Sage Mode

Sage Fukasaku had expected Yamanaka Tohru to be very upset upon hearing the news, but he was surprisingly calm.

Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato felt that Yamanaka Tohru didn't understand the power of Sage Mode. The two exchanged a glance and decided not to tell Tohru about Sage Mode for now, to avoid upsetting him.

As for Yamanaka Tohru, upon realizing that his Elementalization was Nature Energy itself, he was indifferent to whether he could use Sage Mode.

What did Nature Energy itself represent? The Ten-Tails! Tohru clearly remembered Nine-Tails telling Naruto that the Ten-Tails was Nature Energy itself.

And what was the Ten-Tails? The freaking Sage of Six Paths! This meant Tohru's Ice Release had the potential to grow to Kaguya's level.

Although Tohru didn't possess the Ten-Tails' vast Nature Energy, nor Kaguya's Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, his Ice Release shared the same life essence as the Ten-Tails, and his Sharingan could slowly evolve into a Rinnegan.

In this world of shinobi where bloodlines were paramount, Tohru felt he had a significant advantage for the first time!

"Sage Fukasaku, how should I learn Sage Mode?" Tohru asked, feigning ignorance.

"Tohru-chan, to learn Sage Mode, you must go to one of the three great Sage Lands: Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, or Ryūchi Cave. Since you are now a contractor of our Toad Clan, Mount Myōboku welcomes you anytime."

"Boss, do you think this kid can learn Sage Jutsu yet?" Jiraiya asked.

"He can. I said before that Tohru-chan's special mode is not afraid of being consumed by Nature Energy; he just needs to learn to absorb Nature Energy," Sage Fukasaku said.

"But Boss, you just said that kid can't enter Sage Mode. Why did you agree to let him go to Mount Myōboku to learn?"

Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato had originally planned to keep the matter of Sage Mode from Tohru. Not being able to enter Sage Mode would be a significant blow to anyone.

They just didn't expect Sage Fukasaku to actually agree to let Tohru go to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode. Sage Fukasaku, knowing full well that Tohru couldn't enter Sage Mode, still agreed to take him to Mount Myōboku for training, which left the master and disciple pair very confused.

"Tohru-chan indeed cannot enter Sage Mode, but he doesn't need to. Tohru-chan's special state already surpasses Sage Mode in its application of Nature Energy. However, he cannot use Sage Chakra in this state. I don't know if this is good or bad for Tohru-chan," Sage Fukasaku said, looking at Tohru with a hint of contemplation.

"Sage Fukasaku, you're saying I can't enter Sage Mode after activating Ice Release. What about when I deactivate it? Please take a look." With that, Tohru deactivated Ice Release.

"Is this special state called Ice Release? A very fitting name. But unfortunately, Tohru-chan, even in your current state, you cannot enter Sage Mode."

"Why!" Tohru thought he could cultivate Sage Mode after deactivating Ice Release, but he was still unable to.

"There are two reasons. First, your Chakra reserves are not sufficient. Second, you have already been baptized by Nature Energy during your Chakra refinement. The amount of Chakra you obtained during your first Chakra refinement must have been more than that of ordinary people!"

Tohru recalled that his first Chakra refinement yielded the Chakra reserves of a typical Chunin.

For a four-year-old child, even one from the Uzumaki Clan, this was terrifying.

However, Tohru's Chakra growth rate in the future was ordinary, not much more than his peers. It was only because of the larger amount of Chakra from his first refinement that he had significantly more Chakra than his peers.

"Yes, that's correct," Tohru recalled, speaking earlier.

"Being baptized by Nature Energy is definitely a good thing for ordinary people, but not for you. Your speed of absorbing Nature Energy is already very fast, and it will be even faster after the baptism. Absorbing Nature Energy too quickly will prevent your physical and mental energies from merging with the Nature Energy in time. Too much Nature Energy will forcibly put you into what you call Ice Release."

After hearing Sage Fukasaku's explanation, Tohru suddenly understood. It seemed he had no fate with Sage Mode.

Tohru still envied the amplification of ninjutsu power that Sage Chakra provided. Unfortunately, after activating Ice Release, Nature Energy could only be used for Ice Seal, or applied to ice after using Ice Seal.

Tohru's other ninjutsu, including Water Release, still used his own Chakra for casting.

It was still a matter of Chakra reserves! Tohru was very dissatisfied with his seven-year-old body. This body destined his Chakra reserves to barely reach the Special Jonin level at most.

Tohru couldn't solve the problem of his body, but the issue of consuming a large amount of Chakra for Ice Seal Water Release after activating Ice Release could be easily resolved by learning Sage Jutsu.

This made Tohru very excited. Special Jonin level Chakra reserves were enough to cast several large-scale Water Release ninjutsu. If Ice Seal Water Release didn't require Chakra, Tohru was confident he could fight Kushina in her One-Tail Tailed Beast Cloak.

One must remember that Kushina in her One-Tail Tailed Beast Cloak was a Quasi-Kage, and Quasi-Kage were a considerable force during the Third Shinobi War.

"Sage Fukasaku, when can I learn Sage Mode from you?" Thinking this, Tohru eagerly asked.

"As long as Jiraiya-chan agrees, it can be anytime."

"Me? I have no objections. This kid is from the Yamanaka Clan and Kushina's disciple. If he learns Sage Jutsu and improves his strength, it will only benefit Konoha."

Jiraiya always put Konoha first. He thought of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans' unwavering loyalty to Konoha, and that Kushina was an inheritor of the Will of Fire, so her disciple would naturally not be bad. Moreover, Tohru was currently the backbone of Konoha Hospital, so he readily agreed to Tohru learning Sage Jutsu.

"Alright then, Tohru-chan, prepare yourself. In three days, I will summon you using the Reverse Summoning Technique."

"Okay, thank you, Sage Fukasaku!"

"If there's nothing else, I shall take my leave!" Sage Fukasaku said to everyone.

"Boss, please go slowly!" Jiraiya said to Sage Fukasaku.

Sage Fukasaku waved goodbye to everyone and dispelled the Summoning Technique, returning to Mount Myōboku.

"Tohru, don't train tomorrow. Let Kushina take you to buy some rations. If that's not enough, bring some Ration Pills," Namikaze Minato said, patting Tohru's shoulder sympathetically.

Minato's words clearly reminded Jiraiya of some unpleasant memories, causing his stomach to churn and his expression to turn grim.

Minato's reminder and Jiraiya's reaction made Tohru recall the food on Mount Myōboku from the original story.

"Sister Kushina, please! Come with me to buy supplies tomorrow!"

"Sure! But what's wrong with those two?" Kushina, clearly unfamiliar with the food on Mount Myōboku, looked at Minato and Jiraiya's strange behavior with confusion.

"I don't know either. They reacted like this when Mount Myōboku was mentioned. Maybe the food there isn't good? Brother Minato also told me to bring some rations and Ration Pills."

"Is that so, Minato?" Kushina asked.

"Yes, that's right!" Namikaze Minato, who absolutely did not want to recall the giant insect feasts of Mount Myōboku, replied perfunctorily.

"Kakashi, you come with me tomorrow too." Tohru suddenly remembered Kakashi, who had been forgotten by everyone.

Kakashi, meanwhile, was still practicing the Rasengan by himself.

Upon hearing Tohru's voice, Kakashi stopped, nodded, and agreed.

After living in Konoha for seven years, Tohru was finally about to take his first step outside of Konoha.

Thank you to Brother Ronghua for yesterday's tip, and to the friends who have supported the author for several consecutive days. Thank you all. I will work hard to write this story well.