Chapter 74: Shikkotsu Forest, Sage Chakra Great PerfectionAfter the Ōtsutsuki trio heard Naruto's words, the smiles on their faces instantly vanished, replaced entirely by fear. Among them, Kinshiki even pleaded, "Brother, why don't you struggle a little more?"Naruto himself admitted that he had been gambling, but as soon as Kinshiki spoke, Narutoknew he had won the bet. He became even more emboldened, actually shifting his body to lie down in a more comfortable position.Now, helpless expressions appeared on the faces of the Ōtsutsuki trio. The space around them fluctuated again, but to Naruto's surprise, before they vanished, they actually let out a very human-like sigh.However, before he could think too much about it, he was also swept into the spatial vortex, losing consciousness once again and falling into endless darkness.Outside, his body underwent changes once again. The Sage Pool emitted a mournful cry, and then, a massive amount of highly pure Sage Chakrasurged madly into his body, causing the concentration of the entire Sage Pool to drop rapidly.Sasuke, standing to the side, was incredibly shocked. He could feel that the amount of Sage Chakra within Naruto's body at this moment was more than double his own."Can the gap between Sage Chakra perfection and great achievement really be this large?" Sasukethought to himself. At the same time, he felt some annoyance; he had been far too careless. As soon as he saw Itachi, his reason was instantly overtaken by hatred, and he hadn't noticed so many openings.When Naruto regained consciousness, the familiar scene was before him again. He was still soaking in the Sage Pool, naked, while Sasuke had already put on his clothes and was looking at him from the shore with concern.At this moment, Naruto couldn't quite distinguish between illusion and reality. He tentatively asked, "Am I... back in reality?"This question stunned Sasuke, who didn't know how to answer him. Sage Katsuyu, from the side, said, "You have returned, and congratulations, you have cultivated the Sage Chakra here to Great Perfection."But it was clear that Naruto didn't quite believe its words, so he continued to ask, "Then how can you prove that this isn't an illusion, and that you aren't lying to me?"Sage Katsuyu seemed troubled after hearing Naruto's question. It moved its little antennae and replied, "Uh, come to think of it, I don't seem to have any way to prove it."Upon hearing its words, Naruto actually breathed a sigh of relief. He was basically certain that he had passed the hurdle of his inner demons.He leaped onto the shore, then quickly ran around the Sage Pool a few times to shake off the water before picking up his clothes and putting them on.Once dressed, he approached Sage Katsuyu, bowed respectfully, and said, "Sage Katsuyu, since we have finished our training, I must trouble you to send us back. Thank you for taking care of us for so long."Sage Katsuyu asked, "That is a small matter, but... will the things that happened in your second illusion... really come to pass?"Naruto realized then that the other party had actually been able to see what he experienced in the illusions. Thinking of the absurd things he had done in his first trial of the inner demons, his face flushed, and he nodded quite shyly.After receiving his affirmative answer, and before Sage Katsuyu could speak, Sasuke leaned in first and asked curiously, "Naruto, what were your inner demons! Tell me quickly."Just kidding—how could Naruto possibly tell Sasuke about those things? So, he began racking his brain, thinking about what he could say to change the subject.Surprisingly, in a critical moment, Naruto's little brain was quite sharp. He actually thought of something, so he stepped forward and asked, "Sage Katsuyu, when I was breaking through the second illusion, I discovered that the people who should have been virtual let out human-like wails at the very last moment. What is going on? Did I feel wrong?"Sage Katsuyu replied, "Oh? You even noticed that? You really are an observant child!""My Sage Pool has a history of thousands of years, and the concentration of Sage Chakra within it is unimaginable. That is the reason why you two were able to cultivate so quickly.""Over these years, the Sage Pool has gradually developed sentience, forming a spirit. The inner demon illusions you encountered were all constructed by it.""And when you broke through your inner demons and cultivated Sage Chakra to Great Perfection, you absorbed a massive amount of Sage Chakrafrom this pool. This all had to be extracted from its body, which is why it let out that mournful cry.""Xiaobao, come out and meet them!"As soon as Sage Katsuyu's voice fell, a ghost-like thing emerged from the Sage Pool. Its entire body was milky white, only about twenty centimeters tall. Its limbs seemed not fully developed, just a little ball of flesh, looking much like a baby a few months old, and it actually looked quite cute.As soon as it came out, one could clearly feel that it wasn't very friendly toward Naruto and Sasuke. Especially toward Naruto—when Xiaobao passed by his side, it even made a face at him to show its dissatisfaction.Afterward, with a crying tone, Xiaobao threw itself into Sage Katsuyu's arms with a look of grievance. Sage Katsuyu comforted it, "Alright, alright, don't cry. I know you're aggrieved. The Chakra you lost will recover after some time."Who knew that Sage Katsuyu's persuasion didn't have any effect? Xiaobao was like a child who had been bullied and whose parent wasn't doing anything about it; its crying only grew louder.Seeing this scene, Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Uh, I have now cultivated Sage Chakra to perfection. Now it's just like ordinary Chakra; as long as there is enough time, I can cultivate it continuously.""How about this! I'll return all the Sage Chakra in my body to you now, okay? In this way, it can be considered a form of compensation for you."Upon hearing Naruto's words, Xiaobao immediately became happy, looking at Sage Katsuyu with a face full of anticipation, hoping it would agree.After Sage Katsuyu nodded, Xiaobao finally stopped crying, and a smile reappeared on its face. It flew quickly toward Naruto.However, when it reached Naruto, Xiaobao slowed down. It stopped in front of Naruto, looking at him with suspicion, seemingly worried about whether what Naruto said was true.At this moment, while a kind and sunny smile appeared on Naruto's face, he also raised his right hand toward Xiaobao.
