So I was thinking about how Senjutsu would work.
The basic concept of Senjutsu as presented by the Naruto anime is that you absorb Nature Chakra and balance it with your own. Too much Chakra can turn you to stone,
while too little just doesn't do anything at all.
Let's look at this from an SLO standpoint.
1: What you can do with it
It's never been clear (To me, at least)
*what* Sage Mode gifts exactly.
And it will probably be different here,
so I have my own theory.
Humans can naturally develop their own chakra,
and it can then be used for certain techniques,
or Ninjutsu.
Nature Chakra is similar.
It must be absorbed from the surrounding enviroment,
but once acquired, it can be used for techniques *Unique*
to Sage Mode. I have to stress that whatever this gifts
should be above all, *different* from ordinary jutsu.
So here's my idea.
Animals use Nature Chakra. Not in the way that we use ours,
but they use it. It gives the hawk its vision,
the deer its hearing, the wolf its nose.
They don't consume Nature Chakra by using these abilities-
The Nature Energy itself influences them while they are in the womb, to give them these traits.
It shapes them to naturally have these abilities
once they come into this world. We humans, however,
are not blessed with this gift. Nature Energy doesn't
shape us in the womb, and so we come out frail in comparison to other creatures.
But by channeling Nature Chakra, we can mimic these traits after a fashion, by watching how animals use them.
We don't gain abilities naturally upon achieving Sage Mode.
Rather, we have to learn how to express this power through techniques, just like how shinobi have to learn jutsu.
By using the one natural ability of seeing the flow of chakra in living beings, we can watch a hawk hunting,
see it spy a rat, the nature chakra surging as it
makes a split-second decision to dive.
And by copying that surge, we learn to focus our vision just like the hawk, picking out details from a far distance.
In this way we gain the hearing of the dear,
the smell of the wolf, and perhaps even slight
camoflauge abilities like the chamoleon.
But we don't have these abilities on permanently;
We can "Toggle" them once learned.
This is important because, just like Ninjutsu,
usage of these mimicry techniques consumes
Nature Chakra in the process.
And to understand why this is important,
we proceed to the next part:
2: How it is acquired.
The basic concept of Senjutsu as presented by the Naruto anime is that you absorb Nature Chakra and balance it with your own. Too much Chakra can turn you to stone,
while too little just doesn't do anything at all.
There are several ways we can toy with this concept
of balancing Nature Energy with your Chakra.
(Hereon referred to as NE and CHA)
1: When absorbing Nature Energy, simply reduce your base chakra by half in order to make room for it.
I.E, I have 1000 chakra. I remove 500 chakra and replace it with NE. I am now in Sage Mode.
2: We take on an equal amount of NE to our own chakra, without needing to make room for it.
I.E, I have 1000 chakra, I add 1000 NE, done.
However... Say that we went with the method of generating chakra that our resident mathematician
@NinjaMirage suggested a while back.
You take 250 Mind Energy, and 250 Stamina
(Hereon ME and STA)
and mix them to get 500 chakra.
Think of it as this yin-yang.
![](https://s28.postimg.org/ab3kxupkd/STA.ME.jpg)
(Black= ME, Yellow= Stamina)
They are in perfect balance, thereby creating chakra.
However, if you wish to absorb Nature Chakra and use it,
that's where things get complicated.
You must balance your Mind Energy and Stamina with Nature Energy.
![](https://s28.postimg.org/vysj8apyl/STA.ME.NEquestionable.jpg)
I.E: 250 Mind Energy, 250 Stamina, and 500 Nature Energy. (Questionable math)
By doing this, you are creating Nature Chakra alongside your regular Chakra.
Tada! Sage Mode achieved!
But that's only the first step!
See, there's the issue of *maintaining* this balance.
In the anime, if you absorb too much Nature Energy,
you turn into a goddamn statue.
Now in this setting, that might be a bit too much punishment if you mess up.
Don't get me wrong, punishment is a necessary part of it.
Patience, Trial and Error.
But we probably won't have NE-absorbing batons
to help us if we blow it here- or in the middle of battle.
Accidents do happen after all.
So I propose:
Too little NE= No effect.
Too much NE= Debilitating side affects for sure.
(I suggest health loss and multiple temporary status effects, significantly hindering failures.
This part is ultimately up to the devs though.)
But. Once balance is attained, you need to keep it.
So we have equal amounts of ME, STA and NE,
creating NCHA and CHA.
The special techniques that Sage Mode grants
cost both Nature Chakra and regular Chakra.
(About two-thirds NCHA and one-third CHA)
Use too much NE from your pool,
and you'll start to lose balance.
If you lose too much NE you will drop Sage Mode and have to gather NE all over again.
How much NE is required to keep Sage Mode on could
perhaps be increased with enough practice,
but the bottom line is:
Try not to use all your Sage Techniques simultaneously.
The more Chakra you have, the more Nature Chakra
you can also have to balance it out with.
So try to use these abilities one at a time,
and conserve NCHA.
Side Note: If you begin losing Nature Chakra,
it is of course possible to try and regain some,
but this will probably be impossible in a battle.
@NinjaMirage I could use your input on this.
P.S. Tired, forgive any mistakes.
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