Blurred Figure

"Reverse... Sage Mode?" Naruto was astonished and confused.

He had never heard of such a thing before.

Minato smiled and explained, "Of course, this isn't a state-based ability like Sage Mode... How should I put it? It's a shift in mindset."

"..." Naruto was still at a loss.

"More specifically... Naruto, when you trained in Sage Mode, did Fukasaku tell you what you had to do first?" Minato prompted.

Naruto answered without hesitation, "Don't move. But..."

"That's right, don't move." Minato nodded approvingly and continued, "The ultimate purpose of Sage Mode is to absorb the natural Chakra in the environment into your body... To accomplish that, the method our predecessors came up with was to remain still, to turn yourself into a part of nature... I describe that state as a stone."

"And when I was learning the Flying Thunder God Technique, I realized... I couldn't become a stone. Space-time wouldn't care about a stone by the roadside. I had to become a fireball instead... So the key is to spread your Chakra into nature, spreading it through every inch of space around you. Feel nature's fluctuations, the traces left by space-time, and then the power of space-time will drive you to write your own Flying Thunder God mark!"

"That Flying Thunder God mark belongs to you alone, because space-time is different for every person."

Minato held nothing back as he taught him.

Naruto was deeply shaken.

In an instant, everything became clear. The haze and fog that had obscured his vision these past days scattered completely.

He finally understood what hurdle had been blocking his path.

It was himself. He had trapped himself.

Sage Mode had made him, and Sage Mode had hindered him. Because of those memories, he had mastered the feeling of entering Sage Mode too early, unconsciously developing a habit of concealing his presence and calming his breath. That had kept him on the passive side in his relationship with nature.

If he could not sense the presence of space-time around him... how could he draw a mark that belonged to him?

No wonder his dad had said he was not used to using Sage Mode in battle. His sword in combat was the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Reverse Sage Mode... So that was it.

You really are a terrifying genius... The Nine-Tails gave the blond man who had sealed him away a deep look.

"I understand now!" Naruto's gaze regained its resolve, filled with confidence as well.

Minato reminded him, "Of course, this isn't the only way to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. It's simply something I worked out myself—I don't know how Tobirama originally developed this technique either—and spreading Chakra to sense space-time is a slow process. It takes at least a month before you begin to see results..."

"I don't have that much time..." Naruto clenched his fist. He had bet Tsunade that he would learn the Flying Thunder God Technique within a week.

In the outside world, Naruto opened his bright blue eyes and formed a cross seal with his hands.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof, poof...

Moments later, clusters of fireballs blazed across the grasslands outside town.

Their sparks did not sway with the wind. They only chased the footsteps of space-time.

Three days passed.

Out in the trees beyond town, Tsunade and Jiraiya each sat on a branch, looking toward the group of Narutos sitting cross-legged in the clearing.

"Wasn't he supposed to be training in the Flying Thunder God Technique? What has this brat been doing for the past three days?" Tsunade did not understand. He had challenged her to a bet on his own, only to gamble on this nonsense?

Jiraiya shook his head, his tone equally puzzled. "When Minato trained in this technique, I didn't know the exact process either... Could this be the trick Naruto learned after asking his father?"

Neither of them was a sensory-type ninja. Unless Naruto unleashed the Nine-Tails' overwhelming Chakra, it was difficult for them to notice the Chakra constantly spreading outward from Naruto and his Shadow Clones.

Naruto and his Shadow Clones trained with complete focus, doing their utmost to spread the Chakra throughout their bodies into the space around them. They poured all their concentration into sensing the information and sensations carried back through that Chakra... But unfortunately, aside from illusions, there was nothing.

Still, Naruto did not lose heart.

Whenever he became exhausted, he released every Shadow Clone. Then a crushing, mountain-like exhaustion descended upon his sole original body. Naruto gritted his teeth and endured it, resting where he was while swiftly absorbing all the training experiences of his Shadow Clones and gradually summarizing the results.

How to spread Chakra more efficiently, how to spread it farther, how to sense more sharply...

Never give up. Keep moving forward.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

The fourth day.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Hundreds of Narutos sat in the grass. Just as they had for the previous three days, they calmly and patiently spread their Chakra, turning themselves into Chakra fireballs that scorched the space-time around them, trying to burn a mark of their own into it.

But they still failed today.

"I think this brat is done for..." Tsunade shook her head from the tree and casually took a sip of wine.

Jiraiya leaned against the tree opposite her, lowering his head with his eyes closed as he smiled. "Don't underestimate him, Tsunade... I've always believed that Naruto is still the Child of Prophecy... So get ready to return to Konoha with us."

Tsunade shot him an irritated glare. "Why are you making it sound like I actually agreed to this bet? You know I never win when I gamble. What if I bet that he'll succeed?"

"No, no, no..." Jiraiya jumped in fright. He knew Tsunade's gambling luck all too well. She could turn the impossible into possible. It was more miraculous than a miracle.

"Hmph..."

The seventh day.

The last day.

Evening.

After releasing all his Shadow Clones, Naruto rested for a while.

Once he had recovered some strength, Naruto refined more Chakra, gathered it in his right palm, and pressed it against the ground.

Remember that feeling. That exact feeling...

Though his hand covered it, Naruto could feel a mark that belonged solely to him slowly forming beneath his palm...

He lifted his hand.

It was an unfinished mark, only half a step away from success.

The final stroke had faded away.

"Argh..." Naruto collapsed onto the ground in frustration, tugging at his hair miserably.

He entered his inner world.

"Naruto, don't give up. I believe you can do it..." Minato smiled. Compared with seven days ago, his figure had already become very faint.

"Dad..." Naruto forced down his sadness. He knew the time for farewell was not far off.

The Nine-Tails lay nearby, bored.

Naruto, who had been slightly melancholy, suddenly spun around!

"Who's there?!"

Minato and the Nine-Tails followed his gaze in surprise. There... a blurred figure was taking shape.

"You are?!"

The blood-red afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the tatami mats of the small inn.

Tsunade and Jiraiya sat facing each other across a low table, quietly drinking tea. Shizune knelt nearby pouring tea, while Tonton the little pig happily ran around the room.

Crash.

The window shattered, and a kunai flew inside.

Without even turning around, Tsunade caught the attacking kunai in one hand. Expressionless, she held it before her eyes. Her gaze froze. There was a black mark on the kunai... resembling foxfire.

Could it be?!

"You've been away for quite a while. Isn't it time to return to the village, Granny Fifth Hokage?" Naruto's voice suddenly rang out behind Tsunade.