Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

After watching for a while, it shook its head again. "External forces can only serve as reference. Without one's own strength, the Sage Art cannot be mastered!"

Jiraiya quickly explained, "They don't intend to cultivate Sage Art. They're planning to use Natural Energy to perform a life-saving surgery!"

"Surgery? Young people's ideas are getting more puzzling by the day," Sage Fukasaku muttered curiously before asking, "Well then, what do you need me to do?"

"All you have to do is dispel the Natural Energy from their bodies the moment they begin showing signs of toad transformation."

"That's easy enough."

Seeing Sage Fukasaku agree, Jiraiya took out a small vial containing a golden liquid. "This is Toad Oil produced on Mount Myoboku. It'll help you sense Natural Energy."

"What you need to do," he continued, "is use your own conviction and perseverance to prevent being corrupted by Natural Energy!"

Sage Fukasaku added beside him, "This Toad Oil will vaporize quickly once removed from Mount Myoboku's environment. Even with me simulating the conditions, its effect won't last longer than five minutes!"

Seeing both youths remained composed, Jiraiya gave a slight inward nod. He then carefully applied the Toad Oil onto their hands.

The others had long been warned about how terrifying Natural Energy could be. When they saw the golden liquid drop onto Seiki's hand, even their breathing unconsciously quickened.

However, ten seconds passed... twenty seconds... a full minute...

Not only Seiki, but even Mizuki managed to remain unaffected.

When everyone gave them strange looks, Jiraiya shook the little vial and muttered, "That's impossible! Could even Mount Myoboku's Toad Oil actually expire?"

As Jiraiya was wondering whether he should try it himself, Sage Fukasaku suddenly jumped up from the bedside table and struck with his staff. Mizuki, who had just started showing slight signs of toad transformation, immediately returned to normal.

"Two minutes and thirteen seconds!" Tsunade announced the time.

"Just the first attempt and he already held on for two whole minutes? That's impressive indeed! But what's even scarier is the other kid—he achieved perfect harmony with the Ultimate Art of 'stillness'!" Sage Fukasaku was shocked beyond belief. Even in his eight hundred years of experience, he had rarely seen such incredible talent!

Time slowly ticked away. Just as the Toad Oil's effect began fading, Sage Fukasaku suddenly spoke up. "Success! He activated the Sensor!"

"Four minutes and forty-seven seconds!" Jiraiya could barely believe his own eyes as he announced the number.

Their very first exposure to Natural Energy—and they not only resisted its pull, but mastered sensing it within five minutes!

"It's gone," Seiki opened his eyes and softly murmured, "Only thirteen seconds?"

Seeing that Seiki seemed unsatisfied, Jiraiya exclaimed almost frantically, "Don't you realize how incredibly absurd this achievement is? Back in my day... well, let's just say I might've been slightly inferior during my first attempt!"

"I don't know," Seiki honestly shook his head, his gaze unwavering. "But I do know one thing—for the surgery, thirteen seconds worth of sensed Natural Energy definitely isn't enough!"

"Even now all you can think about is your comrade, huh?"

"Jiraiya's frantic expression froze as he clapped Seiki's shoulder with a sigh, 'Maybe it's exactly this kind of belief that let you surpass us!'

Kushina also eased her concern, 'Speaking of the surgery, Seiki, how long do you estimate it will take to complete it?'

'About ten minutes,' Seiki hesitated. 'However, those three areas requiring Natural Energy repair should only take about three minutes!'

'That means you need to cut the time for gathering Natural Energy down to under two minutes,' Tsunade said, turning to Mizuki. 'And for him, we must ensure he remains immune to Natural Energy corruption for at least three minutes, otherwise we won't be able to have Sage Fukasaku expel the Natural Energy during the surgery.'

Seiki wore a serious expression. 'It's still not enough. The timeline's too tight. Ideally, we'd need at least an extra thirty seconds as a buffer.'

'It was supposed to be my responsibility—I only needed to remain unaffected in the first phase—yet Seiki has to risk attempting the second stage of sensing Natural Energy!' A wave of emotion filled Mizuki, his eyes hardening with determination. 'I *will* make it happen!'

Jiraiya turned to Sage Fukasaku, 'Old man, these two kids might give you a little more trouble than expected.'

Sage Fukasaku smiled and waved his stick like a fan. 'Such rare children who are talented for practicing Sage Art, spending some time playing with them sounds interesting enough.'

...

Half a day later, the sky gradually darkened.

At this point, Seiki and the other had already entered the operating room.

Outside:

'It's really hard to imagine—though they're just kids, they've got such incredible willpower. If not limited by their chakra capacity, they probably could've mastered Sage Art already!' Looking toward the direction of the operating room, Sage Fukasaku sighed.

'Deep-seated Sir, what you mean is, once they grow physically for another couple years, they'll become qualified to learn Sage Art?' Minato asked in surprise.

Nodding, the old sage glanced sideways. 'Jiraiya, do you plan to let that kid Seiki learn Sage Art?'

Scratching his head awkwardly, Jiraiya chuckled. 'That kid isn't my disciple.'

Understanding from the way Jiraiya's eyes flicked toward Tsunade, Sage Fukasaku added, 'Ah, looks like Shikkotsu Forest scooped up a fine prospect.'

Minato continued asking, 'What about that child called Mizuki? Although his talent doesn't match Seiki's, he should also qualify for learning Sage Art, right?'

Yet both human and frog fell into an eerie silence.

After a while, Jiraiya sighed, 'I saw something extremely frightening in that child's eyes. Whether teaching him Sage Mode would be good or bad—I really can't say.'

The elder sage nodded solemnly. 'That kid Seiki possesses tranquility and serenity, but Mizuki's quietness is one of cold detachment. This sort of disposition makes him unsuitable to learn our Mount Myoboku Sage Art.'

'Eh? Is that so?' Minato felt somewhat confused; his limited experience prevented him from possessing the same sharp insight as the two veterans beside him.

'Even putting that aside, his chances of ever truly mastering Sage Art are still very slim.'

"Sage Fukasaku shook his head helplessly, 'Compared to a real genius, his physical aptitude is simply too poor. At his current rate of chakra control techniques, it might take ten years before he accumulates enough chakra reserves to practice [Sage Art].'"

"That really is a shame," Minato sighed lightly. Someone like him wouldn't develop ill feelings toward Mizuki because of one or two careless words.

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from the operating room.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Seiki and the other person walk out side by side.

In an uncharacteristically playful tone, Seiki teased, "Mizuki, don't you think today's sunlight feels especially bright?"

Of course — after all, I'm standing right next to the sun itself... Seeing Seiki's sincere smile, Mizuki fought back tears and joined in the laughter. "Yeah, what incredible sunshine indeed!"

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