Chapter 114: The Hyuga's Rasengan - The White Eyed Princess of Konoha

Chapter 114: The Hyuga's Rasengan The journey continued. Before leaving the town, Jiraiya bought a sizable number of water balloons and demonstrated to Naruto how to train with the Rasengan. "Hmm..." Naruto held a water balloon in one hand, his face turning red with effort, yet the balloon remained unchanged. Hinata, unable to watch anymore, extended her small hand. A swirling, blue Chakra sphere appeared, and she remarked helplessly, "This technique is quite simple. Isn't it just a smaller version of the Rotation?" She glanced cautiously at Jiraiya and added, "Perverted Sage, could it be that you stole our Hyuga clan's techniques?" "Sure, Rotation involves releasing Chakra from the whole body, which you can't do, so it became this little sphere instead..." Though legends say that the Rasengan was a technique Minato Namikaze created, inspired by the Tailed Beast Bomb, the Tailed Beast Bomb is a condensed Chakra sphere. Yet, the Rasengan is clearly a rotating Chakra sphere. Rather than calling the Rasengan a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb, it's more accurate to say it's a small-scale Rotation. Naruto also looked skeptically at Jiraiya, as he had witnessed Hinata use Rotation, and it did indeed bear resemblance to that move. Jiraiya felt incredibly awkward; he didn't know how to explain this to Hinata. It's common for ninjutsu to have similarities, but when Hinata mentioned the Hyuga's Rotation, Jiraiya suddenly realized that the Rasengan is indeed closer to Rotation than the Tailed Beast Bomb. Moreover, since neither Hinata nor Naruto had seen the Tailed Beast Bomb, Jiraiya didn't know how to clarify. Hinata patted Jiraiya reassuringly, saying, "It's okay, Perverted Sage! Borrowing ideas in creating new jutsu is quite normal, I won't hold you responsible!" She then pressed the Rasengan against a tree, commenting, "Come to think of it, for offensive purposes, the Rasengan is indeed superior to the Rotation." Hinata was quite satisfied; within just a few words, the Rasengan had become one of the Hyuga clan's techniques. "Whatever!" Jiraiya, unable to argue, gave Naruto a look and said calmly, "You continue training here." "Little Hinata, come with me!" Naruto protested, "Again? Can't you talk about it here?" Jiraiya replied sternly, "These matters are beyond your current level. Listening without understanding will only hinder your training." Following Jiraiya to the riverbank, he sat down and invited Hinata to do the same. Hinata obediently sat cross-legged. Jiraiya explained, "Senjutsu involves merging natural energy with Chakra and balancing it with your own spiritual and physical energy to form a new type of Chakra." "Since you can already control natural energy, you should be aware of its dangers." Hinata nodded seriously, "Yes! I thought I'd start training in Senjutsu once I can multitask. If there's an imbalance, I'll disrupt the natural energy with a Senjutsu-powered punch." Jiraiya nodded in agreement, "That's indeed one way, but it's likely quite difficult!" Hinata nodded, "Yes! I can't control it right now." Jiraiya continued, "Your current hurdle is balancing control. Once you can maintain the balance of these three energies within you, you can enter Sage Mode." "With me here, you can practice safely." Hinata nodded slightly and began to sense the natural energy, drawing it into her body. "Hmm..." Her expression changed. 'Smack!' Seeing the energy go out of control within Hinata, Jiraiya placed a hand on her shoulder, dispersing the natural energy. While merging natural energy externally is relatively easy, the complexity of the body with its organs and meridians demands extreme caution. With numerous meridians in the body, a single misstep with natural energy can be lifethreatening. Jiraiya suggested, "Perhaps you could try using your Byakugan." Hinata shook her head slightly, "My Byakugan can't perceive natural energy yet, it's useless." Jiraiya sighed, "Then you'll have to keep trying." After two missteps, Hinata started to grasp the process. Initially, she had been heading in the wrong direction. Hinata is able to release Chakra through all her acupoints, so she should also absorb natural energy this way. But the body has countless acupoints, making the control of distributed natural energy exceedingly difficult. By starting with fewer acupoints and ensuring natural energy doesn't stray into the wrong meridians, her own Chakra would suppress it and prevent a loss of control. As she mastered Sage Mode, Hinata could later attempt using more acupoints to absorb natural energy. Once her body reached its limit, Hinata combined the natural energy with her spiritual and physical energies to form Senjutsu Chakra. Opening her eyes, Hinata looked at Jiraiya in surprise. With someone guiding her, progress was so much swifter. If she were alone, it might've taken far longer for her to take that step. "What is it?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled by Hinata's demeanor. "Done already?" Though he had heard from Naruto about Hinata's habit of cutting corners in training, this seemed unusually brief. Hinata replied blankly, "But I've already succeeded." Jiraiya leaned closer, studying her face closely. Displeased, Hinata pushed him away, "Why are you so close, Perverted Sage?" "Did you really enter Sage Mode?" Jiraiya asked. Glancing at her hands, Hinata also seemed puzzled. Her Chakra had indeed transformed into Senjutsu Chakra, so why was Jiraiya looking at her this way? Taking aim at a large boulder on the riverbank, she unleashed a vacuum palm strike. The power was identical to the one she used when she first met Jiraiya by the Konoha riverbank—it was indeed the Senjutsu Vacuum Palm. Jiraiya scratched his head, enlightening himself, "When I enter Sage Mode, my face shows toad-like features..." He realized why Hinata's face lacked any Sage Mode markers. Jiraiya had mastered Senjutsu at Mount Myoboku, perceiving natural energy through toad oil, naturally gaining toad-like features. But Hinata had learned it outside, so she lacked Mount Myoboku's characteristics. Considering Jiraiya's words, Hinata walked to the river, observing her reflection in the water. "Hmm... I am indeed quite cute!" "And nothing's changed on my face!" Sage Modes in the original Naruto series had distinct markers. For instance, Jiraiya and Naruto exhibited traits of Mount Myoboku; Sage Kabuto showed snake traits, while Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode marked him with floral patterns. Those marks, however, were attributes of the Three Great Sage Grounds, not of Sage Mode itself.