Naruto Article- Sages:)

Sages

A sage in the Naruto universe is someone who has mastered senjutsu (or sage Jutsu) and has either been given the title 'Sage' due to their wisdom, power and great standing in the shinobi world or has mastered the art of  'Sage Mode' or 'Sennin Mode'.

The first sage

A legendary shinobi called Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki who was known by his nickname 'the Sage of the Six paths' was the first known Sage in history, although it is currently unknown how he was known as a sage although it is most likely that he was a sage due to his wisdom and power, rather than knowing Sage mode. He possessed the doujutsu Kekkei Genkei- the Rinnegan which gave him great visual power. He was the founder of modern ninjutsu and the current Naruto ninja world. He was known as a hero as he saved the world by defeating the ten tails and sealed it inside himself, becoming the  very first jinkurki and a god figure.

Sage mode- Mastering it- and the Advantages and disadvantages of using it

Naruto sage training at Mount myoboko 

Naruto's master, Jirayia Sage training as a child

No one knows how Sage mode was created but it is really hard to master, even for exceptionally high level ninja. Not everyone can learn sage mode as it requires the user to have large amounts of chakra inside them and they also have to have the guts to never give up, as the training process can be very intense. To enter sage mode, you have to learn to sense Nature (or natural) energy and balance it with your own chakra in order to enter this form. By doing this, the sage will give their own usual abilities like ninjutsu and tajutsu a power up. To be able to sense Nature energy the sage needs to 'become one with nature'. What this means is that they need to stay completely still so that they can truly appreciate nature and therefore be able to take in nature energy. 

In battle, having to stay completely still for a bit isn't ideal for a sage, but sages like Naruto and Jirayia got round this problem in certain strategies. Jirayia's master the toad sage Lord Fukasaku and his toad wife Shima helped Jirayia by taking in nature energy while Jirayia was on the move using 'Sage art Amphibian jutsu'. Naruto on the other hand used his Shadow clones in the same way.

'Sage art Amphibian jutsu'

The user of sage mode can only stay in sage mode for certain periods of time and can't replenish their Sage jutsu chakra whilst fighting and because of this in a lot of cases the user of Sage mode, after it has worn off, feels exhausted.

Different types of Sage mode

Currently in the Naruto series there are three different known types of Sage mode. All modes cause physical appearance differences to the user, although what type of physical appearance differences it causes depends on the type of sage mode.

Toad Sage mode

Jirayia's imperfect sage mode

The first sage mode seen in the naruto series is Toad sage mode- which is taught by toads at Mount Myoboku. In addition to all the advantages that were mentioned in the 'Sage mode Mastering it' section of this article, it also allows the user to harness the nature energy around them, which increases the range of their attacks- this is known as Frog Kumite. A sage is also granted sensor like abilities- they can also sense chakra around them. In terms of physical appearance changes, a true toad sage would display orange pigmentation around his eyes and his eyes themselves would turn yellow and have a black bar across each, like a toad's. Not many humans who have trained in Toad mode have managed to get this appearance however and many of them turned into frogs permanently due to taking in too much nature energy. 

Masters of Toad sage mode

Jirayia

 

Jirayia of the sannin trained in sage jutsu and sage mode at Mount Myoboku from being a young child but  despite this he never managed to obtain a perfect sage mode as he couldn't balance his chakra with nature energy completely and he was known as a really powerful Shinobi. His body took on more of a toad like form whenever he entered sage mode- he grew warts and his nose grew bigger. He would summon the two great sage toads Fukasaku and Shima to enter sage mode by drawing a blood contract across his face as he was unable to enter it by himself. Despite this, however, his attacks in this form were exceptionally strong and he was noted to be one of the best at using it. 

Naruto Uzumaki

Jirayia's godson Naruto Uzumaki,like his master also learned Sage mode and Sage Jutsu at Mount Myoboku after his sensei's death in order to fight Pain. Naruto, unlike Jirayia is considered a true sage- he can balance his chakra with nature energy and he mastered sage mode within a few days of training.





 He retains all of his normal physical characteristics but has the pigmentation around his eyes and toad like pupils. He also sometimes dons a long red coat with flames on the back when he enters Sage mode which he first wore in his fight against Pain/Nagato of the Akatsuki.

Naruto's sage mode with Ninetails chakra combined

Naruto, additionally being the jinkurki of Kurama, the ninetails can also use his power combined with Toad Sage Mode to increase his attack power even more. 

Naruto's Toad sage mode with Tailed Beast mode combined

And after mastering Tailed Beast mode after becoming friends with his tailed beast, Kurama, Naruto can now combine his Tailed Beast mode with Sage Mode which as well as making Naruto's attacks even stronger than before, the time he spends taking in Nature energy is shortened too.
Minato Namikaze (The fourth Hokage) 

Minato, Naruto's father also mastered Sage mode and is also a true sage as like his son Naruto, he can also balance out his chakra with nature energy. 
Additionally, like Naruto, his physical appearance also remains the same as it usually would with the exception of pigmentation around his eyes and toad like pupils.

Snake Sage mode

Snake Sage mode like Toad sage mode gives the user a power up but gives the user a scaly snake like appearance and horns. Snake sage mode like Toad Sage mode can be taught at a specific location- Ryūchi Cave. Many snakes live there including the White Snake Sage-who can teach humans snake sage mode. 

Masters of Snake Sage mode

Orochimaru

Orochimaru learned Sage mode at Ryūchi Cave but was unable to use it to it's full potiential as he couldn't find a host body which could withstand Sage Mode. (Orochimaru used bodies of humans so that he could be immortal)
 So he decided to use the Senjutsu chakra he had to invent cursed seals after researching the abilities of Jugo's clan and branded them on certain people and followers of his, such as Sasuke Uchiha and the sound ninja four. 

One of Orochimaru's cursed seals

Kabuto Yakushi

Kabuto, after Orochimaru was sealed away by Sasuke, went to Ryūchi cave to learn Snake Sage mode and succeeded at it as his body, unlike Orochimaru's is strong enough to withstand Sage Jutsu chakra. 

Hashirama senjiu's sage mode

Hashirama in sage mode.

Hashirama, the first Hokage and Wood style Kekkei Genkei was able to master a type of sage mode. Not much is known about this form but it has the same effects as  any other type of Sage mode, making Hashirama's attacks more powerful but he still has to spend time taking in nature energy as wel. In terms of appearance, Hashirama gets markings around his eyes and a dot on his forehead whenever he enters Sage mode.

Naruto series article- Naruto's influence on others

Naruto series- Naruto's influence on others

Throughout all of the Naruto series , Naruto Uzumaki is has often been described of having a special 'power' which enables him to make friends with people very easily within a short period of time. 

Naruto Uzumaki :3- Believe it heheee XD

As Kurama's jinjuriki, he has been through a lot of neglect, hatred, sadness, and loneliness in his past.

Naruto as a child, lonely and neglected

This is what enables him to sympathize with others who  have been through the same or similar experiences. Naruto's power is his sympathy towards others and his actions he makes that prove that sympathy.

Naruto's friend Gaara for instance.

(Gaara as a child)

Gaara, like Naruto had suffered the same lonely childhood- being neglected and hated by the villagers. He was also extremely lonely like Naruto..Unlike Naruto, who resorted to playing pranks on people to get noticed, Gaara decided he would kill in order to live and his personality became unstable. Even his brother and Sister, Kankuro and Temari, respectively were scared of him.

(Gaara's intial unstable personality)

When Naruto met Gaara during the chunnin exams and automatically didn't like him. After Naruto found out that Gaara was a jinkuriki like him and heard about his past, however, he was really shocked but understood what Gaara was talking about, having suffered in a similar way in his youth. When Naruto later confronted Gaara and fought him, he got his feelings through to him through their fight. 

Naruto defeating Gaara

 Naruto then told Gaara that he made friends and if it wasn't for them, he'd be in the same situation as Gaara.

Naruto tells Gaara he knows how he feels 

Gaara was shocked that someone who had suffered just as badly as he did could still be determined to prove himself to others and had found friends who he cared about and they, him. Naruto's speech to Gaara convinced him to rethink about what his purpose was in life and eventually change his ways- he became kind and protective of his friends. 

Because of this, the people in his village started to respect him more, like how they did with Naruto and in part two it was revealed he became Kazekage.

Gaara as Kazekage

Naruto has had influence through his sympathy on a lot of adults too, like all the Kage, Ebisu, Zabuza, Chiyo, Nagato and many more people.

 

Naruto and all the kage

Zabuza after deciding to take down Gato's men after having a change of heart thanks to Naruto

Chiyo saving Gaara, giving her life after being influenced by Naruto

Ebisu fighting  a Pain to protect the village and Naruto

Nagato bringing the dead he has killed back to life thanks to Naruto's influence on him

Naruto's friends have also been affected by Naruto's 'power'. Because of this, all of them have grown to respect him, even those who initially thought he was weak and useless. His influence on them has made them all determined to get stronger and try their best- even the normally lazy Shikamaru.

He has also had influences on nine of the tailed beasts,even his own tailed beast, the stubborn Kurama. They all agreed he may be the reincarnation of the sage of the six paths due to his determination, and friendly nature. He also influenced their jinkurki too..

His influence on others grew due to the influence his mentors through his shinobi life impacted on him.

• Iruka made Naruto a better person generally(thanks to Iruka, Naruto stopped playing pranks on all the villagers) and shaped his life philosophy. Iruka has helped Naruto verbally as a lot through conversation with Naruto, Iruka is able to offer him advice and keep encouraging him. 

• Jirayia taught Naruto pretty much every type of Ninjutsu he knows and also installed in him the 'Guts to Never give up'. The two were very close being Godson and Godfather- Naruto was devastated when Jirayia passed away- but because of what his master taught him, he was able to never give up, learn sage jutsu, defeat pain and influence Nagato using his 'power'.

Kakashi-helped Naruto develop his skills in teamwork and friendship as a Ninja and also helped him master wind chakra nature. His teachings of teamwork and friendship helped Naruto to consider others and eventually never give up on trying to bring his friend Sasuke back to the leaf village. 

Additionally, despite not being his sensei, Haku caused Naruto to establish his 'Ninja Way' which he has stood by even after Haku's death.

And finally, I personally believe that Naruto's 'power' has had an influence on his fans as his story of how despite how difficult his path has been, he's been able to use his sympathy to both prove himself and become an ally to others and change the world truly is amazing.