[The Land of Snow]
What should have been a land of ice and snow no longer had a single snowflake in sight.
Starting from the very center of the Rainbow Crystal Wall and extending all the way to the royal capital of the Land of Snow, the temperature had risen from minus twenty degrees to over ten degrees.
Although the entire country hadn't been affected, the area covered was already enormous.
In the future, the most livable parts of the Land of Snow would gradually shift toward the royal capital.
With Konoha's help, Kazahana Koyuki quickly eliminated everything working against her.
The Rainbow Crystal Wall had now become a lush green meadow.
Flowers bloomed everywhere, creating a breathtaking scene.
At the very center, a simple tent had been set up.
Inside the tent was only a bed, with Sasuke lying naked on it.
"This is your second inscription, so I won't go over the process again."
"If it fails this time, you'll have to give up."
Orochimaru had been brought here by Minato for the sole purpose of performing the inscription on Sasuke.
Although Sasuke was nervous, he still nodded seriously.
"I understand, Lord Orochimaru. Please begin."
Orochimaru's hands moved rapidly through a series of seals as countless markings gathered in his palms.
He picked up the prepared materials beside him and pulled them apart.
The black seals turned into straight horizontal and vertical lines that appeared in midair.
In the end, they merged into a mass of black ink that coated Orochimaru's hand.
He observed the black ink for a moment.
The natural energy here is actually this dense. It's already drawing in natural energy on its own.
Without wasting any time, Orochimaru pressed a finger onto Sasuke's body.
Sasuke's body jerked as intense pain struck his nerves.
"Mm!"
A piercing pain shot through him, but he endured it without crying out.
All he could think about was the scene of Fugaku and Itachi dying before his eyes.
Even as the pain made the veins on his forehead bulge, Sasuke never let out a scream.
Black markings spread across his entire body.
Large amounts of natural energy naturally gathered toward the markings.
On top of the original pain, Sasuke now felt a burning sensation.
Even so, he gritted his teeth, and the fighting spirit in his eyes burned like flames, brighter than ever.
Seeing how much Sasuke had improved in such a short time, Orochimaru was quite satisfied.
The more successful cases there were, the more experience they could accumulate, and the lower the barrier for future Sage Technique inscriptions would become.
While Sasuke was undergoing his second inscription, Rengoku and the others were waiting outside.
Kimimaro and Haku stood quietly, while vast amounts of natural energy continuously poured into their bodies.
However, everyone's chakra was limited. Sage chakra could only be created by combining natural energy with one's own chakra.
Before long, both of them were nearly saturated.
"Lord Rengoku, the natural energy here is incredibly abundant," Haku said with a smile.
If the natural energy around them normally measured ten, then this place had at least fifty to seventy. Naturally, the absorption speed was much faster.
"It's just a shame that the natural energy here can't be taken away. The Sage chakra we synthesize keeps dissipating," Kimimaro said regretfully.
That was why Sage chakra had to be created on the spot by absorbing natural energy and mixing it together. Even after it was formed, it couldn't remain in the body for very long.
Although Kimimaro could absorb natural energy while moving to create Sage chakra, his illness required him to constantly nourish himself with Sage chakra, so it was almost the same as not absorbing any at all.
He could absorb and synthesize more while staying here, but that also meant he would be stuck here.
Rengoku possessed far more knowledge, so he naturally knew how to make use of this place.
He said, "It's not impossible. You can use a shadow clone as a rechargeable battery for Sage chakra..."
He then explained Naruto's method of leaving shadow clones in places like this to continuously absorb natural energy and convert it into Sage chakra.
Kimimaro thought about it for a while.
"Lord Rengoku, the shadow clone method isn't suitable for Haku and me."
Rengoku smiled, "Don't worry. I'm not finished."
"People with large chakra reserves who can maintain multiple shadow clones for long periods are suited for that method."
"But I can do it. I can leave a shadow clone here indefinitely to continuously absorb and create Sage chakra."
"When you need it, I can directly transfer Sage chakra to you."
Kimimaro and Haku were so surprised that they were momentarily speechless.
After all, regardless of status or position, Rengoku was someone of extremely high standing.
They hadn't expected him to dote on them this much.
Kimimaro said awkwardly, "N-No need, Lord Rengoku. We can just come here to train regularly."
Rengoku ignored him, "Then it's settled."
He had already planned to fill the Yin Seal with Sage chakra.
Now that there was a place with such an abundance of natural energy, he naturally intended to leave an pupil technique clone here.
After all, the greatest advantage of an pupil technique clone was that it was like a Pixiu, it only took in and never gave out.
It was practically a natural storage battery for Sage chakra.
Through his pupil technique, he could continuously transfer the Sage chakra stored in that clone back to his main body.
As for Kimimaro and Haku, helping them would just be a bonus.
"Shishou! Shishou! Me too! Me too!"
Seeing everyone discussing Sage Techniques while she couldn't get a word in, Karin hurried over to interrupt.
Rengoku couldn't help laughing.
He patted Karin on the head and asked, "You want what too?"
Karin's eyes widened as she answered matter-of-factly, "I want to learn Sage Techniques too!"
"Shishou, will you teach me Sage Techniques?"
She grabbed Rengoku's hand and shook it.
His voice was full of helplessness and affection.
"Your sealing techniques already take up so much of your time, and you still want to learn Sage Techniques?"
"I do! I want to learn!"
Karin's eyes darted around.
"Sasuke is definitely going to learn Sage Techniques this time. Then he'll be stronger than me."
In reality, Sasuke already had Susanoo, so when it came to direct combat ability, he was indeed stronger than Karin.
Of course, Karin's abilities weren't limited to direct combat.
Besides, even if Sasuke was stronger now, there was no way he would fight Karin.
She was only using that as an excuse. The real reason was simply that she thought Sage Techniques looked fun.
At this point, Rengoku didn't expose her.
"Alright then. First, we need to see whether you have the talent."
Karin's eyes lit up, "Shishou, how do we test it?"
Rengoku placed a hand on Karin's head and drew out a trace of Sage chakra, channeling it into her body.
[🎉 Shoutout to Someone's_Nobody, MahSty and Shinto for joining p@treon. Your support will help me bring better stories to you. Thank you very much.🤗]