a different way.
A more perfect future picture unfolded in Takuno's mind; only a Jugo who had personally experienced the mysteries of true Sage Mode would truly possess the foundation to pursue the ultimate solution.
How to rely on the talent of his own 'Sage Body' to actively and finely coordinate energy, eventually achieving a permanent state of Sage Mode rather than relying on external sealing and suppression.
Once Jugo took that step, it would be liberation from the source and an elevation of power.
Takuno might even actively propose this concept then, but he would not interfere too much with the other's thoughts; the final right to choose would be left entirely to Jugo himself.
Takuno slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness having already withdrawn from Haku's body and returned to his own shell.
His keen perception caught the fleeting, almost imperceptible burning expectation in Jugo's gaze.
"How is the situation?" Takuno asked, his voice steady but with a hint of inquiry.
Jugo's voice trembled slightly due to uncontrollable emotion: "Lord! Truly, I really haven't continued to absorb even a single bit of Natural Energy!"
An almost imperceptible smile quietly crept onto the corner of Takuno's mouth.
This simple response was crucial to him; it clearly proved that the barrier he had meticulously designed and constructed was indeed effective! Natural Energy was being effectively isolated outside the barrier.
Listening to Jugo's voice, which carried intense fluctuations, Takuno understood perfectly.
Because of the suffering from his imperfect Sage Body, although Jugo could rely on external seals to forcibly suppress his behavior after a rampage in the past, the essence of that curse rooted in his blood and deep in his soul, had never been eradicated.
At this moment, Jugo's excitement was not without reason; he must have seen a dazzling light, a possibility to completely rid himself of this lifelong nightmare!
This spark of hope was clearly ignited by the success of the barrier.
Takuno felt a bit complex and shook his head gently.
Regarding solving Jugo's problem, he had indeed touched upon the key threshold now, and it wouldn't be difficult to solve.
However, the helpless part was that in order to deeply study that profound 'Sage Mode', he still needed to use Jugo's body as a 'vessel' for the experiment.
Now was truly not the appropriate time to completely resolve the other party's trouble.
"Are you ready?" Takuno composed his thoughts and confirmed in a deep voice.
"Yes!" Jugo's answer was decisive, without the slightest hesitation; for the possibility of this moment, he had long been prepared to pay any price.
Takuno nodded in acknowledgment, then he concentrated his mind and performed the Spirit Transformation Jutsu once more.
A translucent light of a spiritual body emerged from his body and instantly entered Jugo's body.
Using Jugo's five senses, Takuno 'looked' at the surrounding environment.
The change was significant; the Natural Energy that had previously permeated the space and was clearly discernible had now disappeared, making the senses feel empty and deathly still.
This meant that the little Natural Energy currently existing in Jugo's body had become a fixed, unchanging stock.
In this way, the basic conditions were met, and he could begin to try that dangerous and crucial step: coordinating the precise ratio of Chakra and Natural Energy!
Without any delay, Takuno controlled Jugo's body and began to extract Chakra.
On the first attempt, he cautiously extracted a portion of Chakra almost equal to the Natural Energy in the body, attempting to guide the two into an initial fusion.
The energy harmonization process under his control was unexpectedly smooth. The Natural Energy was like a docile stream, calmly intertwining with the Chakra.
"Success?" This overly easy fusion process raised a cloud of alert suspicion in Takuno's heart, "Is it because of the characteristics of Jugo's 'Sage Body'?"
If it were really this simple, how could Jugo have been unable to truly and stably activate 'Sage Mode' throughout his life in the original work? This thought rang like an alarm bell in Takuno's mind.
However, as if to confirm this alertness, a sudden change occurred!
An indescribable, savage, and fierce desire for destruction, like a flood breaking through a dam, crashed through the levee of reason without warning, instantly flooding the core of his consciousness.
Beast-like roars exploded in his mind, and a voice roared crazily in the depths of his soul: Tear them apart! Destroy! Everything before my eyes!
Takuno's movements instantly froze.
But with his tempered spiritual strength that far exceeded that of ordinary people, even this kind of violent babbling originating from the bottom of the soul only caused his figure to pause, far from being enough to shake his sanity and drag him into the abyss of losing control.
But the outcome of the fusion experiment was already clear; this ratio was a complete failure.
He immediately realized the trouble ahead; for subsequent attempts, he had to release the barrier and introduce another portion of external Natural Energy for Jugo to absorb.
This process was undoubtedly a tedious and time-consuming repetitive step.
A silent sigh echoed in Takuno's consciousness; what else could he do? Should he use his own body to try?
Even if he were willing to use his own body for the experiment, he couldn't do it, because the reality was cruel.
With his own meager perception of Natural Energy, even how to effectively absorb it was still an unknown, let alone conducting such a dangerous energy coordination experiment.
In a flash of thought, Takuno made a decision.
He quickly controlled Jugo's body, his fingers flying to form mysterious seals.
In an instant, a massive purple-black energy that made the air twist and tremble erupted from Jugo's body like a volcanic eruption!
This was precisely what he did to safely clear the portion of 'Pseudo-Senjutsu Chakra' that had failed to fuse within Jugo's body.
After the energy was completely released, Takuno's spiritual body no longer stayed and decisively deactivated the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.
With a flash of light and shadow, he returned to his own seated body.
Jugo's eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes with a hint of confusion, his gaze gradually focusing on Takuno in front of him.
The premonition of failure had already quietly permeated the darkness before he woke up.
"It failed." Takuno's voice was as calm as water, without any ripples.
This was already within his expectations; if Sage Mode could be easily comprehended, how could it be such a rare existence in the original work?
"Lord, should we continue?" Jugo forced himself to perk up and asked proactively, his voice carrying a hint of imperceptible urgency.
Perhaps at this moment, no one was more eager than him for Takuno's research to succeed soon.
Takuno's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, seeing through his thoughts.
He didn't say much, just raised his hand, and with a slight movement of his fingertips, the invisible barrier surrounding the training field cracked open a gap.
In an instant, the dormant Natural Energy seemed to have found its home, once again rushing toward Jugo's body like a tide.
A moment later, Takuno flipped his wrist slightly, and the crack in the barrier quietly closed, isolating the surging energy outside.
Time passed in the silence.
After a long time, Jugo took a deep breath, his eyes becoming firm again; he nodded heavily toward Takuno, and once more, he was ready.
This was also why Takuno did not choose to occupy Jugo's body for a long time.
He could certainly use Jugo's own Chakra to control the barrier, but re-condensing enough Natural Energy required a considerable amount of time.
And the spiritual consumption of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu was quite significant; by comparison, although the current steps were more tedious, they could actually save more mental effort.
Takuno nodded in acknowledgment, and his consciousness once again linked with and took control of Jugo's body through the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.
Under the guidance of his will, Chakra underwent a dangerous and precise fusion with the Natural Energy just absorbed.
However, the result was exactly the same; the balance between the energies collapsed again, and the fusion was declared a failure.
After several such cycles, just as Takuno was preparing to end the attempt as he had several times before, his gaze swept across Jugo's clear eyes.
The deep expectation and silent plea within them made Takuno pause slightly.
Forget it, with a change of mind, he once again settled his thoughts and began a new round of impact and guidance.
Once, and again—
After an unknown number of rounds of frustration, Jugo's body finally sent out a warning signal.
The boy's thin frame began to tremble slightly uncontrollably, and his face showed excessive paleness.
He was still too young; although his special constitution made his physique far exceed that of his peers, the total amount of Chakra that shell could carry and refine was ultimately limited, and it couldn't withstand such repeated intense extraction and consumption.
When Takuno's consciousness prepared to link again, Jugo subconsciously tensed his body, wanting to push through.
However, this time, Takuno clearly perceived the weak fluctuations of Chakra nearing depletion in his body and shook his head decisively: "That's enough. Your body can no longer bear the continued burden."
The light in Jugo's eyes instantly dimmed, and the shadow of disappointment enveloped him like a mist.
Takuno sighed silently; he stepped forward, reached out his hand, and gently placed it on the boy's slightly messy orange hair, rubbing it slowly with a steady strength, and said warmly: "There's no need to be so anxious. Now that the attempt has begun and the path has unfolded beneath our feet, success is only a matter of course."
"...Mm." Jugo slowly and deeply inhaled a breath, as if to suppress all that disappointment and unwillingness.
Then, he nodded extremely solemnly; yes, he was indeed too eager.