This could not be blamed on Jugo; after all, from the moment he first had memories, he had been treated as a monster by the people in the Village.
It could be said that this had long since become his obsession.
Jugo took a deep breath, finally suppressing the urge to seek quick success.
But he was still thinking about how he could accelerate this process.
Takuno looked up at the darkening sky. Bringing Jugo and Haku along, the three of them walked silently toward the orphanage, stepping through the dim light of dusk.
Along the way, Jugo was unusually silent.
His thoughts were like a wild horse running free, completely immersed in how to master the method of controlling Natural Energy faster.
With every step, he repeatedly simulated various possibilities in his mind, until the familiar walls of the orphanage came into view, and a thought flashed through his heart like lightning.
"My Lord!" Jugo's voice, carrying a hint of imperceptible excitement, suddenly rang out, breaking the quiet of their journey home.
Takuno paused slightly. He had long since keenly noticed Jugo's absent-mindedness along the way, and he could probably guess why.
"Hm? What is it?" He turned around, his gaze falling calmly on Jugo's face as he waited patiently.
Jugo took a deep breath, trying hard to make his tone sound calmer, but the intense anticipation in his eyes could not be hidden.
"My Lord, just now, as I watched you trying to explore the method of controlling Natural Energy, I kept thinking about a question."
"Exploring this way requires your time and energy. I was wondering, could I, in my spare time, when you are not directly guiding me, try to sense and explore it myself?"
He paused. Seeing that Takuno did not immediately object, he seemed encouraged and spoke a little faster.
"If I make any discoveries, I will immediately notify you! This way, perhaps it could make the process a little faster?" He stared intently at Takuno, his eyes shining brilliantly, as if this were his only straw to clutch.
Takuno was slightly startled, then fell into deep thought.
Jugo's proposal was indeed quite attractive.
He thought to himself, "For the host to actively explore controlling the Natural Energy within their own body is theoretically much more effective than me, an outsider, scratching the surface through the Spirit Transformation Jutsu. After all, the body is their own, and that compatibility is irreplaceable."
This was the most fundamental feasibility.
However, the difficulty also immediately emerged: "But Jugo is still young after all, and his mental power is far from mature. How can he withstand the innate, violent erosion of Natural Energy? Once he fails, going berserk and losing control is almost an inevitable outcome—"
Thinking of this, Takuno frowned.
Several countermeasures flashed through his mind instantly.
"The most direct safeguard is to have Haku master the relevant Sealing Jutsu. One would be a barrier to isolate the Natural Energy leaking externally, and the other would be a powerful restraint seal capable of suppressing a berserk Jugo at critical moments—"
But reality was not that simple.
The Sealing Jutsu previously applied to Jugo was only set to suppress his simple berserk states.
If he were to actively introduce Natural Energy and begin to blend what is called 'Senjutsu Chakra', given its instability, there was a high probability that the proportions would be wrong.
Once that pseudo-Senjutsu Chakra formed, ordinary Sealing Jutsu would likely be unable to contend with the explosion of power it brought—
Thinking of this, the name of a famous Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan surfaced in his mind: "Four Symbols Seal"!
This powerful technique, which condensed the essence of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu, if supplemented with multiple restraint symbols, could theoretically ensure that a berserk Jugo would be unable to harm others or himself.
However, Takuno's gaze quietly turned to Haku, who was following quietly by his side.
Haku's talent was unquestionable, but the child currently knew nothing about Sealing Jutsu.
The Four Symbols Seal was an extremely high-level Sealing Jutsu, and the learning difficulty was extremely high; it was by no means an overnight task.
To have Haku, who had no foundation, start learning now, and to have to master it in a short time to deal with situations more dangerous than ordinary berserk states? This was an almost impossible task.
"Therefore, the path of having Haku provide safety guarantees is temporarily unfeasible." Takuno negated this plan in his heart, his brow not relaxing.
"Then, Jugo's proposal can only be protected by me. This also involves my energy—"
Just as he was deep in thought, Jugo, standing in front of him, was experiencing torment.
Every second of silence was stretched out to be incomparably long. Watching Takuno's tightly locked brow, his heart sank bit by bit. His palms, hidden in his wide sleeves, unconsciously clenched and unclenched, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out.
That hope, which had been ignited with such difficulty, seemed as though it could be extinguished at any moment by the silence of rejection.
Finally, Takuno looked up. His deep gaze saw through Jugo's nervousness and finally settled on that pure longing for the future.
He weighed the pros and cons and thought of an optimal solution: use the Shadow Clone technique to carry out the protection task, while as for the Sealing Jutsu, it would be created by his main body in the form of scrolls.
This way, the Shadow Clone would only need a little Chakra to deploy the already prepared Sealing Jutsu, so there would be no need to worry about not having enough Chakra to set up the Sealing Jutsu.
In this way, the main body could devote its main energy to more critical matters; this was the optimal solution.
"You may." Takuno spoke calmly, uttering the decisive two words. The clear voice sounded exceptionally powerful in the quiet of dusk.
"That—that's great!" As if a heavy burden of a thousand pounds had been lifted in an instant, even someone as steady as Jugo could not suppress a muffled exclamation!
His clenched fists trembled slightly from the force, and a radiance of joy burst forth from his eyes in an instant.
The long-standing burden finally had a feasible solution!
Haku, who had been listening quietly, watched Jugo's reaction, and the corners of his mouth also lifted sincerely, revealing a warm smile.
Although he did not care about the opinions of others, he empathized with the pain Jugo carried.
He knew better than anyone how the inferiority and fear stemming from the "monster" form tortured his companion's soul day and night.
Thinking that Jugo would be able to live in the orphanage with peace of mind in the future, without having to be anxious and fearful of going berserk, and without having to hear those heartbreaking whispers, Haku's heart also felt a sense of relief.
Having resolved a major matter, Haku's gaze turned toward the small door of the orphanage that was emitting warm light, but his relaxed expression gained a few more traces of hesitation.
He hesitated for a moment, but still summoned the courage to speak softly: "My Lord, I also have something I would like to say."
"Hm? Go ahead." Takuno turned his gaze toward him, carrying a hint of gentle encouragement.
"It's about Sister Nono—" Haku organized his words slightly and said earnestly.
"According to your instructions, Jugo and I have been observing carefully these days. We feel she is truly caring and gentle toward us, toward all the children, and even toward everyone in the orphanage. I can clearly feel that sincere kindness. So, my Lord—"
He looked up bravely at Takuno, with a hint of confusion and caution, "Between you and the Sister, is there some misunderstanding that we don't know about?"
In his words, there was a clear sense of protectiveness toward that gentle director.
This did not mean he had defected to the other side; if that were the case, he would not be talking to Takuno about this. He just hoped that both sides could coexist peacefully.
After listening, Takuno did not explain immediately, only responding indifferently: "It is good that she is good to you."
His gaze was slightly deep; clearly, there were some things he could not tell Haku.
"As for a misunderstanding? There is none." Seeing the trace of worry still remaining in Haku's eyes, he continued, his tone carrying reassurance, "Rest assured, as long as she does her job as the director of the orphanage with peace of mind and takes good care of everyone here, there will be no problems."
Hearing this, Haku's tense shoulders visibly relaxed, and he nodded vigorously: "Understood!"
As long as the Sister treated everyone with sincerity as always, everything would naturally be fine, and Haku's hanging heart was finally put at ease.
Although the time spent with Yakushi Nono was not yet very long, that silent, nurturing benevolence and meticulous care made him convinced that the Sister was truly protecting this orphanage.
"Alright, you two go in. I will talk to you in detail about things later." Takuno waved his hand lightly.
"Understood! Goodbye, my Lord!" Jugo and Haku said in unison with tacit understanding.
They watched Takuno's figure quietly dissipate like mist in the twilight, as if he had never appeared.
Then, the two looked at each other, seeing relief and ease in each other's eyes, and stepped side by side into the door of the orphanage that reflected warm light.
Inside the door, Yakushi Nono, who had been standing quietly by the window, seemingly tidying up items casually, only let out a silent sigh of relief the moment she looked up and saw the figures of the two boys.
The imperceptible trace of worry on her face quickly faded, replaced once again by that iconic, water-like gentle and benevolent smile, and her eyes softly welcomed the children back.
Takuno returned to the slightly empty laboratory, his body leaning wearily back into the familiar high-backed chair.
The continuous and frequent use of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu was like forcibly extracting and pouring in mental energy time and time again. At this moment, it finally revealed strong aftereffects, with waves of slight stinging pain and deep fatigue coming from deep within his brain, like an overstretched bowstring in urgent need of relaxation.
He closed his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously pressing against his tight temples.
Jugo's proposal regarding "mastering Sage Mode first" clearly surfaced in his mind at this moment.
This plan indeed contained extremely high efficiency, allowing him to catch a "free ride" to that powerful strength at the minimum cost.
However, any shortcut is accompanied by corresponding costs.
If Jugo were to step into that realm first, and he were to then use the Spirit Transformation Jutsu to invade his body, the risk factor would undoubtedly rise significantly.
Being repelled or even countered by a consciousness that had mastered natural power would have consequences far more serious than in a normal state.
"Risk, is it?" Takuno slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing in his dark pupils, "But this risk is worth taking."
He whispered to himself, carrying indisputable determination.
Time, to him, was a far more precious resource than temporary risk.
The alluring aspect of this plan lay in its ability to save him a massive amount of time, a cost unimaginable to ordinary people.
Moreover, a powerful confidence rose in the depths of his heart.
Even if Jugo really mastered Sage Mode, so what? A trace of an imperceptible smile hooked the corner of Takuno's mouth.
He had absolute control over his current level of strength. Even if Jugo successfully achieved Sage transformation, in front of him, there was absolutely no possibility of him stirring up any real waves!
Especially in the mental domain, this was the field Takuno had always been proud of! His resilient mental will had long been tempered like steel forged a thousand times.
That kind of powerful mental strength, even with the physique of the Uzumaki Clan, which was famous for its massive Chakra volume, had never been able to truly hollow him out when extracting Chakra!
"Against absolute mental strength, how much chance of winning does the boost from Sage Mode have?" Takuno's knuckles tapped lightly on the armrest, determined and steady.
This confidence, stemming from his foundation, completely dispelled the last trace of doubt in his heart.
No need to worry; he already had this chess game in the bag.
Not to mention, the possibility of Jugo turning against him was relatively low, and considering it like this was just his personal habit.
He would always think about the worst-case scenario of a matter; as long as even the worst-case scenario was harmless, then the matter was absolutely fine.
Putting Jugo's matter aside for now, Takuno's thoughts turned to the next key plan.
It was time to lure out that important little guy, Yakushi Kabuto, from the dark corner.
He leaned back in the chair, his gaze cast into the unseen distance in the void.
The biggest obstacle at the moment was: in which ninja Village was Yakushi Kabuto lurking as a dangerous undercover agent? The intelligence points in Konoha were relatively clear, but other Villages were like being hidden in thick fog.
"Then let's cast a wide net."
To be precise, besides not taking action in the already confirmed Konoha area, he should immediately begin to skillfully spread specific information about the name 'Yakushi Nono' and other sufficiently attractive information related to her around the ninja Villages of the other four great nations.
The release of the information needed to be subtle enough to trigger the target's radar without exposing the abnormality of its source.
Given Yakushi Kabuto's feelings toward Yakushi Nono, whom he viewed as a mother, there was no need to worry that the other party would not take the bait.
Takuno's gaze fell on the black shadow of a crow occasionally passing by outside the window lattice.
The final step of closing the net would be: once Yakushi Kabuto followed the clues and found his subordinates.
Then the crows monitoring those subordinates would silently and accurately transmit this information to him.
Waiting for good news was the main theme for the future.
He only needed to keep his composure and wait for that spy, who was skilled at disguise, to walk voluntarily into the net he had carefully set.
Takuno stood up. Today's matters had come to a perfect end, the experiment with the barrier was also a perfect success, and there was even a plan to explore Sage Mode that could save him a massive amount of time.
This day, which was even more perfect than he had expected, made him feel that he should be able to have a good dream tonight.