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.