I nodded at the new understanding and couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. "Can we begin?" I asked, glancing at Fukasaku, Lord Fukasaku. He nodded, positioning himself behind me, "I'll be standing here if you make any mistake, but for now you can begin," he replied.
Closing my eyes, I focused on sensing the Natural Energy around me. Mount Myoboku was alive with it. Each element told its own story: Fire was burning, Water was flowing, Wind was blowing, Earth was stable like a rock, and Lightning was chaotic. But what I needed was balance, the perfect harmony between my own energies and the Natural Energy.
Slowly, I started absorbing it, feeling its raw power. The trick was to maintain the balance. Too much, and I'd be overwhelmed; too little, and Sage Mode would slip away. As the energy flowed into me, it began to merge with my chakra, transforming me bit by bit.
Suddenly, the energy surged, threatening to disrupt everything. Fukasaku quickly tapped me with his staff, jolting me back to my senses. "Careful there, lad! You don't want to turn into a frog statue, do ya?" he warned
I felt a grin spread across my face, brushing off the incident. "It's all good, gramps. I've got this." I sat back in my cross-legged position, closing my eyes again. "I don't need help anymore."
"Hm? If you try to absorb it recklessly again, you'll definitely end up as a statue," Fukasaku warned, watching me closely.
"It's fine," I replied confidently. "I just needed to understand the flow. Now I know, I can focus on finding the perfect balance. I'll experiment with how much can enter my body now that I know what the chakra is like inside me."
In my mind, I ran through a series of mental simulations:
'Test 1... 33.3% Spiritual Energy, 33.3% Physical Energy, 33.3% Natural Energy. Failed.'
'Test 2... Failed...!'
'Test 7... Failed...!'
'Test 15... Failed.'
'Test 19... Failed...!'
'Test 28... Failed...!'
'Test 78... Failed.'
'Test 120... Failed...'
'Test 132... 33.3/33.3/33.3 Success.'
I sighed inwardly, realizing that the first test was already correct. The key was in the composition. Physical Energy and Spiritual Energy should flow normally, while Natural Energy should circulate around them, not merge but balance.
I finally opened my eyes and looked at Lord Fukasaku. "What do you think?" I asked him.
"It's amazing! Not only did you manage to absorb the chakra, but you also balanced the natural energy with your physical and spiritual energy perfectly in under an hour. I've never seen anyone do that so quickly," Lord Fukasaku replied with astonishment.
"I'll take that as a compliment, so thank you. But what should I do next? What's my next goal?" I inquired, eager to continue.
"You won't feel much different right now because your sense of chakra and energy was already quite strong, so the changes might not be noticeable. However, you might feel a difference in your physical energy," he explained. "Now, try lifting that statue I lifted earlier," he said, pointing to a large statue.
"I guess I can give it a shot, but I've never really lifted anything heavy before. Most of my techniques are ninjutsus and for fighting. Although, I can lift a decent amount of weight usually," I admitted.
"Okay, so you're saying you can't lift the statue normally, right?" he asked for confirmation.
"Yeah, that's what I said!" I confirmed.
"Then try it with sage mode," he instructed. I nodded and walked over to the statue. As I tried to lift it, I could feel the extra energy surging through me thanks to sage mode.
After some effort, I finally managed to lift the toad statue just like Lord Fukasaku had done. I even balanced it and carried it in one hand after a while.
"That's great, Naruto! You're doing really well!" Gamakichi cheered.
"Yes, you did well," Lord Fukasaku agreed as I carefully put the statue back in its place and walked over to him.
"Good job. Now, let's take a break and have some lunch. After that, we'll focus on you fully mastering sage mode. If everything goes well, I believe you'll be able to master it in less than two days, maybe even sooner," he said with encouragement.
"Okay!" I said
[A. N: Thanks for reading, drop Powerstones that will help a lot and drop reviews if you like the story and add to your library]