After returning home from the dinner gathering, Shin resumed his routine as usual.
He carried out several rounds of chakra extraction training, then spent some time practicing hand seal speed before preparing for bed.
Before sleeping, however, he deliberately refrained from extracting chakra again.
Only after confirming that all the chakras within his meridians had completely dissipated did he finally lie down.
With his mind cleared and his thoughts restrained, Shin soon discovered that once his body entered sleep, his consciousness remained awake—yet this time, the state felt entirely under his control.
At this moment, he could choose to let his consciousness sink into sleep along with his body, or he could detach from it, just as he had the previous night.
Ensuring that no chakra remained in his meridians before sleeping was intentional. He wanted to determine whether this out-of-body consciousness state was related to having an undissipated chakra at the moment of sleep.
The result was clear.
Even without chakra in his meridians, he could still enter the same state.
In other words, the first successful chakra extraction had merely acted as a trigger—unlocking a condition in which his consciousness could separate from his body after falling asleep. From that point onward, chakra presence was no longer required.
With a single thought, Shin's consciousness rose once more.
From the panoramic, blind-spot-free perception of this state, he judged that he was hovering roughly twenty centimeters above his physical body.
He attempted to move.
Nothing happened.
His consciousness remained fixed in place, unable to soar freely through the air or slip into the ground to strike unseen like the Spirit Transformation Technique(Spiritualisation Jutsu).
Clearly, this phenomenon was something entirely different.
After some thought, Shin could only tentatively conclude that it was related to his soul—one born of rebirth, fundamentally different from the souls of this world.
As far as he knew, the souls of people in the Ninja World were already thoroughly infused with chakra.
After death, they did not reincarnate; they passed into the Pure Land and effectively became possessions of the Sage of Six Paths.
Once marked, never released.
If his soul differed at the most basic level, then it was possible—no, likely—that he alone could experience this state.
A unique condition, allowing him to sense and interact with Natural Energy from the very beginning—without the instability seen in people like Jūgo, who lost control and descended into madness.
If this wasn't a cheat, then what was?
The space around him appeared the same as the previous night.
From his detached perspective, multicolored mists flowed freely between heaven and earth. They were not clearly separated; instead, they pressed against one another, overlapping and gradually transforming at their boundaries.
The red mist was the most dominant—violent and overwhelming, its sheer volume suppressing the others.
The remaining colors managed to hold their ground, but the white mist was the weakest of all—thin, fragile, and constantly crowded by the rest.
Shin did not dare touch the other colors.
Caution came first.
So, as before, he reached only for the white mist.
Using his consciousness as a filter, he carefully guided it—its destructive aspect stripped away—into his physical body.
Throughout the process, his consciousness monitored his body closely. At the slightest sign of abnormality, he was prepared to sever the connection immediately.
Higashino Jiro's leave lasted about half a month.
Border duty was grueling and dangerous. No matter how resilient the ninja were, time to rest and recover was essential.
Without it, mental strain was inevitable.
The ninja profession was especially prone to psychological breakdowns, and because shinobi wielded extraordinary power, such breakdowns could become disasters for ordinary civilians.
A single elite Chūnin, if they truly lost control, could turn a thriving town into a wasteland in a very short time.
During this period, Jiro spent most of his time within the village, resting while continuing his own training. Strength, after all, was always the most reliable foundation.
When he trained, however, he used larger training grounds. The one near the Higashino residence was too small, intended only for children who had not yet formally become ninja.
Shin continued to follow his own self-designed training regimen, occasionally seeking guidance from his father.
There wasn't much he could ask.
He had already stepped onto a path entirely different from his father's—or from that of any ordinary ninja.
Natural Energy was powerful.
Through nightly nourishment, Shin found that it not only strengthened his body little by little, but also significantly accelerated his progress in chakra control.
Unfortunately, for the time being, he could not share this with his family.
He had tested indirectly—his parents could not sense any such energy at all. They lacked both the concept and the method of consciousness-based observation.
Shin suspected that even if they learned the Spirit Transformation Technique, it would be useless.
If that technique alone were enough to perceive the many forms of Natural Energy, then Kato Dan would have mastered it long ago. He would have grown far stronger—and would not have died so easily while using the technique.
Just as chakra divided people into different tiers of existence, Natural Energy divided the ninja as well.
At present, aside from summoned beasts, those capable of using Sage Mode in the Ninja World amounted to perhaps a single half-qualified individual—Jiraiya.
If Kato Dan had known Sage Mode, would he really have fallen so easily?
Would the dream of becoming Hokage suddenly lose its appeal? Would Tsunade herself cease to be worth living for?
For now, Shin had no way to introduce Natural Energy to his parents.
Even if he did, he wouldn't dare attempt it. If something went wrong, the result could be catastrophic.
For reference, one only needed to look at the countless stone statues scattered across Mount Myōboku—
All of them were once humans who had attempted to master Natural Energy and failed.
---
More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
As usual, Shin arrived at the training ground early in the morning to begin his exercises. Just as he was about to start, however, a faint sense of being watched brushed against his awareness.
Could it be the Third Hokage's crystal ball? —No. That was impossible.
He was just the child of a civilian ninja family. In his parents' eyes, he might be a genius, but to someone at the Kage level, he was merely acceptable—hardly worth attention.
Besides, did the Hokage really start work this early? Who did they think he was—the Uzumaki Naruto?
Shin's heart stirred slightly. Without hesitation, he completed chakra extraction.
Power surged through his body.
After more than ten days of practice, he had already achieved his original goal—chakra extraction had become a bodily instinct.
All he could say was that Natural Energy truly lived up to its reputation.
More than that, because his body continuously absorbed the white form of Natural Energy, the chakra he extracted now resonated faintly with the surrounding environment.
Of course, limited by his current chakra reserves and his short time working with Natural Energy, the range of that resonance was still small—but it was more than enough to cover this modest training ground.
With a simple sweep of perception, Shin found the source.
He looked toward a large tree not far away and called out, "Father, what are you doing hiding there?"
"Eh?" Jiro made a startled sound and leapt down from the tree in a few quick steps. He stared at his son in surprise. "How did you know I was there?"
"I sensed it."
"Sensed it?" Jiro frowned. "You mean sensory ability? When did you learn that? That's not something you can just pick up—you need talent."
"I never learned it," Shin replied calmly. "I just… suddenly could do it these past few days."
"…A natural awakening?" Jiro muttered. "Could it be a bloodline ability? Does the Higashino family even have something like that?"
He was genuinely bewildered. Being precocious wasn't unusual—there were plenty of such children in the Ninja World.
Succeeding in chakra extraction on the first try, even with a decent amount, was impressive for a civilian child, but still within reason.
Even clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga were full of intelligent children capable of similar feats.
But this—
A naturally awakened sensory ability?
That couldn't be explained by talent alone. Shin hadn't just sensed someone nearby—he had known exactly who it was.
Jiro's thoughts briefly derailed.
Could it be… this child isn't mine? Have I been…?
No—impossible.
He and Megumi had been together from the time they married until she became pregnant. Konoha had proper marriage leave, after all.
Shin glanced at him with narrowed eyes. "Mr. Higashino… I feel like you're thinking something very inappropriate. Should we go home and confirm it with Mom?"
"D-Dame—don't you dare!" Jiro blurted out. "I'd be killed!"
He immediately shut the idea down, cursing himself internally for letting his thoughts run wild.
He knew Megumi better than anyone. She would never betray him. They had known each other since childhood, shared everything, and had built their relationship on a solid foundation of trust.
Besides, the Ninja World was full of inexplicable phenomena. People awakening bloodline limits out of nowhere wasn't unheard of.
His son could sense chakra.
So what? Thinking it through, Jiro finally relaxed.
No matter how strange it was, the conclusion remained the same. His son really was a genius.