Renjiro stood in the center of the Uchiha clan's meditation rooms, his brow furrowed in frustration as he scanned the dimly lit space. He let out an exasperated sigh, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
"There's none here either," Renjiro muttered under his breath, his frustration clear.
He had been hoping—no, expecting—to sense something different in the meditation rooms. Ever since becoming a jōnin, he had less access to the chakra crystals due to their reduced efficiency for high-level shinobi like himself.
The crystals, which once helped younger Uchiha members refine their chakra, had become little more than decorative relics for those of his rank. But today, Renjiro wasn't there for chakra refinement or training with the crystals. He was there for something far more elusive; natural energy.
His senses, sharp and trained from years of shinobi discipline, extended outward, probing for even the faintest trace of natural energy. But just like back at his home, where he had tried the same experiment earlier, there was nothing, no prickling sensation to alert him of natural energy. The stillness of the meditation room gnawed at him.
'Do I really need to go to the Floating Islands?' Renjiro thought to himself, biting the inside of his cheek.
He had known, deep down, that this search would likely end here. But part of him had hoped there might be some trace of natural energy present in the village. But no. The energy that coursed through the environs was solely chakra.
His thoughts drifted to the memories he had seen in Ohashi's mind, memories of techniques he had been eager to try. Ever since seeing those memories, he had made up his mind to try out the techniques himself, but each failure to sense natural energy brought him closer to the realization that he was not yet capable.
'Going back to the Floating Islands will give me access to the natural energy I need,' Renjiro thought, his lips thinning as he considered the consequences,
'but it will also complicate things.'
He had told Lady Momo and Tenjin that he might return with a solution to the issue of mastering a type of Senjutsu. To face them again without any progress felt like admitting defeat, especially to himself.
He didn't want to return before he had something concrete to show. It wasn't just about learning the techniques; it was about proving to himself that he could wield the power of Senjutsu, even if it wasn't in the form the eagles had intended for him.
Renjiro clenched his fists as his mind settled on the inevitable conclusion. He was running out of options. He had already tried and failed to sense natural energy in places he thought might offer a hidden reservoir, and now his thoughts circled back to the one place he knew would hold the energy he needed.
"It seems that I have no other options," he muttered aloud, his voice steady but tinged with resignation.
With a flick of his wrist, Renjiro vanished in a cloud of smoke. His body dissolved into a wisp of chakra, leaving behind only the faintest ripple of disturbed air.
Back at his house, Renjiro sat cross-legged in the centre of his living room, his body still and his eyes closed. He inhaled deeply, focusing on the sensation of the chakra flowing through his body as he digested the memories of his shadow clone.
He had been strategic, sending the clone to the library while he himself stayed back. That way, he wouldn't have to return to his house and waste time if the meditation rooms failed to produce results. His clone's findings, however, offered little in the way of new insights. If anything, they confirmed what he already knew: without access to a location rich in natural energy, his attempts would be in vain.
'I guess that's why even Naruto had to train in Mount Myoboku.'
Renjiro thought as his fingers formed a single hand sign, and in an instant, he disappeared from his living room, transported to the one place he knew could provide what he needed—the Floating Islands.
The moment Renjiro arrived, he felt the familiar rush of cool wind against his face, his hair tousled by the high-altitude breeze. He stood on the edge of a vast, suspended landmass, surrounded by nothing but open sky and a thick cushion of clouds below.
The Floating Islands were a sight to behold—massive chunks of earth and rock that seemed to defy gravity, hovering in the sky as if held up by an unseen force. Rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps between the islands, casting long shadows over the verdant fields and jagged cliffs that dotted the landscape.
Renjiro paused for a moment, taking in the view. It was breathtaking, as always. The sheer scale of the islands, combined with the serene beauty of the skies above, made it easy to forget the challenges that awaited him.
But the prickling sensation that crawled across his skin—an unmistakable sign of the natural energy swirling around him—quickly pulled his focus back to the task at hand.
Without further ado, Renjiro made his way to a small clearing nearby, where the flow of natural energy felt particularly strong. He could feel it buzzing in the air, invisible yet tangible, like a current of electricity that charged the atmosphere around him.
He steadied his breath and stood in the centre of the clearing, his feet planted firmly on the ground. His mind raced back to the techniques he had seen in Ohashi's memories.
The old man had made it look effortless—drawing in natural energy, merging it with his chakra, and then unleashing it. Renjiro, however, was attempting something far bolder. He was trying to mimic those techniques without the ability to manipulate natural energy at all.
It was a trial by fire—one that Renjiro was determined to face head-on.
He began to form the hand seals he had memorized from the old man's memories, each one precise and deliberate. His chakra flared as he tried to draw in the natural energy around him, but something felt… off.
The energy remained wild and untamed, slipping through his grasp like water through cupped hands. He tried again, repeating the seals and focusing harder on controlling the energy flow, but once again, it eluded him.
For hours, Renjiro repeated the process. Each attempt brought him closer to exhaustion, his chakra reserves depleting as he tried in vain to force the natural energy into submission. His brow dripped with sweat, his breathing grew heavier, and yet the results were the same—failure, time and time again.
At one point, Renjiro paused, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he stared at his hands. It was impossible to do this without natural energy. The techniques were fueled by it, and without it, they were little more than empty gestures. It was like trying to drive a car with water instead of fuel—no matter how hard he pushed, it wasn't going to work.
His chest rose and fell with labored breaths as the reality of the situation set in. This was his last shot at learning Senjutsu, and things hadn't panned out the way he had hoped. He had come to the Floating Islands with the determination to succeed, but now, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the floating rocks, Renjiro realized that his efforts were in vain.
"Maybe… I was wrong," Renjiro muttered to himself, his voice low and filled with disappointment. "Maybe this isn't something I can do on my own."
He stood in the clearing, his eyes closed, feeling the gentle hum of the natural energy around him. It was a strange sensation, to be so close to something yet unable to harness it. Perhaps it was time to stop fighting against it. Perhaps it was time to rely more on his summons—on Momo and Tenjin—for the abilities he could not grasp on his own.
With a resigned sigh, Renjiro made his decision. He would leave the Floating Islands for now and regroup. He would find another way, even if that meant accepting help from the lightning eagles. His pride, though bruised, would recover.
He formed a quick hand sign, and in a flash, he vanished from the Floating Islands, leaving behind nothing but a ripple of disturbed air and the faint hum of natural energy.
Not long after Renjiro left, a massive shadow passed over the clearing where he had been training. The wind picked up, swirling the leaves and dust around as Tenjin, the enormous eagle with lightning chakra, descended from the sky. His wingspan blotted out the sun for a moment as he landed gracefully on the floating island, his sharp eyes scanning the area.
He had been delayed by other matters, important affairs that required his attention, and it had taken him longer than expected to return. But now, as he stood in the clearing, his keen senses picked up on something odd.
Tenjin ruffled his feathers, tilting his head slightly. "Strange," he muttered, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. "Renjiro was here… but he left without speaking to us."
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