Chapter 123: Mount Myōboku
"Tobirama, I'm leaving."
Inside the Hokage's office, Masahiko packed his bags and bid farewell to Tobirama.
"Notify me when the Hokage selection takes place; I'll come over."
A week had passed since the Joint Jonin Exam, and the ninjas from the various villages had mostly departed. Seeing that things had settled down, Masahiko prepared to return to his clan. Calculating the days, Kushina-kun should be nearly a year and a half old now, and Masahiko was looking forward to seeing what she looked like as a toddler.
"Great-Uncle, are you sure you won't stay a bit longer?" Tobirama tried to persuade him to stay.
Masahiko frowned. For some reason, since he arrived in Konoha this time, Tobirama had been constantly trying to get him to stay longer.
Before he could ask for the reason, Hiruzen rushed into the room in a panic.
"Sensei... Elder Masahiko!"
Behind him, Tsunade and Orochimaru also burst in, looking completely out of breath.
Tobirama glanced at them. "What is the matter that has you in such a panic?"
Hiruzen caught his breath, looking slightly embarrassed. "Sensei, Jiraiya-kun, he..."
The story goes back to half a day ago.
Hiruzen and Orochimaru had finished their special training and returned to Konoha.
Jiraiya-kun and Tsunade met them at the gate. Jiraiya-kun couldn't wait to brag to Orochimaru about the fact that he had already become a Jonin, claiming his strength had improved so much that Orochimaru was no longer his match.
In response, Orochimaru calmly showed off his new gain... a summoning contract with a giant snake, leaving Jiraiya-kun frozen in place.
Hoping for comfort from Tsunade, Jiraiya-kun was instead met with her calmly stating that after becoming a Jonin, she had signed a contract with the Katsuyu clan and summoned a giant slug.
Jiraiya-kun could only turn his pleading eyes toward Hiruzen. In the end...
Hiruzen suggested that Jiraiya-kun could sign a snake contract like Orochimaru, or he could ask Elder Masahiko to let him sign with the slugs.
Jiraiya-kun threw out a "No way!" and ran back home.
"And then?" Tobirama asked calmly.
Hiruzen looked caught between laughter and tears. "He used a reverse summoning and was transported to an unknown location. Sensei, some summoned beasts are extremely ferocious. Jiraiya-kun might be fine for a short time, but if it takes too long, he might be in danger. You can sense spatial fluctuations; I hope you can find the location he was transported to."
Tobirama shook his head. "I cannot do such a thing either." He looked at Masahiko. "Do you have a way?"
Masahiko thought to himself, "Of course I have a way. Without even thinking, Jiraiya-kun must have gone to Mount Myōboku. Should I go find him?"
After hesitating for a moment, Masahiko tossed his luggage onto Tobirama's desk. "Don't worry. I have a rough idea of where he went. I'll go find him."
Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm counting on you!"
Masahiko flew straight out, thinking to himself, "Jiraiya-kun signing the toad contract should earn me some Witness Points. As for the location of Mount Myōboku..." He bit his finger. "Summoning Jutsu!"
"Lady Katsuyu, do you know the location of Mount Myōboku?" Masahiko figured that as one of the Three Great Sage Regions, the Slug Sage should know where Mount Myōboku was.
"The Three Great Sage Regions actually share the same geographical location."
Masahiko was stunned, having never expected that.
"So?"
"If you go deep to the south from Shikkotsu Forest, you will find Mount Myōboku. If you go deep to the north, you will find Ryūchi Cave. Of course, there are entrances that don't pass through Shikkotsu Forest, but I don't know the specific locations."
Masahiko nodded, released the summoning, changed direction, and flew toward Shikkotsu Forest.
Arriving at Shikkotsu Forest, he gave a quick greeting to the Slug Sage and then flew rapidly to the south. He was worried about missing the moment Jiraiya-kun signed the contract and making the trip in vain.
The further south he flew, the deeper Masahiko's brow furrowed. The environment became increasingly damp and cold.
"This distance..." Masahiko muttered. He had been flying for over half an hour; according to the distance, he should have already left the Land of Fire.
"Are the Three Great Sage Regions truly independent spaces?"
Finally, an hour later, Masahiko felt the environment around him becoming increasingly fresh. Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over him. He looked up and felt as if he had entered another world.
"Is this Mount Myōboku?"
Masahiko marveled. Unlike the dark and damp Shikkotsu Forest, Mount Myōboku appeared to be filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers.
"Birds?" Masahiko paused. "More like insects..."
As birds also feed on insects, even if they originally existed here, they would have been driven out by the toads.
Masahiko looked into the distance. Layers of mountain ranges completely blocked his vision, with giant plants spanning across the mountains, creating an elegant, paradise-like scenery.
"So then... Mind's Eye of the Kagura!" Masahiko formed the Tiger seal with his right hand and pushed his perception to its limit.
"Jiraiya-kun... over there. There are no chakra fluctuations beside him; he probably hasn't found any toads yet and hasn't signed the contract."
Masahiko breathed a sigh of relief; his Witness Points were safe. Suddenly, his expression shifted to shock, and his mouth twitched.
"This chakra... isn't this a bit exaggerated?"
Masahiko had just sensed an abnormally massive chakra, the most powerful he had ever felt to date.
"More than just the most powerful—is this kind of exaggeration really okay? Dozens of times that of the Nine-Tails? Or could the Ten-Tails even have this much?" Masahiko smiled bitterly. "I really did overlook him. The Great Toad Sage?"
Because Masahiko had felt the Slug Sage's chakra up close, he had a sense that the Slug Sage's main body probably wouldn't be his match now. But this Great Toad Sage...
"Even if the Slug Sage isn't specialized in combat, there shouldn't be such a huge gap between the Three Sages. The Snake Sage probably isn't this strong either. Is the Great Toad Sage truly an exception?" Masahiko shook his head. "As expected of a being that can predict the future. He should know of my arrival by now, so I might as well go and see for myself."
At the same time, on the highest peak of Mount Myōboku, a large toad wearing a necklace with the character for 'Oil' and a professor's hat was sleeping on a massive throne with the character for 'Sage'.
"Mm..." With a groan, the bubble rising from the Great Toad Sage's nose burst, and he opened his eyes.
Two small toads appeared before him. "Great Elder, you're awake?" It was Fukasaku and Shima.
"The youth I predicted hundreds of years ago who would come to Mount Myōboku has arrived. Go and bring him here. There is also a guest, Uzumaki Masahiko... go and bring him here as well."
Masahiko approached Jiraiya-kun's location at high speed. When he was not far away, Masahiko frowned. He sensed Jiraiya-kun rapidly moving away from him, heading deeper into Mount Myōboku.
"Hm?" A small toad appeared beside him. It was Fukasaku Sage.
"Yo, Grandpa Toad..." Masahiko greeted him with a smile. After all these years, he had finally met someone even older than himself.
"Uzumaki Masahiko, the Great Elder requests your presence!"
Masahiko was startled. "He even knows my name? It seems the Great Toad Sage has made a prophecy about me. I wonder how he described me?"
"An old senior who changed the world?"
"Or perhaps..."
Speculating, Masahiko followed in the footsteps of Fukasaku Sage and headed deep into Mount Myōboku.
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