Jiraiya accepted the scroll Shinju handed him, his attitude a mix of curiosity and skepticism.
What new insight on Senjutsu (Sage Arts) could a boy barely in his teens possibly have?
Training in Senjutsu relied on talent, willpower, and the rare chance to sign a contract with Mount Myoboku. It was a realm that could be felt but not easily put into words, a kind of "state of mind" where one melded with nature. If there was no one to assist during Sennin Modo (Sage Mode) training, it was incredibly easy to turn into a toad statue.
The greater the power one sought, the higher the corresponding risk. High risk, high reward—that was an unchanging principle.
He had trained for decades, failing countless times, before he barely managed to grasp an imperfect Sennin Modo. In the end he could summon the two elder toads, but his own transformation remained flawed—his body didn't fully change, only the area around his eyes took on toad-like features.
Jiraiya followed Minato into the Namikaze family study. Minato invited him to sit. Jiraiya unrolled the scroll, letting his gaze fall on the contents.
The casual look on his face froze in the next second.
There were no obscure classical passages. No mysterious, artistic diagrams hinting at elusive "states of mind."
Instead, the entire scroll was covered in intricate, never-before-seen charts and graphs, plus a wealth of clearly labeled technical terms. It completely overturned everything he knew about training.
A single thought flashed through Jiraiya's mind.
Had Shinju actually created all of this himself?
[Fundamental Analysis of Natural Energy Composition]
[Model for Measuring the Fusion Threshold Between Human Chakra and Natural Energy at a 2.5:1 Ratio]
[Correlation Curve Between Mental Energy Stability and Risk of Toadification]
[Senjutsu Chakra Safe-Conversion Flowchart V1.0]
Jiraiya's head buzzed.
He recognized every individual word, but strung together like this, they formed a system of knowledge completely foreign to him.
He had been practicing Senjutsu for decades. His experience was rich; if anyone had the right to speak on this topic, it was him.
In his understanding, training in Senjutsu and sensing natural energy were vague, almost mystical processes that depended heavily on talent and luck.
Yet in this scroll, Senjutsu had been broken down into formulas that could be calculated and analyzed, then assembled into a step-by-step, optimizable procedure.
It overturned everything he thought he knew about ninjutsu.
Shinju poured him a cup of tea to ease the tension.
"Jiraiya-sama, the training method used by Mount Myoboku is, at its core, a kind of 'empiricism'—a trial-and-error approach full of uncertainty and danger.
"Whether a person succeeds depends entirely on their natural talent, what you might call their 'affinity for natural energy.' The success rate is extremely low. The price of failure is turning into stone or a toad."
Jiraiya couldn't refute that.
What Shinju said was simply the truth. Over the years, countless people who had tried to learn Senjutsu had ended up as lifeless statues scattered around Mount Myoboku.
"What I've done," Shinju continued, "is only to convert that 'experience' into a kind of 'science' that anyone can understand and learn.
"Senjutsu isn't a miracle. It's simply a more advanced way of using energy."
Jiraiya's gaze locked onto one of the diagrams on the scroll. It was a detailed meridian map of the human body, with three different colored lines marking three distinct energy flows.
Blue for physical energy.
Red for mental energy.
Green for natural energy.
Shinju lightly tapped the chart with his finger.
"The greatest difficulty in traditional Senjutsu training lies in balancing these three energies—mental, physical, and natural. The user has to remain absolutely still, carefully draw natural energy into their body, then attempt to fuse all three in a one-to-one-to-one ratio.
"This process is like walking a tightrope. The slightest mistake causes the balance to collapse. If natural energy exceeds the limit, it devours the user, resulting in toadification."
Without realizing it, Jiraiya found himself leaning forward. He was completely absorbed now. Shinju was describing the core problem at the heart of Senjutsu training.
"But what if," Shinju's tone shifted slightly, "we approached it from a different angle? Why insist on having all three energies reach perfect balance at the same time?"
He pointed to the red line representing mental energy.
"What if we first extended our mental energy outward, to 'mark' and 'assimilate' the natural energy we want to absorb—stamping it with our own imprint and making it gentle, compliant?
"Then, and only then, we guide this 'tamed' natural energy into the body and fuse it with our physical energy.
"In this way, the riskiest part—the balancing act—gets split into two safer, more controllable steps."
He paused for a moment, then went on.
"In theory, this could greatly increase the success rate. If we quantify it, you can think of it as going from less than ten percent… to over eighty percent."
Jiraiya's brain nearly short-circuited.
Quantifiable? And the success rate could be increased by more than seventy percent?
He had never heard of anything like this. It was completely unprecedented.
Mental energy leading and assimilating first?
He had never heard such a concept. Neither Fukasaku nor Shima had ever mentioned it.
What was this supposed to be? Did such a thing really exist? Jiraiya couldn't help doubting it in his heart.
"As for how to 'mark' it," Shinju continued, "you need to use a special mental fluctuation frequency. I've written it down for you. If you don't believe it—or want to test it—you can try it yourself."
Almost involuntarily, Jiraiya looked down at the scroll again. There, in meticulous detail, was a complex method for sensing and releasing chakra.
Still harboring doubts, he closed his eyes.
Following the steps written on the scroll, he tried to adjust his mental energy according to the described method and process.
He didn't draw in any natural energy. He simply spread his perception outward, using that entirely new frequency.
In the next moment, Jiraiya's eyes snapped open.
It really worked.
He was completely stunned. This was something he had personally verified.
To his astonishment, the natural energy in the air around him—the invisible force that usually required all his focus and effort just to barely touch—now felt closer and more docile than ever before.
It was no longer a wild, unruly power. It felt like a flock of sheep waiting for their shepherd, actively moving toward his awareness.
This feeling…
Jiraiya shot to his feet.
His movement was so sudden that he knocked his chair over backward.
He stared at Shinju as if looking at some kind of monster—though in a sense, that might not even be wrong.
"You… just what are you…"
Decades of bitter training, experience, and entrenched beliefs shattered in that instant, along with his entire worldview.
He finally understood why Minato and Kushina could so "easily" teach Naruto to control the Kyubi's power, and why Naruto could make Gamabunta submit so effortlessly.
Behind all those seemingly unreasonable things was a perfectly reasonable cause.
Within Naruto's own home lived someone who truly transcended every ninja's understanding.
He stood above everyone else not just through sheer power, but through sheer intellect. His level of comprehension didn't just surpass his peers—it surpassed this entire era.
It was no exaggeration to say that even fifty years from now, very few people's thinking would reach this depth.
Jiraiya stared at the scroll on the table, his eyes burning with intensity. He knew exactly how valuable it was. It was no less precious than a book of seals recording every S-rank forbidden jutsu in existence.
No—its value was even greater.
It represented a path to a higher realm, a completely new road.
Jiraiya carefully rolled the scroll back up and bowed deeply to Shinju.
"Shinju-dono… I, Jiraiya… have been taught."
In that moment, the legendary Sannin, the Toad Sage of Konoha, laid down all of his pride and became a humble seeker of the Way.
(End of Chapter)
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