Chapter 548 Naruto’s Extra Yang Breathing Naruto

At this point, several days had passed since Naruto completed the Dragon Vein mission.

To gain the strength to defeat the Akatsuki Organization’s leader, under the suggestion of Fukasaku of Mount Myōboku, Naruto followed Fukasaku to Mount Myōboku to train in Sage Mode.

Since Naruto hadn’t learned to sense natural energy, his first stage of training involved using toad oil to feel and absorb natural energy.

This was the initial training, but what Fukasaku and Naruto didn’t expect was that Naruto encountered immense difficulty in this stage.

Bang! Bang!!

After consecutively knocking apart three Shadow Clones that were about to turn into frogs, and then casually dispersing the natural energy from Naruto’s main body, Fukasaku showed a puzzled expression.

“This shouldn’t be. Although this training is difficult to perfect, Little Naruto, you’ve created three Shadow Clones, which should actually result in several times the training effect. Why is the progress so slow?” Fukasaku was somewhat confused.

After pondering for a moment, he said to Naruto:

“Little Naruto, don’t create Shadow Clones. Train again just like before, and I’ll sense carefully to see what’s going on.”

With that, Fukasaku sprinkled the toad oil from the waterfall onto Naruto.

Naruto, meanwhile, closed his eyes and sensed and absorbed natural energy, just as before.

Fukasaku fully opened his senses and stared intently at Naruto.

Within Fukasaku’s perception, a lot of natural energy entered Naruto’s body, and a small portion of natural energy entered Naruto’s body, guided by his breathing which had a strange rhythm.

“So that’s it,” Fukasaku’s expression showed sudden realization.

Naruto had inadvertently used two different methods to draw in natural energy, causing the natural energy within his body to conflict, making the already difficult-to-control natural energy even harder to control.

“So what’s going on? It’s not that I don’t have the talent for Sage Jutsu, is it?” Naruto couldn’t help but ask.

This was training that Jiraiya had once completed, and Naruto didn’t want to lose to Ero-Sennin.

Most importantly, now was a critical moment where strength was needed. If he didn’t have enough strength, Naruto wouldn’t be able to avenge Jiraiya.

“No, Little Naruto, your breathing is the problem. Don’t you think your breathing is a bit strange?” Fukasaku explained.

“Breathing? My breathing is very normal and healthy,” Naruto replied, scratching his head.

He had learned Muzuki’s Yang Release Breathing, and with the effort and the boost from the Shadow Clone Technique, he had already reached the Constant State before going to Mount Myōboku to train in Sage Jutsu.

If Kakashi and the others knew Naruto’s training speed, they would probably be scared to death, because the time it took Naruto to reach Constant State was even less than the time they spent just getting started with Breathing Technique.

“It’s not about being healthy or unhealthy. It’s that your breathing is automatically guiding natural energy to perform some kind of operation, which causes it to conflict with other natural energy,” Fukasaku explained.

“There’s such a thing? But I’ve never felt natural energy before,” Naruto said, confused.

When Muzuki taught him Yang Release Breathing, he didn’t mention anything about natural energy or Sage Mode.

“Grandpa Sage, are you sure? My breathing changed because I trained in Yang Release Breathing. Yang Release Breathing can strengthen my body, and there’s an even stronger Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode later.”

If he could, Naruto didn’t want to give up Yang Release Breathing. On one hand, it was an ability Muzuki taught him, and on the other hand, Yang Release Breathing was indeed a practical secret jutsu.

After mastering Constant State, Naruto could clearly feel his body becoming much stronger, and the effects of his daily training also improved.

Fukasaku observed Naruto for a while longer, then spoke:

“It should be because of the toad oil. The toad oil allows you to sense and absorb natural energy.

Your Yang Release Breathing, without being able to sense natural energy, can’t absorb enough natural energy to affect your body. Toad oil changed this result.”

“Little Naruto, you should return to normal breathing. Otherwise, your success rate for Sage Mode training will become extremely low.”

Naruto’s face was conflicted, his mind constantly pondering.

“The power of Sage Mode far exceeds your imagination. Ordinary Ninjutsu that only consume internal Chakra quickly lead to fatigue when used too much, but Senjutsu Chakra is different. Because it can absorb energy from outside, not only does it not cause fatigue, but it also recovers very quickly,” Fukasaku explained.

“Little Naruto, you already possess powerful Chakra, and with the Nine-Tailed’s portion, your recovery ability will be even stronger than an ordinary Sage. Successfully training in Sage Mode will definitely give you a greater boost than that Yang Release Breathing.”

From Fukasaku’s perspective, Naruto should abandon Yang Release Breathing without hesitation, after all, what secret jutsu could be stronger than Sage Jutsu?

“Grandpa Sage, please wait a moment. I’ll adjust immediately,” Naruto took a deep breath and made his decision.

He didn’t have much time to hesitate, and Naruto didn’t plan to completely give up the Breathing Technique.

Since Yang Release Breathing would increase the difficulty of controlling natural energy, he would wait until his control ability was stronger before using them simultaneously.

When his control ability wasn’t strong, he would stagger his training, no longer maintaining the Constant State of Yang Release Breathing.

Fukasaku nodded with a smile; Naruto was an obedient good child.

As Fukasaku expected, after not maintaining Yang Release Breathing, Naruto’s progress suddenly accelerated.

Training until evening, Fukasaku took Naruto home for dinner, marking the end of the first day’s training.

“Ah, I really want to eat ramen made by Brother Muzuki,” Naruto sighed slightly, looking at the insect feast on the table.

The time he spent training with Muzuki was truly too blissful; Naruto felt he would never forget it.

“Little Naruto, eat quickly. If you don’t eat enough, how will you have the energy to train tomorrow?” Fukasaku said to Naruto, as he popped a plump green bug into his mouth and chewed.

Naruto nodded and quickly began to eat.

Perhaps he had become somewhat accustomed to Mount Myōboku’s diet, or perhaps it was due to his Sage Mode training, but this time Naruto actually found it quite good after eating.

At night, after Fukasaku fell asleep, Naruto, who shared a room with him, quietly slipped out.

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Naruto arrived at a large open space, used Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to create over twenty clones, and began his Yang Release Breathing training.

Although he had only just started when he parted ways with Muzuki, Muzuki had already clearly explained the path of the Breathing Technique to him.

All the characteristics and effects of Yang Release Breathing, Breathing Technique Chakra Mode, and Transparent World—Naruto had firmly memorized everything Muzuki had taught him.

Normally, Naruto wasn’t good at memorizing theory, but for some reason, he found Muzuki’s lessons very easy to remember and never forgot them.

“According to Brother Muzuki’s lessons, Transparent World is the most difficult, so I’ll set my goal on Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode. I’ll master Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode while training in Sage Mode,” Naruto set his training goal.

He was too eager to become stronger now. The threat of the Akatsuki Organization, the hatred for his teacher, bringing Sasuke back—every single thing he wanted to do required greater strength.

Time continuously flowed by during his training.

Under the Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto endured fatigue unimaginable to ordinary people, in exchange for extremely fast progress in Sage Mode.

On top of a very high rock spike, Naruto sat unmoving on a wooden board.

“Is he finally going to succeed?” Fukasaku’s expression was somewhat tense as he felt the natural energy gathering around Naruto flow into his body incredibly smoothly.

The next second, Fukasaku witnessed a scene that surprised him.

Naruto, after condensing the natural energy, suddenly opened his eyes. Orange-yellow eye shadow appeared at the corners of his eyes, and there was no sign of toadification anywhere on his body.

“Little Naruto has already become a Sage who surpasses Jiraiya,” Fukasaku was greatly surprised.

The fewer parts of the body that undergo toadification, the more perfect the Sage Mode. Naruto’s Sage Mode was undoubtedly in the most ideal state.

“This is what it feels like to become one with nature,” Naruto scratched his hair, experiencing the unique aspects of Sage Mode.

Although he didn’t see the familiar toads, Naruto, through the powerful perception of Sage Mode, determined their locations.

At this moment, a bird landed on Naruto’s shoulder, causing Naruto, who was maintaining a delicate balance, to lose his footing and fall down.

Naruto initially thought it would hurt a lot, given the height of the rock spike he fell from, but then he realized he was completely fine.

“This is Sage Mode. Your body is activated by Senjutsu Chakra, becoming very strong in every sense,” Fukasaku, who had jumped down from the rock spike, explained with a chuckle.

“So amazing!” Naruto’s eyes lit up.

Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode can also greatly enhance the body. If Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode could be used with Sage Mode, wouldn’t his taijutsu and combat abilities receive a super major boost?

“Now, I will teach you the fighting methods of Sage Mode,” Fukasaku began a new round of instruction for Naruto.

Since he had to teach Mount Myōboku’s Frog Kata, this stage of training also included a lot of practical combat, and Naruto was constantly being sent flying by Fukasaku.

During combat, Naruto instinctively began to activate his Breathing Technique.

In fact, for everyone who reaches Constant State in a Breathing Technique, the Breathing Technique almost becomes ingrained as an instinct. Naruto had only deliberately restrained himself while training in Sage Mode.

Now, engaging in actual combat and falling into a disadvantage, Naruto instinctively reverted to Yang Release Breathing without realizing it.

Unlike before, Naruto had now successfully trained in perfect Sage Mode, and his ability to absorb and control natural energy was far superior to before.

Under Naruto’s deliberate control, most of the natural energy pulled in by the Breathing Technique was filtered out again, and ultimately only subtle natural energy that wouldn’t affect his Sage Mode was absorbed into his body.

As Naruto’s breathing became more focused, his body also grew stronger.

Successfully using both Yang Release Breathing and Sage Mode simultaneously, Naruto couldn’t help but Flash an excited expression.

Since Yang Release Breathing could be used in Sage Mode, it was highly likely that Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode could also be used simultaneously with Sage Mode.

“Why does Yang Release Breathing guide natural energy? It doesn’t seem to affect Yang Release Breathing if I don’t absorb it,” a question arose in Naruto’s mind.

He had initially worried that deliberately not absorbing the natural energy guided by Yang Release Breathing would weaken or even eliminate the effects of Yang Release Breathing, but in the end, he found there was no impact at all; it was still the same as before.

Unable to figure it out, Naruto simply stopped thinking about it. Anyway, being able to use them together was a good thing.

Naruto pushed Yang Release Breathing to its limit and once again engaged in Frog Kata sparring with Fukasaku.

The suddenly strengthened Naruto made Fukasaku a bit unaccustomed, and caught off guard, he was sent flying by Naruto instead.

“Oh, Little Naruto suddenly got stronger,” Fukasaku was a bit surprised.

“Hehe, Grandpa Sage, didn’t expect that, did you? This is a powerful secret jutsu from another world!” Naruto gave a thumbs-up, praising Muzuki.

Since acquiring Yang Release Breathing, he had consistently trained with Shadow Clones, making significant progress almost every day.

If Muzuki were to use Appraisal Technique to check Naruto’s current Breathing Technique proficiency, he would find that Naruto’s Yang Release Breathing proficiency had already surpassed Rin Nohara’s Water Breathing proficiency.

At night, Naruto, as usual, went to a secluded spot in Mount Myōboku to train alone.

“I hope it’s as I envisioned,” Naruto began to absorb natural energy and condense Senjutsu Chakra with a solemn expression.

While training in Sage Mode and Yang Release Breathing, Naruto was also working on perfecting Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

Because his previous use of Rasenshuriken had caused damage to Naruto’s Chakra pathways, Rasenshuriken was classified as a forbidden jutsu by Tsunade, prohibiting Naruto from using it.

To prevent others from finding out and worrying or stopping him, Naruto could only train Rasenshuriken at night.

Naruto wasn’t someone who pursued strength without caring for his body; he wasn’t that foolish. If his Chakra pathway system had problems, he wouldn’t even be able to be a Ninja, let alone protect Konoha or bring Sasuke back.

Naruto restarted his Rasenshuriken training because he was now stronger and had increased recovery capabilities due to the blessings of Yang Release Breathing and Sage Mode.

“And as long as I can successfully throw it, I won’t be affected by the Rasenshuriken’s impact.”

In Naruto’s vision, the truly complete Rasenshuriken should be throwable, which would not only prevent physical harm but also allow for greater flexibility in combat.

Orange eye shadow appeared at the corners of Naruto’s eyes, and upon entering Sage Mode, he immediately formed hand seals to create Shadow Clones for assistance.

A large amount of Senjutsu Chakra gathered in Naruto’s palm; one Shadow Clone helped Naruto form the Rasengan and change its shape into a Shuriken, while another Shadow Clone performed Wind Release Nature Transformation on the Rasengan.

Soon, a rapidly spinning Rasenshuriken appeared in Naruto’s hand, its piercing rotational sound particularly noticeable in the open area.

Fortunately, no toads on Mount Myōboku had a habit of staying up late, and the place Naruto chose was secluded enough, so no toads discovered him.

Naruto did not succeed directly the first time; although he did throw the Ninjutsu out, the Ninjutsu lost internal balance and dissipated before hitting its target.

Naruto didn’t care and continued to refine the Rasenshuriken.

As dawn broke, many craters appeared near where Naruto was training.

“I’ll continue tonight.” Naruto let out a long breath and quietly returned to his bedroom to sleep.

The Rasenshuriken still had many problems, either lacking power or exploding prematurely.

When Fukasaku woke up, he looked at the sleeping Naruto and was about to wake him.

But after calling out once and failing to wake him, Fukasaku gave up and got up alone.

At breakfast, Shima didn’t see Naruto and asked,

“Where’s little Naruto? How will he train if he doesn’t eat breakfast?”

“He hasn’t gotten up yet,” Fukasaku explained.

“Then I’ll go wake him,” Shima prepared to wake Naruto.

Fukasaku shook his head and stopped Shima, “Ero-Sennin’s death hit him too hard. He’s under a lot of pressure right now and probably didn’t sleep well last night, so let him sleep a little longer.”

When it was time for training, Fukasaku finally woke Naruto, and Shima also warmed up breakfast.

“Ugh, Grandpa Sage, good morning,” Naruto rubbed his sore eyes.

Although Fukasaku had allowed Naruto to sleep extra, Naruto had gone to bed too late, so he still hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

Naruto forced himself to perk up and smiled at Fukasaku.

Mere staying up late, how could it defeat him, Naruto? He was a man destined to become Hokage.

“Let’s eat first.” Fukasaku led Naruto to the dining table.

Breakfast was still Mount Myōboku’s special cuisine. Naruto ate wildly with his eyes closed, aiming to quickly fill himself and get the nutrients his body needed.

After eating, it was another day of Sage Mode practical training.

Naruto’s Frog Kata and Sage Ninjutsu became more skilled and fluid.

However, for Naruto, the night training was now the main event.

Although Frog Kata, Sage Ninjutsu, Rasengan, and the like were all very good, they were still inferior to the Rasenshuriken.

“I must succeed today.” At night, Naruto once again began his solitary training.

Today was his sixth day on Mount Myōboku.

Before leaving Konoha, Tsunade had told Naruto that if things progressed quickly, they could get more Pain intelligence from interrogations and autopsies within a week.

If all went well, perhaps tomorrow Konoha would be able to synthesize all the intelligence and uncover Pain’s secret, then gather forces to deal with the Akatsuki Organization.

Naruto wanted to become stronger quickly to participate and personally avenge Jiraiya.

“I hope Kakashi-sensei and the others are doing well.” Naruto thought of the young Jiraiya he had seen when he traveled through time.

According to Kakashi’s deduction, they were similar but different worlds.

Even if Naruto might never be able to go to that world again, he sincerely hoped that Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya in that world could live well.

With determination in his heart, Naruto continuously condensed the Rasenshuriken again and again.

After an unknown number of failures, a huge explosion sounded, and a mountain peak on Mount Myōboku was directly destroyed.

“Hoo, hoo, I succeeded.”

The massive consumption automatically pulled Naruto out of Sage Mode. He gasped for breath, looking at the front with joy.

Immediately, Naruto showed a guilty expression; making such a big commotion in the middle of the night was indeed a bit immoral.

To prevent being discovered by others, Naruto quickly changed locations and continued to train Yang Release Breathing.

With Sage Mode successfully mastered and the Rasenshuriken perfected, if he also mastered the Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode, his strength would reach a peak.

Naruto created a large number of Shadow Clones to accelerate his training.

Every hour, he dispelled the Shadow Clones to sort out the experience, then recreated Shadow Clones to continue training.

Unbeknownst to him, the night gradually gave way to sunlight, and the sun slowly rose.

The last time he dispelled the Shadow Clones, a large amount of training memories flowed back to Naruto’s main body, and under the immense fatigue, Naruto collapsed directly onto the ground.

Naruto lay on the ground for a minute to rest, then quickly stood up and focused his breathing, aiming for the Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode.

“Yang Release Breathing, Full Concentration!”

Naruto put all his attention on Yang Release Breathing, pushing his Breathing Technique to its limit.

But no matter how Naruto circulated his breathing, he still couldn’t enter the Yang Release Breathing Chakra Mode that Muzuki had described.

“Is it still missing something?” Naruto looked at the already bright sky and could only give up training, quietly returning to his bedroom to sleep.

Although sleeping now was as late as it could be, it was still a big difference from not sleeping at all.

Just like yesterday, Fukasaku waited until training time to wake Naruto for breakfast.

“I’m going to get some fresh ingredients.”

Shima watched Naruto finish breakfast, then she picked up a small basket and walked out the door.

“I wonder when I’ll be able to eat Muzuki-nii’s ramen again.” Looking at the remaining insects on the table, Naruto sighed slightly.

Although he was very grateful to Shima for cooking, Mount Myōboku’s menu was truly unsuitable for normal humans. Even if he was somewhat used to the taste, seeing those insects was still difficult.

“Let’s continue training.” Fukasaku continued to train Naruto.

After about half an hour of practice, Fukasaku sighed, “Little Naruto, you are already a qualified Sage.”

Although Naruto had only trained for seven days, he had already mastered a more perfect Sage Ninjutsu than Jiraiya, and his Frog Kata was also proficient.

Then Fukasaku explained some of the drawbacks of Sage Mode to Naruto.

Mount Myōboku’s Sage Mode normally only lasts for about five minutes, and even shorter if the battle is intense.

One use of Sage Mode is basically only enough for Naruto to use Rasenshuriken twice; after two uses, he runs out of Senjutsu Chakra.

There are two ways to extend Sage Mode: one is Mount Myōboku’s Fusion Sage Art, and the other is to absorb natural energy in place to gather Senjutsu Chakra.

In essence, both methods are the same; the former simply allows the Sages of Mount Myōboku to perform the fusion and absorb natural energy in Naruto’s place, thereby extending Sage Mode.

However, something embarrassing happened to Fukasaku: due to the Nine-Tailed inside Naruto being unwilling, he couldn’t perform the fusion with Naruto.

Now, the man and the toad were in a dilemma; if they couldn’t recharge, the strength of Sage Mode would drop significantly.

“Yang Release Breathing can also guide natural energy into the body. If I use Yang Release Breathing to absorb natural energy while moving, wouldn’t that solve the problem of not being able to move?” A Flash of inspiration struck Naruto.

“That sounds plausible, but your Yang Release Breathing has its own system. Forcibly mixing them together will most likely not work,” Fukasaku shook his head.

Naruto’s Yang Release Breathing gave Fukasaku the feeling of being a prototype of some kind of Sage Mode.

Forcing Yang Release Breathing into Mount Myōboku’s Sage Mode was actually a very dangerous thing.

If Naruto were to leave Mount Myōboku, Fukasaku would definitely specifically warn Naruto not to try it recklessly, to avoid losing control of natural energy.

“How will I know the result if I don’t try?” Naruto was a man of action and immediately began a new attempt.

Previously, to make Yang Release Breathing and Sage Mode coexist, Naruto had deliberately blocked the natural energy guided by Yang Release Breathing from entering his body.

This time, Naruto not only absorbed natural energy but also absorbed it with great effort, and he wanted to use Mount Myōboku’s techniques to extend Sage Mode.

Bang!

Fukasaku watched Naruto’s body grow larger and turn into a toad, then decisively swung his staff, dispersing the natural energy within Naruto’s body.

“I told you it wouldn’t work.” Fukasaku showed an “I told you so” expression.

How could a Sage who had lived for over eight hundred years lose to Naruto in his understanding of Sage Mode?

However, Naruto was not convinced. Since the two couldn’t be used together, he would try them separately first.

This time, Naruto did not enter Sage Mode; he simply used Yang Release Breathing and then fully absorbed the natural energy guided by Yang Release Breathing to incorporate it into the maintenance of the Breathing Technique.

Instantly, Naruto felt a different sensation; his strength and speed were clearly much stronger than Yang Release Breathing without absorbing natural energy.

When Naruto felt he had become familiar with this state, he tried his previous idea again, but it still didn’t succeed. The natural energy in his body went wild, and he was heavily struck by Fukasaku’s staff.

Ultimately, Naruto concluded that the Breathing Technique with absorbed natural energy could not be used simultaneously with Sage Mode, at least not for him at present.

Naruto had to temporarily abandon the idea of using the Breathing Technique to recharge Mount Myōboku’s Sage Mode.

“It’s a shame that Grandpa Sage has limited energy. Even if he stays still, he can only manage four units at most. Otherwise, I could have used the Shadow Clone training method to experiment for a couple of days,” Naruto thought with regret.

The training for Sage Mode was too dangerous, which limited his Shadow Clone training method.

“That’s right, Shadow Clone!”

A Flash of inspiration struck Naruto, and he thought of an excellent idea.

“Lord Fukasaku, something terrible has happened!”

Just as Naruto was testing his new idea, a pink toad came looking for him.

“Kōsuke-nii, who was in charge of communications, was killed. His name has disappeared from the roster,” the pink toad said sadly.

Both Fukasaku and Naruto’s expressions turned grim. Without a doubt, something had happened in Konoha.

Fukasaku told Naruto to be ready for battle at any time and quickly arranged everything.

…

Meanwhile, Konoha Village, after taking a hit from Deva Path Pain’s Almighty Push, had been reduced to a vast ruin. Miraculously, the main gate was undamaged.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Sakura emerged from the Katsuyu that had protected her, staring blankly at the ruins before her.

Familiar comrades dying one by one before her eyes, the Village where she had lived since childhood destroyed—at this moment, the taut string in Sakura’s heart completely snapped.

Tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes, and Sakura could no longer control her emotions.

“Naruto, come back quickly!” Sakura knelt powerlessly on the ground, crying out.

Kakashi-sensei was dead, Sasuke, whom she loved most, had defected. Of the former Team 7, only she and Naruto remained.

“Please, Naruto!”

At this moment, Sakura’s rationality had vanished, and she felt no sense of security whatsoever.

As if hearing Sakura’s cry, changes occurred within the massive crater created by the Almighty Push.

Bang!

Summoning smoke appeared.