"Ahem… Ren, you're back…"
Inside the living room—
An elderly woman with a hunched back and a head full of silver hair slowly walked over with the aid of a cane, coughing repeatedly.
"Good child, you must be starving. Hurry and eat… cough, cough…"
"This was made by your Sister Kurenai. They're all your favorite dishes… cough, cough…"
"That child really went out of her way… She had to leave on a mission, yet she still came by to take care of this old woman… cough cough cough…"
"Grandma, take it slow…"
Akira Ren stepped forward to support the old woman, smiling gently as he asked,
"Sister Kurenai left the village?"
After several years of living together day after day—
Even though he had been reborn in this world with memories of his previous life—
He had long since come to regard the grandmother who doted on him so much as his true family.
His grandmother's name was Akira Nao.
Her persistent cough was an illness left behind from her younger days.
It was said that she had once been a chūnin.
During a classified mission, she lost one of her legs and had no choice but to retire from being a ninja, replacing it with a prosthetic.
Worse still, during battle with an enemy, her lungs had been severely infected by a powerful toxin.
Although she had been treated afterward by the renowned medical prodigy—the Princess of Konoha, Tsunade—
The best treatment window had already passed.
A small amount of poison had seeped deep into her internal organs, leaving a lasting illness.
Simply surviving until now was already something of a miracle.
This was largely thanks to her late son—
Akira Ren's father, Akira Daichi, the highly skilled medical squad jōnin.
For years he had tirelessly treated and cared for her condition.
But after Akira Daichi's death—
Combined with Akira Nao's advancing age, her body gradually deteriorated, and her coughing grew worse.
By the time Akira Ren had begun inheriting his father's legacy and mastered those medical ninjutsu—
It was already too late.
The old woman's condition had worsened beyond recovery.
With his current medical skill, he could not fully cure her illness.
All he could do was perform daily treatments to ease her suffering and prolong her life for as long as possible.
Over the past three years—
Every time he examined and treated his grandmother—
He continuously infused her body with chakra filled with powerful vitality, a trait he possessed after obtaining the Mori Mori Fruit.
But even that could only barely maintain her life.
At most, it allowed her to remain out of bed.
Otherwise, she would likely have already reached the end of her lifespan.
"Ahem… She left a note for you…"
Akira Nao sat down and smiled as she pointed toward a slip of paper stuck to the table.
Akira Ren picked up the note.
Written in neat, delicate handwriting were the words:
"Big sister has a mission and will probably be leaving the village for three days. Take good care of yourself and Grandma… And remember to water the flowers on the balcony for me when you have time!"
Seeing the note, warmth rose in his heart.
Yūhi Kurenai truly treated him like a younger brother.
Even this simple message carried a sense of warmth.
And judging from the abundant dishes on the table—
It was obvious they had been cooked by Kurenai herself.
Soon—
After finishing the rich lunch together, the grandmother and grandson sat in the living room chatting for a while.
Eventually, the elderly woman began to show signs of fatigue.
Only then did Akira Ren help his frail grandmother back to her room to rest.
Using the opportunity of checking her condition once again, he infused her body with that chakra filled with vibrant life force, nourishing her weakened body.
After the old woman finally fell asleep peacefully—
He returned to his own room.
"It's about time to begin."
Akira Ren's expression gradually turned serious.
He formed a hand seal with one hand.
Immediately—
A section of tree trunk covered with green leaves and blooming flowers rapidly grew from his body, visible to the naked eye.
Filled with vibrant life.
Moments later, the wooden growth separated from him and transformed into a human-shaped figure.
In the blink of an eye, it became a clone identical to him.
This was a physical clone technique he had developed through repeated experimentation.
After completely mastering and thoroughly understanding the Shadow Clone Technique, he spent considerable time researching and analyzing its principles.
Then—
Combining it with the power of the Mori Mori Fruit, he modified and improved the technique.
Unlike Shadow Clones, which required the user to divide their chakra evenly—
His clone allowed the caster to freely control the proportion of chakra allocated.
Similar to the Wood Clone created by the First Hokage—
His version, derived from Shadow Clones and enhanced by a Bloodline Limit, was far stronger than ordinary shadow clones.
It could perform all the ninjutsu he knew—
Including even his own bloodline abilities.
Moreover, unless it suffered a fatal attack or ran out of chakra, the clone wouldn't easily disappear even after taking significant damage.
And just like Shadow Clones—
Once his Wood Clone dispelled itself, all of its memories and experiences would return to the original body along with the chakra.
Unless the original body actively canceled the technique.
"You sit over there and begin attempting to draw in natural energy."
Taking a deep breath, Akira Ren instructed his Wood Clone.
"Fuse it with the spiritual and physical energy within your chakra—maintaining a ratio where each accounts for one-third."
"Understood."
The Wood Clone nodded.
It sat cross-legged on the ground and closed its eyes, beginning to sense the natural energy around it.
Like the original body, it possessed the power of the Mori Mori Fruit.
As someone who was essentially one with nature itself, it quickly entered a meditative state.
The natural energy that filled heaven and earth—
It was everywhere.
Endless.
Inexhaustible.
"Spiritual energy, physical energy, natural energy…"
"If each accounts for one-third, and the control is precise enough, there should be a chance of refining true Sage Chakra…"
For this day—
Akira Ren had prepared for a long time.
The Wood Clone relied on the extremely refined chakra control inherited from the original body.
Instead of recklessly absorbing natural energy—
It cautiously drew in tiny amounts, bit by bit.
One important detail—
His Wood Clone couldn't generate chakra out of thin air.
In fact, this was true for all physical clone techniques.
Unless the original body continued supplying chakra to the clone—
Or the clone could directly absorb chakra from others—
Once the chakra originally assigned to it was exhausted, it would disappear even without outside interference.
However—
From the very beginning, the Wood Clone possessed chakra that Akira Ren had already refined by combining spiritual energy and physical energy within his own body.
All that remained was to adjust the ratio between that chakra and the natural energy being absorbed.
In theory—
That would still equal one-third spiritual energy, one-third physical energy, and one-third natural energy.
Otherwise—
How exactly did a certain overpowered jinchūriki manage to refine Sage Chakra using his Shadow Clones?