"Something seems to have happened in Konoha Village."
Hinata's heart trembled.
"What's going on?!"
The Snail Sage's divided bodies, much like Pain's, shared a common field of vision. She immediately utilized this ability, and through the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, she shared the vision she had witnessed with Hinata.
Suddenly—
Scenes from Konoha Village flashed before Hinata's eyes.
"What is this…?"
Hinata covered her mouth in shock and held her breath.
"The leader of the Akatsuki has invaded Konoha."
Looking at the tragic battlefield and the ruined village, Hinata immediately made her decision.
"Snail Sage, I… I have to return immediately!"
"Although I don't approve of your decision, I understand how you feel…"
"I'll send you back using Katsuyu's reverse summoning technique."
"Yes. Thank you, Snail Sage!"
Shortly afterward, with a soft voice, Hinata decisively ended her Sage Mode training. Her figure then vanished from Shikkotsu Forest.
The Snail Sage sighed.
"You must be careful…"
"Little Hinata…"
…
Sasuke and Hinata quickly realized the profound changes brought about by Pain's invasion of Konoha and made their own decisions.
Hinata chose to return to Konoha to confront the enemy.
However, as soon as Sasuke heard the name Uchiha Itachi, he seemed to lose all reason. He immediately headed for the Hidden Mist Village, determined to fight his brother to the death.
Naruto knew nothing about this yet.
On Mount Myōboku, Naruto wasn't merely training intensely, repeatedly entering Sage Mode and silently testing the limits of his endurance.
He was also using the power of Dual Mind to force himself into two opposing states simultaneously—movement and stillness!
This kind of training would have driven anyone else to a mental breakdown.
Only Naruto, who had endured inhumane torture and hellish training, could barely withstand it.
Of course, after these days of intense training, his efforts inevitably began to bear fruit.
His mastery of Sage Mode had improved tremendously.
Previously, without relying on the Two-Life Technique Sage Art, Naruto could maintain Sage Mode for only five minutes while fighting alongside the two Sage Toads.
Now, he could maintain it by himself for fifteen minutes!
Fifteen minutes!
Although that might sound like a short period of time, in reality, there were almost no enemies who could withstand Naruto's terrifying explosive power for that long.
If this continued, Naruto might truly become someone beyond their reach.
Not only had the duration of Sage Mode tripled, but the time required to enter Sage Mode had also gradually decreased.
At first, it took him more than ten minutes.
Then, it was reduced to several minutes.
And now…
It took only thirty seconds for him to absorb enough natural energy, transform it, and enter Sage Mode!
It wasn't instantaneous, but it was already extremely close.
This alone was enough to astonish and bewilder the two Great Sages, Fukasaku and Shima.
Ultimately, this was a realm that even Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze had never reached.
They could enter Sage Mode within thirty seconds.
And Naruto could maintain it entirely by himself for fifteen minutes!
He was an absolute monster!
But…
Naruto wanted more than that.
Over the past few days, he had continued to improve himself. He constantly shortened and extended the time required to enter Sage Mode while practicing various Sage Arts from Mount Myōboku, such as Frog Kata.
At the same time, he was integrating Sage Mode into his Ninjutsu, increasing the range and power of all his techniques.
Most importantly…
Naruto was working on his ultimate killing move—the technique he truly wanted to complete.
Combining Sage Mode with Wind Release Chakra Mode!
Once he succeeded, all of his previous abilities would undergo a complete transformation and become vastly more powerful.
It would be nothing short of a rocket-like rise in strength!
As Tsunade had said, after completing his Sage Mode training this time, Naruto should become the strongest person in Konoha Village.
But even Tsunade had only been talking about Sage Mode.
She could never have imagined how powerful Naruto would become if he successfully combined Sage Mode with Wind Release Chakra Mode!
In his current state, Naruto could truly be said to be…
At the very peak!
In the original story, even after completing his Sage Mode training, Naruto had not truly surpassed Jiraiya, let alone defeated the Six Paths of Pain by himself.
Naruto's victory over the Six Paths of Pain had actually been the result of the combined efforts of the entire Konoha Village.
First, Pain's Deva Path had used Shinra Tensei on a massive scale and was unable to move for some time afterward. This meant that his strongest combat ability could not be brought into play during the early stages of the battle.
Furthermore, the massive Shinra Tensei not only temporarily prevented the Deva Path from moving, but also left the other Paths of Pain in a weakened state.
After all, when Nagato released such a powerful Shinra Tensei, he had drawn chakra from the other Paths, causing them all to collapse.
In other words, Naruto had been fighting the Six Paths of Pain when they were already severely weakened.
Second, Naruto had possessed an enormous amount of intelligence about Pain.
Jiraiya had discovered information through the shared vision of the Rinnegan.
The Preta Path's ability to absorb chakra and Ninjutsu.
The Human Path's ability to extract souls.
Kakashi's battle had also revealed information about the Deva Path's abilities, including Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in.
All of this information was invaluable.
The importance of intelligence in battle hardly needed to be explained.
And Naruto's eventual appearance on the battlefield came only after Konoha had gradually uncovered almost all of the important information about Pain.
Third, even Naruto's final battle was not fought alone.
He had the assistance of the two Great Sages of Mount Myōboku, who not only possessed extraordinary strength but also had practical experience fighting Pain.
He also had the support of the three Great Toads of Mount Myōboku—Gamabunta, Gamahiro, and Gamaken.
And yet…
Even after Pain had been severely weakened, Naruto possessed almost all the available intelligence about his abilities, and numerous allies had supported him, Naruto still had to repeatedly exploit the mechanics of Sage Mode to replenish his supply of natural energy.
Eventually, the Nine-Tails also broke free of his control.
Then there was Hinata's confession, Minato Namikaze's appearance, and a series of other factors.
Even with all of that…
Naruto could only barely defeat Pain.
In summary, the Naruto from the original story truly became a talented Kage-level ninja after completing his Sage Mode training.
However, it could not be said that he had truly surpassed Jiraiya.
Likewise, it could not be said that he had defeated Pain single-handedly.
If they had fought one-on-one, the Naruto of that time still would not have been able to defeat Pain.
But—
The Naruto of the present was completely different from the Naruto of the original story!
His original Wind Release Chakra Mode had already made him a Kage-level ninja.
Now, with the addition of his Sage Arts training on Mount Myōboku, he could already be considered the strongest ninja in Konoha, having surpassed even Tsunade and Jiraiya.
And the realm he was currently pursuing—
The fusion of Sage Mode and Wind Release Chakra Mode!
Once he succeeded, he would have enough power to stand above everyone else, dominate the entire Ninja World, and reach the true pinnacle.
This power could be summed up in four words:
The Strongest in the Ninja World!!!
Of course, that meant the strongest in the current Ninja World.
What were the Six Paths of Pain?
What was the perfect Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B?
Even the mysterious Uchiha Madara, secretly lurking in the shadows…
Or the mysterious masked man, Uchiha Obito…
None of them would be able to rival Naruto anymore!
However—
It was precisely because this power was so terrifying that successfully achieving it would naturally be much more difficult.
Naruto's talent in Sage Mode was unparalleled. His current proficiency had already surpassed ninety-five percent.
His mastery of techniques such as Frog Kata and Ninjutsu enhanced by Sage Mode had also reached an extremely high level.
However, the fusion of his two strongest modes was still far from complete.
After all, he needed to maintain Sage Mode while simultaneously maintaining both movement and stillness, all while precisely controlling the power of Wind Release Chakra!
This was no longer merely Dual Mind.
It meant performing several different tasks simultaneously!
In the dreams of the Great Sages Fukasaku and Shima, Naruto's body suddenly began to tremble slightly.
It even seemed as though faint phantom images were appearing around him.
Sage Shima instinctively frowned.
"What is this?!"
"What kind of training is little Naruto undergoing?"
Sage Fukasaku shook his head.
"I'm not entirely sure myself…"
"His progress in Sage Arts has been unbelievably fast. Little Jiraiya was already left far behind, yet he continues to push himself, reaching realms that none of his predecessors ever managed to reach…"
"He has also mastered most of the Sage Arts, including techniques such as Frog Kata."
"But he still doesn't seem satisfied. He's developing a power of his own…"
Shima stared at the trembling phantom images surrounding Naruto's body and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
"What kind of power is this…?"
"Even the training itself gives off such a frightening aura…"
Sage Fukasaku nodded.
"Yes. It seems that little Naruto is simultaneously absorbing natural energy and the power of the wind, integrating both within his body. It's almost as though…"
"He is completely transforming himself into natural energy…"
"And completely transforming himself into the wind itself!"
Shima was completely shocked.
"If that's really the case, wouldn't he be invincible?!"
Sage Fukasaku smiled slightly.
"Young Naruto's previous Wind Release Chakra Mode was already incredibly powerful. After his Sage Arts training on Mount Myōboku, he has become virtually unrivaled in the Ninja World. There are only a handful of ninjas who can compare with him."
"But now, it seems that he intends to combine Wind Release Chakra Mode with Sage Mode once again!"
"If he succeeds, it would indeed be natural to call him invincible!"
Shima exclaimed in admiration.
"Is this really a combination of Wind Release Chakra Mode and Sage Mode?"
"Controlling natural energy, including the power of the wind… It's terrifying just to imagine."
"With every movement, he would be able to sense the entire world and nature itself, effortlessly manipulate the energy of the Ninja World, create world-destroying storms, transform his hands into clouds, and with a simple wave, turn them into rain…"
Sage Fukasaku also nodded deeply.
"Actually…"
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