Inside a fleshy, cavernous space, Jiraiya leaned against a rock wall, gasping for breath. A missile from the Asura Path had hit him during their retreat, tearing a gaping wound in his back.
Beside him, Fukasaku, the toad sage, carefully cut away his clothes, making sure the fabric didn't stick to the blood-clotted wound.
Whoosh!
A flash of chakra faded, and Sakura Haruno's figure materialized out of thin air, crashing to the ground.
Blood poured from a puncture wound in her chest, quickly soaking the stomach lining of Gamaken, the giant toad.
"Cough, cough!"
Sakura smeared some of her chest's blood onto the toad's stomach wall.
Summoning Jutsu!
With a poof and a cloud of chakra smoke, a human-sized slug appeared.
"Lady Sakura, you… AHHHH!"
The slug's soft body writhed wildly, its screams echoing endlessly.
"Why, why am I inside a toad's stomach?!"
"Slug, heal me, heal me!"
Trembling, Sakura raised a shaky hand, trying to appeal to the sly sage's conscience.
"Oh my, I didn't see anything~"
The slug tilted its head, its tiny antennae swaying playfully before it finally crawled over and covered Sakura's body.
Infused with natural energy, the sage chakra combined with Sakura's Palm Sage Technique, rapidly mending the wound pierced by a Yin-Yang Release black rod.
Nearby, watching the slug sage tease her, the toads Shima and Fukasaku sighed in unison.
"Ugh, the Shikkotsu Forest's great sage is as mischievous as ever," Shima muttered.
"I can hear you, you know~"
The slug's eerie voice drifted into the couple's ears, sending a shiver down their spines.
"Ahem, Great Slug Sage, the Great Lord wishes to meet your contractor. We'd like your permission," Fukasaku said quickly, changing the subject to avoid getting on her bad side.
The slug, still healing Sakura, raised its head, its tiny antennae touching in front of its mouth.
"Then go ask Sakura. Shouldn't you be getting her consent? Why ask me?"
Fukasaku and Shima opened their mouths, then hesitated.
Everyone knows you're a petty grudge-holder, Slug Sage! You might not care if we ask, but if we don't, you'll definitely hold it against us!
How else did the Shikkotsu Forest end up with just you left? Don't you have any self-awareness?
"What do you think, Sakura-chan? If you don't want to meet that old toad, you can say no~"
The slug's eyes perked up like pendulums, tapping lightly.
Though it sounded like a question, Sakura caught the undertone of you better say no.
"Slug, they've got prophetic abilities. If they suddenly want to see me, they must've seen something. I don't want to miss out on that kind of intel."
Fully healed, Sakura sat up, patted the slug's body, and looked at her earnestly.
"Hmph, prophecies? I've got special abilities too! I can outlive both of them!"
The slug's antennae twisted together like arms, crossing over its chest as it turned away in a huff.
One eye cracked open, slanting toward Sakura, as if waiting for her to offer some comfort.
"Alright, alright. I'm your contractor, aren't I? You really think Mount Myoboku could steal me away?"
Sakura sat cross-legged beside the slug, gently stroking its soft body.
It took a good while to soothe the sulky slug. After countless reassurances, she finally released the summoning, sending it back.
Sakura stood and walked over to Jiraiya, pulling a roll of bandages from her ninja pouch. With practiced ease, she wrapped his wounds.
Using the Palm Sage Technique through the bandages, she stimulated cell growth to heal his injury. The process made Jiraiya itch uncontrollably, and he started squirming on the ground.
Sakura held him down to stop him from scratching, turning to the toad sages nearby.
"So, when do we head out?"
"We're already here~"
Shima hopped forward and patted Gamaken's stomach wall.
The toad's esophagus shifted under a transformation jutsu, forming a staircase leading outside.
Stepping through Gamaken's massive mouth, the sunlight outside was dimmed by mist, casting little warmth. Giant leaves draped shadows over the ground, and massive rocks jutted up like insect stingers, with groundwater trickling from their tips.
The crisp mountain air mixed with a chilly breeze brushed Sakura's cheeks, making her shiver but sharpening her senses. Only then did she realize she'd arrived at the legendary sage sanctuary—Mount Myoboku.
"Dear, take little Jiraiya to rest and prepare some food for them. I'll take Sakura to see the Great Lord," Fukasaku said, waving a hand.
Shima hoisted Jiraiya over her shoulder and hopped off, while Fukasaku led Sakura toward a cavern in Mount Myoboku.
They passed through stairways and slick stone paths, arriving at a vast, hollow hall.
At the far end sat an ancient toad on a stone chair, surrounded by enormous scrolls covered in writing.
"Great Lord! Great Toad Sage!"
Fukasaku hopped to its side, calling out loudly.
The ancient toad's weary posture and lack of response to the booming voice made Sakura almost think it was dead—except for the faint rise and fall of its belly.
"Hm? Oh!"
After a long moment, the Great Toad Sage stirred from its slumber, shifting its head.
The prayer beads around its neck creaked with the movement.
Slowly straightening from the chair's backrest, the massive toad—five times Sakura's height—finally opened its eyes.
"Little Fukasaku, what's the matter?"
"I brought the person you wanted to see."
Unlike Shima, Fukasaku had a calmer temperament, able to speak patiently even with the often-dazed Great Toad Sage.
"Oh, right, I called you here for something. Uh…"
The Great Toad Sage lowered its head, looking at Sakura.
Suddenly, its cloudy eyes froze, staring blankly for a long moment.
"Uh… who are you again?"
Fukasaku, embarrassed, covered his face, mentally groaning that the ancient toad always pulled this routine.
Still, he stepped forward to jog its memory.
"Great Lord, this is the one you asked to meet—the Shikkotsu Forest's contractor! Her name's Sakura Haruno!"
The Great Toad Sage slapped its head, letting out a sound of realization.
"Hahaha, that's right! The Shikkotsu Forest's heir!"
It coughed lightly, then spoke in a grave tone:
"Heir of the Shikkotsu Forest, I have a prophecy about you."
Sakura nodded, adopting a listening posture.
"What's the prophecy? Please, go ahead."
The shadow of its scholar's cap hid the toad's face, but its slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with an unusual light.
"Heir of the Shikkotsu Forest, entwined with the energies of multiple dimensions, I saw the sea swallow everything!"
"Your figure stood amid flames burning on water, and then everything—everything—was engulfed by the sea!"
!!!
Sakura and Fukasaku froze, and Fukasaku spoke up, incredulous.
"What? That's impossible, Great Toad Sage! You're joking, right?"
"Sakura's a good kid! How could she destroy the world?"
But the Great Toad Sage didn't flash its usual playful smirk or apologize. Instead, it answered Fukasaku with a serious tone.
"I don't know. That's just what I saw in my dream."
"And in the far future, I can't see clearly anymore. Everything beyond is just… the sea."
Finished, the Great Toad Sage fixed its eyes on Sakura, awaiting her reaction.
"I see. Thanks for the prophecy."
Sakura's emerald eyes met the toad's gaze without a hint of fear.
"You're not curious? Every prophecy I've made so far has come true, you know."
Her reaction caught the Great Toad Sage off guard. It had imagined all sorts of responses to such a prophecy—shock, fear, denial—but not this… indifference!
It was as if the prophecy meant nothing to her, like dust on the street she'd casually brushed aside.
"You said it's the future, right? Why should I let something that hasn't happened yet mess with me?"
"Besides, I don't buy into prophecies or fate. I make my own future!"
"Destroy the world, save the world—whatever I do, it'll be because I want to. That's it."
Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.
"If people stand in my way, I'll fight them. If fate stands in my way, I'll fight that too!"
"I'll embrace everything that's mine and battle it until I win—completely!"
Her matter-of-fact attitude stunned both the Great Toad Sage and Fukasaku. A vast, unbound spirit echoed through the empty cavern.
It was a will unseen in the ninja world since the days of the Sage of the Six Paths, suppressed for a thousand years under the daimyo system—a fearless, untamed resolve from the farthest reaches of the sea!
"And if you fail?"
The Great Toad Sage couldn't help but murmur, a faint sound caught by Sakura's Observation Haki.
She placed her hands behind her back, turning with a flourish. Her emerald eyes sparkled against the light at the cavern's exit.
"Then at least I tried with everything I had—no regrets!"
With that, Sakura strode toward the passage leading outside.
The two toads, left in the dim cavern, stood speechless for a long time.
---
Chapter 58: Bad News from Mount Myoboku… or a Prophecy?
Inside a fleshy, cavernous space, Jiraiya leaned against a rock wall, gasping for breath. A missile from the Asura Path had hit him during their retreat, tearing a gaping wound in his back.
Beside him, Fukasaku, the toad sage, carefully cut away his clothes, making sure the fabric didn't stick to the blood-clotted wound.
Whoosh!
A flash of chakra faded, and Sakura Haruno's figure materialized out of thin air, crashing to the ground.
Blood poured from a puncture wound in her chest, quickly soaking the stomach lining of Gamaken, the giant toad.
"Cough, cough!"
Sakura smeared some of her chest's blood onto the toad's stomach wall.
Summoning Jutsu!
With a poof and a cloud of chakra smoke, a human-sized slug appeared.
"Lady Sakura, you… AHHHH!"
The slug's soft body writhed wildly, its screams echoing endlessly.
"Why, why am I inside a toad's stomach?!"
"Slug, heal me, heal me!"
Trembling, Sakura raised a shaky hand, trying to appeal to the sly sage's conscience.
"Oh my, I didn't see anything~"
The slug tilted its head, its tiny antennae swaying playfully before it finally crawled over and covered Sakura's body.
Infused with natural energy, the sage chakra combined with Sakura's Palm Sage Technique, rapidly mending the wound pierced by a Yin-Yang Release black rod.
Nearby, watching the slug sage tease her, the toads Shima and Fukasaku sighed in unison.
"Ugh, the Shikkotsu Forest's great sage is as mischievous as ever," Shima muttered.
"I can hear you, you know~"
The slug's eerie voice drifted into the couple's ears, sending a shiver down their spines.
"Ahem, Great Slug Sage, the Great Lord wishes to meet your contractor. We'd like your permission," Fukasaku said quickly, changing the subject to avoid getting on her bad side.
The slug, still healing Sakura, raised its head, its tiny antennae touching in front of its mouth.
"Then go ask Sakura. Shouldn't you be getting her consent? Why ask me?"
Fukasaku and Shima opened their mouths, then hesitated.
Everyone knows you're a petty grudge-holder, Slug Sage! You might not care if we ask, but if we don't, you'll definitely hold it against us!
How else did the Shikkotsu Forest end up with just you left? Don't you have any self-awareness?
"What do you think, Sakura-chan? If you don't want to meet that old toad, you can say no~"
The slug's eyes perked up like pendulums, tapping lightly.
Though it sounded like a question, Sakura caught the undertone of you better say no.
"Slug, they've got prophetic abilities. If they suddenly want to see me, they must've seen something. I don't want to miss out on that kind of intel."
Fully healed, Sakura sat up, patted the slug's body, and looked at her earnestly.
"Hmph, prophecies? I've got special abilities too! I can outlive both of them!"
The slug's antennae twisted together like arms, crossing over its chest as it turned away in a huff.
One eye cracked open, slanting toward Sakura, as if waiting for her to offer some comfort.
"Alright, alright. I'm your contractor, aren't I? You really think Mount Myoboku could steal me away?"
Sakura sat cross-legged beside the slug, gently stroking its soft body.
It took a good while to soothe the sulky slug. After countless reassurances, she finally released the summoning, sending it back.
Sakura stood and walked over to Jiraiya, pulling a roll of bandages from her ninja pouch. With practiced ease, she wrapped his wounds.
Using the Palm Sage Technique through the bandages, she stimulated cell growth to heal his injury. The process made Jiraiya itch uncontrollably, and he started squirming on the ground.
Sakura held him down to stop him from scratching, turning to the toad sages nearby.
"So, when do we head out?"
"We're already here~"
Shima hopped forward and patted Gamaken's stomach wall.
The toad's esophagus shifted under a transformation jutsu, forming a staircase leading outside.
Stepping through Gamaken's massive mouth, the sunlight outside was dimmed by mist, casting little warmth. Giant leaves draped shadows over the ground, and massive rocks jutted up like insect stingers, with groundwater trickling from their tips.
The crisp mountain air mixed with a chilly breeze brushed Sakura's cheeks, making her shiver but sharpening her senses. Only then did she realize she'd arrived at the legendary sage sanctuary—Mount Myoboku.
"Dear, take little Jiraiya to rest and prepare some food for them. I'll take Sakura to see the Great Lord," Fukasaku said, waving a hand.
Shima hoisted Jiraiya over her shoulder and hopped off, while Fukasaku led Sakura toward a cavern in Mount Myoboku.
They passed through stairways and slick stone paths, arriving at a vast, hollow hall.
At the far end sat an ancient toad on a stone chair, surrounded by enormous scrolls covered in writing.
"Great Lord! Great Toad Sage!"
Fukasaku hopped to its side, calling out loudly.
The ancient toad's weary posture and lack of response to the booming voice made Sakura almost think it was dead—except for the faint rise and fall of its belly.
"Hm? Oh!"
After a long moment, the Great Toad Sage stirred from its slumber, shifting its head.
The prayer beads around its neck creaked with the movement.
Slowly straightening from the chair's backrest, the massive toad—five times Sakura's height—finally opened its eyes.
"Little Fukasaku, what's the matter?"
"I brought the person you wanted to see."
Unlike Shima, Fukasaku had a calmer temperament, able to speak patiently even with the often-dazed Great Toad Sage.
"Oh, right, I called you here for something. Uh…"
The Great Toad Sage lowered its head, looking at Sakura.
Suddenly, its cloudy eyes froze, staring blankly for a long moment.
"Uh… who are you again?"
Fukasaku, embarrassed, covered his face, mentally groaning that the ancient toad always pulled this routine.
Still, he stepped forward to jog its memory.
"Great Lord, this is the one you asked to meet—the Shikkotsu Forest's contractor! Her name's Sakura Haruno!"
The Great Toad Sage slapped its head, letting out a sound of realization.
"Hahaha, that's right! The Shikkotsu Forest's heir!"
It coughed lightly, then spoke in a grave tone:
"Heir of the Shikkotsu Forest, I have a prophecy about you."
Sakura nodded, adopting a listening posture.
"What's the prophecy? Please, go ahead."
The shadow of its scholar's cap hid the toad's face, but its slit-pupiled eyes gleamed with an unusual light.
"Heir of the Shikkotsu Forest, entwined with the energies of multiple dimensions, I saw the sea swallow everything!"
"Your figure stood amid flames burning on water, and then everything—everything—was engulfed by the sea!"
!!!
Sakura and Fukasaku froze, and Fukasaku spoke up, incredulous.
"What? That's impossible, Great Toad Sage! You're joking, right?"
"Sakura's a good kid! How could she destroy the world?"
But the Great Toad Sage didn't flash its usual playful smirk or apologize. Instead, it answered Fukasaku with a serious tone.
"I don't know. That's just what I saw in my dream."
"And in the far future, I can't see clearly anymore. Everything beyond is just… the sea."
Finished, the Great Toad Sage fixed its eyes on Sakura, awaiting her reaction.
"I see. Thanks for the prophecy."
Sakura's emerald eyes met the toad's gaze without a hint of fear.
"You're not curious? Every prophecy I've made so far has come true, you know."
Her reaction caught the Great Toad Sage off guard. It had imagined all sorts of responses to such a prophecy—shock, fear, denial—but not this… indifference!
It was as if the prophecy meant nothing to her, like dust on the street she'd casually brushed aside.
"You said it's the future, right? Why should I let something that hasn't happened yet mess with me?"
"Besides, I don't buy into prophecies or fate. I make my own future!"
"Destroy the world, save the world—whatever I do, it'll be because I want to. That's it."
Sakura crossed her arms over her chest.
"If people stand in my way, I'll fight them. If fate stands in my way, I'll fight that too!"
"I'll embrace everything that's mine and battle it until I win—completely!"
Her matter-of-fact attitude stunned both the Great Toad Sage and Fukasaku. A vast, unbound spirit echoed through the empty cavern.
It was a will unseen in the ninja world since the days of the Sage of the Six Paths, suppressed for a thousand years under the daimyo system—a fearless, untamed resolve from the farthest reaches of the sea!
"And if you fail?"
The Great Toad Sage couldn't help but murmur, a faint sound caught by Sakura's Observation Haki.
She placed her hands behind her back, turning with a flourish. Her emerald eyes sparkled against the light at the cavern's exit.
"Then at least I tried with everything I had—no regrets!"
With that, Sakura strode toward the passage leading outside.
The two toads, left in the dim cavern, stood speechless for a long time.
---