In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Jiraiya never expected the toads to say such things. Each word made sense, but when combined, it felt strange and disjointed.

"You guys are not joking, are you?" He asked.

Fukasaku shook his head, "Jiraiya-chan, haven't you noticed yet? Even you can't summon all of us at once. Aside from consuming a huge amount of Chakra, there's another reason."

"Not every toad from Mount Myoboku is available to respond to your summoning at the same time. Unless you give special instructions, it's impossible for all of us to appear together."

"But this time, it was a forced summoning. Your disciple pulled us all here. If it weren't for the fact that his Chakra ran out, even Rock Lodging Toad might have been summoned."

"Rock Lodging Toad?" Jiraiya understood the situation, but he just didn't want to think about it too deeply.

After all, Naruto is his only disciple now. He would rather Naruto have mediocre talents, even if slightly inferior to Minato, as long as he can grow into an outstanding Shinobi.

But Fukasaku's words completely shattered his fantasy. There was indeed a mystery in Naruto's body. He finally solved the problem of the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, but now, something else happened.

"What's wrong with Naruto?" Jiraiya asked while looking at Fukasaku.

"I'm not sure. I'm afraid only Summoned Beasts can sense such a towering soul. Since the toads of Mount Myoboku have a contract with Naruto, we can glimpse his soul."

Fukasaku sighed before continuing, "Jiraiya-chan, don't get anxious just yet. First, take him to see the Great Toad Sage. Maybe he'll know something."

"Ah, the Great Toad Sage is from that era after all." Jiraiya muttered, reluctantly agreeing, "Then we should visit him first. Maybe there's nothing wrong, perhaps you just saw things wrong."

"Jiraiya-chan…" Fukasaku could see Jiraiya's reluctance and spoke firmly, "I know it took you a lot of effort to finally take on a disciple, but…!"

"No matter what, this is my only disciple." Jiraiya cut him off, casting a deep look at Fukasaku, "My life has been full of failures, I can't start over again."

Silence fell over the scene. The other toads didn't dare speak and could only stare at Fukasaku.

"Sigh…" Fukasaku sighed again and did not persuade Jiraiya any more. He just said, "Maybe this is a good thing. We'll only know after seeing the Great Toad Sage."

Even Fukasaku didn't realize he had mentioned the Great Toad Sage twice now. Jiraiya's stubbornness was hard to break through, and Fukasaku wasn't sure what to say.

Such matters were unpredictable.

But where there's strangeness, there's danger. He knew that a towering soul like that shouldn't appear without reason, and it certainly didn't seem human.

With a bang, Jiraiya and the toads vanished in a puff of white smoke.

…

Mount Myoboku.

Naruto looked up at the towering plants around him. In the distance, the thunderous sound of waterfalls roared, making him feel as though he had stepped into a toad kingdom.

Turning around, he saw several small toads lazily lounging on giant leaves. Huge stems towered above, and below, knee-high round mushrooms spread across the ground.

Far ahead, a majestic stone palace stood.

Shima stood on the side, waiting, and soon after, with a bang, Fukasaku and Jiraiya appeared at Mount Myoboku.

Fukasaku first glanced at Naruto and said calmly, "Let's go. Before training, we need to see the Great Toad Sage."

"Pa, it's already noon, and we haven't had a single bite to eat yet. What's the rush?" Shima grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"It's been a while since Jiraiya-chan has been here, and I was planning to cook a good meal to welcome him."

"Enough, Ma." Fukasaku interrupted firmly, "It's not time to eat yet. Jiraiya-chan hasn't seen the Great Toad Sage in ages, so he needs to visit him."

Shima hesitated, then nodded, "I understand. I'll wait for you guys to come back and eat. Once you're done, remember to ask Gamakichi to come back and let me know."

"Ah?" The young Gamakichi poked his head out from a lotus leaf, "I have to go too?"

Naruto observed everything quietly, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. He looked at Jiraiya, who had a serious expression on his face, and nodded slightly at him.

After Shima left, Fukasaku turned and looked at Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Follow me."

The two of them walked behind him slowly. Over the past year, Naruto had grown a lot, now standing over 170 cm tall, though he's still a head shorter than Jiraiya.

"Hey, Pervy Sage," Naruto lowered his voice, "Where exactly does the Great Toad Sage live?"

He knew that there was Great Toad Sage in Mount Myoboku, but he only knew that the old toad was extremely huge, 17 meters tall. He was still a small toad when he met the Sage of Six Paths, but he grew up later.

He figured that, like the three giant toads of Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage must also be one of the giant toads.

With such a massive body, lying on a stone chair in a stone palace, and given that toads prefer cool and shady places, it was likely an underground palace.

"You'll find out soon. It's just ahead." Jiraiya, who was obviously familiar with the layout, said in a low voice, then glanced at Naruto worriedly and gave him a warning.

"When you meet the Great Toad Sage, be respectful. Don't be rude."

"Got it. Do I look like someone who has no manners?" Naruto said unhappily, "To be honest, Pervy Sage, I don't think I'm suited for learning Senjutsu."

"Enough. You won't know if you're suited until you try." Jiraiya turned his head and glanced at Naruto, who was backing off, "Senjutsu training is extremely difficult. Over the past thousand years, countless people have failed, but only a few have succeeded."

"Whether you can master it or not is still uncertain, so let's leave the talk of giving up for after you've failed."

"I just said I might not be suited for learning Senjutsu. That doesn't mean I'll fail." Naruto mumbled, "It's Senjutsu, I just want you not to have too high expectations."

"Even though I'm a genius, that doesn't necessarily apply to Senjutsu…" He tactfully gave Jiraiya a heads-up in advance. After all, Naruto himself was feeling a bit nervous.

The so-called 'Child of Prophecy' the Great Toad Sage spoke of likely referred to Asura's Chakra. However, at this moment, Naruto had no trace of Asura's Chakra within him, only one system.

"Enough of that useless talk." Jiraiya took two steps forward and turned to urge, "Keep up."

"Got it." Naruto frowned slightly, 'It seemed like Jiraiya was even more nervous than I am. Was he too fixated on the outcome?'

The group walked past the Toad Oil Waterfall and around a massive stone toad before stopping in front of an ordinary-looking stone house. The slightly large Gamakichi automatically sprawled outside, and Fukasaku turned to wait.

"We're here." Fukasaku said, "Follow me."

Naruto looked up at the unremarkable stone house, thinking to himself that this must just be an entrance. Sure enough, as he and Jiraiya followed behind, they smelled a strong smell of incense ash as soon as they entered the door.