Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"You! Have you mastered Sage Mode?"Tsunade exclaimed in shock.

Even though there were no visible changes on Hyuga Naraku's face, the overwhelming pressure from him made her instinctively assume so.

This sudden burst of aura was simply too astonishing!

"A very strange state," Naraku murmured, closing his eyes as he sensed his current condition.

It felt as though he had fused with nature itself.

Even with his eyes closed, he could clearly "see" everything around him.

The dark clouds above.

The acid rain still falling in the distant forest.

The dense white trees of the Shikkotsu Forest, and the countless Katsuyu, both large and small, scattered throughout the woods.

All of it appeared vividly in his mind under the perception granted by Sage Mode.

"Master Naraku has entered Sage Mode,"Katsuyu said solemnly, awe in her voice.

"Sage Mode… it usually causes some kind of physical change, right? Like facial patterns?"Tsunade asked curiously.

She recalled Jiraiya's Sage Mode.

How to describe it?

Horizontal toad-like pupils, dark red eye markings, and a slightly bulbous nose.

Frankly speaking, it was hard to look at directly.

"Different people have different capacities for natural energy, depending on the balance of their physical and spiritual energy."

"Each individual's unique Sage Chakra will interact with their body differently, resulting in different facial markings."

"However, the Sage of Six Paths didn't show any changes when using Sage Art," Katsuyu explained seriously.

"I see," Naraku nodded.

In the original history, when Uchiha Madara absorbed Hashirama's Sage Chakra, a facial marking resembling Hashirama's appeared on Madara's chest.

Because the Sage Chakra had been refined by Hashirama, the markings reflected that.

At least, that seemed to be the case initially.

But later on, Uchiha Madara should have analyzed and mastered Sage Art independently.

Techniques like Sage Art: Yin Release – Thunder Sect and Sage Art: Storm Release – Radiant Method were likely Madara's own creations.

Given Madara's profound understanding of ninjutsu, and his transformation into the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki, it would've been easy for him to reach such heights.

As these thoughts crossed Naraku's mind, his expression darkened. He pressed his palms together.

"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"

Boom!!!

Within the damp Shikkotsu Forest, massive stone spikes erupted from the earth!

The jagged cones surged from the ground like living creatures, growing wildly and without restraint.

"Th-this…!"Katsuyu was startled.

Inorganic Reincarnation?

If memory served right, that was a Sage Technique from Ryūchi Cave!

Why would Naraku know how to use it?

Sensing Katsuyu's confusion, Naraku explained calmly:

"I've never been to Ryūchi Cave. I only reverse-engineered this technique from theory."

"This technique is essentially an application of Yang Release — granting vitality to inorganic matter and using it to attack opponents."

"And the natural energy that composes Sage Chakra has a higher 'order' than Yang Release."

In fact—

You could say natural energy is the source of everything!

Even the Ōtsutsuki clan — their chakra originates from the Chakra Fruit of the God Tree.

And the energy of the Chakra Fruit itself originates from each planet's natural energy.

This, in turn, reflected the superior nature of natural energy.

Take Six Paths-level ninjutsu, for instance.

The Truth-Seeking Balls — composed of all seven chakra natures (Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements) — were nearly indestructible to ordinary ninjutsu.

But Sage Art could damage them!

The reason Sage Techniques could bypass the immunity of Truth-Seeking Balls was because of their composition: natural energy.

Chakra itself is a derivative of natural energy — a fusion of spiritual and physical energy processed through nature's essence.

From that chakra, the Yin-Yang and Five Elements techniques are formed.

So, theoretically speaking:

Sage Art could serve as the origin point for Yin, Yang, and Five Element Releases — making them all accessible via Sage Chakra.

Inorganic Reincarnation was just an application of Sage Art focused toward Yang Release.

"...It sounds feasible,"Katsuyu finally nodded.

However, it wasn't something easily achieved.

It required not only deep mastery of Sage Art, but also advanced understanding of Yang Release.

Certainly not something an average shinobi could pull off.

After a moment of reflection, Katsuyu reminded Naraku:

"Master Naraku, you must be careful to maintain balance with the natural energy in your body."

"Using such wide-area techniques after just entering Sage Mode could disrupt the equilibrium inside you."

Sage Mode also consumed your own chakra.

And once your chakra levels dropped significantly, if you absorbed the same amount of natural energy as before, the balance between spiritual, physical, and natural energy could be thrown off — a deadly mistake.

"...I should be able to manage it,"Naraku said calmly after a moment of introspection.

Right now, he still hadn't reached his limit.