"It started on the night Naruto was born."
"Naruto's birth?" Minato thought for a moment. "Could it be related to the Nine-Tails?"
Makoto shook his head. "I don't know. That night, I just felt extremely comfortable while sleeping—more comfortable than ever before. Then the next morning, when I looked in the mirror, I realized this pattern on my forehead would never disappear again."
Minato looked at the silver star ring. "This pattern feels familiar. It's somewhat similar to Hashirama-sama's Sage Mode… but you don't have the eye markings."
"Hashirama? The First Hokage?" Makoto said in surprise. "Could he do the same as me?"
In the ninja world, everyone knew Senju Hashirama was terrifyingly powerful and revered as the God of Shinobi, but almost no one knew what his Sage Mode looked like—because he never needed to use it. In his normal state, he could crush everyone except Uchiha Madara.
Konoha's records had been left by Senju Tobirama. The "Konoha F4" and Tsunade had read them. Whether Jiraiya and Orochimaru had was uncertain. As the Fourth Hokage, Minato had naturally seen them.
"The pattern on your forehead is somewhat similar, but Hashirama-sama couldn't maintain that state constantly like you can, and the color is different."
"More importantly, it's unclear whether his Sage Mode came from the Shikkotsu Forest. The records don't say. Did you ever meet Tsunade when you were younger?"
"No. The first time I met her was at your place—you know that."
"Is that so? Then that's strange. Who taught you this method of training? They didn't even tell you it was natural energy. Didn't they know how dangerous it is?"
"No one taught me. I've known it since I was little. I just didn't realize until today that that 'comfortable air' was natural energy."
"You've known it since you were little?"
"Yes. The first time was when I refined chakra at the age of four. That night, when I went to sleep, I felt some kind of comfortable air around me. As long as I was willing, it would flow into my body."
At that moment, Minato felt discriminated against.
Natural energy was extremely dangerous and difficult for everyone—but for Makoto, it was practically throwing itself into his arms.
What kind of double standard is this?
Never seen a handsome guy before? I, Namikaze Minato, am handsome too, alright?
He even started to suspect that the sage mode he had learned might be fake.
At the same time, a long-standing question in his mind seemed to have found an answer. If confirmed, it would be a discovery of great significance for humanity.
Minato said excitedly, "Makoto, do you know? Right now, in the ninja world, only the two of us can use Sage Mode."
"Huh? Doesn't Jiraiya-sama know it?"
Minato looked a bit embarrassed. Speaking ill of his own teacher wasn't appropriate, but he still answered honestly: "Jiraiya-sensei… isn't very stable. He can't really be considered to have mastered Sage Mode yet."
That old pervert calls himself the Toad Sage all day long, but even years later, he still needs a long time to gather natural energy before using senjutsu—let alone now.
"I see. Then it really is just the two of us. So, Minato-senpai, do you have some idea?"
"Yes. I want to exchange information with you to verify a hypothesis of mine. But doing so would mean prying into your ninjutsu secrets. That goes against ninja rules—and against my ninja way."
"It's fine. Though I don't really understand much about this."
Makoto was curious—what kind of hypothesis could make Minato willing to break his own principles?
"I've only learned Sage Mode not long ago, so I don't know much either. To learn the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, the basic requirement is that your chakra reserves must be large enough."
"Then, during training at Mount Myōboku, with the help of toad oil, you absorb natural energy and mix it in equal proportions with physical and spiritual energy, forming senjutsu chakra. Only then can you be considered successful and enter Sage Mode."
"But the process is extremely dangerous. One mistake, and you fail—and the final result is death, with your body turning into a stone toad."
"That does sound dangerous. Good thing you succeeded, Minato-senpai. Otherwise, if Naruto went to Mount Myōboku in the future and saw you, he might wonder whether his father is even human."
"Hahaha, I got lucky and succeeded. I'm just curious—how does your Sage Mode differ from mine?"
"I don't really have a concept of Sage Mode. Ever since I discovered natural energy as a child, I've just been absorbing it into my body, and it's been like this ever since."
"No danger at all?"
"Not for me. If it feels uncomfortable, I can stop at any time."
"Is that so…" Minato analyzed this internally, verifying his hypothesis. "In that case, Makoto… perhaps the Sage Mode you've developed is actually the safest and most suitable for humans."
So his own Sage Mode really might be fake.
But Makoto immediately shattered that idea.
"It's not safe, Minato-senpai. It's only 'safe' for me."
"And for others?"
"At first, I wanted to share this training method with my teammates. But to be safe, I tested it on animals. Later, on the battlefield, I even tried it on enemies. Without exception, they all died."
"Of course… natural energy is never truly safe," Minato said after a moment of silence. "Even if it doesn't match my expectations, it still proves my hypothesis. Makoto—you are the special one."
"So what exactly is your hypothesis?"
"Makoto, ever since I came into contact with natural energy and Sage Mode, I've occasionally thought about something."
"There are three great Sage Regions in the ninja world: the toads of Mount Myōboku, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, and the snakes of Ryūchi Cave. They're all animals. The price of failure in Mount Myōboku's training is turning into a stone toad. The other two likely have similar outcomes."
"So I began to wonder—this clearly belongs to the unique senjutsu systems of those three Sage Regions. Then what about us ninja… or rather, humans? Do we have our own form of senjutsu?"
"I couldn't find the answer… until I met you."
Makoto was surprised. He hadn't expected Minato to think about something like this.
No wonder Jiraiya called him the most perfect ninja.
Look at Jiraiya himself—he probably never thought about this, or if he did, he didn't care, being too busy chasing the "Child of Prophecy" foretold by the Great Toad Sage.
"So, Minato-senpai, you think my Sage Mode belongs to a human senjutsu system?"
"Yes. It used to be just a guess. Now I'm more and more certain."
"Trusting your intuition? Or is there something supporting your hypothesis?"
Minato looked up at the starlit sky. "At Mount Myōboku, there is a Great Toad Sage said to have lived for over a thousand years. He is the source of their senjutsu and rules over all toads."
"Likewise, in Ryūchi Cave, there is the White Snake Sage, who rules over all snakes. Shikkotsu Forest is different—there is only one slug, the Slug Sage. These three are said to be beings of the same level."
"I haven't seen the true forms of the White Snake Sage or the Slug Sage, but I've met the Great Toad Sage more than once. And from you… I feel something similar to him—but also completely different."
"I see… but my Sage Mode can only be used by me. Others can't learn it."
"Makoto, how old are you? And how old are those sages? You just need time to grow. As long as you live, I feel that one day, you'll become the person I imagine."
Makoto hadn't expected Minato to think of him that way. Suddenly, his life felt extremely valuable.
If he had a bounty on the underground market, 35 million ryō definitely wouldn't match his level anymore—he'd need to switch to hundreds of millions.
"Looks like I need to protect my life carefully."
"Exactly. You mustn't die easily. With your sensory abilities, I'm sure no one can approach us unnoticed. So keep today's conversation a secret. I'll do the same."
"Don't worry. So far, you're the only one who's noticed I can use Sage Mode. Last time, when I fought the Four-Tails with Jiraiya-sama, he didn't notice anything unusual."
"Hahaha, my sensei… isn't exactly the sharpest when it comes to senjutsu."
Makoto then asked his final question: "Minato-senpai, you're contracted with Mount Myōboku, but you don't seem to fully stand on their side."
"I'm human. Of course I think from a human perspective—isn't that natural? Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest are relatively harmless—especially the Slug Sage, who never interferes with human affairs."
"But Ryūchi Cave is different. If you had seen what I've seen—giant snakes devouring humans—you would understand. To us humans… they will always be something other."
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