Aokawa felt his palm stiffen. The tips of his fingers turned gray and cold, the texture of stone spreading toward his knuckles.
Too fast.
He acted instantly.
He unsealed the tenketsu at his wrist, allowing the trapped Nature Energy to vent upwards into his arm. Simultaneously, he flooded his entire body with a massive surge of refined chakra, rushing it toward the infected arm to dilute the invasive energy.
As the chakra washed over the area, the chaotic Nature Energy was pacified. The gray stone receded, returning to pale flesh.
Aokawa slumped against the wall, gasping for air. His clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
I held the Nature Energy too long.
Without chakra to balance it, raw Nature Energy was poison. By keeping it isolated in his palm for even a few seconds, he had effectively overdosed that specific body part.
Naruto didn't have this problem because he mixed the energies simultaneously while absorbing them.
Aokawa's method—absorb first, mix later—was flawed. The delay was lethal.
I need to pre-mix.
He couldn't absorb and mix in real-time yet; he lacked the instinct. So, he had to engineer a solution using math.
The Recipe:
1 Unit of Physical Energy1 Unit of Spiritual Energy1 Unit of Nature EnergyTotal: 3 Units of Sage Chakra.
The Plan:
Isolate the forearm as a mixing chamber.Pre-load the forearm with 2 Units of normal chakra (1 Physical + 1 Spiritual).Flash-absorb 1 Unit of Nature Energy into the palm.Immediately open the floodgates and mix.
It was Chakra Chemistry.
Aokawa steadied his breathing.
He sealed off his upper arm, isolating the forearm. Then, he sealed the wrist, isolating the palm.
He left one tenketsu open on each barrier as a filling valve.
Step 1: Pre-loading.
He refined his normal chakra and pumped it into his palm until it was full. 1 Unit.
He pushed that unit past the wrist into his forearm and sealed it.
He repeated the process.
Now, his forearm held 2 Units of normal chakra.
He sealed the upper arm completely. The chamber was primed.
Step 2: The Catalyst.
He unsealed the palm tenketsu to the outside world.
He took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. If he miscalculated the volume of Nature Energy, his arm would explode or turn to stone.
"Reishi Collection."
BOOM!
He opened the floodgates fully. He didn't trickle the energy in; he yanked it.
Nature Energy rushed into his empty palm, filling the void instantly. The pressure was immense, threatening to burst the seals on his wrist.
His palm stiffened immediately.
Now!
He cut the connection to the outside and threw open the internal valves at his wrist.
The 1 Unit of raw Nature Energy slammed into the 2 Units of stable chakra waiting in his forearm.
Mix!
The turbulent energy crashed against the stable chakra. For a moment, it burned.
Then, silence.
A profound, vibrant vitality exploded from his arm, rushing through his entire system as he unsealed the upper arm.
The world sharpened.
The dust motes dancing in the sunbeams looked like boulders. The sound of a bird chirping outside was a symphony. He felt the vibration of insects crawling in the grass ten meters away.
He rushed to the mirror.
Orange pigmentation had appeared around his eyes—the signature eyeshadow of a Sage.
Because his ratio was mathematically perfect, there were no other mutations. No frog warts, no snake eyes. Just pure power.
Success.
This was the Hyuga advantage. The Byakugan turned the mystical, feeling-based art of Senjutsu into a quantifiable science.
[You have actively explored and learned: Sage Mode (Incomplete)]
[Reward: Sage Mode - Remnant (Beginner) x 1]
[Reward: Energy Crystals x 30]
Even the System is impressed.
Aokawa didn't waste time reading the text. He felt the power burning in his veins and needed to use it.
He moved.
Jab. Hook. Side kick.
He shadow-boxed in his small room. His movements were blurringly fast. The air cracked with every punch. He felt lighter, stronger, faster. His reaction time was almost precognitive.
This is it. This is the buff I needed.
Then, the fatigue hit.
The eyeshadow faded. The sensory clarity dulled back to normal.
He checked the time.
20 seconds.
He collapsed onto his bed, panting.
He hadn't even used a jutsu. Just shadow-boxing for 20 seconds had drained the entire supply of mixed Sage Chakra.
So that's why you need massive reserves.
Sustainability.
His "Unit" method worked, but his "Unit" was tiny. He was running a Ferrari engine on a thimble of gas.
But still...
Aokawa looked at his hand and grinned.
For 20 seconds, I am elite.