"Sage Mode? That kid—oh, oh! So this is Jiraiya's little disciple?" said Shima. "He looks familiar somehow."
"His father is the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato."
"Ah, I knew I'd seen him somewhere before. Come in, come in."
Shima was quite hospitable. She invited them into her home and placed before them a large platter of fat, wriggling larvae, smiling cheerfully.
"Don't be shy. Eat, eat."
Naruto and Kiyosuke both looked uneasy—the bugs were still alive and moving.
Ugh—
"Thank you for your hospitality, Shima-sama. I actually ate before coming here. Naruto, you should go ahead. This is Shima-sama's kindness—don't refuse an elder's goodwill. Besides, these little guys have six times the protein of beef," Kiyosuke said, pushing the insects toward Naruto.
Adults are truly filthy inside!
Naruto screamed internally but couldn't bring himself to refuse. He gritted his teeth, grabbed a handful of worms, and started eating.
"Thank you…"
He forced down the entire plate of large white worms, his face twisting in discomfort.
"My, such a healthy appetite! You two wait here—I'll show off my cooking for lunch today!"
Seeing how quickly Naruto finished, Shima was delighted and hurried off to prepare a full insect feast.
Both nephew and uncle froze stiff.
Just then, Fukasaku entered with a smile.
"Well, if it isn't young Kiyosuke! And this must be Jiraiya's disciple, little Naruto, right?"
"Yes. Greetings, Fukasaku-sama. Naruto, don't just stand there."
"Oh—uh, greetings, Grandpa Sage!"
"Haha, no need for such formality. Little Jiraiya already sent me word through a messenger toad. So, Naruto will be training here on Mount Myōboku for a while, learning Sage Techniques. That's good. Come along with me then. You too, Kiyosuke—you already know Sage Arts, so you can help guide him."
"Alright."
The two practically fled, relief washing over them as though they'd narrowly escaped death.
...
Fukasaku led them to a rocky area where several toad statues stood together. In the center, a stone toad's mouth was spewing out toad oil, forming a pool.
Kiyosuke gazed at the stone toads sitting in meditation. Those had once been living toads who failed in their Sage training—unable to control the natural energy within them, they had turned to stone.
Fukasaku began explaining the basics of Sage Techniques to Naruto, but the boy's head just wasn't built for lectures.
Kiyosuke sighed and said, "It's like adding more toppings to a bowl of ramen—it makes it taste better."
"That just makes it harder to understand!" Fukasaku said, exasperated.
"I got it! My chakra is the ramen, and natural energy is like the chashu pork. When you mix the two, it tastes better—that's Sage Chakra!" Naruto said, eyes lighting up.
"He actually understood?!"
Fukasaku was stunned. Was this kid's brain wired differently? Jiraiya and Minato had both understood perfectly fine from normal explanations.
"But… what exactly is natural energy?"
Though he grasped the concept of Sage Techniques, Naruto still couldn't wrap his head around natural energy itself. So, Fukasaku-sama began explaining again.
To give him a more direct experience of Sage power, Kiyosuke walked over to one of the stone toads, gathered chakra, and—with some effort—lifted it with both hands.
"Incredible," Naruto murmured.
Kiyosuke set the statue down, then entered Sage Mode.
"No matter how many times I see it, it's astonishing," Fukasaku said. "To enter Sage Mode so quickly… The techniques from Ryūchi Cave clearly have their merits. Not only that, the natural energy around you is gathering fast."
He raised one hand and easily lifted the stone toad again.
"Sage Mode greatly amplifies your strength, granting several times your normal power."
"So that's how it works? That's awesome! But, Kiyosuke-san, since you already know Sage Techniques, why didn't you teach me yourself?"
Setting the statue down again, Kiyosuke replied with a smile,
"You've signed a contract with Mount Myōboku, so it's only natural that you learn the toad-style Sage Arts. Mine come from Ryūchi Cave, and the old folks there aren't exactly friendly."
He smiled slyly. "If you can handle every bone in your body breaking and then reforming, transforming from human into snake—I can take you there right now."
"N-no thanks, I'll pass!"
Naruto immediately backed off, shaking his head frantically.
Even Fukasaku was surprised. "Is the training at Ryūchi Cave really that painful?"
"Yeah. The White Snake Sage's method is simple and brutal—you get bitten, she injects you with natural energy. If you survive, you can train in Sage Mode. If not… you become her meal." Kiyosuke shook his head.
"I see… At Mount Myōboku, failure just turns you to stone. Sage training truly is merciless," Fukasaku said. "So, Naruto—still want to continue?"
"Of course! I won't back down!"
"Good. Let's begin, then."
...
Fukasaku decided to start by teaching Naruto how to sense natural energy. To help him better feel it, he applied toad oil to Naruto's arm.
Almost instantly, Naruto's arm began to transform—his skin turned warty and rough like a toad's, orange markings appeared around his eyes, and one eye shifted into a horizontal slit pupil.
Seeing his reflection, Naruto yelped in panic. Kiyosuke quickly smacked him on the back, and he snapped out of the transformation.
"Too little natural energy, and you can't create Sage Chakra. Too much, and it swallows you up—you'll turn into a toad, just like those statues," Kiyosuke explained. "Sage Mode is all about balance—the delicate equilibrium between chakra and natural energy.
"The Ryūchi Cave version is a bit different. Through training, I've learned to maintain Sage Mode for long periods and control the transformation completely. I don't risk turning into a snake anymore. But you, Naruto—you'll only be able to stay in Sage Mode for a few minutes at best."
Sage Mode's stillness and motion were separate.
Stillness was the absorption of natural energy—the meditative state of entering Sage Mode. Motion was combat, where stillness couldn't be maintained. That was why Sage Mode had a time limit.
Jiraiya had relied on Fukasaku and Shima to help him continuously absorb natural energy, but Naruto couldn't do the same. The Nine-Tails inside him refused to coexist with toads, interfering with his training.
"Don't worry, I'll help you," Fukasaku said confidently, unaware that the Nine-Tails would cause trouble later.
"Alright, let's get started!"
Naruto said energetically, sitting cross-legged beside the toad oil pool. Covered in toad oil, he began absorbing natural energy under Fukasaku's guidance, memorizing the feeling.
But it was far too easy for him to start turning into a toad—and every time that happened, Kiyosuke had to smack him back to normal.
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