Jiraiya looked at the Rasengan in Naruto's hand, which seemed ready to be formed at any moment, and then at the Hell Cerberus beside him, yawning and emanating a powerful aura that far surpassed the toads of Mount Myōboku. An unprecedented sense of defeat welled up in his heart.
He had been a master and taken disciples before.
But this was the first time he had encountered someone like Naruto. No wonder Naruto was unwilling to come when they were in the hot spring town, saying there was nothing he could teach him. It seemed Naruto was right.
Naruto saw Jiraiya's dejected look and kindly comforted him, "Ero-sennin, this is just the beginning! You are one of the legendary Sannin, mastering hundreds, if not thousands, of Ninjutsu and secret techniques. I just happened to master Rasengan and summoning techniques a bit earlier."
Naruto remembered that besides the basic four-element Ninjutsu, Jiraiya also mastered some secret techniques.
For example, the Frog Conversion Technique and the Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique.
The Frog Conversion Technique was a Ninjutsu that could turn enemies into toads.
Jiraiya had used it when interrogating Hidden Rain Village Ninja, making opponents lose all combat ability.
The Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique involved hiding oneself in someone's shadow to manipulate their actions, also used against Hidden Rain Ninja.
Because the caster's actions are not exposed, it is a control technique stronger than Shadow Imitation Technique.
As the Shadow Monarch, all shadow-related secret techniques can be adapted to him, and once mastered, he will become stronger than the original caster.
More importantly, the Frog Conversion Technique, which could turn enemies into toads, was quite interesting, so Naruto was also interested.
"Hahahaha!" Jiraiya suddenly burst into loud laughter, tears almost streaming down his face. "Interesting! This is too interesting! Naruto, you're right, I am a 'Sage,' and I naturally master more than just these Ninjutsu!"
He rubbed Naruto's spiky yellow hair hard, his eyes becoming firm and full of interest again.
"Good! Very good! Since you've mastered the basics so excellently, it seems it's time to teach you some truly hidden, ultimate skills!"
"Ultimate skills? What could it be?" Naruto asked curiously.
Jiraiya smiled mysteriously, with a hint of seriousness and anticipation in his eyes: "Sage! Mode!"
"Sage Mode? Of course!"
Naruto's azure eyes gleamed with fervent light.
As the saying goes, too many skills don't weigh you down; having an extra Sage Mode will only make him stronger.
"Learning Sage Mode isn't something that happens overnight. Right now, I've also promised to find Tsunade and have her become the new Hokage." Jiraiya hesitated, rubbing his chin with one hand.
Naruto said, "Jiraiya-sensei, don't worry, I learn things very quickly, it won't delay your time in finding the new Hokage."
"Learn quickly? Kid, Sage Mode isn't like summoning techniques or Rasengan; it's much harder to learn."
"Looking across the vast Ninja World, there are only a few guys who have skillfully mastered Sage Mode."
"Alright, I'll take you to see it."
Jiraiya thought for a moment, then quickly formed hand signs and slammed his hands onto the ground.
Several tadpole-like dark incantations rapidly radiated outwards from Jiraiya's palms, forming a black "spiderweb."
"Reverse Summoning Technique!!"
"Whoosh—!"
A strong spatial fluctuation instantly spread out from the Reverse Summoning Technique's seal!
With a "poof" sound.
A large cloud of pure Chakra mist completely engulfed Jiraiya and Naruto.
Naruto felt as if he had been stuffed into a rapidly spinning drum, the surrounding scenery twisting and stretching in a bizarre, dazzling way, and immense pressure came from all directions, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
"Hold on, kid! The first teleportation isn't easy!"
Jiraiya's voice rang in his ears.
A few seconds later, feeling like a century had passed, the dizzying sensation of weightlessness and pressure suddenly vanished.
"Naruto, kid, your first experience with 'Summoning' wasn't pleasant, was it?"
Jiraiya looked at Naruto with a smile, then froze.
Contrary to his imagination of kneeling, vomiting, and gasping, none of those distressed scenes occurred. Naruto looked calm, curiously surveying his surroundings.
"So this is Mount Myōboku."
The world before him was completely different from the Fire Shadow World.
The sky presented a strange, flowing rainbow-colored mist, like a dream.
The air was exceptionally fresh, yet it carried an indescribable sense of heaviness and stickiness. Each breath felt like inhaling tangible energy, causing the Chakra within him to stir slightly.
Underfoot was a soft, moist "ground" made of giant fungi emitting a peculiar fragrance, soft to the touch.
All around grew incredibly vast, never-before-seen plants—mushrooms like small hills, flowers as large as houses, vines as thick as giant pythons, winding around colossal toad stone carvings that shimmered with a gentle luster.
In the distance, a deafening roar could be heard.
Naruto followed the sound and saw a golden waterfall, like molten gold descending from the heavens, cascading down from an extremely high cliff into a bottomless pool below, stirring up a golden mist—
That was the legendary Toad Oil Waterfall. The source of the dense energy permeating the air seemed to be right there!
""Little Jiraiya, is this the Child of Prophecy? He looks a bit weak.""
A slightly aged but robust voice rang out.
Naruto, hearing the voice, looked around and saw an old toad, wearing a dark blue vest, puffing on a pipe, much larger than an ordinary toad, and with sharp eyes, who had I don't know when already squatted on Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Elder Fukasaku, this is Uzumaki Naruto." Jiraiya respectfully introduced, "Naruto, this is one of the two Sages of Mount Myōboku, Sage Fukasaku. From now on, your Sage Ninjutsu training will be guided by me, Elder Fukasaku, and Elder Shima."
"Ribbit~"
Sage Fukasaku exhaled a smoke ring, his small eyes scrutinizing Naruto from top to bottom.
"Hello, Sage Fukasaku, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, please guide me."
While greeting, Naruto also scrutinized the old toad perched on Jiraiya's shoulder.
Although the other party was not large in stature, the profound and unfathomable aura emanating from him was indeed much stronger than that of the other toads of Mount Myōboku.
Sage Fukasaku snorted and said to Jiraiya, "Little Jiraiya, take him to the 'Training Ground' first. Let him feel the true natural energy and see the fate of those 'predecessors.'"
Jiraiya nodded, his expression becoming serious again: "Follow me, Naruto."
The two humans and one toad passed through the strange plant jungle, heading towards the Toad Oil Waterfall.
The closer they got to the waterfall, the more pronounced the sticky "heaviness" in the air became. Naruto felt as if his body was sinking into an invisible mire.
Of course, this sticky heaviness had no effect on him, but for ordinary Ninja, it would probably be difficult even to lift a leg.