Jiraiya rubbed the swelling lump on his forehead and tilted his head back to look at Naruto standing tall on the peak above. Despite the pain, his face broke into a proud smile.
"In less than a month… he's already able to condense Sage Chakra on his own," Jiraiya murmured, awe and disbelief mingling in his voice. "This kind of talent is truly beyond imagination."
His thoughts drifted to the past, to another young man with golden hair and boundless potential. "If I recall correctly, even Minato took nearly two months to reach this stage." There was a note of wistful admiration in Jiraiya's tone, a reminder of time's passing and the weight of memory.
He couldn't help but think back to his own years of grueling training at Mount Myoboku. The sleepless nights, the bruises, the countless failures. Unlike Minato or Naruto, his heart had been too restless, his mind too scattered. Reaching the bare minimum in Sage Arts had been an achievement in itself.
"Hmm… his talent really is extraordinary," Fukasaku, the venerable Toad Sage, agreed. His voice carried authority yet held undeniable warmth. "But what's even more remarkable is not his gift, but his will."
"Will?" Jiraiya echoed, turning to him.
The old sage stroked his beard thoughtfully. "You remember, don't you? The moment you first tried absorbing natural energy? A single misstep and poof you start turning into a toad."
Jiraiya's face darkened. "Of course I remember!" The memory alone was enough to make him wince. He'd lost count of how many times the old sage had smacked him with that iron staff to knock the imbalance out of his body. Each blow had seared pain deep into his bones, unforgettable even now.
Fukasaku's eyes twinkled. "Then tell me, Jiraiya-boy, how many times do you think Naruto's gone through toad transformation so far?"
Jiraiya frowned. "Ten times?" he guessed hesitantly. Then, more uncertain, "Or maybe just once?"
The sage's smile widened. "Not even once."
Jiraiya's jaw nearly dropped. "That's impossible!"
He knew firsthand the razor's edge of Sage training. The natural energy flowed into the body like a wild tide, difficult to balance with chakra. Over-absorb even a little, and the body would immediately start morphing. "No one can keep perfect balance from the very first attempt," he insisted.
Fukasaku shook his head. "Naruto's mastery of chakra control is one part of it, but the other is his unyielding will. Each time I prepared to step in with the staff, he forced the balance back on his own. He bent the wild energy to his will, molding it into harmony with his chakra instead of letting it consume him."
The sage let out a sigh that was equal parts astonishment and respect. "That is why he advanced so quickly. He's already able to enter Sage Mode independently. Jiraiya-boy, your little pupil has long surpassed you."
Jiraiya chuckled, pride swelling in his chest instead of jealousy. "Wahahaha! Isn't that the way it should be? The student surpasses the master." His voice was full of laughter, but also of genuine relief. "We're like the setting sun, while they are the rising dawn. The future belongs to them."
"Perhaps," Fukasaku mused, his tone softening, "he may become only the second person to ever reach perfect Sage Mode. Minato was close, but… fate was unkind to him."
Jiraiya's expression sobered. "If Minato could see Naruto now, I know he would be proud."
At the summit, Naruto's body slowly absorbed the surrounding natural energy. Orange pigmentation spread around his eyes, forming distinct markings. Then, with a sharp intake of breath, he opened his eyes his usual blue irises replaced by the golden toad-like eyes of Sage Mode.
He rose to his feet atop a narrow wooden plank. Small birds perched along his shoulders and arms did not scatter at his movement. They remained calm, as if his presence alone resonated with the natural world.
Naruto clenched his fists, feeling the flood of energy coursing through him. His voice trembled in awe. "Incredible…"
He stared at his hands as if they belonged to someone else. The surge of Sage Chakra wasn't just strengthening him it was reshaping him from the inside out. His muscles hummed with explosive vitality. With a casual stretch, his joints cracked with sharp clarity. When he closed his fist, the compressed air snapped with a muffled boom.
The plank beneath him shuddered faintly, yet he stood firm, balanced so perfectly that the birds never shifted. To an ordinary person, such control was unthinkable.
He vanished. One instant he stood still, the next he was gone, leaving only the startled flutter of birds. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared on solid ground below, the stone beneath his feet crumbling slightly under the sudden pressure.
His speed had doubled. No more than doubled.
Every sense sharpened. His vision expanded, crisp and boundless. He could hear the whisper of wind threading through the distant valley, the rustling of grass amplified like thunder. His blood raced with newfound vigor, each heartbeat resonating like a drum of life itself. His natural healing surged, stronger than ever.
"This feeling…" Naruto muttered, eyes wide. "It's like I've been reborn." Memories of his past training flashed every limit, every wall, every time he had collapsed in exhaustion. Now those same barriers seemed laughably small.
But more than the strength, what startled him most was the unity of his body and spirit. His will and his power were no longer separate. They moved as one.
He recalled words from a dream, a whisper etched deep in memory: As still as the sky, swifter than lightning.
This was no longer just physical ability. It was a state of being. His heart had entered the calm of the sky, his movements struck with the swiftness of thunder.
To act without leaving a trace of intent. To kill without the enemy sensing even the shadow of killing intent.
His eyes narrowed. "So this is Sage Mode…"
He raised his palm. Blue chakra swirled to life instantly, forming a Rasengan. Yet this was no ordinary sphere of energy. With natural energy infused, the orb grew denser, more stable, more violent. Its edges blurred from the sheer force of its rotation, air shrieking as space itself seemed twisted by its pull.
The air hissed with sharp, piercing cries. Naruto held the glowing sphere, heart pounding. Within it burned destructive power several times stronger than any Rasengan he had ever formed.
Then he pushed further. Wind chakra flowed into the orb. The shrill sound of blades cutting air filled the clearing. The sphere stretched, morphed, its edges sharpening into the deadly form of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
He had mastered it before, but it was a jutsu he rarely used. Its flaw was deadly it required close combat, endangering even the user. Naruto had wondered if he could throw it, but maintaining its stability at a distance had always been impossible. The energy was too wild, too unstable.
But now…
He hurled it.
The Rasenshuriken soared, spinning violently through the air. To his astonishment, it remained perfectly stable, its form unbroken.
Naruto gritted his teeth and willed it forward.
The shuriken expanded suddenly, a storm of energy exploding outward.
The world shook.
A thunderous roar split the sky as if tearing reality itself.
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