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Chapter 22: Perfecting Sage Mode

Normal P.O.V.

"Alright Naruto, are you ready to begin?" Jiraiya asks.

"Bring it on!"

Jiraiya smirks at his student's enthusiasm. Standing in front of Naruto is Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima. Understanding that there is no time to waste, they chose to begin Naruto's training immediately.

"Alright then, here is your first lesson: senjutsu," Jiraiya starts. "Senjutsu takes the energy that surrounds you: the spiritual and physical energy within you and the natural energy surrounding you. The techniques that harness all three energies is what we call senjutsu. When you perfect this type of jutsu, you'll gain more abilities and strengths you didn't have before. Fukasaku, would like to show him?"

The older male toad nods before hoping to a statue of the toads. Fukasaku grunts loudly as he tries to lift the statue. After a few more grunts, Fukasaku manages to lift the heavy statue.

"Whoa! How can he lift it! That statue must weigh a ton!" Naruto yells in excitement.

"T-this is the p-power of senjutsu. Like it was said before, if you can master senjutsu then you will gain strengths and abilities you didn't have before.," Fukasaku says before putting the statue back down.

"Cool! Alright, what do I have to do?"

"Whoa there kid. There are still a few things you need to learn first," Jiraiya says. "To absorb natural energy requires for you to feel it and let it accumulate around you. So, where you need to start is by not moving,"

Naruto stares at his three masters in confusion. "So… you want me … to just not… move…?"

Shima nodes. "Yes. You need to pick a spot and just sit still,"

"That's lame,"

"See, this is exactly why we are having you start here. Naruto, you are a great ninja, but you lack patience. You should know more than anyone that training takes time. This will not come to you easy. For you to become better, you need to learn patience. I believe that this part of the training will help you learn that lesson,"

"Fine. Whatever you say Pervy Sage. Alright, let's get started,"

"Hold on a second. Before you begin this part of your training, you must bathe in the toad oil," Shima says before hopping over to the waterfall.

"Toad oil?"

"Yes, it has the power to draw in natural energy. Give me your arm," Naruto rolls up his sleeve to hold out his right arm to her. Shima traces the oil onto his arm. "You can't be successful without this. However, it can be very risky,"

"Risky? How?"

"Look for yourself," Naruto looks down at his hand and sees that his fingers turned webbed and sticky. Shima tries to calm a hyperventilating Naruto. "Calm down, young one. This is only an illusion, showing you the consequences of not being successful at this training. If you do not successfully harness the natural energy, then you will turn into a toad!"

"But I don't want to be a toad!"

As Naruto continues to hyperventilate, Jiraiya walks up and smacks the back of his head.

"Calm down boy. You'll be fine. If you are patient and still, you will pass no problem," Naruto gives a relieved shy. "However, if you take in too much natural energy, then you will be a toad forever,"

"On another note, if you do start to turn into a toad, then I will smack you with this stick," Fukasaku smiles will holding his large stick.

"Good to know. Alright then, I am ready,"

"Good. Now, strip down to nothing and get ready to bathe in the toad oil," Jiraiya instructs.

Naruto does as he is told and strips down to nothing. Standing in front of his elders, everyone blushes bright red before turning their heads.

"Geeze kid. No wonder Sasuke keeps coming back to you,"

"Shut up, old man. Here,"

Jiraiya takes the clothes. Naruto walks over to the edge of the oil fountain and sits with his legs crossing and his hands folded in his lap. Both Shima and Fukasaku hop towards Naruto and sits on either side of him. They splash the oil over him. Naruto tries to remain still as he feels the cold oil splash against his warm skin.

Hours pass and every so often Naruto had to be hit with Fukasaku's stick. The young fox becomes frustrated. Not only is he not feeling or seeing the natural energy, but the oil does nothing to soften the blows from the male toad's stick.

"Pervy Sage, I'm just not getting it. Can't I just use some shadow clones to help me?"

"Shadow clones will not help you in this training kid," Jiraiya says as he looks up from his book. "You need to focus harder, Naruto. Calm your breathing and just feel the energy around you. Just stay calm and breathe,"

Naruto sighs heavily. He closes his eyes and tries to control his breathing. In and out, his breathing stills. He leans back and falls into the oil. As he sinks deeper into the fountain, Naruto can feel the oil moving around him. A whirlwind of energy surrounds him as an orange hue appears around his eyes. Inside of Naruto's mind, he can the energy surrounding him. Excited at his success, Naruto jumps out of oil in excitement.

"I saw it!"

"Excellent buddy. Now try to lift that statue over there," Jiraiya instructs without looking up from his book.

Naruto walks over to the statue and tries to lift the statue. After a few tries, the young fox can lift the statue.

"Oh my! The boy did it. Would you look at that," Shima says in admiration.

"Yes, he is. Now he must do the same without the oil," Fukasaku says.

"Without he oil?"

"Naruto, you will be incorporating senjutsu in your fights. You need to learn to use senjutsu when you do not have access to the oil. Come, sit down and let's try it,"

Naruto sits next to Fukasaku in the same sitting style as before. Trying to control his breathing, Naruto tries to feel the natural energy around him.

After another two hours, passes and Naruto is unable to feel the energy. Fukasaku smacks Naruto when he begins to turn into a toad.

"Ouch… that really hurts,"

"You need to focus,"

"I know, but this is a lot harder without the oil. Can't I just take some with me?"

"No, you dumby. The oil will evaporate as soon as you leave the mountain. Here. Come with me. I know the perfect place for you to train,"

Everyone follows Fukasaku to a scared part of the mountain.

"Ah, it's been so long since I've been here," Jiraiya sighs with his hands on his hips.

"What do you want me to do here?"

"This will help you find your center of balance and get a better sense of control. You will sit on one of the pointed mountains and use that as your focus. Here," The elder toad picks up a stone slab and hands it to him. "This will be perfect for you to sit on,"

Naruto grabs the slab and follows Fukasaku to the top of one of the pointed mountains. He placed the slab on the tip and sat down. He had a hard time trying to stay on the slab ad almost fell off a few times.

"You need to find your center of gravity. It will help you stay still,"

"I'm trying,"

After a while, Naruto is finally able to sit still on the slab and focus. Naruto took a few deep breathes and began to focus.

Hours passed. Naruto still had not mastered the senjutsu without the oil.

"Would you like to take a break?" Fukasaku asks with a sigh.

"No. I don't have time for breaks. I need to do this," Naruto answers without opening his eyes.

"Alright then. Continue," Fukasaku sighs.

Naruto tries to control his breathing and open his mind. After a while, Naruto can feel the energy surrounding him and flowing through his center. A few minutes later, the orange hue appears around his eyes again. Naruto opens his eyes to reveal orange irises and horizontal, rectangle black pupils.

Jiraiya stands up and claps his hands. "Well done, kid. We are proud of you,"

Naruto looks around with his new vision. "Wow, so this is how it feels to become one with nature?"

"Yes. It is a powerful feeling. Now, it's time to learn your last step of your training. Let's go shower and have a talk,"

"Here, I brought you some tea," Jiraiya says as he sits down across from his student.

"Thanks," Naruto nods as he accepts the cup. "So, what did you want to talk about?'

"I see your fourth tail grew in,"

"Yeah. It happened while I was showering," Naruto laughs while scratching the back of his head.

"Hm." Jiraiya takes a sip of his tea and puts the cup down. "Naruto, I know that this new power is exciting and hard to handle. I would like to be the first to congratulate you on how far you've come. But, you need to know the dangers of Sage Mode," Jiraiya leans his head back to finish off his tea. "The main thing to remember is that Sage Mode can't be used for too long. Five minutes is the most you can go. However, just like in training, you can only activate it by staying still. So, once you enter battle, you can't activate it, got it?"

Naruto nods. "But, if that's the case, then what is the point of teaching me this?"

"Sage Mode is a powerful skill to master. With you mastering it, you will have an easier time fighting tougher opponents. However, it will be difficult, especially when you do not have any comrades to assist you. If this every happens, then you need to get away far enough to gather the natural energy needed to activate it,"

"How can I do that? If I am fighting an opponent, how can I be still long enough to activate it?"

"There are ways to get around that. What I have done in the past is summon Fukasaku and Shima and had them fused to my shoulders. While I fight, they gather the energy I need. Or, since you like to use shadow clones, you can use one in the distance to gather the energy while you fight,"

"But, I thought you said shadow clones couldn't help me,"

"During training, no. You yourself, needed to go through the training. However, when you master Sage Mode, then you can use a clone as a substitute to gather the energy and dismiss it when you can enter Sage Mode,"

"Oh. That's convenient,"

Jiraiya nods. "There are other ways to enter Sage Mode, but once you are in it, you will gain great advantages to even the playing field when you face a more experienced ninja. Another con to enter Sage Mode is that, while fighting you can't replenish your energy, so it will drain quickly. However, if you continuously practice Sage Mode, then the time to recharge it will decrease. But, with you being a Jinchūriki, you might be able to increase some aspects of Sage Mode,"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not quite sure. I've never heard of a Jinchūriki entering Sage Mode. So, I hope you are ready to be a guinea pig,"

"Sure. So, is there anything else we need to do here?" Naruto asks while finishing the last of his tea.

"Nope, but I know you have to be tired. Why don't we rest up before leaving for the village,"

"Yeah. It's about a month journey back,"

"Naw, this time we're just gonna teleport there instead,"

"Oh, I see. Good. Then we'll be there in no time. It just sucks that we couldn't have just teleported there in the first place,"

"Actually, we could have been here sooner if we'd used the short cut,"

"The short cut?! There's a short cut?! Why didn't you tell me?! Why didn't we take it?!" Naruto yells.

"Because I wanted you to know the path. All who train here needs to know the path. As I have told you before, if you don't know the way, then you will get lost. I know you're trying to get some little Uchiha-Uzumakis running around. What if you want to bring one of your kids here to train and I'm not around. How do you think you'll get here?"

"The short cut," Naruto answers sarcastically.

"Actually, you can't,"

"What do you mean?"

"The short cut I was referring to is called Reverse Summoning Jutsu. To put it simple, as long as you have a contract with one of the toads here, then you can be summoned her instead. However, this is only ever used if the toads have an emergency or if they were asked," Jiraiya explains.

Naruto leans back, smacks his face, and groans. "You know I hate you sometimes. But, I guess it makes sense. Alright then, I'm fuckin tired. Let's get some rest so we can leave in the morning.

Night passed, and the morning sun begins to rise. Exhausted from his training, Naruto slept for at least twelve hours. Once they got up, both gathered their belongings and went to say goodbye to the toads.

"Are you two leaving already?" Shima asks.

"Yeah, we have to get going. I wanna get back before Grandma Tsunade leaves for the Kage Meeting,"

"Oh, Tsunade is still around? How is she doing by the way?" Fukasaku asks.

"She's good. Still her violent self," Jiraiya chuckles with his arms crossing over his chest.

"I hope you're keeping her young, Jiraiya," Shima says, giggling behind her head. "These two always had a special relationship since they were young. It's nice to see the two of you stay in contact,"

"It's hard not to. She Hokage now,"

"Well, good for her. Some responsibility is always good for you. Well Naruto, it was very nice to meet you. You are a strong ninja with a strong sense of determination. Remember you ninja creed and summon us whenever you need us, honey,"

"Yes, we are excited to hear the Tales of Naruto Uzumaki. And from the training we did today, I don't expect any less from you. Please, feel free to drop by anytime," Fukasaku says with a gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you. I will," Naruto nods.

"We're off!" Jiraiya announces before he unfolds the teleportation scroll.

Jiraiya performs some hand signs and slams his hand to the paper. Naruto waves goodbye as they disappear from the toads' sight.

They appear in the Teleportation Room in the Hokage Tower.

"Ah, it feels good to be back home again,"

"We've only been gone for about a day," Jiraiya chuckles.

"So. I've been training and traveling so much. I don't feel like I ever get a chance to sit down and relax a little," At that same moment, Team 8, Kakashi, and Neji opens the door. "Like right now. What's up guys!"

"Naruto? You're back already? We just heard you left for training. How was it?" Neji asks.

"It was great. I learned the art of Sage Mode and even gained a fourth tail, see?"

Naruto turns around to show all four tails swishing around his back side. Everyone gasps at the sight.

"You never cease to amaze me Naruto. I still can't get over you growing more than one tail," Kiba says.

"Don't worry. I'm still not use to it," Naruto chuckles while scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're actually on our way to the Kage Meeting. Lady Tsunade and Lord Danzo left for the meeting already. We were supposed to e their escort, but we had got back from a mission late," Hinata explains.

"Kakashi-sense, what are you doing with them?"

"I'm filling in for Kurenai. So, for right now, I am Team 8's leader,"

"What about you Neji? Why are you tagging along?"

"Lord Gaara invited me to come see him a while ago, but I've been busy with missions. So, I figure that this would be a great time to take some time for a visit,"

"Hn. I'm surprised Bushy Brow and Guy-sensei aren't trying to convince you into another mission," Naruto chuckles.

"Hey, don't jinx me. Guy-sensei and Lee are busy with some tasks and their youth power around the village. Someone put a bug in Lady Tsunade's ear about them over working Tenten and me,"

"Hn. I see. Alright, I guess we're all going to the meeting then?"

"You're attending too, Naruto? So, you must've heard the topic of their meeting" Shino asks.

"No. Grandma Tsunade didn't mention to me what the meeting was about," Everyone looks at each other nervously. "What's the matter?"

Everyone remained silent for a while. It isn't until the second time Naruto asks that Hinata speaks.

"The meeting… is about Sasuke…"

"Sasuke? What do you mean it's about Sasuke?"

"Calm down Naruto. It's going to be ok. The Kage are meeting to discuss the action needed to be taken against both his affiliation with the Akatsuki and the Akatsuki and themselves. It is something that needs to happen," Kakashi informs.

"Then we have to hurry. There's no time to lose,"

"Naruto, you can't be so brash about this. This is a meeting that needs to happen. I know you want Sasuke back, but he has committed crimes against our nation and joined a S-ranked nin group. I don't think you will be able to convince them otherwise," Jiraiya says with a hand on his pupil's shoulder.

"I have to try. Sasuke is just lost. He needs help. He isn't thinking straight. Please, I just need to convince them to keep him alive until I can try and reason with him. Please, I know that I can do this,"

Jiraiya looks at Naruto for a few moments before giving a sigh. "Alright, go. I will handle things here while you guys head to the meeting. Just, stay out of trouble, ok?"

Naruto nods his head. "I will,"

Jiraiya moves to exit the room but stops besides Kakashi.

"What over him," he whispers in the wolf's ear.

Kakashi nods before his group enters the room. The silver wolf gets everything ready for the teleportation. Thinking of nothing else, Naruto kept his focus on saving Sasuke. Kakashi activated the Teleportation Jutsu and everyone stood still as they are being teleported. Naruto's heart races. Small beads of sweat drip down his forehead and the tip if his nose. He is nervous. His mind races with every idea he could think of to save Sasuke. He did not know what Sasuke is thinking or what he is doing. All Naruto knows is that he needs to save Sasuke, before it is too late.

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TO BE CONTINUED…