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"Of course not!"
The Nine-Tailed's voice suddenly rang out in Naruto's mind, speaking with disdain: "The Tailed Beast Chakra Mode is the manifestation of the Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beast mutually recognizing each other, combining their powers into one. There are no risks involved. It's much stronger and safer than Sage Mode, which requires taking immense risks to absorb Natural energy."
"So, Big Fox, you also know about Sage Ninjutsu?"
Naruto currently had no understanding of Sage Ninjutsu at all, so after hearing the Nine-Tailed's words, he immediately asked curiously, "But what are the risks of absorbing Natural energy?"
"You'll be assimilated by nature."
It was Minato Namikaze who answered this question. His voice replaced the Nine-Tailed's as he explained to Naruto, "Natural energy is different from a ninja's own Chakra; it's inherently difficult to tame. Furthermore, the generation of Sage Chakra requires a perfect balance between the Natural energy absorbed into the body and one's own mental and physical energy. If the ratio is off, one's body will be devoured by Natural energy, becoming a part of nature."
"The Frog Sage Ninjutsu of Mount Myōboku requires the aid of frog oil for better training, but if you fail, you'll turn into a frog statue."
"I also trained in Sage Ninjutsu with Jiraiya Sensei at Mount Myōboku, but I didn't have much talent for it. I almost turned into a frog several times, haha!~"
Minato Namikaze couldn't help but laugh as he spoke of his experiences training in Sage Ninjutsu.
Although Sage Mode is powerful, its drawbacks are very obvious.
First, to learn Sage Ninjutsu, one must possess an enormous amount of Chakra, as those with less Chakra are easily devoured by Natural energy. This alone means the threshold for Sage Ninjutsu training excludes most people.
Secondly, even for those with immense Chakra, training Sage Ninjutsu still carries risks. If devoured by Natural energy during training, the body will become part of nature.
In comparison, the Tailed Beast Chakra Mode is much simpler. It only requires the Tailed Beast's recognition to be used without any risk—well, the difficulty of gaining a Tailed Beast's recognition might, in some ways, be harder than training Sage Ninjutsu.
"Become a part of nature?"
Naruto's expression immediately turned strange upon hearing Minato Namikaze's words. Then he asked, "Dad, in my situation, if I train in Sage Ninjutsu, do I not need to worry about being assimilated by nature?"
After Naruto ate the Devil Fruit, his body could already elementalize, which was already considered "a part of nature."
Given that, wouldn't the risks of training Sage Ninjutsu be non-existent for him?
"This—"
Minato Namikaze's knowledge of Devil Fruit was limited, so he couldn't easily answer whether the Devil Fruit's ability would affect Sage Ninjutsu training. After some thought, he said, "With your talent, Naruto, even if the Devil Fruit's ability does affect Sage Ninjutsu training, you probably don't need to worry about the risks of training Sage Ninjutsu."
Minato Namikaze believed in his son's talent and felt that as long as Naruto wanted to train in Sage Ninjutsu, even if the Devil Fruit's ability had a negative impact, it would absolutely not hinder him. Moreover, Naruto's Chakra reserves, far exceeding those of ordinary people, were an inherent advantage in Sage Ninjutsu training.
"Hehe!~"
Naruto chuckled awkwardly upon hearing Minato Namikaze's words, then said, "Then, Dad, can you teach me how to train in Sage Ninjutsu?"
Naruto himself was clear about his own situation. Apart from his Chakra, most of his strength came from system rewards and had nothing to do with talent.
However, since it involved the system, Naruto couldn't explain, so he could only reluctantly accept his father's praise.
But as for the so-called Sage Ninjutsu, Naruto was indeed confident he could learn it.
"Of course."
Minato Namikaze naturally wouldn't refuse Naruto's request, and then said, "However, I learned the Sage Ninjutsu of Mount Myōboku, which requires the use of frog oil from Mount Myōboku as an aid. Speaking of which, did Jiraiya Sensei not have you sign a summoning contract with Mount Myōboku?"
When Naruto and Jiraiya met, Minato Namikaze's Chakra, sealed within Naruto's body, had not yet awakened, so he didn't know the initial interactions between Naruto and Jiraiya. Naturally, he also didn't know that Naruto had refused Jiraiya's offer.
"Hmm, he did, but I refused," Naruto replied.
"Refused?"
Minato Namikaze couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why did you refuse?"
"Because I don't like frogs," Naruto answered without hesitation.
Naruto didn't say that the Nine-Tailed made him refuse Jiraiya's offer to sign a summoning contract with Mount Myōboku, as he didn't want his parents to have any opinions about the Nine-Tailed because of it. Besides, he genuinely didn't like frogs much.
Inside the sealing space—
The Nine-Tailed heard Minato Namikaze's question and was about to speak up and say that it was the one who made Naruto refuse, but it didn't expect Naruto to take responsibility for the decision himself.
This immediately made the Nine-Tailed's mood lighten.
"Oh, right!"
Naruto didn't know the Nine-Tailed's thoughts. Just mentioning summoning contracts, he suddenly thought of a question, then asked Minato Namikaze, "Dad, if I were to sign a summoning contract with some creature in Yamato's world, would I be able to summon her to our world?"
"I don't know, but you can try," Minato Namikaze's answer was encouraging. He could guess Naruto's intention behind the question, which was probably to try and summon the girl named Yamato to their world.
However, he had never attempted cross-dimensional summoning himself, so he couldn't be sure if it would work.
But trying it wouldn't pose any danger, and both he and Uzumaki Kushina would be happy to see it happen.
"Mm!"
Naruto's heart was eager to try upon hearing Minato Namikaze's encouragement, and he decided in his mind that he would definitely try it next time he went to that world.
If it succeeded, he would be able to invite Yamato and his other friends to play in his world.
"Brat, do you want to learn Sage Ninjutsu?"
Tsunade's voice pulled Naruto back from his inner world. She looked at him with a mischievous smile and asked, "If you want to learn, I can teach you!~"
"You?"
Naruto was first stunned when he heard Tsunade's words, then looked at her with a face full of doubt.
His gaze clearly questioned her.
"Brat, what kind of look is that?!"
Tsunade was furious at Naruto's questioning gaze, then said irritably, "Although I don't know why Jiraiya didn't teach you Sage Ninjutsu, compared to Jiraiya's Mount Myōboku Frog Sage Ninjutsu, the Sage Ninjutsu here is easier to learn, and the risks are also smaller."
"Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Ninjutsu?"
Naruto couldn't help but ask curiously upon hearing Tsunade's words, "Granny Tsunade, are there many types of Sage Ninjutsu?"
Naruto had heard Minato Namikaze say that he and Jiraiya trained in Mount Myōboku's Frog Sage Ninjutsu, while Tsunade spoke of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Ninjutsu. The two were clearly different, suggesting multiple inheritances.
"It's not about types, but rather different inheritances and training methods."
Tsunade explained, "The essence of Sage Ninjutsu is the Sage Chakra produced by combining Natural energy with physical and spiritual energy, but the Sage Ninjutsu inherited from different places, due to different training methods, face different risks. The Sage Ninjutsu inherited from the Sage of Shikkotsu Forest is the least risky of all Sage Ninjutsu."
Currently, in the entire Ninja World, there are only three known places with Sage Ninjutsu inheritance: the Great Toad Sage's Mount Myōboku, the White Snake Sage's Ryūchi Cave, and the Slug Sage's Shikkotsu Forest. Even the Six Paths Sage from a thousand years ago learned the Frog Sage Ninjutsu inherited from Mount Myōboku.
Different Sage Ninjutsu, due to differences in training methods, also carry different risks.
The Frog Sage Ninjutsu of Mount Myōboku has the risk of turning into a frog statue upon failure. The Snake Sage Ninjutsu of Ryūchi Cave has the risk of becoming the White Snake Sage's meal upon failure.
Only the Sage Ninjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest, with the Slug Sage's protection, carries no risk even if training fails.
This is also why Tsunade felt at ease leaving young Karin alone in Shikkotsu Forest to train in Sage Ninjutsu.
"I see."
Naruto nodded slightly after hearing Tsunade's explanation, then asked, "Then what are the conditions for learning Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Ninjutsu from you?"
Naruto had heard his father say that training Mount Myōboku's Frog Sage Ninjutsu required frog oil as an aid. He assumed Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Ninjutsu also had conditions, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Tsunade's sudden enthusiasm hinted at something more.
"Very simple!"
Tsunade immediately replied, "You just need to sign a summoning contract with the Slug Sage."
"Uh!~"
Naruto shook his head upon hearing the condition Tsunade proposed, saying regretfully, "Sorry, I can't agree to that condition."
"Why?"
Tsunade was puzzled.
"You haven't signed with Mount Myōboku, have you?"
"Mm."
Naruto nodded, then explained, "Jiraiya Sensei once asked me to sign a summoning contract with the frogs of Mount Myōboku, and I refused, because my summoning contract is reserved for a very important companion."
"A very important companion?"
Tsunade didn't press further. She simply nodded and said, "That's fine. Even if you don't sign a contract, I can go talk to the Slug Sage and ask her to teach you. There shouldn't be any problem."
"Then that's no problem. Thank you, Tsunade Sensei!~"
Naruto agreed immediately.
However, Naruto still felt her eagerness was strange, so he asked Minato in his mind.
Minato quickly explained.
Naruto was stunned—then proud.
"Then can I learn from her?"
"Of course."
"No need to thank me."
Tsunade waved her hand, then said, "But since you've agreed to learn, shouldn't you change how you address me?"
"Then—Tsunade Sensei?"
"Haha!~"
Tsunade was clearly pleased.
"I'll accept you as my disciple."
"Thank you, Tsunade Sensei."
Naruto accepted smoothly.
"I said no need to thank me."
Tsunade formed a hand seal. "I'll take you to Shikkotsu Forest now."
"Wait, Tsunade Sensei."
Naruto stopped her.
"Before that… we have something else to do."
Masked Man… it's time for you to die!