Chapter 75: Sage Mode!
"Aaaaah! Why can you eat so much?!"
In Konoha, at the Ichiraku Ramen shop, Naruto stared in disbelief at the towering stack of empty bowls in front of Kitagawa Gen.
Turning to the side, he saw Jiraiya wiping his mouth and completely lost it.
"Why are you here too, Pervy Sage?!"
"Tch, it’s just a few bowls of ramen. What’s the big deal?" Jiraiya shot Naruto a displeased glance. "Don’t forget, I trained both you and that Uchiha brat. What’s a few bowls of ramen between us?"
That night, they celebrated Gen’s promotion to Chūnin, and Naruto’s "heaven-defying" performance had left even the infamous super-perv Jiraiya impressed. Taking on an extra student didn’t bother him—in fact, he was happy to offer guidance.
He had taught both Naruto and Sasuke foundational techniques—simple but essential ones like tree climbing and water walking. Techniques that honed chakra control and were useful for a lifetime.
Sasuke had performed well; Naruto, not so much—but that was expected, considering the Nine-Tails sealed inside him was affecting his chakra flow.
Overall, both were passable. And Gen? He came with extra perks.
"Jiraiya-sama, did you finish your mission?" Gen timely interrupted, looking at him with a curious smile. "What’s the outcome?"
"Tch, don’t even ask. Total bust." Jiraiya sighed in frustration, shaking his head. "Checked a few places—completely empty. Waste of a trip."
"Wow, must be nice to have that kind of luck." Gen blinked innocently, letting out a staged sigh. "Not like me... my first time out and—"
"Oi, oi, are you saying I have bad luck now?" Jiraiya rolled his eyes, but then gave Gen a more serious look.
"I heard about what happened. You did well—reckless, but impressive."
"Hey! Are you two even listening to me?!" Naruto tried to cut in again, but his voice was completely drowned out.
"It wasn’t really reckless," Gen responded calmly. "The enemy was just that strong. And yeah... that technique has serious aftereffects."
But neither Jiraiya nor Gen paid Naruto any mind. Gen got straight to the point.
"I was wondering when you’d return, Jiraiya-sama. Just in time—I’ve got something I’d like to ask you."
"Huh?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, but then a knowing look crossed his face. "Ah, so the old man already spoke to you, huh?"
"...Huh?" Now it was Gen’s turn to look puzzled. He hadn’t even attended the last meeting—he went straight home to rest. When did he ever speak to Hiruzen?
"Tch, seriously..." Jiraiya stood up and dusted off his clothes. "If you wanted to learn, you should’ve said so earlier. I’m not stingy, especially—"
He paused, smiling slightly.
—especially if this kid really is like Minato. Or perhaps... even beyond him, in some ways.
Jiraiya might be a goof sometimes, but even falling out of the Hokage’s window didn’t shake his core. After getting "invited" back by Hiruzen, he was brought up to speed.
Gen’s joint mission with Kakashi had gone extremely well. Not only had Kakashi gained a new strength, but they’d also uncovered vital intel about the enemy.
Most importantly, Gen’s own performance had been nothing short of outstanding—though admittedly, a bit reckless.
The Eight Gates technique wasn’t suited for someone like Gen, especially given his primary reliance on ninjutsu. They were all worried he might get addicted to the sudden burst of power—creating a dangerous "path dependency."
That’s why they wanted Jiraiya to step in—and not just to advise him.
**Sage Mode.**
When Hiruzen brought it up, Jiraiya hadn’t really planned to say no. He genuinely liked the kid—even if his personality could be a bit sharp. And he had experience training Minato; why not pass that knowledge down again?
"Huh?" Gen was still confused, completely ignoring Naruto’s animated protests.
"The Hokage never mentioned any of this. What’s going on?"
"He didn’t?" Jiraiya tilted his head, then waved it off with a chuckle. "Ah, forget it. Doesn’t matter. If you’re full, let’s get going—you wanted to learn, right? I’ve got the time."
"Alright." Gen smiled back and stood up to leave with him.
Naruto, meanwhile, was left frozen in place.
"Oi, oi, oi?! You’re seriously just going to walk off like that?!"
He stared blankly at their backs as they exited, before sighing in defeat and pulling out his poor, nearly-empty frog wallet.
Naruto knew Kitagawa Gen could eat, but he didn’t expect him to eat that much.
"And that pervy sage isn’t any better, seriously..."
Naruto counted the money left in his little frog wallet, then looked up with a pitiful expression at Teuchi, who was clearing the table.
"Uh, Teuchi-ossan, you know... since they ate so much, do you think maybe we could get a discount or something...?"
"Hm?"
Teuchi blinked, then chuckled. "What are you talking about? They already paid."
"Huh?" Naruto was stunned. Only then did he notice the stacks of cash tucked neatly under the empty ramen bowls left by Jiraiya and Kitagawa Gen.
"They..."
"Lord Jiraiya really cares about you. And that Gen kid—he’s a good friend," Teuchi said as he continued cleaning up with a warm smile. "Didn’t you want to be acknowledged by everyone? You’re already doing great. Keep it up!"
"Yeah..." Naruto bit his lip, then suddenly put on an exaggeratedly annoyed face. "Who told them to pay?! I said I was treating them! Those jerks—wait up!"
"Hey, hey!" As Naruto ran out the door, Teuchi just shook his head with a sigh.
"Both Lord Jiraiya and Gen paid... and even overpaid, too..." He chuckled again. "Guess next time they come, I won’t charge them."
—
"Did someone just call us from behind?"
"Sounded like it, but I couldn’t catch what they said."
Kitagawa Gen and Jiraiya were already deep into the forest surrounding Konoha. This training session wasn’t going to be like the last.
Both of them moved fast, and even if they heard someone calling, they didn’t pay it any mind. Soon enough, they arrived in a quiet clearing.
"This place isn’t bad. There’s even a hot spring nearby—perfect for resting after a hard day’s training."
Jiraiya smiled, then quickly got serious. "Kid, listen. I don’t know exactly what you want to learn, but I’ve decided I am going to teach you something."
"Huh?" Gen blinked. He had only planned to ask about purifying Sage Jutsu, but it seemed like Jiraiya had already decided to pass something on?
A bit confused, he asked in a quiet voice, "What are you planning to teach me, Lord Jiraiya?"
"A powerful technique—one that, as far as I know, only I can use right now."
Jiraiya’s face carried a hint of pride, but it quickly gave way to a wistful sigh. "Of course, I once taught it to Minato. He had the talent to learn it, but he wasn’t especially suited to using it. What a shame..."
Jiraiya really meant it. If Minato had mastered Sage Mode more thoroughly, perhaps Obito wouldn’t have caused so much trouble.
"Only you and the Fourth Hokage?" Gen’s face turned a bit strange. If he wasn’t mistaken... Jiraiya was talking about Sage Mode?
Things suddenly felt oddly coincidental—but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
"Ah... so that’s it."
Most likely, it was the huge commotion he caused by using the Eight Gates technique—and the resulting chakra instability and physical damage—that had everyone worried.
Kakashi and the others were probably concerned that he might grow too reliant on that kind of power. So they were trying to offer him a safer alternative... which led to this.
Realizing what was going on, Gen didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
Still, this was a good thing.
"Alright, enough of that sad talk," Jiraiya said, slapping his cheeks to wake himself up. "Mentally prepare yourself. I know you don’t really like toads, but what I’m about to teach you is deeply connected to Mount Myoboku, so..."
"Let’s just cut to it, Lord Jiraiya. What exactly are you planning to teach me?" Gen interrupted before the old man could launch into a long-winded sales pitch.
"I need to at least know what I’m getting into, right?"
"You little punk..." Jiraiya pouted but relented.
"The technique I’m going to teach you is called Sage Mode. It’s incredibly demanding—if you don’t have strong chakra reserves, you could be consumed by natural energy.
Natural energy is what fuels Sage Chakra. It’s everywhere, but extremely hard to absorb. You need specific tools and conditions to even try.
When I trained, I used the oil from Mount Myoboku’s toads. But even that’s not enough. You need a certain kind of mindset."
Jiraiya paused and looked at Gen, who was listening intently. He nodded in satisfaction.
"You need to learn how to be still. Stay perfectly still, attune yourself to nature, and only then can you start sensing and absorbing natural chakra.
The process is difficult and painful—but you must remember, only unwavering determination can turn someone into a Sage!"
"I see..." Gen nodded as if in deep thought, putting on a thoughtful expression.
Jiraiya nodded again. He’d seen Gen’s talent firsthand—anything he taught the boy, he picked up almost immediately.
But Sage Mode was different.
"You might be a genius, but this won’t be easy, kid," Jiraiya thought, then said aloud, "Want me to show you what Sage Mode looks like? That way, you can—"
"Lord Jiraiya, you said natural energy is everywhere, right?"
Jiraiya blinked, slightly thrown off. "Uh... yeah, that’s right, but it’s not that simple to sense—"
"But if it’s everywhere," Gen interrupted again, raising his hand with curiosity, "could it be this?"
"Huh? This?" Jiraiya’s eyes widened.
In the next instant, Gen raised his hand—and it was as if the entire forest trembled.
An overwhelming aura burst forth from his body, shaking the air around him!
"What the—?!" Jiraiya nearly lost his footing from the sheer force but quickly steadied himself. Panic filled his face as he stared at Gen.
"This kid...! He’s way too reckless!"
He immediately realized what was happening—but that only made him more anxious. Having gone through Sage training himself, Jiraiya knew just how dangerous it was.
But then... he saw it.
A red tint had appeared around Gen’s eyes. When he opened them, his irises were pure white—similar to the Hyuga clan’s Byakugan.
The energy around him gradually stabilized. His entire body radiated the calm, vibrant power of nature.
In that moment—even Jiraiya understood.
"That’s... Sage Mode!?"