"Heave-ho!"
To give the two young people their first impression of Sage Arts, Fukasaki Sennin decided to give a small demonstration.
It stood its ground and formed a hand seal in front of its chest.
The next moment, a flow of invisible energy began to converge toward its small body. However, no Chakra mantle-like glow appeared on Fukasaki Sennin.
Then it went to a frog stone statue nearby that was over six meters tall and looked like it had been carved from a single piece of rock.
Fukasaki Sennin extended its two small forelimbs and pressed them against the base of the statue.
With a light shout, that solid stone frog statue, which weighed at least three or four tons, was actually lifted off the ground by its body, which was no larger than an adult's head and weighed at most twenty catties! And it held it over its head!
Fukasaki Sennin quickly put it down, but it was exhausted and panting, with fine beads of sweat seeping from its forehead.
This scene made Uchiha Satsuki, who had been watching calmly the whole time, unable to help but show a look of surprise.
You have to know, Fukasaki Sennin is not the type of Ninja who specializes in Taijutsu and is known for strength like Might Guy or Rock Lee; in fact, its true form is just a small Summoning Beast.
The physical enhancement brought by just initially mobilizing Natural Energy is this terrifying? And this is just a simple demonstration of strength; if it were used for Ninjutsu...
"This is one of the enhancements you can gain after merging with nature." Fukasaki Sennin caught its breath and wiped its sweat with its webbed foot. "Then, let's start with the most basic perception of Natural Energy. Although using Toad Oil directly might be a bit like 'pulling up seedlings to help them grow' for beginners, since you, little Naruto, were able to accidentally summon the Great Toad Sage, surely this level of difficulty won't stump you, right?"
"You flatter me," Naruto said, his attitude still humble, but his eyes ignited with an eager light. "However, I would like to try it immediately."
"Hmm, come here." Fukasaki Sennin turned around, hopped to the waterfall flowing with thick, brownish liquid, and dipped a fingertip into it.
"This is the ancestral 'Toad Oil' of Mount Myōboku." It explained, "It possesses the special effect of attracting Natural Energy. As long as you apply it to your body, it will allow the Natural Energy from the outside world to be attracted to your body."
"However, using it might have some'side effects,' so don't get too excited or rush for success. If too much uncontrollable Natural Energy is introduced into your body, some frog characteristics might appear."
"But don't worry, once such signs appear, I will immediately take action to help you expel the excess Natural Energy. We will repeat this process until your body gradually adapts and learns to control them."
When Uchiha Satsuki, who was standing behind, heard the words 'frog characteristics,' the surprise on her face was instantly replaced by a hint of panic.
She was not afraid of hardship, nor did she fear the difficulties of cultivation, but the prospect of 'turning into a frog' was truly a bit of a shock for a young girl in the prime of her youth who was not entirely indifferent to her own appearance.
She subconsciously took half a step forward, seemingly wanting to speak up to stop it, her eyes filled with worry about the potential risks.
Naruto noticed her unease, turned his head, and gave her a look that said not to worry.
Naruto walked up to Fukasaki Sennin as instructed and extended his right hand. Fukasaki Sennin used its webbed forelimb coated with Toad Oil to carefully apply a layer to the back of Naruto's hand.
The touch was peculiar—cool and slightly sticky.
A slight tingling sensation, like a tiny electric current passing through, immediately came from the area where it was applied. Naruto could clearly feel that the skin on the back of his hand seemed to have 'come alive,' and his perception of some invisible existence in the outside world became exceptionally sharp—that must be the 'Natural Energy' Fukasaki Sennin spoke of.
Then, he held his breath and focused, waiting for the impact that might follow as Natural Energy surged into his body.
Ten seconds passed... Twenty seconds passed... One minute passed...
Apart from that continuous, gentle tingling sensation and a clearer perception of the energy flow in the outside world, there were no other changes on the back of his hand.
There was no expected flood of energy, and there was not the slightest sign of his body 'frog-ifying.'
Naruto felt a bit awkward and looked up at Fukasaki Sennin, who also looked confused. "Um... Fukasaki Sennin, what should I do next? It seems... I don't feel anything special?"
"What?!"
Fukasaki Sennin's frog face was full of disbelief. According to common sense, after applying Toad Oil, a beginner's body would immediately absorb Natural Energy crazily like a sponge and would soon show obvious frog characteristics due to energy overload, requiring it to intervene to 'detoxify,' thus repeatedly tempering their control. But now...?
Could it be that his Physique is special, and he is completely unable to absorb Natural Energy? Fukasaki Sennin's heart sank; if that were the case, it would mean Naruto was completely fated never to learn Sage Arts.
It immediately extended its webbed forelimb, grabbed Naruto's arm, closed its eyes, and probed into Naruto's body with its full Sage Art sensory ability.
It didn't know until it probed, but upon doing so, Fukasaki Sennin was completely stunned!
In its perception, the inside of Naruto's body was not empty; it was already filled with a vast, heart-palpitating, lake-like mass of viscous energy—it was highly concentrated Natural Energy!
Moreover, this energy was not static; it was continuously being absorbed from the outside world through his skin and breathing with stable and astonishing efficiency!
It wasn't that he couldn't absorb it! On the contrary, the efficiency and upper limit of his absorption and capacity were so high that it was inconceivable!
The bit of Natural Energy introduced after applying the Toad Oil was, for Naruto's body—which had long been'soaked through' by massive amounts of Natural Energy and was self-replenishing efficiently every moment—simply like a single drop of water in the vast ocean. It couldn't stir up any waves at all, let alone trigger the'side effects' of energy overload!
Fukasaki Sennin slowly withdrew its webbed forelimb, opened its eyes, and looked at Naruto with a completely different expression, filled with extreme shock and excitement.
After all, it was younger than the Great Toad Sage and had never seen the Six Paths Sage in person. But the terrifying talent displayed by the blond youth before it—an almost 'natural affinity' with Natural Energy, a body seemingly born to carry Sage Arts... in all its long life, it had never heard of such a thing!
It wasn't that the cultivation steps were wrong, but that it had encountered a true 'Genius,' one that was likely unique in the history of Sage Art cultivation!
"So that's how it is... Good grief, that little Jiraiya guy, I'll have to give him a piece of my mind when I go back. Isn't this wasting time? He came way too late!"
Fukasaki Sennin muttered to itself. It seemed the gentle guidance method was ineffective for this gifted child; it would have to use some'strong medicine.'
It turned around, facing the waterfall continuously flowing with brownish Toad Oil and the oil pool that had gathered below.
"Little Naruto, let's try a different method next." Fukasaki Sennin's voice was quite serious. "Jump in directly and soak your entire body in this Toad Oil pool. I'm afraid... this is the method that suits you and can truly unleash your potential."
"What?! Soak my whole body in it? Won't that be dangerous?!"
Before Naruto could respond, Uchiha Satsuki, who was at his side, couldn't help but exclaim out loud, her face filled with worry.
If it was just partial application, the risk might be controllable, but full-body immersion... what if Naruto really turned into a frog instantly?
Satsuki's thoughts even spiraled out of control—she would have to prepare a sufficiently comfortable and exquisite cage in advance...
"Little Satsuki, no need to worry too much." Fukasaki Sennin turned to look at her. "I will be guarding right here. As long as there is any sign of uncontrolled frog-ification in little Naruto's body, I will immediately disperse all the excess Natural Energy within him, I promise."
Hearing Fukasaki Sennin's promise, Naruto took a deep breath. Although he felt a trace of trepidation, he suppressed his unease. He stepped forward, reached the edge of the oil pool, and then— "Plop!"
With a muffled sound, he leaped into the viscous Toad Oil pool.
Instantly, an indescribable sensation enveloped his entire body. The cold, sticky feeling quickly penetrated his skin through his clothes. Soon, the oil-soaked clothes clung heavily to his body. Naruto thought to himself that these clothes were likely completely ruined.
What was even stronger was the tingling sensation. If the previous application on the back of his hand was like being gently licked by a cat's tongue, with a bit of itchiness and stimulation.
Then now, the feeling of full-body immersion... although it's a bit strange to describe it this way, it felt like being stuffed into a constantly squirming room made of countless tiger tongues!
The pervasive tingling, itchiness, and the strange sensation of some energy trying to burrow into his pores caused all the muscles in his body to tighten involuntarily.
Fukasaki Sennin gazed intently at Naruto in the oil pool, its expression grave. According to common sense, if an ordinary person jumped into the Toad Oil pool, they would likely be completely frog-ified within three seconds due to the crazy influx of Natural Energy.
But at this moment, Naruto, except for his expression being slightly stiff due to discomfort, still had no change on the surface of his body; not even his skin color had changed.
Time passed second by second.
...About ten minutes passed.
Naruto had been trying hard to adapt to and endure the increasingly intense, strange sensation throughout his body. The initial tingling gradually became somewhat numb, and his bodily perception had been dulled by being'soaked' in this viscous energy.
But just at this moment, a subtle change finally appeared—he felt his fingers seemingly wanting to curl and uncurl involuntarily, and a slight pulling sensation came from his knuckles.
Finally, like a lake that was already nearly overflowing, after opening all the floodgates and letting the mountain-torrent-like Natural Energy pour in crazily, the 'Natural Energy reserve pool' inside Naruto reached a critical point for the first time—it was full.
The body's self-protection mechanism was instantly triggered.
Deep within Naruto's consciousness, some instinct was activated.
Immediately afterward, without him even fully realizing it, a faint, imperceptible gleam of non-Natural Energy suddenly began to circulate on its own in his right eye.
On the shore, Fukasaki Sennin and Satsuki, who had been focused the whole time, simultaneously noticed this subtle change. Fukasaki Sennin immediately raised the special black rod it had kept prepared at its side, ready to intervene and 'detoxify' at any moment.
However, the expected acceleration of frog-ification did not occur.
The almost imperceptible texture resembling frog skin and the signs of eye swelling that had just begun to appear on Naruto's face quickly vanished, returning to normal.
The next moment, under the astonished gaze of Fukasaki Sennin and Satsuki, a bright blue energy origami crane 'precipitated' from somewhere on Naruto's body submerged in the oil pool, slowly floated up into the air, and then turned into specks of flowing light, dissipating into nothingness.
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