Just as the Great Toad Sage Fukasaku thought.
Everyone present, including Kakashi, shared this sentiment.
Mount Myōboku had always been on good terms with the Hidden Leaf. Even if they chose to stand against the Hokage in the future—contrary to the norm—relying on their past bonds and the potential training of Sage Mode meant that even if they lost, it wouldn't be a humiliating defeat.
But...
The Great Toad Sage spoke no further. His massive eyes closed once more; the choice had been made.
Shima watched the Great Toad Sage before her, the corners of her mouth twitching.
She truly wanted to scold the old toad awake right now, but there was nothing she could do.
She could not alter Gamamaru's decision, so she could only look at Kakashi with regret.
"In that case, I understand."
Kakashi nodded slightly.
He was certain that Gamamaru was holding something back.
But why tell him so much if the toad had made it clear he wouldn't teach him Sage Mode?
Was it...
A sneer formed in the depths of Kakashi's heart.
Of course, it was because he had nothing to fear.
Compared to Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest, Mount Myōboku was the most special existence among the Three Great Sacred Places.
Behind Gamamaru stood the Sage of Six Paths.
Truly... an arrogant old thing.
Kakashi could not change Gamamaru's choice. He simply glanced at Jiraiya, who was still in a trance beside him, and spoke softly.
"Jiraiya, it's time to go."
At Kakashi's words, Jiraiya, one of the renowned Sannin, seemed to wake from a dream. He appeared not to hear Kakashi, looking urgently at the Great Toad Sage who had closed his eyes.
"Great Sage, does that human boy with the Rinnegan have red hair?!"
However, there was no response.
The Great Toad Sage seemed to have truly fallen asleep, his wrinkled chest rising and falling steadily.
Watching the Great Toad Sage before him, Jiraiya clenched his fists, his brow furrowed tight. He felt unwilling to accept the situation at hand.
As a teacher, he could not bear to see his own disciple become an enemy of the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
If that day truly came...
He would have no choice but to kill his own disciple with great pain.
There was no other choice, because the Hokage... was the Hidden Leaf.
But...
If possible, he still wanted to try and persuade his disciple.
To avoid all of this.
"Let's go, Jiraiya-sama."
Kakashi patted Jiraiya's shoulder and spoke softly.
Things had reached a point where the Great Toad Sage's attitude determined everything.
Mount Myōboku was not the toads' Mount Myōboku; it was the Great Toad Sage's Mount Myōboku, just as the Shikkotsu Forest belonged to the Katsuyu Sage.
A so-called Sacred Place was a Sacred Place even if only one Sage existed there.
Therefore, even though Fukasaku and Shima knew Sage Mode, they could not teach it to Kakashi given the Great Toad Sage's stance.
They could only look on helplessly.
"Yeah."
Jiraiya could only nod silently and choose to leave with Kakashi.
After Jiraiya and Kakashi departed, the Great Toad Sage's closed eyes opened a tiny slit, flickering with a dark, indescribable light...
Back in the Hokage's office, Jiraiya looked at Kakashi and spoke almost without thinking.
"I need to leave the Hidden Leaf for a while."
"No."
"You know what I'm going to do."
"I said no, and that means no."
"I need to see if that boy with the Rinnegan is really the person I'm thinking of."
"Is that looking for death?"
"The prophecy has confirmed he is my enemy. Going to him voluntarily—"
"That is my disciple."
"And I am your grand-disciple."
In less than a minute, Kakashi and Jiraiya exchanged a rapid and brief dialogue.
"Kakashi, there are some things where doing it and not doing it are two different matters."
Jiraiya looked at the man before him, feeling a mix of relief and pain.
Relief that Kakashi was worried about his safety; he hadn't misjudged him.
Pain that his disciple was very likely to become Kakashi's enemy.
"If you acknowledge the so-called prophecy, you should know that what you are doing is futile."
"And if you don't acknowledge it, then I certainly can't let you go."
Faced with Jiraiya's reasoning, Kakashi remained unmoved, his attitude resolute.
"You can't stop me."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, and the chakra in his body erupted violently.
"You can try."
Kakashi's expression darkened, and his chakra erupted in kind.
The two massive auras of chakra collided violently within the small office, like a needle facing a sharp point. The surrounding floor, ceiling, coffee table, and chairs trembled under these two forces. Dust fell from the ceiling, cracks appeared in the floor beneath their feet, and the furniture looked ready to fall apart.
"Shall we take this outside?"
"If you lose, stay out of my business."
Jiraiya looked at the man before him, seeming to take an interest, a dangerous smile appearing on his lips.
"If I win, you stay here in the Hidden Leaf and behave."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
In a flash, both of them vanished from the spot.
The moment they left, the surrounding coffee table and chairs finally couldn't hold on any longer and shattered.
At that moment, a staff member who had sensed the commotion upstairs and came to check the situation saw the chaotic scene and was about to shout for help.
"Don't mind it. It was the Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama."
Hayate Gekkō, who had witnessed everything from the dark, stepped out of the shadows, his face somewhat pale.
He had almost... gone limp from fright.
The lake in the mountains behind the Hokage Rock.
Kakashi and Jiraiya chose this place as their battlefield.
Even though Jiraiya knew Kakashi had completed the shape transformation and nature transformation of all five chakra types, he wasn't afraid in the slightest.
Because he had done the same.
The prerequisite for the Five Elements Seal was the form and nature transformation of five chakra types, and there was no reason for Jiraiya, a master of fūinjutsu, not to possess them.
The instant they landed on the lake, they wasted no words and immediately engaged in a taijutsu exchange of fists and feet.
Fists and palms, legs and feet, elbows and knees.
Every weapon of the human body was utilized to its fullest by the two of them.
The force of fists and the wind of palms constantly erupted between them; every clash was accompanied by a dull thud, stirring up ripples on the lake beneath their feet.
The battle between the two was less of a conflict and more of a spar.
It was as if Kakashi and Jiraiya had a tacit understanding not to use any large-scale jutsu.
There was only the purest form of seeing a move and countering it within their taijutsu.
"It seems your taijutsu is not inferior to mine."
Finally, sporting a pair of bruised, black eyes, Jiraiya looked seriously at Kakashi, who appeared as if nothing had happened to him.
Seeing Jiraiya talking tough despite his condition, Kakashi felt a sense of amusement and spoke.
"In that case, shall we try ninjutsu or ninja tools?"
————
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