That day, Fujimoto Tōma was still training, quietly reviewing the results of the past few days.
Inside his body, the balance of chakra attributes was clear. Wind and Lightning were naturally the strongest, Fire followed behind, while Water and Earth were still the weakest.
Weak, but no longer nonexistent.
He could clearly sense both Water and Earth chakra within himself now. If he tested his chakra with paper, all five basic attributes would respond, just with different intensities.
If any other shinobi knew that, they'd probably be stunned speechless.
Normally, most shinobi were born with a single chakra nature. Only after reaching jōnin did they slowly develop a second, and even then it took years. The strength of that second nature almost never matched the original.
That was exactly why Tōma hadn't bothered with Water or Earth at the start. Even Fire alone had been a struggle back then. Trying to force more would've been inefficient.
Now, though?
This was practically cheating.
Most shinobi developed additional attributes by repeatedly using related jutsu, slowly imprinting that nature into their chakra over time. Tōma skipped all that. He absorbed natural energy directly from the environment and converted it into chakra, leaving those imprints constantly.
Compared to the normal route, it was absurdly unfair.
At this pace, by the time the Fourth Shinobi War arrived, his Water and Earth might still lag behind Wind and Lightning, but they'd be more than usable.
Compared to that, Yang Release was giving him a headache.
He couldn't even tell how effective his training was.
The only obvious change was that his recovery speed kept climbing. At this rate, he suspected even Naruto, backed by the Nine-Tails, might eventually lose in pure regeneration.
The problem was the lack of reference. Without something concrete to compare against, it was hard to judge progress.
Still, overall, the results weren't bad.
Even Wind and Lightning had improved slightly. Not dramatic yet, but over time, those gains would stack up.
Just as Tōma was about to continue, a small toad hopped toward him from the distance. It was one of Mount Myōboku's messenger toads.
"What's going on?" Tōma asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Lord Tōma," the toad croaked, "Fukasaku-sama asks that you return to Mount Myōboku. It's about Naruto's training."
"Oh?" Tōma nodded. The timing made sense. Given Naruto's compatibility, he should've reached Sage Mode by now.
As Tōma prepared to use Flying Thunder God, the toad hesitated.
"Um… could you take me with you? I wasn't summoned here. Walking back would take ages."
"Of course," Tōma said easily.
The toad beamed and leapt onto his shoulder. A moment later, space folded, and they vanished.
Mount Myōboku.
After parting with the messenger toad, Tōma followed his senses and quickly found Naruto.
Near the pool of toad oil, Naruto, Fukasaku, and Shima were gathered. Naruto looked troubled.
"Little Tōma!" Fukasaku lit up when he saw him.
"Tōma!" Naruto shouted happily.
"And Little Tōma!" Shima added, eyes bright. She hadn't seen him in a while and had missed him more than she cared to admit.
"Shima-sama, long time no see," Tōma greeted politely, then looked between Naruto and Fukasaku. "Something wrong?"
Fukasaku explained.
After Tōma left, Naruto's Sage Mode training had begun immediately. His talent shocked Fukasaku. Naruto had sensed natural energy in an incredibly short time, even accounting for the help of toad oil.
Jiraiya had taken far longer.
That alone confirmed Tōma's earlier judgment. Naruto really was suited for Sage Mode.
More surprising still, Naruto managed to fully enter Sage Mode on his own. No need for external assistance like Jiraiya required.
Fukasaku saw the shadow of the Fourth Hokage in him again.
The problem was time.
Even with Naruto's massive chakra reserves, his Sage Mode only lasted about five minutes. Five minutes was nowhere near enough for a serious battle.
That was why Fukasaku and Shima attempted Sage Art: Two-Frog Fusion, merging partially with the user to absorb natural energy during combat.
But every attempt failed.
Each time they tried to fuse, the Nine-Tails interfered, shutting the technique down completely.
As a result, Naruto's Sage Mode worked… but only briefly.
"Tōma, what do I do?" Naruto groaned. "I already told the Nine-Tails to stop, but it won't listen!"
"Of course it won't," Tōma said flatly. "It's a legendary calamity beast. You and it are already partially fused. It's not going to accept anyone else merging with you."
"So then… is Sage Mode useless for me?" Naruto scratched his head. "Five minutes is way too short."
"There is a solution," Tōma said suddenly. "And it's pretty straightforward."
Naruto's eyes lit up. Even Fukasaku leaned in.
"The best option," Tōma continued, "is to have the Nine-Tails help you absorb natural energy. You can sense it now. There's no reason it can't."
Naruto's expression fell instantly. "That's impossible."
Fukasaku nodded. "I agree. That thing wouldn't cooperate."
"It could," Tōma corrected. "But not yet. Right now, you and the Nine-Tails haven't truly reconciled."
"…Truly reconciled?" Naruto echoed.
Tōma tilted his head. "Let me ask you something. What's the Nine-Tails' name?"
Naruto blinked. "Isn't its name just… Nine-Tails?"
"That's a title," Tōma replied. "One-Tail is Shukaku. Each tailed beast has a real name. The Nine-Tails does too."
Naruto paused, then tried asking inwardly.
Nothing.
"It ignored me," he said awkwardly.
"Exactly," Tōma said. "The Nine-Tails lending you power doesn't mean it accepts you. And it definitely doesn't mean reconciliation. From what I know, it won't tell you its true name until that happens."
Some tailed beasts liked their names.
The Nine-Tails hated its own.
And that… was the real problem.