Simplified Sage Mode!

"Ding! The system is drawing a reward. Please wait..."

Lihuo had completely forgotten the exhaustion of training the Rasengan. His joy was plain to see, prompting Guy and Kakashi to tease him.

"Creating an A-rank jutsu from scratch is seriously impressive."

"I'm going to create an equally powerful A-rank jutsu someday, too."

There was a hint of jealousy in Kakashi's words, but Lihuo had absolute faith in Kakashi's ability to create an A-rank jutsu—he believed in him even more than Kakashi believed in himself.

"A powerful jutsu born from the flames of youth! How exciting!"

Guy, the embodiment of youth, was as passionate as ever.

Lihuo told the two to keep training and used the opportunity to send them away.

"Open the package!"

As soon as he spoke, the system's emotionless voice rang out.

"Congratulations, host. You have successfully completed the beginner period. Your graduation reward is Simplified Sage Mode."

Looking at the reward before him, Lihuo felt a little confused. As a seasoned Naruto fan, he naturally knew about Sage Mode, but he couldn't quite make sense of the system's so-called "Simplified Sage Mode."

Before Lihuo could think it over, a violent pain surged through his abdomen.

It hurt as if a Rasengan had been slammed straight into his stomach!

"Why does getting a reward have to hurt so much every time?!"

At first, Lihuo could still complain. Before long, he didn't even have the strength to speak.

As the pain gradually faded, Lihuo finally sensed the new changes in his body—or rather, the new changes in the world around him!

He could now clearly feel the energy stirring in the air.

"Considering that this is Sage Mode, this fluctuating energy must be Natural Energy."

"It feels like there used to be a thick barrier around my body, keeping Natural Energy out."

"But now I can absorb Natural Energy freely. That means I really have the foundation to train in Sage Mode!"

Lihuo slowly recalled how to train in Sage Mode.

"If chakra is the perfect balance between physical and mental energy, then Senjutsu Chakra is formed by adding Natural Energy to those two, bringing them into a perfect one-to-one-to-one balance."

"But you need a huge amount of chakra as your foundation to train in Sage Mode. Otherwise, if you recklessly take in Natural Energy, you'll only end up being consumed by it."

The system's voice, silent for a short while, rang out again.

"This reward is Simplified Sage Mode. Its advantages are quick activation and few side effects. In exchange, its power is greatly reduced, and it lasts for less time than true Sage Mode."

After hearing this, Lihuo understood that this "Simplified Sage Mode" was basically a "harmless Curse Mark." The difference was that a Curse Mark passively absorbed Natural Energy to boost its user's abilities, making it much harder to control.

Once he understood the strengths and weaknesses of the system's reward, Lihuo finally relaxed.

"In the original story, Naruto used Sage Mode to smash five of the Six Paths of Pain, driving Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, into a desperate situation."

"I wonder how much this Simplified Sage Mode will boost my strength."

Then Lihuo sat cross-legged and smoothly absorbed the Natural Energy around him.

Thanks to his Kage Level chakra control, achieving a one-to-one-to-one energy ratio was easy for him.

"I definitely don't regret touching the Third Hokage's head. You have to try this ability to understand how good it is."

Gradually, Lihuo felt his chakra merge with the Natural Energy inside him, forming a new energy that was both incredibly harmonious and incredibly destructive—Senjutsu Chakra!

To anyone watching, Lihuo seemed to have become one with nature. His presence had vanished, impossible to sense from his aura.

With a low shout, Lihuo said, "Sage Mode, activate!"

The trees around him began swaying despite the lack of wind, as if an invisible force had brushed past them.

Lihuo stood up and carefully felt the changes in his body.

"System, do I get eye markings when I enter Sage Mode?"

"Simplified Sage Mode does not produce them, but the host may choose to add them. Full Sage Mode always produces eye markings, and the host cannot choose otherwise."

"Then no eye markings. If they show up, everyone will know I've entered my second stage. Transforming without any markings is the way to go."

Lihuo clenched his fist.

"My physical abilities have improved by about thirty percent. And that's not all—the addition of Senjutsu Chakra greatly increases the power of my jutsu."

"Let's test my sensory abilities, too. In the original story, Naruto used the black rods to locate Nagato from a thousand miles away. That shows how much Sage Mode enhances sensory abilities!"

Lihuo closed his eyes. "Yamanaka Secret Technique: Perception!"

"Guy and Kakashi are training. And I can even clearly sense every blade of grass and every tree around me!"

"Hm? What's that cold chakra?"

Suddenly, a pair of emotionless snake eyes appeared in Lihuo's field of perception! Their uniquely cold chakra sent a shiver through his entire body.

The next second, Lihuo was forced out of Sage Mode and collapsed to the ground. In his daze, he saw a brownish-yellow python slither away.

"Did I imagine that?"

Not long afterward, Guy and Kakashi hurried over.

"Lihuo, what's wrong? Weren't you training your jutsu? What happened?"

Lihuo didn't tell them the whole truth. After all, sometimes the more you knew, the more dangerous things became.

Guy and Kakashi then helped Lihuo home. As they parted, Kakashi said to him,

"I want to see how much we've improved over the past month. Once you're feeling better, want to spar?"

"Gladly!"

Early the next morning, Kakashi woke Lihuo up.

"What is it? It's so early..."

"Weren't we going to spar?"

"We don't have to do it this early!"

"Hurry up. We still have to train after the spar. Uncle Dai's mission ends today, so Guy might be busy this afternoon."

"Where are we sparring?"

"My house."

"Oh, wait! Your house? Is Uncle Sakumo there?"

"Of course my dad's at home. Are you an idiot?"

At the thought of meeting the legendary Konoha White Fang, Lihuo sprang straight out of bed in excitement and quickly got dressed and washed up.

To make a good impression on his senior, he even put on a black Uchiha training uniform, making himself look especially sharp and handsome—at least a third as handsome as all you dear readers.

"Let's go!"

"You're going the wrong way!"

"I'm going to the ninja tool shop to buy Uncle Sakumo some blade oil. It's our first meeting. How could I show up without a gift?"

"That'll be 100,000 yen! Thanks, handsome. Come again!"

With the pretty shop assistant warmly seeing him off, Lihuo walked out, wincing at the price.

He'd saved up quite a bit of money by touching people's heads, but this shopping trip had still cost him a fortune.

"You really didn't have to buy such an expensive gift."

"Ah, you just don't understand. The blade oil I bought is high quality, and you get a lot in each bottle. One bottle will last three generations. Even after the owner's gone, there'll still be oil left."

"So I'm someone who doesn't understand blades, huh?"

The two bantered as they made their way to the Hatake Clan's ancestral home. Perhaps because the clan had fallen on hard times, the Hatake Clan didn't have a grand compound like the Uchiha. They had only a single, elegant ancestral home.

As they entered, Lihuo saw the legendary Konoha White Fang. Lihuo had seen White Fang when he'd first crossed into this world, and back then, he'd seemed like a sheathed sword—impressive, but difficult to fathom.

After training for over a month, Lihuo had learned more about this world's power system and become increasingly aware of just how strong White Fang was.

Lihuo knew that he could still see how strong Kakashi was, but Sakumo's strength was impossible to fathom!

When you saw an enemy in a game whose level and health bar both read "???"—tell me, wouldn't you be scared?

But now, Sakumo was completely different from Lihuo's previous impression of him. He wore an apron and held a spatula in one hand.

"Kakashi's home. So this is your good friend Lihuo? Come on in. The fish will be ready in a moment."

Lihuo, of course, couldn't neglect his manners and hurriedly said,

"Hello, Uncle Sakumo. I'm Kakashi's friend, Lihuo. I've heard a lot about how strong you are. Seeing you in person, I can tell you're every bit as impressive as the stories say. I brought you a small gift. I hope you'll accept it."

Kakashi curled his lip. "What a suck-up."

After a little small talk, Lihuo could tell that Sakumo wasn't the least bit arrogant. On the contrary, he was very kind. In the end, Sakumo accepted the blade oil and promised to help Lihuo with his training.

Afterward, Sakumo treated Lihuo to fish he'd cooked himself. It was delicious, and Lihuo praised it to no end.

Once they were somewhat full, Lihuo and Kakashi set down their chopsticks of their own accord. After all, being too full wouldn't help them fight.

The two stood in the backyard of the Hatake home and took their stances. The fight was about to begin!