Sage Mode

Sage Fukasaku had thought Yamanaka Tohru would be upset when he heard the news. He hadn't expected him to be so calm.

Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato thought Yamanaka Tohru didn't know how powerful Sage Mode was. They exchanged a glance and decided not to tell him about it for now, in case he got upset.

But after learning that his Elementalization was Nature Energy itself, Yamanaka Tohru didn't care at all whether he could use Sage Mode.

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

And what was the Ten-Tails? Kaguya's mother! That meant Yamanaka Tohru's Ice Release could potentially grow to the same level as Kaguya's.

Though Yamanaka Tohru didn't have the Ten-Tails' vast reserves of Nature Energy or Kaguya's Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, his Ice Release shared the same essential nature as the Ten-Tails. His Sharingan could also slowly evolve into the Rinnegan.

For the first time, Yamanaka Tohru felt he had a huge advantage in this bloodline-obsessed world of Naruto!

"Sage Fukasaku, how should I go about learning Sage Mode?" Yamanaka Tohru asked, pretending not to know anything.

"To learn Sage Mode, Tohru, you have to go to one of the Three Great Sage Lands: Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, or Ryūchi Cave. You're contracted with the Toad Clan, so Mount Myōboku welcomes you anytime."

"Boss, do you think this kid is ready to learn Senjutsu?" Jiraiya asked.

"He is. I told you before, Tohru's special mode won't let Nature Energy consume him. He just needs to learn how to absorb Nature Energy," Sage Fukasaku told Jiraiya.

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

Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato had planned to keep the truth about Sage Mode from Yamanaka Tohru. Not being able to enter Sage Mode would be a serious blow to anyone.

They hadn't expected Sage Fukasaku to agree to let Yamanaka Tohru go to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode. He knew Yamanaka Tohru couldn't enter it, yet he'd agreed to take him there to train. It left the two of them puzzled.

"It's true that Tohru can't enter Sage Mode, but he doesn't need to. His special state already lets him use Nature Energy beyond what Sage Mode can. He just can't use Senjutsu Chakra in that state. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing for him." Sage Fukasaku looked at Yamanaka Tohru pensively.

"Sage Fukasaku, you mean I can't enter Sage Mode while I'm in Ice Release. What if I end Ice Release? Take a look." With that, Yamanaka Tohru ended his Ice Release.

"So this special state is called Ice Release? It's a fitting name. Unfortunately, Tohru, you still can't enter Sage Mode in your current state."

"Why?" Yamanaka Tohru had thought he could train in Sage Mode once he ended Ice Release. He hadn't expected it to be impossible even then.

"For two reasons. First, your Chakra reserves aren't high enough. Second, you were already bathed in Nature Energy when you first refined Chakra. You must have had more Chakra than most people after refining it for the first time, right?"

Yamanaka Tohru recalled that his Chakra reserves had been about as large as an average Chunin's when he first refined Chakra.

Even a four-year-old from the Uzumaki Clan shouldn't have had such a terrifying amount.

But Yamanaka Tohru's Chakra reserves had grown at an ordinary rate afterward, not much faster than his peers'. It was only because he'd had so much Chakra from the very beginning that he still had far more than they did.

"Yes, that's right," Yamanaka Tohru replied after thinking back.

"Being bathed in Nature Energy is definitely a good thing for most people, but not for you. You already absorb Nature Energy very quickly, and the process made you absorb it even faster. If you absorb it too quickly, your physical and spiritual energies won't have time to combine with it. The excess Nature Energy will force you into the state you call Ice Release."

After hearing Sage Fukasaku's explanation, Yamanaka Tohru understood. It seemed he'd never be able to learn Sage Mode.

Yamanaka Tohru still envied how Senjutsu Chakra increased the power of ninjutsu. Unfortunately, after he entered Ice Release, Nature Energy could only take effect on ice when he used Ice Seal or after using it.

His other ninjutsu, including Water Release, still relied on his own Chakra.

It still came down to his Chakra reserves! Yamanaka Tohru was very dissatisfied with his seven-year-old body. It was destined to limit his Chakra reserves to, at most, their current level—barely enough to make him a Special Jonin.

There was nothing he could do about his body, but learning Senjutsu could solve the problem of his Water Release techniques consuming so much Chakra when he used Ice Seal on them.

This excited Yamanaka Tohru. A Special Jonin's Chakra reserves were enough to use several large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu. If using Ice Seal on Water Release didn't require Chakra, he was confident he could fight Kushina in her One-Tail Tailed Beast Cloak.

After all, Kushina in her One-Tail Tailed Beast Cloak was a Quasi-Kage. Even during the Third Shinobi War, a Quasi-Kage was a formidable force.

"Sage Fukasaku, when can I start learning Sage Mode with you?" Yamanaka Tohru asked impatiently.

"Anytime, as long as Jiraiya agrees."

"Me? I don't have any objections. This kid's from the Yamanaka Clan and is Kushina's student. If he learns Senjutsu and gets stronger, it'll only benefit Konoha."

Jiraiya always put Konoha first. He remembered how loyal the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans had always been to Konoha, and Kushina was an inheritor of the Will of Fire. Her student couldn't be bad. Besides, Yamanaka Tohru was currently the backbone of Konoha Hospital, so Jiraiya readily agreed to let him learn Senjutsu.

"Then it's settled, Tohru. Get ready. In three days, I'll summon you using the Reverse Summoning Technique."

"Okay, thank you, Sage Fukasaku!"

"If there's nothing else, I'll be off!" Sage Fukasaku said to everyone.

"Take care, Boss!" Jiraiya said to Sage Fukasaku.

Sage Fukasaku waved to everyone, ended the Summoning Technique, and returned to Mount Myōboku.

"Tohru, don't train tomorrow. Have Kushina take you to buy plenty of food. If that doesn't work, bring plenty of Ration Pills too." Namikaze Minato patted Yamanaka Tohru on the shoulder and spoke with sympathy.

Namikaze Minato's warning clearly reminded Jiraiya of some unpleasant memories. His stomach churned, and his face turned pale.

Minato's warning and Jiraiya's reaction reminded Yamanaka Tohru of the food at Mount Myōboku in the original story.

"Kushina, please! Come shopping for food with me tomorrow!"

"Sure! But what's wrong with those two?" Kushina clearly didn't know about the food at Mount Myōboku and looked utterly confused by Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya's strange reactions.

"I don't know either. They started acting like that as soon as Mount Myōboku came up. Maybe the food there tastes bad. Brother Minato also told me to bring some food and Ration Pills."

"Is that right, Minato?" Kushina asked.

"That's right!" Namikaze Minato didn't want to remember the insect feast at Mount Myōboku, so he gave her an offhand reply.

"Kakashi, you should come with me tomorrow too." Yamanaka Tohru suddenly remembered Kakashi, whom everyone had forgotten.

Kakashi was off to one side, continuing to practice the Rasengan by himself.

When he heard Yamanaka Tohru call him, Kakashi stopped and nodded in agreement.

After living in Konoha for seven years, Yamanaka Tohru was finally about to take his first step toward leaving the village.

Thanks to Ronghua for yesterday's donation, and to the friends who have supported the author for several days in a row. Thank you, everyone. I'll do my best to tell this story well.