Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 96 Aftermath

After entering the room, Hyuga Kanan's gaze was fixed on the woman in front of the desk.

The dignified and beautiful woman, Hyuga Kanan's mother, sat quietly at her desk, the soft sunlight bathing her and illuminating the scroll in her hands. Her gaze was focused and deep, as if drawn to the words on the page, but deep within her heart, her thoughts had already drifted far away.

She gently stroked the scroll, a barely perceptible hint of worry flickering in her eyes. The image of her youngest son appeared vividly in her mind; she missed his smile, his voice, and his warm embrace. Every detail was so precious, every memory so profound.

She recalled the scene of her youngest son quietly cultivating in the courtyard. Now, he had clashed with the Hokage of Konoha and engaged in battle. Although the battle was over, she didn't know if he was injured.

The woman was filled with endless worry and concern. She hoped her youngest son was safe and sound, and that he would not be harmed. She prayed silently, wishing that God would protect him and help him escape from the attacker's clutches.

As time passed, the woman's anxiety grew stronger. She knew that the Hokage was an extremely powerful ninja, and her youngest son was likely in grave danger. She desperately wanted to rush out and help him, but she was utterly powerless to save him. Even as the mother of the Hyuga clan leader, she couldn't possibly persuade the Hokage to spare her youngest son.

Seeing her mother's worried face, Hyuga Kanan knew what she was concerned about and immediately said:

"Mother, I'm back."

Upon hearing Hyuga Kanan's voice, the woman immediately looked up and recognized the handsome young man who was both familiar and unfamiliar. She immediately stood up from behind her desk and walked quickly toward Hyuga Kanan.

Standing before Hyuga Kanan, he reached out a trembling hand and gently stroked Kanan's face, his voice choked with emotion as he spoke:

"Jianan?! Jianan! Is that you?" After seeing Hinata Jianan nod, "You're back! Are you alright? Let Mom see you."

As he spoke, his gaze kept sweeping over Hyuga Kanan, trying to check if the other was injured. Only after finding that Hyuga Kanan was completely unharmed did he breathe a sigh of relief and then began to inquire about Hyuga Kanan's condition.

She only heard from her servants that Hyuga Kanan had returned and clashed with the Hokage at the Hyuga clan's territory, resulting in a battle. Fearing the conflict might spread to their area, they were told to evacuate. But soon someone else reported that the battle was over and they could return to the clan's territory. She waited for the results and also sent her maids out to gather more information.

Hyuga Kanan briefly explained to his mother that the Hokage only wanted to test his current strength, and that the people below were making a fuss over nothing.

The woman then began to inquire about Hyuga Kanan's situation and life outside over the past few years. Hyuga Kanan briefly explained that he had been outside mainly for training and had not encountered any danger.

In fact, when his mother gently stroked his cheek, Hyuga Kanan's internal energy had already scanned her body. Upon entering the room, he noticed something was wrong with his mother; her complexion was sickly. The scan revealed that his mother's body was severely depleted, practically on its last legs, and she likely wouldn't last much longer. His mother was only in her forties; how could her body have such a serious problem?

This situation made Hinata Kanan very upset, but she was completely helpless at the moment.

Seeing Hyuga Kanan's expression, the woman seemed to understand something. She simply shook her head gently and said nothing, continuing to recount the events of the past few years to Hyuga Kanan in a very warm manner.

However, Hyuga Kanan felt extremely aggrieved, but he was only a Xiantian cultivator and had not yet reached the level of being able to bring people back to life. He could only watch helplessly as his mother waited for death to come.

"Knock knock knock!" A knock on the door interrupted Hyuga Kanan's conversation with her mother, instantly ending the warm scene.

The woman frowned slightly, but still let the person outside in. Upon recognizing her eldest son, Hyuga Hiashi, her smile returned. She thought his arrival was timely; while she was still alive, she could mediate the rift between the two brothers and hope they could get along well.

Her eldest son was raised by her husband from a young age to be the clan leader, resulting in a complete lack of harmony within the family. He particularly disliked his youngest brother, always believing that the younger brother brought shame to the entire Hyuga clan, never giving him a kind look and rarely seeing him. Her youngest son was equally indifferent to everyone else, even his father, and would never take the initiative to meet him.

This has led to the two sides acting like strangers. Although there is no hatred or other feelings, they don't act like a family at all.

Seeing Hyuga Hiashi standing awkwardly at the doorway, not yet having entered, Hyuga Kanan said nothing. To him, Hyuga Hiashi was a complete stranger, related only by blood. As for Hiashi's decision to abandon him, Kanan didn't care at all; in fact, he thought Hiashi's actions were commendable, befitting a qualified clan leader. Faced with a situation completely beyond his control, self-preservation was the most sensible course of action.

Hyuga Kanan felt absolutely no resentment towards Hyuga Hiashi, nor did she harbor any grudges against him for his actions.

However, in Hiashi Hyuga's view, his actions just now were an act of abandoning the other party in order to avoid implicating the Hyuga clan. Now, he wanted the other party to protect the Hyuga clan, which made him feel somewhat awkward.

Seeing Hiashi Hyuga's expression and considering their relationship, the woman quickly spoke:

"Come in, Hiashi. What are you doing standing at the door?"

Upon hearing his mother speak, Hyuga Hiashi quickly went inside. He had originally intended to persuade Hyuga Kanan with his mother present, since within the entire Hyuga clan, only his mother could effectively communicate with Hyuga Kanan.

Hyuga Kanan was a rather cold person, completely ignoring the other members of his clan, even when his father was alive. He had virtually no chance to communicate with them.

Hyuga Kanan still wanted to ask Hyuga Hiashi about her mother's condition—what was wrong with her, how could she have such a severe deficiency, even consuming so much of her lifespan? However, she couldn't ask in front of her mother, so she could only suppress her feelings and wait until later to properly inquire about the situation, see if she could find the cause, and then try to find a solution.

Subsequently, with his mother's encouragement, Hyuga Kanan and Hyuga Hiashi outwardly appeared to be like brothers, getting along quite harmoniously. However, both Hyuga Kanan and Hyuga Hiashi knew that this harmony was only possible with their mother present.

Seeing his mother's increasingly pale complexion, Hyuga Kanan told her that he had just returned and needed to tidy up his own quarters, urging his mother to rest early. Hyuga Hiashi, at Kanan's prompting, indicated that he also had family matters to attend to and then took his leave. After watching his mother rest with the help of a maid, Kanan also left the room, knowing that Hiashi was still waiting for him outside.

After leaving the courtyard, Hyuga Hiashi was indeed seen standing at the gate. Hyuga Kanan walked straight towards him.

"Why is my mother's body like this? What caused it?"

Hyuga Kanan asked directly, without any intention of exchanging pleasantries.

"Uh! You noticed. Well, there's nothing we can do about it." Hiashi Hyuga didn't seem to care about Kanan Hyuga's attitude. "It's a lingering effect from the First Shinobi World War."

"Aftereffects? What aftereffects can lead to physical depletion and a significant reduction in lifespan?"

Hinata Kanan was somewhat puzzled; these symptoms were clearly not something that could be explained by a few minor aftereffects.

"It's very simple. I suffered severe injuries at the time and used medical ninjutsu to treat them multiple times, which caused this situation. After all, medical ninjutsu consumes lifespan and physical energy to achieve rapid healing. At that time, I needed to quickly restore my combat power, so I could only use medical ninjutsu to heal frequently. That's why this situation is happening now."

Seeing the puzzled look in Hyuga Kanan's eyes, Hyuga Hiashi knew that Kanan might not understand medical ninjutsu, so he could only explain the situation.

When Hyuga Kanan heard this, he didn't know how to solve the problem, but he was somewhat surprised to learn from the other party that it was a side effect of medical ninjutsu. However, he quickly seemed to understand.

Normal human cells have a limited number of divisions, while medical ninjutsu achieves rapid healing by forcibly accelerating cell division. This is equivalent to trading lifespan for rapid recovery, a highly effective method in war, allowing for faster restoration of combat strength and thus a greater chance of victory.

Thinking of this, Hyuga Kanan sighed slightly. He knew that he had no way to solve this situation. It was a fundamental way to consume lifespan, and unless there was some rare and precious material that could increase the number of cell divisions, there was no way to solve it.

Hyuga Kanan's cultivation method simply involves continuously increasing the strength of his cells, making them difficult to die. This way, he doesn't waste cell division attempts, and his lifespan naturally becomes longer.

The process of cultivating immortality involves constantly evolving cells and increasing their strength. Each breakthrough inevitably leads to cell evolution, thus increasing lifespan. As long as one breaks through a realm before all cells have completed their division, lifespan will be extended; and as long as one continues to break through realms, lifespan will continue to increase.

After finally reaching the point of shattering the void through cultivation, the strength of the cells can be said to be immortal, thus naturally leading to the realm of longevity.