" Kūshina Uzumaki: Naruto!!! You are absolutely not allowed to develop jutsu like that ever again! Do you hear me?!"
"Naruto Uzumaki: Huh? I finally got inspired! Dad, what do you think?"
" Kūshina Uzumaki: Heh. Yes, Minato—what do you think?"
"Minato Namikaze: Ahem. Naruto… this is one of those times when you should listen to your mother."
"Jiraiya: Ahem… hehe. I just wonder whether our little junior can handle it."
"Samui: ..."
"Shizuka: ..."
Faced with the overwhelming "seduction offensive" of countless Narukos—
Nagi didn't even blink.
The willow switch in his hand transformed into a whip of flowing water.
With a powerful swing, the water whip lashed outward, instantly dispelling the surrounding Narukos.
Sasuke silently lowered the hands he had just raised to form seals.
"I shouldn't have trusted Naruto's nonsense."
Naruto stared in disbelief. Jiraiya was still grinning foolishly with a nosebleed, yet Nagi remained completely unaffected.
With no other choice, the remaining Narukos bravely charged forward—
And were all heroically eliminated.
At this point, Naruto and Sasuke could only go all out.
Naruto began drawing on the Nine-Tails' chakra. Orange chakra overflowed from his body, his strength and speed increasing dramatically.
"Sasuke, I'll keep Nagi busy. Look for an opening!"
"Got it."
Sasuke immediately activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Naruto dashed forward at high speed, throwing a punch.
Nagi merely tilted his body slightly to evade, then swung the willow whip downward toward Naruto's backside.
Smack!!
Poof!
There was no expected scream. The Naruto who had rushed in dispersed into smoke—
A Shadow Clone.
At that moment—
"Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
Sasuke and Naruto attacked simultaneously from opposite directions.
But Nagi instantly raised both arms, palms open toward them.
"Water Release: Water Shield."
Circular water barriers materialized directly in front of Naruto and Sasuke.
Unable to stop in time, both crashed into the shields and were sent flying backward.
Chidori and Rasengan dispersed upon impact.
Some time later…
"Ow…" ×2
Naruto and Sasuke lay face-down on the ground, clutching their rears.
Nagi walked over and used Medical Ninjutsu to heal them.
Even after standing up, the two instinctively continued holding their backsides.
A Few Days Later — Orochimaru's Laboratory
Nagi and Orochimaru had successfully extracted Natural Energy from the Cursed Seal.
Orochimaru began studying it. On one hand, this would help Nagi utilize Natural Energy more efficiently. On the other, it might provide a better solution to Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease (Kekkei Genkai illness).
Meanwhile, Nagi's Shadow Clones experimented with fusing Natural Energy with his own chakra.
At first, he had worried about risks similar to Naruto's early Sage Mode training—such as partial toad transformations.
But the fusion proceeded abnormally smoothly.
So smoothly that it almost felt like there was no "fusion" happening at all.
Moreover, no markings resembling Sage Mode appeared around his eyes.
When Nagi attempted to use this Senjutsu Chakra in ninjutsu, there was amplification—but it was minimal.
Thus, Orochimaru, Nagi, and Kabuto resumed their research.
They conducted comparative analyses before and after fusion, tracking how Natural Energy levels changed over time.
One hour later—
"How can this be?"
Orochimaru frowned at the test results.
The report showed that after fusion, the Natural Energy within Nagi rapidly disappeared. Upon closer observation, Orochimaru determined that it was being absorbed by the mysterious energy residing inside Nagi.
Whenever Nagi used Senjutsu Chakra, the Natural Energy component dissipated even faster.
Only a small fraction actually enhanced his techniques—hence the limited amplification.
This puzzled Orochimaru.
He had previously theorized that Nagi possessed a form of energy superior to Natural Energy—perhaps a condensed, sublimated version of it.
But the rate at which it absorbed Natural Energy was astonishing—almost as though Natural Energy were being offered as tribute.
Yet the mysterious energy itself showed no noticeable change before or after absorption.
That was the truly perplexing part.
Nagi's confusion differed slightly.
From that mysterious energy, he sensed a strange, indescribable resonance.
It was no longer just during training—even while eating or sleeping, he faintly felt himself unconsciously drawing in that energy.
What exactly was it?
Where did it originate?
For now, he couldn't determine the answer.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Suddenly, an idea surfaced in his mind—one that made him chuckle.
Kabuto and Nagi both looked at him.
Orochimaru spoke directly.
"Heh heh… Nagi, I have an interesting hypothesis."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"I suspect the power within you simply does not wish for you to fuse with Natural Energy.
Rather than you successfully merging Natural Energy with chakra, it may be that your internal power is directly absorbing it—because it does not want you to use Natural Energy.
I've said before that it resembles Natural Energy. Similar—but incompatible.
Like two tigers on one mountain.
It refuses to share its territory.
The energy inside you does not wish to coexist with Natural Energy."
Hearing this, Nagi was reminded of Naruto's training with Fuka Kū during Sage Mode practice.
At the time, the Nine-Tails had forcibly expelled Fuka Kū from Naruto's body.
Naruto had assumed that he couldn't enter Sage Mode while using the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Later, however, Kūrama had begrudgingly revealed the real reason—
He simply didn't want to share space with a toad.
Kūrama had even shouted in irritation:
"You already have my chakra—why learn Senjutsu at all?!"
Thinking about it now, Nagi felt his situation was similar.
The difference was that Kūrama expelled the interference—whereas his internal energy directly absorbed Natural Energy, reducing its efficiency.
For the time being, Nagi had no choice but to abandon the idea of cultivating Senjutsu Chakra.
Instead, he continued strengthening his chakra reserves, physical body, and mental energy.
Although Nagi couldn't use Sage Mode, he could easily extract Natural Energy without fusing it.
This made Orochimaru's research far more convenient.
Kimimaro's condition also improved significantly through the application of Natural Energy and Yin–Yang Release Chakra.
Orochimaru stated that in the future, he would take Kabuto and Kimimaro to Ryūchi Cave.
He was confident he could guarantee the survival of all three.
Nagi nodded in agreement.
Orochimaru's ability to survive was absolutely trustworthy.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789