"Stacking Sage Modes? That's impossible!"
Fukasaku and Shima immediately rejected Chinatsu's idea without even thinking. Their mouths hung open in disbelief.
Chinatsu didn't argue.
Instead, she calmly continued drawing in natural energy.
One Sage Art.
Then another.
Finally...
She began merging them.
To Fukasaku and Shima, the very concept was absurd. Not because someone had tried and failed—but because no one had ever mastered two different Sage Arts in the first place.
Yet now...
Someone who had mastered both stood right before them.
Chinatsu had never believed in declaring something impossible before even trying.
If you convinced yourself you couldn't succeed before taking the first step...
Then success would never come.
Rather than overthinking it...
She chose action.
The enormous amount of natural energy she absorbed was divided into two streams.
One followed the circulation method of Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art.
The other followed Mount Myōboku Sage Art.
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged worried looks.
Trying to stop her was impossible.
Running to ask the Great Toad Sage for advice would take too long.
If something went wrong before they returned...
The consequences would be unimaginable.
After discussing it silently with their eyes, the two elders stayed beside Chinatsu, carefully monitoring the Mount Myōboku Sage Chakra and preparing to stabilize it if necessary.
Meanwhile...
Chinatsu's consciousness descended into her spiritual world.
Kaguya quietly watched from inside her cage.
High above Chinatsu floated an enormous sphere of natural energy.
With both hands raised, Chinatsu manipulated the massive energy with perfect concentration.
The scene resembled Naruto forcefully drawing out Kurama's chakra years ago.
Taking a deep breath...
She split the giant mass into two.
Each half transformed into a different type of Sage Chakra before she slowly guided them toward one another.
Outside...
Strange markings spread across Chinatsu's face.
The elegant lines of Shikkotsu Forest overlapped with the patterns of Mount Myōboku, creating a chaotic appearance.
Yet...
Nothing exploded.
Nothing collapsed.
To Fukasaku and Shima's astonishment, the Mount Myōboku Sage Chakra remained perfectly stable.
"...This..."
"...This is unbelievable."
Even so, Chinatsu refused to rush.
She slowed every step to its absolute limit.
Every tiny fluctuation...
Every change...
Every interaction...
She memorized them all.
Experience accumulated little by little.
Inside the spiritual world...
Kaguya simply watched in silence.
She offered no encouragement.
She didn't need to.
The girl before her had already decided to challenge fate itself.
Someone willing to become the true guardian of an entire world...
Would never fail at the first obstacle.
Finally...
The two masses of Sage Chakra completed their fusion.
The divided energies became one.
A single, enormous sphere floated above Chinatsu.
"...First step complete."
She slowly lowered her hands.
The giant sphere descended from the sky...
Until it completely enveloped her spiritual body.
Outside...
The Sage markings on her face disappeared instantly.
At that exact moment...
Far outside the mushroom house...
Naruto and Sasuke suddenly froze.
"...Did you feel that?"
Naruto's expression changed.
"...Yeah."
Sasuke frowned.
"...No."
"I didn't."
The brothers stared at one another.
Cold sweat rolled down their backs.
What disappeared...
Wasn't chakra.
It was something stranger.
Their sister's presence.
Ever since Chinatsu became Kaguya's Jinchūriki, her existence had become overwhelming.
Especially after their own Otsutsuki bloodlines awakened...
Both brothers had become extraordinarily sensitive to her aura.
Yet now...
They couldn't sense her at all.
Without another word, the two disappeared.
"Sorry!"
Naruto hurriedly apologized to the toads before racing away with Sasuke.
Less than a minute later—
BANG!
Sasuke kicked open the mushroom house door.
Fukasaku and Shima nearly jumped into the air.
"Sister!"
"Sister!"
Ignoring everything else, Naruto and Sasuke rushed inside.
Only after seeing Chinatsu sitting peacefully on the floor did they finally breathe again.
Even so...
Their expressions remained tense.
Even standing right beside her...
They still couldn't feel her existence.
"What happened?"
Naruto asked immediately.
Fukasaku sighed.
"Miss Chinatsu is attempting to combine two different Sage Arts."
"We don't know how far she's progressed."
"We're simply observing."
Naruto and Sasuke finally understood.
Their sister had mentioned the experiment before.
They simply hadn't expected something this dramatic.
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sorry about the door."
"My sister will fix it with Wood Release later."
Fukasaku waved his hand.
"A broken door isn't important."
"What matters..."
He stared at Chinatsu.
"...is witnessing history."
No one spoke again.
Minutes passed.
Then half an hour.
Then one hour.
Chinatsu remained completely motionless.
Her heartbeat was steady.
Her breathing calm.
Yet her existence remained impossible to perceive.
Then...
Without warning...
She slowly opened her eyes.
"...Phew."
"Sister!"
Naruto and Sasuke immediately rushed over.
Chinatsu smiled faintly.
Under the newly fused Sage Mode, only a few delicate markings remained around her eyes.
Rather than strange patterns...
They looked more like elegant makeup.
Her aura...
Still couldn't be detected.
Yet Chinatsu herself could clearly feel it.
Something had changed.
She couldn't describe it.
It wasn't simply stronger chakra.
It wasn't greater physical power.
It felt...
Higher.
As though she had stepped beyond the limits of ordinary life and touched something fundamentally different.
"...Interesting."
She slowly clenched her fist.
The increase in raw strength wasn't dramatic.
But her connection to the world itself...
Had deepened.
The experiment had proven one thing.
Her theory was correct.
If two Sage Arts could merge...
Then three could as well.
Her next destination...
Ryūchi Cave.
The final Sage Art awaited her there.
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