On the deck of the passenger ship, only two people remained — Naruto and Karin.
Everyone else had been frightened by the loud noises earlier and hid elsewhere.
Naruto, on the other hand, sat cross-legged in meditation, gathering natural energy and converting it into senjutsu chakra within his body.
Although Naruto was familiar with Sage Mode from his memories, this was his first time truly entering it.
After a while, his focus stabilized. He slowly opened his eyes — his pupils turned orange, and black pigmentation appeared around them.
Feeling the powerful natural energy surging through him, Naruto was surprised.
The power of Sage Mode was actually stronger than that of a Tailed Beast's chakra!
The Nine-Tails sealed within him possessed 3.5 times more chakra than a normal Nine-Tails, meaning its chakra intensity had already undergone a qualitative change.
Yet the senjutsu chakra Naruto now controlled was still more powerful than that of a single Nine-Tails.
No wonder Senju Hashirama could easily suppress the Nine-Tails using Sage Mode and his massive chakra reserves.
Wait... that made sense.
A ninja in true Sage Mode was almost unafraid of Tailed Beasts.
Of course, Orochimaru's Curse Seals didn't count — though they also used natural energy, they were a crude imitation compared to true Sage Mode.
After entering Sage Mode, Naruto raised his hand and began forming hand seals.
Relying on his memory of how chakra operated in the "True Waterfall" technique, he controlled the flow of chakra through specific mudras, attempting to recreate the illusion.
"It's working!"
Naruto could feel the changes in his chakra. He quickly performed the Mind Body Switch Technique hand seal and aimed it at a crew member watching from a corner.
Startled, the crew member yelped, begged for mercy, and ran away.
Before Naruto, an illusionary figure began to materialize — a person identical to the ship's captain appeared, though his expression was noticeably darker and twisted.
"Success!"
Karin also looked on curiously.
She didn't understand why Naruto was so obsessed with replicating the "True Waterfall" illusion.
But after seeing the result, she instantly realized how powerful it was.
As long as Naruto had enough chakra, no matter how strong his opponent was, he could use this illusion to manifest a "dark reflection" of them — a phantom version equal to the enemy's power but consumed by their negative emotions.
If Naruto could somehow control that phantom body...
Then anyone who fought him would be forced to face their own corrupted self.
Even worse, the illusion perfectly mirrored the enemy's strength — forcing both sides to start equally.
That was terrifying.
Because in such a situation, the enemy would always be at a disadvantage.
No matter how powerful they were, Naruto could create an illusion just as strong — and when combined with his true body, how could anyone win?
However, there was a problem.
The phantom body created by the illusion didn't obey Naruto's commands.
Of course, that made sense. The "True Waterfall" wasn't a living being — its illusions were the result of chakra operating in a specific pattern, not conscious control.
In other words, the waterfall itself created the illusion, not the user.
And since the "True Waterfall" wasn't a ninja, its illusions weren't designed for combat.
After the crewman's dark side appeared, it began ranting loudly, venting all the frustration and negativity it had repressed.
Naruto smiled, satisfied that the technique worked.
He cut off the chakra flow to the phantom body, and it quickly dissipated.
Karin walked over and said, "This illusion is strong since it reveals the enemy's true heart, but it can't be controlled — that means it can't really be used in battle."
"Hmm..." Naruto looked serious, deep in thought. "There has to be a way to control the original will of the phantom I summoned."
But how?
Naruto recalled scenes from the original story.
Maybe... Impure World Reincarnation?
In that jutsu, the resurrected ninja couldn't act independently unless the caster allowed it.
But that also made it cumbersome — Naruto would have to divide his focus between fighting and controlling the phantom.
That would be too distracting.
What if he used a Shadow Clone to control the phantom body while he fought?
No, that wouldn't work either.
Shadow Clones were too fragile — they dispersed after taking even minor damage.
And if a phantom body broke free from a clone's control, it could even turn on Naruto himself.
That would be disastrous.
So, Shadow Clone control was out.
There had to be another way — a method to make the phantom body act independently while still following his will.
Wait…
Naruto remembered Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation during the war.
Back then, Orochimaru's version was primitive — nothing like Kabuto's perfected one.
Yet Orochimaru still managed to control all the Hokage he revived.
He did so by embedding curse seals into their bodies, enhancing his control over them.
Maybe Naruto could adapt that concept — use similar seals to alter the will of the illusionary body and make it serve him.
Should he consult Orochimaru?
After all, Orochimaru already possessed those sealing formulas.
Naruto was talented, but creating such seals from scratch would take at least two or three years — even longer to refine them perfectly.
The only issue was… Orochimaru wasn't exactly an easy person to deal with.
No, that wasn't right — Orochimaru wasn't a normal person at all.
Even if he agreed to cooperate, Naruto would still have to modify the seals himself.
Wait...
What if he let his simulation characters handle the research?
In simulations, their lives only lasted a few minutes in real time.
If Naruto could randomly generate strong attributes and then guide a simulated character into researching the "True Waterfall," they could develop the required seals for him inside the simulation.
Then, when the simulation ended, Naruto could directly inherit their results.
That way, he wouldn't need to rely on Orochimaru at all.
Yes — that was perfect!
Naruto grinned. This illusion technique had too much potential to give up on.
So, aboard the ship heading toward the Land of Snow, Naruto started a new simulation.
However, this time, he even lit incense beforehand — a small ritual for good luck.
But as the simulation progressed, something felt wrong.
He originally had six simulation attempts left.
After a short while, two of them were already gone.
The first time, his luck was terrible — the generated character was too weak and unremarkable.
The second time, the character was born into a good family — the Uzumaki Clan.
And, as expected... they were soon captured and made into the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
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