Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

"The ill-omened individual?"

In different parts of the Leaf Village—Kosuke Maruboshi, Tsunade, Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuga, She Pakura, Might Duy, and others—all heard rumors about Heiyan.

They refused to believe this bad omen and immediately began verifying through various channels.

Among them, Kosuke Maruboshi and Tsunade rushed straight into the Hokage's office demanding answers from the Third Hokage.

Everyone was deeply concerned for Heiyan.

Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku.

Heiyan remained immersed in his Sage Art training, completely unaware of everything happening outside.

Under the waterfall, five identical versions of Heiyan sat cross-legged, forming hand seals while absorbing Natural Energy.

Now he could create four Shadow Clones simultaneously for cultivation, increasing efficiency fivefold.

By the pond, the Stealth Frog quietly crouched there, loyally guarding Heiyan.

Since accepting Heiyan as its master, this little creature never left his side, faithfully staying by him—even catching insects to feed him.

Of course, Heiyan didn't have bugs with every meal.

After all, this time he came to Mount Myoboku well-prepared, carrying a storage scroll filled with tents, spare clothes, and plenty of food and water.

Time passed.

Until one moment.

"Poof... poof... poof... poof..."

The four Shadow Clones surrounding Heiyan simultaneously dispersed into white smoke.

Then his original body stood up.

At this point, his eyes were surrounded by a yellowish hue, bumps appeared on his skin, his palms transformed into webbed hands, and his whole body exhibited slight "frog-like" features.

His training using frog oil succeeded.

Whoosh!

Heiyan leaped up, landing in front of an enormous seven- to eight-meter-high stone frog statue over ten meters away.

Lift!

With both hands supporting the statue, amidst a rumbling roar, he actually lifted this several-ton heavy statue off the ground,

and even did a few weighted squats.

Gamabunta had just woken from a nap when he witnessed this scene, stunned speechless on the spot.

Reality proved he'd gravely underestimated Heiyan.

Bang!

Heiyan lowered the massive frog statue, causing the entire ground to tremble slightly.

"This is the power of Sage Art?"

He clenched his fist tightly and murmured softly.

Previously, even after a hundred attempts, he absolutely couldn't have lifted such a frog statue barehanded.

Moreover, after this intense exercise, rather than feeling exhausted, he felt a continuous surge of strength flowing within.

This was the incredible might of Sage Chakra—it continuously drew in Natural Energy during battle, operating like an endless energy source.

Still, Heiyan knew there was no time for celebration yet.

After all, only with the help of frog oil did he successfully cultivate Sage Chakra.

Once this oil left the unique climate of Mount Myoboku, it would instantly evaporate. In other words, it couldn't be taken beyond this place.

The purpose of frog oil, ultimately, was just to help cultivators grasp the key techniques.

True Sage Art cultivation needed to be conducted without the aid of oil.

This method was far more difficult.

Thus, Heiyan strode straight toward Gamabunta and asked,

"Where is the location for the next stage of my Sage Art training?"

"Kid, don't get too cocky."

Gamabunta snorted coldly. Although somewhat unwilling, he eventually still led Heiyan there.

It was a stone forest landscape where sharp peaks pierced the sky as far as the eye could see.

The training method involved meditating on a single slab of stone atop each peak—should one lose concentration even slightly, they would topple from the summit down into the valley below.

It was borderline reckless—an audacious method fit for "stealing heavenly secrets."

Yet it neither frightened nor discouraged Heiyan.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

As usual, Heiyan created four Shadow Clones. Each grabbed a stone slab, leaped to the top of a mountain peak, and began sitting in meditation.

Suppressing primal impulses, locating the center of balance, holding perfectly still, aligning with nature... Following this process, he quickly entered the right state.

Under intense concentration, he sensed and absorbed Natural Energy.

Suddenly.

Heiyan's body jolted slightly. The balance he desperately maintained broke, and with a loud crash, both man and stone tumbled downward from the mountaintop.

The situation became immediately dangerous.

"Kururu!"

On the ground, Stealth Frog witnessed this scene anxiously.

"Don't worry. This brat's body is tough enough—he shouldn't die from a fall." Gamabunta chuckled with amusement rather than concern. "Though I bet he'll end up seriously injured at least."

Actually, that was exactly what Gamabunta hoped would happen.

However, Gamabunta's wish was destined to go unfulfilled—again.

Whoosh!

Mid-fall, while rapidly plummeting downward, Heiyan suddenly shot out a golden chain from behind that wrapped tightly around the mountainside, instantly slowing his descent.

[Adamantine Sealing Chains].

This Ninjutsu had been refined into a masterpiece by Heiyan—he wielded it with unmatched finesse.

To Gamabunta's great disappointment,

Swoosh!

Heiyan lightly flipped upward and returned safely to the mountaintop without a scratch.

He continued his training.

At this rate, was this brat actually going to master Sage Art?

Gamabunta finally felt a sense of unease.

Should he report this to Great Elder?

He hesitated.

In fact, no report was necessary because—Gamamaru had already secretly been observing Heiyan.

Inside a temple deep within Mount Myoboku,

Gamamaru remained half-asleep as always, lying back on the Sage Art throne. However, before him now appeared a large crystal ball.

Within the crystal ball was clearly displayed Heiyan undergoing his Sage Art training.

[Telescope Technique]—a technique allowing one to spy on distant targets through a crystal orb.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was renowned for his mastery of this technique. He often hid inside the Hokage office monitoring various activities throughout Konoha village using a crystal ball.

Compared to Gamamaru, though, even Hiruzen Sarutobi just wasn't in his league.

Gamamaru had perfected the Telescope Technique after living as a hermit on Mount Myoboku for over a thousand years, enabling him to stay connected with the happenings of the outside world.

From within his temple on Mount Myoboku, he could witness everything occurring across the ninja world.

As shown in the original Naruto chronicles, Gamamaru used this crystal ball to observe Naruto's defeat of the Six Paths of Pain and his subsequent conversation with Nagato.

This was real [strategic command and victory from afar]—not just thousands, but millions of miles away.

After all, even for a ninja, traveling from Mount Myoboku to Konoha would take a full month—that meant a distance of at least two or three *wan* li (a traditional Chinese unit of distance, 1 wan li equals about 3,108 miles).

Yet Gamamaru's chakra could cross such an immense distance.

Truly worthy of the title "Sage."

"My goodness, this young one truly is remarkable."

At this moment, Gamamaru gazed slowly at Heiyan meditating atop a mountain peak inside the crystal ball. "Of all the Sage Art practitioners in history, next only to the Sage of Six Paths, he must be the most gifted."

Gamamaru himself once taught Sage Art to the Sage of Six Paths.

According to him, the latter grasped the basics of Sage Art in just a blink of an eye. (In reality, it probably took the Sage of Six Paths half a day or so to learn it.)

By placing Heiyan on par with the Sage of Six Paths, Gamamaru had paid him an extraordinarily high compliment.

What a shame.

Such a prodigy was destined to live a tragically short life.

Beside Gamamaru, Fukasaku and Grandma Shima stood frozen in shock upon hearing Gamamaru's assessment of Heiyan.

"Dear, did you secretly tell Heiyan the method of cultivating Sage Art beforehand?" Fukasaku whispered cautiously.

"Never!" Grandma Shima replied firmly.

Just then, through the crystal ball, they witnessed again that thrilling scene from earlier: Heiyan falling from the mountaintop yet successfully using Adamantine Sealing Chains to avert disaster, then continuing his meditation as if nothing had happened.

To cultivate Sage Art alone without any guidance or instruction—

such incredible talent and perseverance were simply terrifying.

Realizing this, Fukasaku and Grandma Shima exchanged glances—they were thinking exactly the same thing—

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