Shihouin Naraku sat cross-legged beside the pool of concentrated natural energy. This time, without waiting for him to actively begin absorption, the moment he closed his eyes, an enormous amount of natural energy poured into his body as if it intended to burst him apart from the inside.
Spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy collided directly within his body like opposing forces, stirring Naraku's internal systems into complete chaos.
Various organs might suffer damage from this violent interaction. This was clearly a place where ordinary shinobi could never hope to train safely. No wonder this stage was said to be extremely dangerous.
In this overwhelming situation, Naraku couldn't even maintain normal internal balance, let alone successfully create Senjutsu Chakra.
Relatively speaking, Naraku's physical energy was slightly weaker than the other components, but his spiritual energy was extraordinarily powerful. Even with natural energy being continuously replenished from the external environment, it could not devour or crush his formidable spiritual energy.
So his external appearance displayed a very strange phenomenon. Under the overwhelming coverage of natural energy, his body gradually began showing visible signs of corrosion.
But under the protective suppression of his spiritual energy, the speed of this corrosion was reduced to almost zero.
Katsuyu had been paying close attention to every detail of Naraku's condition to prevent any potentially fatal accidents.
However, the scene unfolding before her was somewhat beyond Katsuyu's previous expectations.
In the past, shinobi attempting this stage were either completely assimilated by the natural energy or entirely corroded by its destructive effects.
Otherwise, they would rely on exceptionally strong physical constitution to resist, like members of the Uzumaki clan, progressing from resisting natural energy to gradually adapting, then to integration, balance, and so forth.
Most people followed this traditional process, but very few could endure it to completion.
After all, within the Sage Arts Cave, the natural energy was enormous in quantity and could be replenished continuously at any time, while a shinobi's physical constitution remained constant. If the energy balance wasn't restored within a limited timeframe and sage chakra wasn't successfully created, the outcome was inevitably tragic.
Give up the training or die. Those were the only two choices!
But Naraku's situation was distinctly different at this crucial moment. His fundamental qualities were exceptionally strong, so the natural energy he passively attracted was far greater than what other shinobi typically experienced.
His slightly weaker physical energy could not withstand such an overwhelming amount of natural energy, but his spiritual energy proved to be the exact opposite. It not only crushed the terrifying natural energy but also directly bypassed several traditional stages, forcibly suppressing the natural energy to achieve perfect balance.
"There's actually such a phenomenon!"
"To suppress nature itself with one's own spiritual power—what incredibly powerful qualities this represents!"
Katsuyu, despite her vast experience and knowledge, expressed genuine shock in her characteristically gentle tone of disbelief.
"So in the practice of Sage Mode, spiritual energy is the most crucial element? Have previous practitioners been approaching this incorrectly?"
Katsuyu watched in amazement as, under the controlling restraint of his spiritual power, the natural energy stopped its wild rampage and began entering Naraku's body in an orderly, controlled manner. The three energy types once again sought to establish a new balance.
Natural energy and physical energy positioned themselves on opposing sides, while spiritual energy coordinated between them in the center. The balance among all three components achieved perfect harmony once again.
Senjutsu Chakra was successfully created, and the corroded marks covering Naraku's skin returned to normal condition at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The transformation was remarkably fast!
Then Naraku opened his eyes, which now blazed as bright as stars, and a powerful aura spread outward rapidly from within, like a tremendous gust of wind sweeping through the entire Sage Arts Cave.
"Splash..."
The pool filled with concentrated natural energy created ripples in the powerful wind, producing a soft, musical melody.
"So, I've succeeded?"
Naraku could feel the tremendous power now hidden within his body, which was completely different from the sensation he had experienced before when absorbing natural energy from the external environment and creating basic Senjutsu Chakra.
No wonder it was said that the initial training was merely an introduction. Only within the Sage Arts Cave could someone truly achieve complete Sage Mode mastery.
"As expected of Lord Naraku—the second stage of Sage Mode has been completed successfully!"
Katsuyu approached and examined Naraku carefully from head to toe.
"The Sage Mode markings have appeared on your face. Lord Naraku, if you want to see how you've been transformed, you can look at your reflection in the water."
"Really? Let me see!"
Shihouin Naraku immediately became intensely interested. The traditional sign of successful Sage Mode practice was the appearance of distinctive facial markings, often called "eye shadow," on the practitioner's face.
The few people in the shinobi world who had mastered Sage Mode each displayed different facial patterns.
It seemed that Uzumaki Naruto had experienced the smallest visible change, with only orange eyeshadow appearing around his eyes and a horizontal line manifesting in his pupils.
The Sage Mode transformations for other practitioners were relatively more dramatic, with some developing additional marks on their cheeks and other facial areas.
"Please don't make my handsome face look weird or strange."
Naraku muttered under his breath as he walked to the pool's edge and observed his own reflection through the crystal-clear water.
"Hmm? What kind of marking is this?"
A complex diamond-shaped pattern had appeared in the center of Shihouin Naraku's forehead, making it look as if he had grown a third eye.
As for the area around his actual eyes, there was now a circle of fiery red eyeshadow, which was much smaller and more subtle than Uzumaki Naruto's eyeshadow. If someone didn't look closely, it would even be difficult to detect.
"How interesting. The eyeshadow is relatively unremarkable, but this pattern in the center of my forehead..."
Naraku reached out and touched the marking curiously, but didn't seem to find anything particularly unusual about it.
Was he really going to develop a third eye?!
At this moment he noticed that Katsuyu seemed to be staring at him with obvious surprise. "What's wrong? Has no one ever displayed markings like mine before?"
"Lord Naraku is the first shinobi to successfully complete training at this advanced stage. Only the First Hokage came close to this level, but he ultimately gave up before finishing."
"Other practitioners who entered the Sage Arts Cave could only rely on their own physical strength to fight against the natural energy, and they couldn't even achieve basic reintegration!"
"By the way, it seems that Master Mito managed to achieve energy fusion, but she could not establish balance among all three energy types."
Mito?
Ah, Uzumaki Mito!
Naraku suddenly realized that among all the shinobi who had attempted Sage Mode training over the years, only Uzumaki Mito had reached the stage of successfully reintegrating natural energy.
The First Hokage Senju Hashirama had begun achieving balance among the three energy types, but at the critical moment he had chosen to abandon further progress.
So it wasn't incorrect to say that Naraku was genuinely the first to complete this achievement.
"Lord Naraku, you should test how long it now takes to activate Sage Mode and how long you can maintain it!"
"Let me try!"
Naraku dispelled the Senjutsu Chakra flowing through his body, exited Sage Mode, and then watched with surprise as the complex marking in the center of his forehead quickly shrank. However, in the end it did not disappear completely, but instead transformed into a vertical line that remained visible, resembling a slender dragon symbol.
"That's quite magical. It looks like a third eye that has been closed."
After taking a closer look at his reflection, Naraku sat cross-legged once again and began concentrating on reactivating Sage Mode.
One minute!
Two minutes!
Three...
In less than three minutes, the complex markings on Naraku's forehead reappeared in their full form.
Sage Mode activation successful!
A confident smile appeared on Naraku's lips as he opened his eyes, the fiery red eyeshadow now covering his eyes like dancing flames.
"From twenty-three minutes down to just over two minutes!"
"That represents tremendous progress!"
"Can Lord Naraku estimate how long you'll be able to maintain this state?" Katsuyu asked. "Just provide a rough approximation."
"More than an hour!"
"The exact duration will depend on how much energy I consume during actual combat, but this should be more than sufficient!"
With Shihouin Naraku's overwhelming strength, no opponent could fight him for more than an hour unless he deliberately restrained himself and held back his true power!
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