Naruto sat cross-legged before the enormous stone toad statue, his hands forming hand seals as he struggled to sense the natural energy around him. Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima sat on either side, guiding him into the core stage of Sage Mode.
"Concentrate, boy," Fukasaku said in his aged voice. "Natural energy is everywhere, but the yang power inside you interferes with your perception. You must learn to tell them apart, like distinguishing currents of different colors in a river."
Sweat beaded on Naruto's forehead, and the Nine-Tails' chakra churned restlessly inside him. Ever since he had returned to Konoha, the Nine-Tails had grown more agitated, as though sensing some approaching threat.
"Stinking fox, settle down!" Naruto shouted inwardly. "I'm training!"
"Idiot Naruto." The Nine-Tails' voice sounded in his mind, low and full of warning. "Can't you feel it? That thing... is waking up."
"What thing?"
"An Ōtsutsuki." A rare trace of fear entered the Nine-Tails' voice. "I can feel something crawling deep within the ley lines, searching for a suitable vessel. He'll find this place soon. He'll find you!"
Naruto's eyes snapped open, a glimmer of gold flashing through his blue irises.
"What's wrong?" Sage Shima sensed that something was amiss.
"The Nine-Tails said... an Ōtsutsuki is waking up." Naruto stood and looked into the distance. "He said that thing is looking for a vessel and might find this place."
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.
"The Nine-Tails' senses wouldn't be wrong," Fukasaku said gravely. "It seems we have even less time than we thought. Boy, we must pick up the pace."
"Then let's do it!" Naruto clenched his fists. "I'm ready!"
Just then, a powerful tremor surged up from beneath their feet. The ground of Mount Myōboku began to crack,