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Naruto can apparently have only 5 shadow clones gathering natural energy to enable his sage mode. Why not use the following approach?

  1. Create 4 shadow clones for storing energy and one shadow clone doing nothing (at present)
  2. When one shadow clone is released, have the idle shadow clone create another one.
  3. Repeat as long as required

This way there will always be 4 shadow clones gathering natural energy and there will be no limit of times Naruto can go into sage mode.

Please bear in mind that I've not read the manga and have seen the anime episodes till 264.

Thanks

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  • 4
    This seems like it's asking for speculation.
    – kuwaly
    Jan 11, 2013 at 3:36
  • I guess it is a bit at that. Is this covered in more detail in the manga or any databook? Basically, the anime has no explanation, so I'm forced to look elsewhere
    – Chetter Hummin
    Jan 11, 2013 at 3:38

2 Answers 2

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Every time shadow clones are created, the user's chakra is divided equally among the clones. If a clone creates further shadow clones, that clone's chakra would be evenly distributed among the newly created clones.

According to what Frog Sage Fukusaku explained to Naruto, to enter into sage mode, the user needs to gather natural energy while balancing it with one's chakra. It is difficult to maintain that balance with lower chakra. The user turns into a frog if the natural energy overwhelms the user's chakra. Moreover, if any of the shadow clones turns into a frog, the original user too turns into a frog.

Hence, repeatedly making shadow clones to go into sage mode increases the risk of turning into a frog, and hence, Naruto cannot use this trick practically.

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    I think the question can be satisfactorily answered without speculation, using canonical references. At least I am satisfied. :)
    – Masked Man
    Jan 11, 2013 at 5:22
  • if any of the shadow clones turns into a frog, the original user too turns into a frog - Is it true!!!!! ?
    – krishna - Itachi's fan
    Dec 9, 2014 at 12:08
  • @krishna-Itachi'sfan Yes, read/watch Naruto's senjutsu training at Myobokuzan. Fukusaku first hesitates to let Naruto use Shadow Clones to speed up the training because that raises the risk of him turning to a frog. He finally agrees to let Naruto use it, but on the condition that if he senses any clone turning into a frog, he would hit that clone with his big stick. He further asks Naruto to not create more than 4 clones because he cannot watch more than that many at a time.
    – Masked Man
    May 3, 2015 at 12:26
  • if a clone turns into a frog, then when released, all the chakra that made it do so would go to naruto, which would turn him into a frog, though arguably to a lesser degree thanks to the increased amount of total chakra the 2 togeather would have, but it is still a risk, especially with more clones. That being said, it is more realsitic if he would manually create the clones himself, have them go hide and do so, then when both of them are gone(possibly leaving no other clones at all), he can create new ones (like we know he can do) and send them off to replenish, possibly having down time.
    – Ryan
    Mar 15, 2016 at 16:14
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Every time a Shadow Clone is dismissed, all of the knowledge/chakra/experience he has goes back to all of the other clones (as demonstrated when he asked for Asuma's advice about the wind element).

This means that eventually, the "spare" clone would also enter Sage Mode (and his Sage chakra would supposedly increase more and more), eventually, that clone won't be able to maintain balance (due to the overflow of Sage chakra, and the division of his own chakra), and turn into a frog. Once the clones turns into a frog, the original does too.

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