Gold, crystals, pearls…
The pile was growing into a small mountain.
The pink snake's stomach was like a bottomless pit.
Naruto only glanced at the gold and jewels.
He wasn't interested in those.
Soon, the first item that caught his attention appeared.
A stone glowing with a brilliant seven-colored light dropped to the platform.
Next was a silver bracelet with intricate carvings.
Out of all the treasure, these two stood out the most to Naruto.
He flickered forward, grabbed the rainbow-colored stone and silver bracelet from the pile, and examined them carefully.
To his surprise, even Transparent World couldn't see through the inside of the stone.
All he could see was a mass of white light.
'A rainbow stone…'
Naruto recalled how Tenten had used a legendary tool like the Purple Gold Gourd during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
He stared at the stone with a strange look.
'Don't tell me there's actually some kind of Great Sage inside this thing?'
As for the silver bracelet, it clearly wasn't an ordinary object either.
Whatever the case, Naruto didn't hesitate—he stored both in a Sealing Scroll.
The green-haired man stared in silence, his mouth practically watering.
Before leaving, Naruto turned to the pink snake.
"Do you want to sign a contract and become my summoning beast?"
"Contract? Summoning beast? What's that?" The pink snake rubbed her head with her tail again.
"It means, if you sign it, I can take you all over the world to play, and if anyone annoys you, we can beat them up together," Naruto explained.
The snake nodded repeatedly. "Yes! I want to sign!"
Naruto pulled out a scroll, bit his finger, and began inscribing the contract.
Once it was signed, he took Hidan and the green-haired man and prepared to leave the island.
But just then, the system's voice rang out.
"Autonomous Mission Activated: Train in Sage Mode on the island for one month. Reward: Unlock Second Stage of Sage Mode."
Naruto stopped in his tracks.
And so, he began a one-month period of absorbing natural energy on the island.
To Naruto, a month passed quickly.
But for Hidan and the green-haired man, it was absolute torture.
"Hey, boss! What the hell are you doing?! Weren't we going to see the Evil God? Why are you just sitting here doing nothing?!"
After nearly a month of prison-like boredom, Hidan was on the verge of madness.
Just as he finished yelling, Naruto's eyes snapped open.
The system's voice echoed in his mind:
"Check-in Complete. Reward Acquired: Sage Mode – Second Stage Unlocked."
The moment the system finished speaking, natural energy from all directions surged toward Naruto.
He became the eye of a storm, greedily absorbing the energy around him.
A wild wind howled.
Hidan and the green-haired man nearly lost their footing.
The tremor of power startled the entire island.
Many beasts trembled in fear, feeling a deep sense of unease.
That single moment nearly drained the entire island's natural energy reserve.
For a full thirty minutes, Naruto absorbed the energy nonstop before the tremors slowly subsided.
When he opened his eyes again, his pupils glowed faint blue.
On his back, a white cloak formed—crafted from pure Sage Chakra.
It shimmered with a brilliant light, adorned with mysterious glowing runes.
In that moment, Naruto radiated an aura not far from a divine being.
"So this is... Sage Mode, Second Stage."
He clenched his fists, feeling the surging Sage Chakra within.
A sword of light instantly formed in his palm.
With a casual swing—
A wave of energy, like a Crescent Moon Sky Slash, erupted forward.
Everything in its path was reduced to dust.
All that remained was a bottomless chasm that stretched beyond the visible horizon.
Hidan and the green-haired man stood frozen in place.
Hidan even had the illusion that Naruto—rather than the Evil God—might be the real deity.
Even Naruto himself found it a bit surreal that a basic attack could unleash such power.
But more than anything, it just felt... damn good.
After leaving the island, Naruto let the green-haired man go.
The guy had been honest the whole time—never lied, never tried to pull a trick.
This treasure hunt had been well worth it.
Instead of going straight back to the Evil God Cult, Naruto took Hidan to the nearest continent.
On the shore of the Land of Lightning, Naruto disembarked.
They entered a small town, which quickly became abuzz with activity.
Naruto dragged Hidan along, drawing many curious stares.
Hidan, lifeless and drained, muttered, "Hey... Can you let me go already? With your power, it's not like I could escape anyway..."
Naruto thought for a moment and released the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Now free, Hidan hopped in place a few times, excited.
But before he could enjoy the moment, Naruto etched a Flying Thunder God marker onto him.
Hidan, familiar with his own cursed technique—Death Possession Blood—mistook Naruto's mark for something similarly sinister and panicked.
"You—you—you! What kind of evil spell is this?!"
Naruto didn't answer.
And the silence only made Hidan more nervous.
After nearly a month of foraging and raw meat, Naruto missed normal food.
He found a restaurant and stepped inside.
The hostess was a dark-skinned girl with short hair.
In the Land of Lightning, strength was beauty.
This girl had once believed that too.
But the moment she saw Naruto—
She realized that someone this handsome could completely shatter her aesthetic worldview.
She flashed a bright smile.
"Welcome! What would you like to order?"
She didn't try to hide her gaze—her eyes stayed fixed on Naruto the entire time.
Naruto glanced at the menu and, not really caring about taste, ordered every signature dish on the list.
"Alright! Please wait a moment~"
She scribbled down the order, gave him one last lingering glance, and walked away.
Soon, dish after dish filled the square table.
Hidan stared at the food and gulped.
"You're not gonna be stingy and keep all this to yourself, right?"
Naruto waved a hand. "Go ahead."
Hidan immediately dove in, stuffing his face.
Maybe it was the long lack of proper food, but Naruto found this meal incredibly satisfying.
Just as he raised a hand to signal for the check—
A loud, brash voice boomed from the doorway.
"I almost won that time! That bastard must've cheated! Shizune! Ten bottles of sake! We're drinking 'til we drop!"
Naruto looked up.
The first thing he saw—two absurdly massive "Heavenly Star Jutsus" parting the restaurant curtains.
The first had an outrageously curvy figure and long, pale blond hair tied into twin tails. She wore a green top.
Following her was a sweet-faced girl with short hair.