Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 145 Restrictions

At the summit of the mountain, Boruto sat cross-legged on a stone slab with his eyes closed. After taking a deep breath, he immersed himself completely in the surrounding nature.

Boruto immediately began to feel the natural energy in the air. Following Fukasaku's guidance, he guided this energy within his body, allowing it to flow slowly into the meridians where he stored chakra, like a gentle stream.

As natural energy continuously flowed into his body, Boruto experienced a cool power spreading within him. This power merged with his own chakra, gradually forming a harmonious new balance.

This new state of balance made Boruto's senses more acute; he could even perceive the sound of the wind carrying sand on the mountain peaks and the faint murmur of a distant stream.

For the rest of the time, no matter how strong the wind was, Boruto remained sitting steadily on the stone slab without moving, as if he were one with nature.

As Boruto gradually enters Sage Mode, his body slowly begins to change.

Special patterns gradually appeared around Boruto's eyes. These patterns were simpler than those in Jiraiya's Sage Mode, with smooth lines and a bluish-green color that corresponded to his chakra nature.

Fukasaku observed that Boruto's face had already displayed the distinctive features of Sage Mode, indicating that Boruto had successfully entered Sage Mode.

Moreover, unlike Jiraiya when he activated Sage Mode, Boruto did not have any bumps on his face, which indicates that he achieved more ideal results in his training than Jiraiya.

Boruto was able to skillfully control natural energy without relying on toad oil in less than half a week, which made Fukasaku feel secretly gratified.

Boruto slowly opened his eyes. He felt his body become lighter than ever before, and the power of his taijutsu and ninjutsu was significantly enhanced, even by several times or dozens of times.

At the same time, his perception of the surrounding environment expanded significantly, as if the whole world had become clearer and more visible.

Boruto landed on the ground and stretched out his hands to try to lift a toad statue. Previously, this action would have required some effort from him, but now he felt no pressure and easily lifted the toad statue above his head.

Fukasaku nodded in satisfaction and said to Boruto, "Boruto, you have taken the first step towards becoming a true sage. Now, I will guide you on how to truly master this power and teach you how to use Sage Chakra in battle."

Subsequently, Fukasaku proposed a sparring session with Boruto, with the aim of enabling Boruto to master the Frog Kyuume technique using his Sage Chakra.

However, Boruto's progress was very rapid. He not only mastered the Frog Kumite, but also learned the Water Release: Water Slash from Fukasaku.

Fukasaku also noticed that every time Boruto absorbed the surrounding natural energy and entered Sage Mode to fight him, he could maintain Sage Mode for a significantly longer time than Jiraiya, actually breaking the limit of five minutes that Sage Mode could only be maintained.

As evening approached, Boruto and Fukasaku's sparring finally came to an end. Fukasaku appeared to be panting heavily, while Boruto seemed unaffected and remained in normal condition.

"Boruto, let's stop here for today. If we continue, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep going," Fukasaku said, panting.

Although Fukasaku was very reluctant to admit that he was getting old, he had to admit that his physical strength was obviously inferior to Boruto's when faced with such high-intensity training.

Boruto nodded in response to Fukasaku, "Yes, Grandpa Sage."

Fukasaku gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with his claws, and said to Boruto with a smile, "The whole insect feast should be ready by now, kid. You should eat more so you can quickly replenish your strength."

This morning, Master Fukasaku specifically instructed Master Shima to catch more insects rich in protein so that they could recover the energy they had overexerted during their training.

When Boruto heard that he would be enjoying a full insect feast that night, his face immediately fell, and his initial excitement about his increased strength was greatly diminished.

......

Boruto and Fukasaku returned to the cabin, where they saw Shima wearing an apron, bringing out plates of colorful insect dishes from the kitchen and placing them on the table, ready to serve dinner.

Shima-sensei noticed their arrival and greeted them with a smile, "You're both back! Come on in, I just finished preparing today's whole insect feast, it's still warm! Eat it while it's hot, these insects I caught today are incredibly delicious."

Although Boruto was somewhat reluctant, he still forced himself to sit down, his eyes falling on the table full of insect dishes in front of him.

The table was laden with all sorts of insect dishes, including larval rice balls, horsefly soup, baked millipede, earthworm noodles, a platter of longhorn beetle larvae, and slugs in their shells... as well as many other insect dishes whose names I didn't know.

......

Boruto looked utterly dejected after finishing dinner and slumped listlessly across the table.

Fukasaku, holding a cup of tea, walked up to Boruto and said earnestly, "Boruto, you have not only mastered Sage Chakra, but you have also reached a certain level of proficiency in Sage Techniques."

Fukasaku paused, his gaze turning serious: "However, before that, there's something else I need to tell you."

Boruto sat up straight, adopting an attentive listening posture: "What is it, Grandpa Sage? Please tell me."

Fukasaku gently picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and then slowly said, "There are certain risks involved when you begin to use Sage Mode. Only by properly managing these risks can you use Sage Mode to the fullest extent."

The duration of Sage Mode is usually limited; generally, it can only last for a maximum of five minutes.

Although Boruto demonstrated a longer duration when using Sage Mode, Fukasaku Sage must also make him realize that this state is not infinite, and the time limit is always a factor to be considered.

When Sage Chakra is depleted, one needs to remain still to recharge it. However, this process can make one vulnerable in battle, turning one into an easy target.