Chapter 373: Sage Training
Thanks to the boost from Sage Chakra, Naruto's physical strength had also increased significantly.
His power was now comparable to a ninja who had opened the fifth of the Eight Gates.
Speed, strength, and sensory perception.
Sage Mode truly lived up to the title of "Sage." It elevated Naruto's strength by several levels—like he had stepped into an entirely different dimension of power.
"Not bad, not bad."
Inside the interstitial space, Li Yao was very pleased with the strength of Sage Chakra, continuing to follow alongside Naruto and analyze the energy in his body.
While Li Yao marveled at Naruto's speed, the others were also stunned by his explosive power.
But after the shock passed, all that remained was joy.
"With guys like these, we don't need Konoha's Hokage to lift a finger. Granny Tsunade, just step back and sip some tea."
Naruto's eyes were calm as he stared at Tendō Pain. Behind the calm was not only fury, but also unshakable confidence—he was going to defeat Pain.
"Naruto…"
Tsunade looked at Naruto's back, slightly dazed. For a moment, she saw the figures of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya in him.
Both of them had always been symbols of security and reliability in everyone's hearts.
Now, Naruto gave Tsunade that same sense of trust and reassurance.
"Amazing!"
"Did Naruto just defeat one of the Pains with a single punch?!"
On the crater's edge, a member of the Hyūga Clan used the Byakugan to relay what was happening to the others. Upon hearing that Naruto had taken down a Path of Pain so easily, the despair weighing on the crowd finally lifted. Hope began to spread. Everyone started cheering him on.
"Go, Naruto!"
"You've gotta beat Pain!"
Their voices echoed along the crater's edge. Though distant, Naruto's heightened senses allowed him to hear them clearly. That encouragement flowed through him like a wave of power, putting both his body and spirit in peak condition.
But before the fight began in earnest, he had a question—something he needed an answer to before he could give his all.
"Granny Tsunade, maybe this isn't the best time to ask…"
"Thanks to Sage Mode, I can now sense everyone's chakra."
Naruto's voice was low. Though he hadn't spoken the question yet, Tsunade already knew what he was going to say.
"Kakashi-sensei… Iruka-sensei… They're out on a mission, right?"
Naruto asked in a tone that betrayed his fear. He knew the answer, but still held on to a sliver of hope.
"…"
Tsunade stayed silent. Not just Kakashi—many of Naruto's close friends were dead. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.
After a few moments, Naruto quietly said, "I understand."
Images of Kakashi and the others flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath. Now that he knew, there was no turning back.
Let's do this.
Naruto looked straight at Tendō Pain and shouted, "Let's go, Gamakichi! Get Granny Tsunade out of here!"
Poof!
Gamakichi grabbed Tsunade and leapt away, leaving only a small slug clone on Naruto's shoulder to help explain the Six Paths' abilities.
Tendō Pain watched them leave without interfering.
"Pain!" Naruto took a step forward, eyes fierce as he locked on to Tendō. "Let's settle this now!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Naruto charged forward.
The battle between Naruto and the Six Paths of Pain erupted.
Li Yao made the Paths pretend they were low on chakra, holding Tendō back and letting the other five attack first.
Without Tendō, the Six Paths were clearly at a disadvantage against Sage Naruto. Still, thanks to the Rinnegan's shared vision, they were able to hold their ground—barely.
At one point, Li Yao also revealed that "he" was one of Jiraiya's former students.
Naruto, being somewhat biased, only showed sympathy because of that connection. If Li Yao hadn't claimed to be Jiraiya's student, Naruto would've treated him like any other Akatsuki and refused to entertain any talk of "understanding."
From there, the battle began to mirror the original story.
Except Li Yao, controlling Tendō Pain, was even more verbose than Nagato—spouting peace ideologies while attacking, trying to talk Naruto into submission.
But the current Naruto wasn't buying it. Li Yao's words only made him angrier.
As Naruto fought the Six Paths…
Li Yao's real body had already left Konoha, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to a desert in the Land of Wind.
He had fully analyzed the properties of Naruto's Sage Chakra. Now it was time to form his own.
Unlike other chakra types…
Even though Li Yao understood all the property changes of Sage Chakra, he still needed to absorb natural energy to create it.
Poof!
To be safe, he used a shadow clone to test first.
He and the clone dropped into the desert and created a metal platform for a stable surface.
Absorbing natural energy required a calm and steady environment.
The soft sand could disrupt that stillness, making it easy to fail—especially when forming Sage Chakra, which required full concentration.
The clone sat down cross-legged and began focusing on drawing in natural energy. Li Yao stood beside him, observing carefully.
He had already determined the exact proportions of the three energies needed to form Myōboku-style Sage Chakra.
The clone carefully began absorbing natural energy.
Poof!
White smoke exploded.
The clone failed.
Li Yao frowned briefly, then relaxed and created another clone.
Although he knew the correct ratio of energy needed, it was still difficult to control the precise amount of natural energy to absorb.
Li Yao's control over natural energy wasn't much better than Naruto's.
The last clone had simply absorbed too much, disrupting the balance and destroying the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Using the experience from that attempt, the next clone absorbed slightly less.
Poof!
It exploded again.
This time, it didn't absorb enough—so it couldn't fuse the three energies and form Sage Chakra. That unbalanced energy broke the jutsu.
Poof!
Another clone.
And again.
Poof!
Still not right. The absorption was either too little or too much.
Compared to Li Yao's perfect control over physical and spiritual energy, natural energy was like a slippery eel—difficult to grasp with precision.
Still, Li Yao had one undeniable advantage over other Sage trainees:
As long as he succeeded once, he could ensure every subsequent attempt was perfect.
That's the gift of his absolute control over his spiritual state.
No need for endless practice—one success would be enough to master it forever.
Poof!
Another clone exploded.
But Li Yao remained calm and created another.
The attempts continued.
(END CHAPTER)
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