A Simple Shop Owner

Chapter 3

Deep in the untouched forests of Japan, a small clearing sat surrounded by the miles of dense forestry. Sitting in the center of the clearing was Naruto Uzumaki. The young man had his legs crossed with his hands folded on his lap. His eyes were closed and his body was completely still as he seemingly meditated.

If one had the ability to see the energies of the world, they would see a very interesting sight taking place. The trees, the grass, the bushes, every single piece of the earth was filled to the brim with energy. This energy was not the type you would find in fallen angels, demons, devils, angels or mythical gods. This energy was unique, forged from thousands of years of planetary movement. This energy was called natural energy.

Ever since he had arrived in this world, Naruto had been rather interested in the natural energy it held. Unknown to most, each of the planets had their own type of natural energy. The energy was created from thousands of years of interaction between the planet, its inhabitants and space. The energy was almost sentient in nature. It learned, adapted and took in everything around it. It could be healed and purified or it could be tainted with hatred and sadness. And the latter was exactly what had occurred with this planet.

Naruto had done some research on the history of the planet and its interaction with humans. What he found definitely explained why the natural energy pouring from the planet was so hate filled. In the earlier days of history, wars left the earth soaked with the blood of humans. As war advanced, the weapons that came along with it advanced and these weapons left even more of a mark on the planet. Nuclear weapons filled the earth and the sky with chemicals that only served to increase the damage that was being done. More and more blood was shed and the earth unwillingly soaked it all in.

That was just war. Other industries around the world had done just as much damage. Oil drilling and excavation left giant holes in the planet. Harmful chemicals were consistently pushed into the atmosphere by cigarettes while factories ripped holes in the ozone layer. Artificial dams and human structures made rivers run dry and took away habitats from aquatic animals.

In the end, the earth felt all of this. Rather if it had a consciousness or not, it felt it all and it absorbed it all. It grew angry at the ones who were causing it so much harm. Its once peaceful and healing energy turned tainted with hatred due to the treatment that it had suffered under the rule of mankind.

Now for most people, this wouldn't be a problem. The only real noticeable effect for most was an increase in erratic weather patterns and natural disasters. But the people who felt the biggest effect from the tainted energy were senjutsu users.

The act of creating senjutsu involved drawing in an abundance of natural chakra and mixing it with the user's own life energy. The art of senjutsu required large chakra reserves and, more importantly, strong mental fortitude. For when you take in the natural energy, you also take in the emotions behind it. In earth's case, you take in hundreds, even thousands of years of taint. The mental backlash of taking in that amount of emotions could literally drive a person insane or leave them brain dead. The physical backlash could cause a heart attack or instant death. That's why it was impossible to take in natural energy without being in a meditative state. One needed to be at peace with themselves and at their strongest to be able to conquer the effects of natural chakra.

When Naruto had first entered sage mode on this planet, he had been taken back by the amount of hate he could feel flowing through the earth. While in sage mode, his range of sense was spread over miles of land. And every single inch of it was flowing with this intense, tainted, hate-filled energy. And that energy was now currently flowing through every single drop of his chakra. It had taken a lot of his own mental fortitude to overcome the intense hatred, but in the end he won over it and purged it.