Konoha's Genius is a bit Ordinary?

"So, next…" Naruto seemed to grasp the idea, his expression changing slightly.

Natsuro nodded and said seriously, "That's right. Next, you'll need to prepare yourself to truly reconcile with the Nine-Tails!"

Naruto looked at Natsuro, beginning to understand. In fact, Naruto could continue to deepen his mastery of Sage Mode, shortening the preparation time for gathering natural energy. However, Natsuro believed that doing so would be a waste of time.

After all, he was certain that Naruto would eventually achieve complete reconciliation with the Nine-Tails.

By then, the Nine-Tails could take over the task of gathering natural energy, rendering Naruto's prior efforts on Sage Mode less impactful in comparison.

"But it's not like I can just decide to reconcile with it and make it happen, right…" Naruto muttered, troubled.

He had thought his relationship with the Nine-Tails was decent, but now he realized it was far from enough.

"Indeed, if reconciliation were so easy, the Tailed Beasts wouldn't have left behind such terrifying legends," Fukasaku chimed in.

"The truth is, it's not as complicated as it seems. The main reason is simply that you're not strong enough," Natsuro explained, fixing his gaze on Naruto.

"Because your strength isn't enough, you have to confine the Nine-Tails in a sealed cage. But naturally, that creates an imbalance in your relationship."

Naruto's eyes widened, suddenly understanding the problem. The Nine-Tails had always been trapped, and every interaction between them occurred through the barrier of that cage.

How could anyone hope to reconcile under such conditions?

Who would willingly cooperate while locked in a cage?

"Does that mean… I have to remove the seal?" Naruto hesitated for a while before asking.

"Of course not. Not only would I disagree, but neither would anyone in Konoha. And are you willing to take that risk? What if the Nine-Tails rampages in Konoha after being released?" Natsuro asked.

Naruto fell silent, glancing at him as if to say, With you here, couldn't you stop the Nine-Tails?

"I can't always stay in the village, and the Nine-Tails could choose to rampage when I'm away," Natsuro replied bluntly.

Naruto became even more pensive. So, this would essentially be a gamble, and the cost of failure was too great for him to bear.

"Your relationship with the Nine-Tails has never been equal. Even if it's willing to lend you its power, in the Nine-Tails' eyes, it's nothing more than an act of charity. You don't yet have the strength to stand as its equal," Natsuro continued.

"That's why the root of the problem lies in strength. If I were the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, I wouldn't worry about the seal. Even if it tried to rampage, I could suppress it without relying on a seal," Natsuro said, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a confident smirk.

"And if, even after all that, I'm still willing to talk to it on equal terms, that would already show great respect."

Naruto was left speechless.

Within Naruto's mental space, the Nine-Tails, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, perked up its ears.

Hearing Natsuro's words, the Nine-Tails initially became furious, but then it seemed to sense his gaze.

Though Natsuro hadn't entered its sealed domain, his gaze seemed to pierce through the barrier and fall directly on the Nine-Tails. The beast felt a shiver run through its body.

Through that look alone, the Nine-Tails realized Natsuro's current strength had advanced toward the level of those two. While he wasn't yet as strong as Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, he was certainly capable of subduing it.

Memories of being forcibly controlled and pinned to the ground by wood-style techniques flooded back to the Nine-Tails' mind.

In that moment, the Nine-Tails accepted Natsuro's assessment: it couldn't afford to provoke him anymore.

Initially poised to roar in anger, the Nine-Tails lowered its head and lay down silently.

In truth, the Nine-Tails was astonished. It hadn't been long since it first met Natsuro, and back then, while Natsuro had shown promise, his power wasn't overwhelming.

But now, he had grown into a force that the Nine-Tails couldn't handle.

The Nine-Tails began to ponder the possibility of truly reconciling with Naruto.

Just as Natsuro had said, it had never seriously considered reconciliation before.

Though it didn't fully agree with everything Natsuro said, the majority of his points rang true.

"Ultimately, it all comes down to strength," Natsuro said with a faint smile.

"So, what should I do?" Naruto asked, confused.

"It's actually very simple. Just keep getting stronger, then unlock the seal, face the Nine-Tails head-on, and beat it into submission," Natsuro replied, wearing a devilish grin.

"Uh…" Naruto blinked, pondering for a moment before clutching his head in frustration. "To use Sage Mode, I need the Nine-Tails' help. But to get the Nine-Tails' help, I need to defeat it first… How is that even possible?"

"Exactly. That's why you'll need to take a shortcut. Temporarily unlock the seal, and then use your five minutes of Sage Mode to defeat the Nine-Tails. Afterward, I'll reseal it, since your base form can't fully suppress it yet," Natsuro explained.

"This way, you'll at least prove to the Nine-Tails that your peak strength is equal to, or even surpasses, can at some point its own. That'll elevate your standing to its level, making future reconciliation possible."

"Oh! Should I do it now?" Naruto suddenly grew excited.

"Not yet," Natsuro responded immediately. "Your five minutes of Sage Mode aren't enough to defeat the Nine-Tails. Don't underestimate it."

"Uh…" Naruto felt Natsuro's words were contradictory. He had just told him to use Sage Mode to defeat the Nine-Tails, but now he was saying it wouldn't work.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken," Natsuro said, noticing Naruto's confusion.

"But I can already throw it in Sage Mode!" Naruto protested.

"Yes, but only in Sage Mode," Natsuro replied. "Sage Mode greatly enhances the power of jutsu, but think about your Rasenshuriken.. How strong is it, really?"

Naruto scratched his head again. The boost was significant, but compared to the Rasenshuriken Natsuro had used when controlling his body, the improvement didn't seem as substantial.

"You see now? Sage Mode simply completes the last part of your progress. While it does enhance your jutsu's power, the increase isn't as large as it could be. Only by perfecting your Rasenshuriken from the start can the boost from Sage Mode be enough to deal with the Nine-Tails," Natsuro explained.

Naruto scratched his head again, still struggling to fully grasp the concept.

Natsuro thought for a moment before elaborating. "Think of it this way: Right now, your Rasenshuriken's completion level is at 50%, and its power is also at 50%.

"Sage Mode helps you fill in the remaining 50%, but the power only reaches 100%. If your Rasenshuriken were perfected at 100% from the start, its power in Sage Mode could reach 200%."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Oh, I get it now! It's like Ichiraku Ramen. If the cooking time is insufficient, the result is just an okay bowl of ramen.

"But if you take more time to cook it properly, the result is a delicious bowl of ramen. And if you start with perfect cooking conditions, you can make a delicious bowl of ramen right away. Then, with the extra time, you can make a second bowl! That way, I get to eat two bowls of delicious ramen!"

"Uh… yeah." Natsuro felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead but reluctantly admitted that Naruto's analogy wasn't entirely wrong. "That's the gist of it."

"Heh, I'll definitely perfect my Rasenshuriken as soon as possible!" Naruto said with a bright smile.

"Now, during this time, does that mean Naruto's Sage Mode training is effectively useless?" Fukasaku suddenly asked.

"Not at all. What I just mentioned is the ideal solution, but I also have a temporary workaround," Natsuro said.

Under the curious gazes of Naruto and Fukasaku, Natsuro explained the function of a certain curse seal.

"There's a type of curse seal that can passively absorb natural energy over time, serving as a substitute for the preparation stage of Sage Mode," Fukasaku realized.

Natsuro nodded. "That's right. However, the absorption rate might not be very fast, so it's only a temporary measure."

Additionally, Natsuro also shared Naruto's original method from the manga: using shadow clones to transfer Sage Chakra. This method could come in handy later.

Finally, Natsuro inscribed a curse seal on Naruto. Unlike Sasuke's, this seal was designed solely for absorbing and storing natural energy from the frogs' Sage techniques.

As for mixing that natural energy into Sage Chakra, Naruto would have to handle that part himself.

Since the blending process still required Naruto's own effort, Natsuro estimated that the final result would still be Naruto's perfected Sage Mode.

Perfected Sage Mode…

An idea suddenly occurred to Natsuro. Looking at Naruto, he asked, "Naruto, could you demonstrate the Sage Mode you've learned for me?"

Naruto was momentarily stunned, but then he broke into a big smile and shouted, "Of course I can!"

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Currently on Chapter 278 - Yin-Yang Release