Remember when Chinatsu was first choosing a summoning contract? Back then, she had firmly declared that she would never choose toads.
Even now, after becoming an ultimate lifeform, that "fear" of toads hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Why?
Illogical?
What was illogical about it?
A human is countless times stronger than a cockroach, yet if a cockroach suddenly landed beside you, most people would still scream in terror.
Although many of the memories from before her reincarnation had become blurry, there was one scene Chinatsu remembered with absolute clarity.
Back then, she had been sitting at her computer playing games, one hand resting on the mouse.
Suddenly...
She felt something crawling across the back of her hand.
She lowered her head.
A dark, horrifying creature filled her vision.
For a brief moment, she didn't scream "Cockroach!"
She didn't make a sound at all.
Because when fear reached its absolute limit...
People often lost the ability to speak.
Without thinking, Chinatsu launched herself off her chair and flew toward the bed across the room, arms flailing wildly.
The funniest part was...
Although the room was only meant for one person, the bed was a double bed.
Her jump was so exaggerated that she nearly overshot it completely.
After landing, she hugged her knees tightly, staring at the computer desk with her heart pounding.
She could no longer see where the cockroach had gone.
But in that instant...
She realized one undeniable truth.
This room belongs to it now.
...
Those few terrifying seconds flashed through Chinatsu 's mind once more.
Her pupils trembled ever so slightly.
The croaking of countless toads echoed throughout Mount Myōboku.
Fortunately...
Toads were much easier to accept than cockroaches.
As the light of the Reverse Summoning Jutsu faded, Chinatsu slowly opened her eyes.
Croak...
Croak...
Croak...
"..."
The corners of her mouth twitched.
She barely managed to endure the sight before her.
However...
She quickly discovered that someone inside her was reacting even more dramatically.
Within the spiritual world, Kaguya had both hands covering her ears, her eyes tightly shut as she repeatedly muttered,
"What hideous creatures..."
"What hideous creatures..."
"What hideous creatures..."
Chinatsu silently gave her a thumbs-up.
As expected of Kaguya.
Someone who loses all composure whenever handsome men appear being terrified of toads somehow feels completely in character.
Before long, several enormous toads leaped over from the distance.
Boom!
They landed directly before Chinatsu , Naruto, and Sasuke.
"Who are you?"
"What business do you have entering Mount Myōboku?"
The giant toads spoke in stern voices.
Outwardly, they appeared intimidating.
Inwardly...
Cold sweat was pouring down their backs.
Ordinary toads couldn't sense it.
But these experienced elder toads immediately felt the unimaginable chakra radiating from the silver-haired woman before them.
We're dead...
We're dead...
We're definitely dead...
Even while panicking internally, they stubbornly maintained calm expressions.
As guardians of Mount Myōboku, even if the enemy before them was impossible to defeat...
They would still buy enough time for the younger toads to escape.
A solemn atmosphere spread through the area.
Chinatsu 's lips twitched again.
Kaguya's chakra really is terrifying...
Although she had deliberately concealed it, concealment only weakened the pressure.
It couldn't erase it completely.
Just as Chinatsu was about to explain...
A gentle old voice suddenly echoed inside everyone's minds.
It felt almost like a telephone ringing inside her head.
Curious, Chinatsu instinctively "answered."
Great Toad Sage: "That aura... Lady Kaguya?"
Chinatsu : "Not exactly."
"I'm Kaguya's Jinchūriki."
"My name is Uchiha Chinatsu ."
The Great Toad Sage fell silent.
Even Gamabunta, standing nearby, froze in place.
"...?"
The old sage's body trembled slightly.
It wasn't because he was frightened.
Rather...
He had already discovered something strange years ago.
His prophetic dreams had become increasingly blurry.
Every time he attempted to observe the future more clearly, an intense headache assaulted him, sometimes making him cough up blood.
Only then did he finally understand.
Prophecy was never destiny.
It wasn't a fixed future.
It merely showed the most probable future among countless possibilities.
And...
Someone could completely overturn that future.
The current ninja world had already deviated far beyond anything he had ever foreseen.
The source of that deviation...
Was standing before him.
The Great Toad Sage slowly calmed himself.
"So..."
"What brings you to Mount Myōboku?"
Chinatsu smiled politely.
"Nothing complicated."
"I came to learn Mount Myōboku's Sage Arts."
"I don't have any hostile intentions."
"If you don't believe me, the Slug Sage personally sent me here through Reverse Summoning."
"I came directly from Shikkotsu Forest."
"I see..."
The Great Toad Sage finally relaxed.
He immediately instructed every toad in Mount Myōboku not to provoke Chinatsu or her companions.
Harmony was always preferable to conflict.
Soon afterward, he summoned the two greatest Sage teachers of Mount Myōboku—
Fukasaku and Shima.
About an hour later...
Mount Myōboku welcomed Chinatsu , Naruto, and Sasuke with the highest level of hospitality.
Naruto stared at the luxurious feast before him before slowly turning toward Sasuke.
"..."
"..."
The two exchanged silent looks.
All the luggage they had painstakingly packed...
Suddenly felt completely unnecessary.
Standing before them, Fukasaku cleared his throat.
"Our Sage Arts are extremely dangerous."
"If you make even a small mistake while gathering natural energy, your body may gradually turn to stone."
"And if the balance becomes even worse..."
"You might permanently transform into a toad."
"But don't worry."
"With Shima and me watching over you, we'll do everything we can to prevent that."
"The first step is learning to sense the natural energy floating through the air."
"You must..."
"Um..."
Chinatsu raised her hand awkwardly.
"Sorry for interrupting."
"I already mastered the Sage Arts of Shikkotsu Forest."
"So I already know how to sense and balance natural energy."
"If possible..."
"Could you skip directly to explaining Mount Myōboku's unique Sage transformation?"
Fukasaku froze.
Shima froze.
The surrounding toads froze as well.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Did...
Did they hear that correctly?
She had already mastered Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Arts?
Then why was she here?
Sage Arts weren't something you could simply stack together...
Right?
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