Shinobi Striker Naruto Sage Mode: Moves and How to Unlock

Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode) is the 49th DLC master in Shinobi Striker, released on 27 August 2026 on Steam and 28 August on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and anyone who owns the game can play him because he arrived in a free update. What costs money is his Master Character Training Pack, which lets your own avatar learn his two ninjutsu, his Nine Tails secret technique, the Hokage Cloak outfit and the rest of his rewards. As of November 2026 he is the newest master in the game and the second of Season 10, after Jiraiya (Sage Mode) in May.

We checked this against the official NARUTO site's DLC #49 page and 14th developer letter, Bandai Namco Europe's release post, the Steam store listings for the training pack and Season Pass 10, the patch 2.70 and 2.71 announcements, and the Shinobi Striker community wiki, all in November 2026.

Release Date and What Is Free Versus Paid

The 14th developer letter, published on 26 August 2026, set the schedule: update 2.71 on Thursday 27 August and Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode) on Friday 28 August. Steam's listing for the training pack shows 27 August because of the time zone difference, and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One pack is dated 28 August. Bandai Namco Europe's announcement describes him as playable through a free update, and the developer letter says the same thing in plainer words: he is free to use once the update is installed.

That split confuses a lot of players, so it is worth spelling out. Two different things share his name:

• The playable character. Free for everyone after update 2.71. You can play as him without buying anything.
• Master Character Training Pack: Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode). Paid DLC. It makes him available as a master in the Ninjutsu Library so you can earn Training Points with him and unlock his techniques and cosmetics for your created ninja.
• Season Pass 10. Paid bundle covering Master Character Training Packs #48 to #51, which means Jiraiya (Sage Mode), Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode) and two packs that had not been revealed as of November 2026, plus the bonus secret technique Majestic Attire: Susano'o.

The game itself plays on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility, and the official DLC page reminds players that online multiplayer on PlayStation needs a paid PlayStation Plus subscription.

His Ninjutsu and Secret Technique

He is an Attack type, and all three of his techniques are Attack type as well, so they slot into an Attack loadout once learned. The descriptions below come from the Steam listing for the training pack and the official DLC page.

• Frog Kumite (Ninjutsu 1). A taijutsu that cloaks you in Nature Energy and uses it as an extension of your body. A hit at close range counts as a Clean Hit, and a Shadow Clone follows up with a Rasengan for heavy damage, so the move rewards landing it up close rather than at the edge of its range.
• Nature Energy: Concentration (Ninjutsu 2). Channels Sage Chakra to enter Sage Mode. It has no cooldown. If you press it while the Ninjutsu Gauge is not full, it starts charging instead. Once the gauge is full, your physical abilities rise, most attacks stop making you flinch while you are attacking, and Shadow Clones add follow-up attacks when you use ninja tools.
• Tailed Beast State: Nine Tails (Secret Technique). Turns you into a raging Tailed Beast, fully restores your health and sharply boosts your physical abilities. While it lasts, your normal attacks and ninjutsu change into unique attacks, but you cannot use ninja tools or Substitution, so plan your escape before you activate it.

The no-cooldown buff is the unusual part of the kit. Most power-up techniques in the game sit on a timer, while Nature Energy: Concentration asks you to spend time charging instead, which means the buff is strongest when you can find a quiet moment behind your team. For where the newest techniques land against the rest of the roster after recent balance passes, see our Shinobi Striker tier list.

Training Rank Rewards From 1 to 10

Every master pays out a fixed reward at each Training Rank. The official DLC #49 page lists Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode) like this:

1. Ninja Master unlocked
2. Ninjutsu: Frog Kumite
3. Naruto Outfit: Hokage Cloak Ver. and Naruto's Wallet
4. Ninjutsu: Nature Energy: Concentration
5. Secret Technique: Tailed Beast State: Nine Tails
6. Shinobi Boost Seal
7. Hair: Naruto (No Headband) and Hair: Minato (No Headband)
8. Weapon: Naruto's Scroll
9. Shinobi Boost Seal
10. Honorary Title: Hero

Ranks 2 to 5 hold everything that changes how you fight. Ranks 6 to 10 are cosmetics, two Shinobi Boost Seals (used to swap outfit skills) and the weapon. Naruto's Scroll is worth noting because the developer letter singles it out as a reward for buying the Special Ninjutsu Training, so it is not something you will find in the regular shop.

The Hokage Cloak outfit comes in versions for both men and women, and the hairstyles let you copy his headband-free look or Minato's. If outfits are your main interest, our guide to changing clothes in Shinobi Striker explains where to equip the cloak once it unlocks.

How to Set Him as Your Master

Steam's listing spells out the steps after you buy the pack: download it, go to the Ninjutsu Library in the Hidden Leaf Village online lobby, and set Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode) as your new master. From then on, the Training Points you earn in matches go toward his ranks.

1. Install update 2.71 and the training pack on your platform.
2. Enter the Hidden Leaf Village lobby and walk to the Ninjutsu Library, which the community wiki notes is run by adult Sasuke.
3. Pick him as your master.
4. Play matches to fill Training Points, then return to the library as ranks unlock.
5. Equip Frog Kumite, Nature Energy: Concentration and Tailed Beast State: Nine Tails on an Attack loadout at the Inn.

There is a shortcut for older masters, called the Top Secret Training Set, that hands over Training Rank 1 to 5 rewards at once. Steam listed sets up to Season Pass 9 characters in November 2026, with no Season Pass 10 set, so Sage Mode Naruto still has to be trained the normal way. Our breakdown of Top Secret Training in Shinobi Striker covers how those sets work and why they sometimes seem not to.

Sage Mode Naruto, Jiraiya and the Other Sage Items

Search results mix several different "Sage Mode" items together. Here is what each one actually is:

• Jiraiya (Sage Mode) is DLC #48, released on 29 May 2026 (Japan time) as the first Season 10 master. The official page describes him as an aggressive Defense type who fights alongside the Two Great Sage Toads, with Sage Art: Bath of Boiling Oil, Sage Art: Frog Song and the secret technique Demonic Illusion: Gamarinsho.
• Majestic Attire: Susano'o is the Season Pass 10 bonus, a secret technique for Attack and Defense types. The 13th developer letter says it can team up with Sasuke on the Attack side or Naruto on the Defense side.
• Naruto Outfit Sage Mode Ver. is an older SS-rank costume. The community wiki lists the original color as an Esoteric Scroll drop, with other colors from scrolls, online events and an Emergency Special Mission.
• Sage Mode on its own is a Defense-type secret technique tied to Mitsuki, which the wiki says refills health and raises attack, defense and action speed for 15 seconds, at the cost of not being able to use ninjutsu while it lasts. It has nothing to do with the 2026 Naruto pack.

If you want to compare what Season Pass 10 offers against the older passes before spending, our ranking of the best Shinobi Striker DLC for 2026 lays out every pass and its bonus technique.

Balance Changes and What Comes Next

Patch 2.71 shipped alongside him with a wide set of balance changes. According to the developer letter, Substitution now gains less cooldown recovery when you take damage and more when you deal it, and several ninjutsu and items received individual buffs and nerfs. The same letter says balance adjustments will now also happen during regular maintenance, roughly every two to four weeks, so numbers you read today can shift before the end of the year.

Practice Mode also improved in 2.71. You can now toggle AI Ninja Masters and team sorting, and parties of up to four friends can spar together, which makes it easier to drill Frog Kumite's close-range timing before you take it online.

As for the rest of Season 10, Steam's Season Pass 10 listing still shows packs #50 and #51 without names and says the season's DLC will be released by March 2027. The newest SS+ weapons from the same update, such as Nine Tails' Claw, are covered in our guide to getting SS+ weapons. If you are working your account toward the late game at the same time, the level ranks players call prestige are explained in our prestige levels guide.

Starting With Sage Mode Already Unlocked

The store sells two PlayStation saves built around this character. The [NARUTO SAGE MODE] Prestige 25 modded save lists Prestige 25 at Level 100, maxed stats, all jutsus, clothes, accessories, ninja weapons, titles and DLCs unlocked, and modded male and female outfits that grant infinite ultimate, sub-weapon and jutsu. The [NARUTO SAGE MODE] Prestige 1 save has the same unlocks and modded outfits but starts at Prestige 1, Level 1 with zero stats and 5 million money. Both product titles still carry an "Early Access" label from before the August release; Naruto (Sage Mode) is now free for everyone, so judge them by the unlock list rather than that label.

Both are PS4 and PS5 only, with no Xbox or PC version. The store applies the save to your PlayStation profile, active PlayStation Plus is required on that same account, and the game is not included. You can compare them with the other saves and the trophy service on the Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker store page.

Frequently Asked Questions