The magical inheritance of the three Summoning Holy Land Masters—Mount Myōboku's Great Toad Sage, Ryūchi Cave's White Snake Sage, and Shikkotsu Forest's Slug Sage—grants the ability to absorb the natural energy of the world and merge it with one's own chakra to form a new, powerful energy known as Sage Chakra, or Senjutsu Chakra.
Activating Sage Mode allows the user to increase their physical strength, sensory perception, and ninjutsu power several-fold—sometimes even over ten times—depending on mastery and compatibility. It is, frankly, like a cheat code in the shinobi world.
However, despite its overwhelming power, mastering Sage Mode is exceedingly difficult. One must first possess a massive chakra reserve as the foundation—like Naruto Uzumaki, who had the Nine-Tails sealed within him—and then develop the ability to perceive and absorb ambient natural energy.
Furthermore, one must achieve a perfectly balanced mental and physical state. If the natural energy overwhelms chakra control even slightly, it causes the user to petrify into stone—a fate Jiraiya narrowly avoided due to imperfect mastery and the help of two elder toads channeling energy on his behalf.
Yet, for Uchiha Yue, these once-insurmountable challenges posed little threat.
First, in terms of chakra reserves—Yue had undergone full integration with Hashirama Senju's cells. Though his Sage Body wasn't perfectly evolved, it had reached a profound stage. His chakra was on par with that of a bijū, rivaling even the Nine-Tails in raw volume.
Second, when it came to sensing and absorbing natural energy, Yue had the overwhelming advantage of incorporating Jūgo's unique kekkei genkai—an innate Sage Body that passively absorbed nature energy. It rendered the usual concentration and danger unnecessary. Natural energy rushed into his body as if it recognized a host.
Lastly, the challenge of a tranquil, balanced state of mind was eliminated altogether by Yue's unique "Virtual 02" Illusion Domain. Within this inner world of mental clarity and stability, he could freely experiment with natural energy in a simulated, consequence-free environment, leaving no risk of imbalance or petrification.
As a result, it took Yue only ten minutes to extract and refine Sage Chakra for the first time.
"So this is Senjutsu Chakra? It feels far denser than standard chakra… no wonder Sage Mode enhances all physical and ninjutsu abilities so dramatically."
Feeling the Sage Chakra coursing through his tenketsu, his body visibly empowered and enriched, Uchiha Yue couldn't help but speak aloud, even though he had mentally prepared for the moment.
"Wood Style: Nativity of a World of Trees."
Unable to contain his excitement, Yue quickly formed a hand seal and pressed his palm to a solid wooden table nearby.
In the next moment, branches erupted from the table's surface, blossoming vibrant green leaves in a matter of seconds—imbued with vitality and vigor far exceeding ordinary Wood Release techniques.
"As expected. With the support of Senjutsu Chakra, the life force in my Wood Release is exponentially greater—while not quite at Hashirama's level during his prime, it's certainly approaching it."
Watching the sapling he created blossom, Yue's gaze grew sharper, alight with intensity and pride.
Over the past few days, Yue had extensively studied Wood Release techniques using the accelerated time and experimental freedom of the Illusion Domain. Thanks to scrolls stolen from Danzo's archives and a partial copy of the Scroll of Seals, his knowledge base had become as vast as it was advanced.
Yet despite these resources, his earlier Wood Release techniques lacked something—perhaps due to his Sage Body not being fully awakened. They far surpassed Yamato's results, but still paled compared to Hashirama's legendary feats.
But now, after merging Jūgo's cells, his physical resilience and chakra assimilation capacity had grown significantly. His Sage Body had clearly taken a step toward completion.
With the addition of freshly extracted Sage Chakra, his Wood Release finally underwent qualitative change—it had evolved to a new tier.
"Indeed… Jūgo's passive natural energy absorption is a perfect complement to Hashirama's Sage Body. With just the right training method to refine Senjutsu Chakra, one could maintain Sage Mode indefinitely. This is revolutionary."
Returning his focus to the state of Sage Mode itself, Yue marveled at the way natural energy continued to pour into him, converting into Sage Chakra nearly on its own.
In reality, even ordinary chakra, when refined, naturally dissipates over time within the body if not immediately used. This is why shinobi must constantly perform chakra refining—extracting more from physical and spiritual energy to replenish their reserves. For skilled shinobi, this process becomes as instinctive as breathing, repeated subconsciously until physical or mental exhaustion is reached.
Kakashi, for example, once died temporarily in the original timeline after overexerting himself while fighting Pain. He had drawn on too much chakra, faster than his body could replenish, leading to collapse.
Senjutsu Chakra functions similarly in principle—but with the added complication of natural energy as a third component. Normally, it requires total focus to safely blend natural energy with one's internal chakra to prevent petrification. That's why Naruto had to sit perfectly still atop Mount Myōboku during training, using oil to help sense energy flow.
However, with Jūgo's Sage Body, natural energy absorption occurs instinctively. It flows into the user's body on its own, like oxygen, without deliberate control. Thus, once one understands the method of refining it into usable Sage Chakra, the process becomes automatic—just like breathing.
"Permanent Sage Mode… it's actually possible now. I've truly become a sage!"
Yue's eyes glowed with exhilaration as he felt his body constantly generate fresh Sage Chakra. Moreover, he began to notice something else peculiar.
"The dissipation rate of this chakra… it's far slower than that of regular chakra. And wait—some of it is being reabsorbed? Is my body getting stronger just by passively cycling Sage Chakra?"
He furrowed his brow, focusing inward.
Indeed, when ordinary chakra dissipates, a small amount can be reabsorbed, creating a feedback loop that slows physical fatigue. But this minimal effect is generally negligible and has no noticeable impact on bodily enhancement.
However, when this loop involves Sage Chakra—which includes potent natural energy—the reabsorption becomes transformative. It means the body is slowly digesting and assimilating small amounts of nature energy.
"I recall that the three great sages—Fukasaku the Toad Sage, the White Snake Sage, and Katsuyu—are said to be ancient beings. But if they were just regular summons, their natural lifespan would be limited."
"Yet all three have lived for centuries, even millennia. The only logical explanation is their connection to natural energy… their bodies have likely adapted to absorb and be nourished by it constantly."
"And now… if my body is absorbing even trace amounts of natural energy this way… could my lifespan also be extended in the same way?"
Dozens of thoughts surged through Yue's mind as he connected the dots. The sensation in his body now, compared with the legends of the sages, revealed a hidden truth: the secret to their immortality wasn't just chakra mastery, but a perpetual, natural energy-based evolution.
He had taken his first steps into that realm.
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