"Alright, I'll give it a try. I'm curious about this Sage Power too."
Kagetsu nodded, then closed his eyes and focused on sensing the free-floating natural energy around him.
In the Naruto world, chakra is formed in the lower dantian and flows through the body's meridians, but it isn't stored there. Instead, it is produced as needed by combining spiritual energy and physical energy within the body.
To visualize it, it's like a flame burning in the lower dantian. The size of the flame depends on how much fuel you feed it,spiritual energy and physical energy acting as the firewood.
This is also why Sage Mode in Naruto has a time limit. Once Sage Mode chakra,the result of merging chakra with natural energy,is consumed, it's gone. New Sage Mode chakra must be created again through fresh fusion.
Spiritual power, however, is different.
It originates in the upper dantian,the sea of consciousness,and is closely tied to the soul. Unlike chakra, it exists continuously and must slowly recover after being depleted. The way these two energies are generated and stored is fundamentally different.
At this moment, a faint white glow drifted within Kagetsu's sea of consciousness.
It was the spiritual power he had just developed.
Although this was his first time manipulating spiritual power, his years of precise chakra control made the process surprisingly smooth. The small cluster of energy moved through his body with remarkable stability.
Following the instructions recorded in the Blood Sacrifice Tree Nurturing Method, he guided the spiritual power along his meridians while simultaneously drawing in natural energy from the outside world, slowly guiding it into his body.
Carefully following the proportions described in the manual, he merged the two energies and circulated them along a fixed route.
During the circulation, the spiritual power and natural energy began to subtly fuse together.
His first attempt failed.
Because he wasn't yet familiar with the circulation path, the newly merged energy quickly dissipated, and the natural energy returned to the surrounding world.
But Kagetsu wasn't discouraged.
Again and again, he drew in natural energy, merged it with spiritual power, and attempted to circulate it. Through repeated trial and error, he gradually became more proficient.
After several failed attempts, he finally succeeded.
The newly fused energy completed the entire circulation route and eventually flowed into the middle dantian located in his chest.
The moment it entered the middle dantian, the spiritual power and natural energy fully fused into a single, brand-new form of energy.
This energy carried both the purity of spiritual power and the vitality of natural energy, radiating a faint, mysterious aura.
As soon as it formed, the energy spread through his meridians like drifting mist.
Kagetsu immediately understood.
This was the Sage Power described in the Blood Sacrifice Tree Nurturing Method.
Even more remarkable was what followed.
As the Sage Power circulated through his body, it began slowly nourishing his flesh and bones. At the same time, the surrounding natural energy started to flow into his body on its own, gradually replenishing the consumed Sage Power and forming a faint cycle.
Kagetsu couldn't help admiring the person who had created this technique.
It truly trained a human as if they were a demon.
From what he had observed, most humanoid demons,aside from the more grotesque varieties,had their demonic power spread throughout their bodies, but their true core resided in the middle dantian of the chest.
Whether it was a full demon like Natsume or a half-demon like Inuyasha, the pattern was the same.
And the Sage Power produced by the Blood Sacrifice Tree Nurturing Method was also stored in the middle dantian.
Kagetsu slowly opened his eyes and clenched his fist.
He could clearly feel that his body had grown slightly stronger. His strength had increased as well.
Unfortunately, his spiritual power was still too weak. The amount of Sage Power he had generated was pitifully small, and the enhancement it provided was barely noticeable.
"Did it work?"
Seeing him open his eyes, Kikyo quickly stepped forward, her gaze filled with anticipation.
"It worked," Kagetsu nodded.
Then he added helplessly, "But my spiritual power is too weak. The Sage Power I produced is barely anything. I'll have to build it up slowly over time."
"That's already impressive," Kikyo praised him sincerely.
But soon, concern appeared on her face.
"Does it affect your spiritual power itself?"
Clearly, what worried her most was whether cultivating Sage Power might damage his spiritual power.
Kagetsu carefully examined the energy within his body before replying.
"Spiritual power is consumed during the fusion process, but it's already recovering on its own. There's no lasting effect."
He paused, thinking for a moment before explaining further.
"Spiritual power is more like a medium for converting Sage Power. Once the conversion is complete, the Sage Power automatically absorbs natural energy to replenish itself. So it doesn't continuously consume spiritual power."
"In other words, the strength of one's spiritual power directly determines how quickly Sage Power can be developed?"
As he spoke, Kagetsu suddenly turned to look at Kikyo, surprise flashing in his eyes.
"For someone with spiritual power as strong as yours, as long as your body can handle the circulation, cultivating Sage Power should be incredibly fast."
He grinned.
"Kikyo, you're basically a genius at this."
Kikyo's cheeks flushed slightly, though a faint smile lingered in her eyes.
Maintaining a calm expression, she said modestly, "I can't even guide natural energy through my body yet. It's too early to call me a genius. Besides, the manual says that both spiritual power and natural energy are limited by what the meridians can handle. Being reckless would be dangerous."
Despite her composed tone, the slight curve at the corner of her lips betrayed her good mood.
A few days later, Kikyo suddenly opened her eyes.
A bright light flashed within them, and her face lit up with a radiant smile.
"Kagetsu!" she said excitedly. "I've developed Sage Power too!"
Kagetsu had already sensed the shift in her energy.
Still, he deliberately teased her.
"Congratulations, Sage Kikyo."
"Sage Kikyo?" Kikyo frowned immediately. "That sounds terrible."
Hearing his playful tone, she couldn't help retorting.
Then she sighed softly, a trace of regret entering her voice.
"Unfortunately, we underestimated how difficult it would be. Even though my spiritual power is strong, the amount of natural energy I can absorb each time is extremely small. The cultivation speed is nowhere near what I imagined."
"Don't worry," Kagetsu said reassuringly. "It'll improve with practice. We've got plenty of time."
He found the situation rather amusing.
Kikyo possessed extraordinary spiritual power, yet despite sensing natural energy early on, her progress in absorbing and merging it was slow.
He, on the other hand, had the opposite problem.
Manipulating natural energy came easily to him, but his weak spiritual power held him back.
The two of them were practically perfect opposites.
"In any case, we've finally managed to cultivate Sage Power," Kagetsu said, changing the subject. "That's something worth celebrating."
Then he suddenly asked, "Kikyo, do you know how to use a sword?"
"Huh?"
Kikyo blinked in surprise.
"No. Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
"How about I teach you?" Kagetsu suggested enthusiastically.
Kikyo looked even more confused.
"Why do you suddenly want to teach me swordsmanship?"
"Well, we're not exactly busy," he said casually. "Learning another skill can't hurt."
Despite her confusion, Kagetsu's expectant expression made it difficult to refuse.
After a brief pause, Kikyo finally nodded.
"…Alright."
"Great!"
A broad smile immediately appeared on Kagetsu's face.
He opened the Kamui Dimension, and a swirling vortex appeared in the air. Two wooden boxes dropped out of it, landing heavily on the ground with a thud.
He pushed one of them toward Kikyo.
"Go change first. This one's yours."
As he spoke, he picked up the other box.
"This one's mine."
"I have to change clothes too?"
Kikyo glanced at the box in front of her and instantly understood something. Raising an eyebrow, she asked suspiciously:
"You planned this in advance, didn't you?"
"Heh… of course," Kagetsu admitted without the slightest embarrassment.
"Go on, get changed. I'll wait outside."
Before she could say anything else, he grabbed his box and hurried into his room, leaving Kikyo no chance to refuse.
Kikyo stared at the wooden box for a moment before opening it.
Inside, a set of beautifully crafted female samurai armor was neatly arranged, along with the undergarments meant to be worn beneath it.
Beside the armor lay a finely forged katana.