Jiraya closed his eyes and focused. He painted his face with some kind of oil and joined his hands together, as if in prayer, but he was actually concentrating on the natural energy around him.
Yujin could see the natural energy converging towards Jiraya.
It was a small amount of energy, but enough to convince Yujin of Jiraya's capability.
Minutes passed before he finally placed his hand on the ground. Strange symbols appeared on the ground, and two old toads appeared. Both jumped on Jiraya's shoulders, and the one that looked like an elder with a beard asked while looking around.
"What happened? A fight?"
When he saw only Tsunade and Yujin standing, and realized they were not enemies, the old man relaxed, and the old woman responded.
"Looks like there won't be a fight today. Why did you summon us, Jiraya?"
Yujin observed Jiraya's physical features changing, and when he saw the two toads, he could vaguely understand what had happened. Before Jiraya could respond, he analyzed aloud.
"The Sage Mode is the fusion of Chakra with natural energy, that's Tsunade's explanation. But from my perspective, you used that oil as an intermediary for this fusion to happen. I felt a large amount of natural energy from the oil. But why did your appearance change?"
Before Jiraya could answer, Tsunade interjected.
"The oil is special, produced by the sage toads of Mount Myoboku. Jiraya isn't skilled enough to enter Sage Mode without this help. The sage toads serve to balance the Sage Chakra so that he doesn't turn into a toad completely."
"So, he uses the oil as an intermediary, tunes into the natural energy, merges it with his Chakra, and the toads help balance the natural energy with Chakra so he can remain human? Hm... Interesting, but it has many flaws."
The old sage didn't seem pleased with Yujin's calm and disinterested analysis and responded.
"It's the method we could come up with to help this incompetent use the Sage Mode. We at Mount Myoboku are experts in Senjutsu, but our relationship with natural energy is much more natural for us than for you humans. That's why he needs special methods. We realized after years of study that our oil can help humans feel natural energy, and that's why he uses it."
Yujin approached Jiraya and, under his cautious eyes, took some of the oil on his face.
When the oil touched Yujin's finger, he could feel the natural energy in the oil as well as in the surroundings more easily. But honestly, it wasn't very useful for him. He already could do that on his own.
"I understand... So, you basically skipped the necessary steps of the process and went straight to the conclusion, that's why the result is so inferior."
"Inferior how?"
Tsunade began to ignore Jiraya and the two sage toads, engaging in a discussion with Yujin, who explained.
"It took a long time to tune into natural energy, merge it with Chakra, and he still needs help balancing it before turning into a toad completely. Since its external assistance, he would probably have a better outcome if he did it on his own. It would require better control over his Chakra and natural energy, something necessary to understand his own strength, and thus wield it more effectively and efficiently. I think that's what happens when you try to attain power for the sake of power without considering the step-by-step process."
"But what about the strength he gains with this state? Even I am inferior when he's like this."
"I can't say, only seeing it in action."
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The two then looked at Jiraya, who was at a loss. When he saw their gaze, he reluctantly agreed to show his power, even though he felt uncomfortable with the situation.
After entering Sage Mode, he had access to more specialized jutsus with the help of the toads, and his physical body became much stronger and faster. When Yujin saw the result, he found it interesting, as he didn't expect it to be so strong, but was stilll disappointed in how Jiraya achieved it.
The old toad seemed interested in Yujin and started a conversation with him after the demonstration.
"You're strange... I can feel your affinity with nature. It's not Sage Mode, but it's as if you're part of nature all the time. I don't sense any Chakra from you, but I can tell, you're strong. Want to learn Sage Mode?"
The old toad seemed quite interested in teaching Yujin, but he respectfully declined and said.
"No, but thank you. I found Sage Mode interesting, but I think there are improvements needed. It takes too long to reach this state, and it requires your help. Although he became much stronger after all this, I don't think he reached his maximum potential, which is a shame."
"Yes. Jiraya wasn't the only positive result of Sage Mode. We taught others before who achieved better results. It's a matter of talent. Jiraya is talented, but not enough. Maybe if he trained more, he would improve, but..."
He then looked at the man in question and saw him smiling awkwardly. Jiraya doesn't have confidence that he will improve. He has trained a lot, and this is the best he can do. He has other things to do, like the Hokage's missions, writing his books, and flirting with women, so he doesn't want to train more.
"Cough, Cough, was that enough for the demonstration, Yujin?"
Yujin nodded thoughtfully and asked the toad.
"What else is possible with Sage Mode?"
The toad shook his finger, as if saying 'no,' and replied with a smile.
"If you don't want to learn Sage Mode from me, don't expect to get anything else. It's take it or leave it."
"But what's the difference?"
"The difference is, if you learn from me, you'll become part of Mount Myoboku. If you want something, you have to give something in return, so don't expect anything more from me without committing first."
Jiraya shook his head and sighed upon hearing this.
"No use insisting, Yujin. These toads can be quite stubborn. For them to teach me Sage Arts, it took a lot of effort on my part. You're getting his consent for free, but you didn't accept. Of course, he'll do something to annoy you, so I recommend either accepting his offer or giving up completely; there won't be any middle ground, these stubborn toads won't accept it."
Yujin thought for a moment but ultimately did not accept. He didn't feel that Sage Mode was that interesting, and besides, he didn't have the Chakra to learn it. Seeing that Yujin really wasn't going to accept, the old toad spoke a few words before disappearing.
"My offer still stands, so if you ever want to learn, come to Mount Myoboku."
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Although Jiraya was interested in what Tsunade and Yujin were doing, he still decided to leave shortly after. When he saw the two discussing Sage Mode in detail without involving him in the conversation, he felt excluded. Remembering that he would soon have to go on a mission for the Hokage, he simply decided to leave to prepare, leaving the two alone.
The two talked until late into the night again. Even when they drank, they were discussing ideas and decided that the next day they would start the practical part. After hours of drinking, Tsunade finally fell asleep, and Yujin, who looked drunk, straightened up.
It's as if he was never drunk in the first place. He silently watched Tsunade.
Yujin is a Grandmaster in Harmony, so he has almost complete control over his own body. That's why for him, if he wants, he gets drunk; if he doesn't want, he doesn't get drunk.
Because of his friendship with Tsunade, he usually lets it happen since he doesn't want to seem rude, but today was an important day.
For Yujin, the full moon day is important.
While dawn is the ideal time to absorb energy from the environment, full moon days are ideal for purifying the body, and it requires a long and painful process. He does this once a month, and he found out today would be a full moon day.
Leaving Tsunade's quarters, Yujin took off his clothes, getting completely naked, and sat on the ground while looking at the moon in the sky. It was the same moon he knew, which made him doubt if he was really in another world.
Closing his eyes, he focused.
On full moon nights, natural energy has a purifying effect. It can cleanse the body, but it's a long and painful process that lasts for many hours.
Through a special breathing technique, a cycle is created where the natural energy from the surroundings enters the body through inhalation and exits with impurities through exhalation. Although it may seem easy, it's a complex process that requires a lot of concentration, and because of the pain, a lot of willpower.
Many Grandmasters, even though they know the method, don't use it because it's very difficult to implement. Some do it only a few times in their lives, while Yujin has been doing it almost monthly for nearly ten years.
Today, he wanted to see if there would be any deviation from the normal process.
Ultimately, the natural energy and Qi in this world were much denser and purer than where he came from. He had no idea how this would affect his body during the purification process.