Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-25374031-20140917212238/@comment-25374031-20140926035709

Ok, this is all confusing. Basically the point everyone tries to mention is 1) Pigmentation around eyes.  Although not sure for other sages, the ones who learnt it from Mount Myōboku tend to possess this. Jiraiya spread the red paint (whatever) on his face before he could turn use sage mode. So not sure if he has the pigmentation. But then, Fukasaku claimed that Naruto learned to gather nature energy when he got the pigmentation (Training at the cliff, somewhere). So, it can be imagined that one passes this if the pigmentation is shown. 2) Naruto using clones. Naruto couldn't fuse with the toads. As motion makes it impossible to gather nature energy, he had to use clones to gather it (2-3 clones, so a total of 15 min in sage mode). Jiraiya and Minato never had any problem to fuse with the toads, so they had an option to infinitely be in sage mode. 3) Jiraiya toad transformations.  As the amount of nature energy gathered increases, the transformations are visible. It is not anything imperfect. Naruto had the same effect when the oil was used, an inburst of extra nature energy made him transform.

So, your opinions...