Naruto’s Sage Mode Might Not Be His Strongest Form, But It’s Secretly His most Important For One Big Reason That’s Easy To Miss

Naruto is a staple of modern anime. It features an incredible world, reliably entertaining side characters, and one of the most beloved shōnen protagonists of all time. Naruto went from a lonely, mischievous little kid, to the hero of his village, and eventually, he became the Hokage that he always wanted to be. He did so through a myriad of power-ups and new forms, but surprisingly, there was only one form that he actually earned himself: the original Sage Mode.

After Jiraiya died to Pain, Naruto wanted revenge, but he wasn’t strong enough. Fukasaku, one of the Great Toad Sages and Jiraiya’s former teacher, took Naruto to Mount Myoboku to learn Senjutsu, a.k.a. Sage Mode. While Naruto has a ton of powerful forms, like the Sage of Six Paths, Tailed Beast Transformations, and more, Senjutsu was the only form that he actually learned himself, giving it a unique importance both within the series and within Naruto’s character arc as a whole.

Naruto’s Other Modes Are All Incredibly Powerful, But Share One Specific Problem

Sage Mode is one of Naruto’s most powerful as it allows him to deal a unique type of damage that other forms don’t. All of Naruto’s other forms are incredibly powerful, but they’re not necessarily Naruto’s. Naruto’s Tailed Beast Transformation is easily his strongest in Naruto and towards the beginning and middle of Naruto: Shippuden, but the more tails Naruto produces, the less he can control it.

It isn’t until much later in the series that Kurama and Naruto begin to see eye to eye. Before they become friends, they’re rightfully bitter enemies. Kurama killed Naruto’s parents, and Naruto’s parents are the people who sealed Kurama inside the future Hokage. Whenever Naruto draws upon the Demon Fox’s power, Kurama takes a little bit of Naruto’s mind for himself, controlling the boy with ease. It shows that this transformation is more Kurama’s than Naruto’s, and Yamato is even assigned to Naruto specifically to keep the Tailed Beast Transformation away.

At the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto unlocks arguably his most powerful form in Naruto: Shippuden when Hagoromo Otsutsuki gives him the Sage of Six Paths Mode. Again, this isn’t really Naruto’s strength, but rather the strength of Ashura, that Naruto was a reincarnation of. Naruto uses the power incredibly well and certainly makes it his own, but it didn’t come from him. If Hagoromo didn’t come down in human form, Naruto may never have achieved this incredible state.

Sage Mode Is Naruto’s Only Form That Stems Entirely From His Own Hard Work & Determination

Naruto is easily one of the hardest workers in his own series. It’s a big reason why so many people gravitate towards him and have faith in him. Kurama even lets his guard down when he can’t help but acknowledge just how strong Naruto has become. While it’s always fun to see the yellow-haired ninja get a fun power up from the Demon Fox or a former Ninja God, it’s much more rewarding to see him earn his strength on his own.

Naruto’s trials on Mount Myoboku were grueling, time-consuming, and altogether difficult. Naruto endured, however, and was able to come back to his village stronger than ever when Pain began his assault with one of the most tragic events of mass destruction in anime. Sage Mode is Naruto’s only form that came from his own hard work and determination. It might not be his strongest, and it certainly isn’t compared to Sage of Six Paths mode, but it’s his most meaningful.

Naruto had to go through the same trials and tribulations as his Sensei Jiraiya, who came before him. He had to work incredibly hard to achieve Sage Mode, and because of it, he was able to save his village. While Naruto was essentially given all of his other forms, nobody gave him Sage Mode. His hard work directly paid off, as he was able to not only master Sage Mode, but make it even better than Jiraiya did.

He was able to control both his own Chakra and Sage Mode Chakra better than Jiriaya, as seen in the physical manifestations of toad-qualities on his face. He was also able to add his own spin to Sage Mode, using Shadow Clones to increase the pool of Sage Chakra he could draw from.

All Of Naruto’s Forms Reflect Just How Much His Character Grows

Naruto’s forms each reflect a different aspect of his character. His Tailed Beast Transformation State is a direct indicator of Naruto’s anger and only comes out when Naruto can’t hold his rage back anymore. Naruto usually tapped into his Jinchuuriki powers when he sees that one of his friends was in danger, or even when they died. When he thought Sasuke died to Haku in early Naruto, he threw consequences to the wind and let his inner Demon Fox out to great effect.

When he grows up in Shippuden and becomes a little more mature, thanks to one of the best father figures in anime, he doesn’t tap into his anger as much. When Jiraiya died to Pain, the old Naruto would have immediately used his Jinchuuriki powers and tried to face Pain right away. Now, as a much more mature young man, Naruto takes the time to head to Mount Myoboku with the toads to earn his own power, forging his own path to take down his enemy.

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At the end of Shippuden Naruto is as mature as a 17-year-old can be. His last forms reflect a synthesis of his first two, as his hard work led him to making peace with Kurama. They symbolically combine him coming to terms with his childhood trauma, forgiving everyone in the village who mistreated him, and using it as fuel to make sure nobody has to go through what he went through again. Naruto’s able to be powerful but level-headed, determined and not distracted, and an incredibly powerful character who uses his abilities to defend the people he loves.

Naruto

Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists’ children and returning faces.

First Episode Air Date

October 3, 2002

Cast

Junko Takeuchi , Maile Flanagan , Noriaki Sugiyama , Chie Nakamura , Kazuhiko Inoue , Nana Mizuki , Hideo Ishikawa , Yûko Sanpei

Character(s)

Naruto Uzumaki , Sasuke Uchiha , Sakura Haruno , Kakashi Hatake , Itachi Uchiha , Hinata Hyuga , Gaara , Jiraiya , Tsunade , Orochimaru

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