Makoto stopped controlling the output of his chakra, and the Rasengan in his hand dispersed with the wind.
"Minato-senpai, do you still want to continue?"
Minato showed a helpless smile. "Well, let's stop here. Fighting you feels like sparring with my own Shadow Clone. Now I understand just how troublesome it is to fight someone who knows the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"Of course it's troublesome. Those who can't beat you can't escape, and those who can beat you can't keep you. No matter what, it's a loss. That's why there used to be an unspoken rule—if you encountered the Yellow Flash, abandoning the mission wouldn't be punished."
"Hahaha, that was years ago." Minato laughed brightly, then sighed with emotion. "Makoto, your growth has truly exceeded everyone's expectations. To think you could already apply the Flying Thunder God Technique in real combat… In terms of strength, you've already surpassed us seniors. Thinking about it really makes one emotional."
On that point, Makoto agreed.
If the Kage-level tiers in the ninja world were divided as fans in his previous life did—ordinary Kage, elite Kage, and Super Kage—then he had already passed elite Kage and was moving toward super Kage, approaching the level of Hashirama and Madara.
Against someone like Minato—who had extraordinary reflexes and possessed a bug-level space-time ninjutsu—he actually had a simple countermeasure: don't give him even a moment to activate his technique. Stick to him with relentless attacks and drag him down.
When it came to endurance, how could an ordinary human possibly outlast his constant Sage Mode?
Sorry—having a massive chakra reserve really does let you do whatever you want.
But although Makoto wasn't a saint, he was someone who understood gratitude. Toward these seniors who had sincerely taught him, he still held respect.
One shouldn't get arrogant. Humility was still necessary.
"Minato-senpai, you flatter me. After all, this was just a spar. You still have many techniques you didn't use."
"Aren't you the same?"
At that moment, seeing the two of them stop, the spectators ran over.
Genma looked dissatisfied. "That's it? I feel like I watched something, yet saw nothing at all."
Yugao nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, yeah! You didn't even decide a winner."
Makoto put on a stern face and lectured his troublemaking companions: "Yugao, sparring should stop at the right point. We can't start infighting. That wouldn't be good."
Minato nodded. "Makoto is right."
The two exchanged a smile.
There was no way they would decide a winner—that was a mutual understanding.
Kushina said, "Since you're done, let's head home. The sun's already setting."
Minato turned serious. "Kushina, you and the others go back first. I have something I want to discuss with Makoto."
"Don't take too long. Come back early for dinner."
...
The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving behind its final trace of light struggling at the edge of the sky.
Everyone had already left. Even the Kakashi squad secretly on duty had gone with Kushina.
Minato closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings, confirming no one was nearby before saying, "Makoto, you check as well."
Makoto did so, confirming that only the two of them remained. "Minato-senpai, why so mysterious? Is there some confidential mission you want to entrust to me?"
"Not exactly. Makoto, what I'm about to ask may involve your personal secrets. This is just my own curiosity. If you don't want to answer, you can refuse."
"No problem!"
Makoto already had a guess.
As expected, Minato asked, "Makoto, do you know about natural energy?"
"Natural energy? What's that?"
Of course he knew—but at his current age, he shouldn't. There were no explicit records of such things in Konoha's public books or scrolls, not even in the library.
Natural energy and Sage Mode were known only to a small portion of Konoha's top echelon. The information was strictly classified.
The upper levels of the other four great ninja villages knew a little, but very little.
After all, the three great sage inheritances of the ninja world were all in Konoha. That was what you called true foundation.
Konoha sealed information about natural energy for a simple reason—it was too dangerous.
If ordinary ninja learned of it and tried to sense or train in it, failure would be one thing. But if they somehow succeeded, it would be no different from suicide.
They'd be reporting to the Pure Land on the spot.
Minato explained, "Makoto, you know this—chakra used by ninja is formed by combining physical energy and spiritual energy. But beyond that, there exists another type of energy in nature—something ninja normally can't utilize or even perceive. That is natural energy."
Makoto silently complained: Not just one type—there are many kinds, all sorts of colors.
"If it can't be sensed or used, then what difference does it make to us whether it exists or not?"
"No. Not everyone is unable to use it. A very small number of ninja, through training, can fuse natural energy into their chakra, forming senjutsu chakra. At that point, the ninja enters a state called Sage Mode."
"Sage Mode… sounds pretty powerful."
"It is. Wait a moment."
After saying that, Minato closed his eyes and began sensing natural energy.
Unlike the original timeline, he hadn't died during the Nine-Tails attack. After temporarily stepping away from Hokage duties, aside from taking care of his family, he had frequently gone to Mount Myōboku to train over the past year.
Now, he could already enter Sage Mode.
After a while, Makoto sensed a large amount of natural energy gathering into Minato's body, merging with his chakra.
Orange eye shadow appeared around Minato's eyes, just like Naruto in the original timeline. But his face showed no toad-like features—he still looked completely human.
It took him less time than a certain someone, and he didn't become ugly. With his already handsome face, the added markings only gave him a mysterious aura. Jiraiya would cry in the bathroom.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War of the original timeline, Minato could enter Sage Mode instantly—but back then he was in an Impure World Reincarnation state with infinite chakra, and had spent over a decade struggling inside the Shinigami's stomach alongside Yin Kurama. That couldn't be compared to his current human body.
After entering Sage Mode, Minato opened his eyes. His pupils had become like those of a toad.
This was Makoto's first time seeing someone other than himself enter Sage Mode.
"How incredible… even your chakra presence has changed. It's stronger than before. Minato-senpai, this is Sage Mode?"
"Yes, Makoto. This is the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, one of the three great sage regions where my summoning partners reside. At the moment, this is as far as I can go. I need some preparation time, and I can't maintain it for long in battle."
"One of the three great sage regions—Mount Myōboku. You mentioned it before. Later, Tsunade-sama even asked me whether I wanted to contract with Shikkotsu Forest. The last one is Ryūchi Cave, which Orochimaru-senpai contracted with, right?"
"That's right." Minato closed his eyes briefly to sense again, then opened them. "As expected, my earlier feeling when you fought the Fourth Raikage wasn't wrong."
"After that, I entered Sage Mode in the village to confirm it. Makoto, you can also use Sage Mode, right? That kind of chakra is unmistakable—it's completely different from ordinary ninja."
"Oh, you mean that? So I can use Sage Mode too?"
Minato: "…"
"But I don't have eye shadow."
Minato corrected him. "It doesn't have to be eye shadow. It could manifest elsewhere. Don't you have any changes at all?"
"Changes? Yes, Minato-senpai, I do."
Since Minato had already sensed his uniqueness, Makoto didn't bother hiding it. More importantly, he was now strong enough—he didn't need to conceal himself like before. He could live more freely.
Makoto removed his Konoha forehead protector, revealing the silver star-ring pattern on his forehead.
Minato looked at the small, mysterious symbol without surprise. "As expected, it's Sage Mode. Makoto, when did you enter it? Just before sparring with me?"
"No wonder—our Rasengan were the same, yet mine broke first. You were using senjutsu chakra. That explains it."
"Enter? I didn't enter anything. I'm like this every day."
Young junior, you saying that makes the effort I just put into entering Sage Mode look pretty stupid… I even thought I had surpassed Jiraiya-sensei.
"…" Minato fell silent, but quickly realized something. "Has it always been like this? But about a year ago, when you fought the Raikage, I clearly sensed your chakra change."
"Oh, that time? Back then, I couldn't do this yet. I had to actively absorb a bit of that 'comfortable air' around me."
"That's right—that's absorbing natural energy to enter Sage Mode. As for your current state… it seems you've fixed Sage Mode onto yourself. When did that start?"
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