Toad Kiyohara grew more and more furious as he spoke— even the bumps on his back flushed a dark red.
"I went into Sage Mode, and I even had a few sealing techniques passed down from Mount Myōboku… and in the end, that monster launched a final counterattack as it died. By the time I realized what was happening, my body was already dispersing—there wasn't even time to return to Mount Myōboku."
He smacked his own head with a forelimb.
"If my senjutsu had been a little more refined, maybe I could've held on… tch. My training wasn't enough."
"So your first wish is to kill that 'ultimate summoning beast'?" Kiyohara asked.
"Yeah."
Toad Kiyohara nodded.
"No problem."
Kiyohara nodded back.
Summoning Island was in the Land of Sea anyway—perfect timing for him to also check whether another Uzumaki survivor, Uzumaki Honoka, was still alive.
"Wait." Kiyohara suddenly caught a blind spot. "You said you lived more than a hundred years, but the 'Willbook' is supposed to come from a future version of me, right?"
The anchor point of the "Willbook" was himself—specifically the moment he transmigrated.
"I got sent into the past by the Dragon Vein," Toad Kiyohara said. "I couldn't find any way to survive short-term, so I did what Anrokuzan did—just lived there until the future. I only really 'came out' around the time Naruto was in his teens."
"I see."
Kiyohara understood immediately.
Time travel caused by the Dragon Vein lets the traveler integrate cleanly into the past.
Just like how Loulan's ancient kingdom had Dragon Vein power, but still operated more like a tribal state.
Later, with puppet tech brought by Anrokuzan and the Dragon Vein combined, it evolved into the modern Loulan.
Anrokuzan died, but his influence remained—yet it never caused any "two Anrokuzans" paradox.
For example, if you traveled to Suna years earlier, where would the still-not-defected Anrokuzan even be, etc. It didn't split like that.
"So what about your other wish?" Kiyohara asked, processing everything. "Is it still only one?"
Toad Kiyohara's spirit made an extremely human-like expression.
"Master complete senjutsu. Real Mount Myōboku senjutsu."
"…What do you mean?" Kiyohara frowned. "Real?"
"Yeah."
Toad Kiyohara nodded.
He lifted a forelimb, palm up, and a faint phantom of senjutsu chakra appeared.
"Even on Mount Myōboku, not everyone reaches the core of senjutsu."
Kiyohara agreed.
"True. Fukasaku and Shima lived eight hundred years—they're basically Mount Myōboku's upper echelon."
If there were older toads who lived even longer, their senjutsu mastery would be higher, and their status would be higher too.
Which meant: how deeply you understand senjutsu changes what senjutsu does.
"I trained for one hundred and eighty years and finally learned to perfectly fuse natural energy with my own chakra—Sage Mode." The toad's tone turned complicated. "But my total chakra wasn't enough. The more chakra you have, the more senjutsu chakra you can balance and produce."
The spirit gestured at his toad body as he explained why.
He and Kiyohara were the same person—just different timelines.
They were both originally human, and still had human aesthetics.
He'd had to live among those flashy, heavy-makeup female toads.
Some toads even liked cross-dressing—like Gamariki, a male toad who painted red lipstick and always clashed with Naruto, constantly arguing.
It made "Toad Kiyohara" miserable.
Every second, he'd wanted to become human like the Three Great Snake Sages of Ryūchi Cave.
But he died before he could.
So what he wanted to see was: Kiyohara in human form, with as few "toad traits" as possible.
Kiyohara understood a bit.
Eating bugs was one thing—living among female toads on top of that… yeah.
"But Mount Myōboku's senjutsu is ultimately 'toad senjutsu.' No matter what species you start as, the body eventually trends toward toadification. The less perfect you are, the worse the effects."
He paused.
"In this life, you're human. I don't know how far you can go. Maybe… maybe you can learn Mount Myōboku senjutsu and still find a path that suits humans better—one that avoids 'toadification'?"
Kiyohara thought for a moment.
Senjutsu was already part of his power roadmap. You can't ignore the meta—this was basically mandatory in the shinobi world.
It was the "must-eat" dish; without it, you don't even qualify to sit at the late-game table.
Eight Gates, by comparison, only let you "eat for a moment" after opening the Gate of Death—then you die.
"Maybe I'll fuse with you," Kiyohara said. "I'm curious what my chakra network becomes after inheriting a non-human future."
Would it mean inheriting toad blood?
The thought felt absurd.
He'd read plenty in his previous life, but he couldn't remember anyone inheriting a toad bloodline…
Did that mean non-toad Mount Myōboku senjutsu was "inauthentic"?
"Interesting."
Toad Kiyohara nodded. "That's possible."
"I inherited a future too—also a toad future. I just didn't expect there'd be a 'past' that wasn't a toad. What happens… I can't say. But my wish is simple: as a human, learn Mount Myōboku senjutsu."
"What's the requirement for that?" Kiyohara asked.
If he completed the first wish and inherited Mount Myōboku senjutsu… wouldn't that instantly satisfy the second wish too?
"I can sense your senjutsu chakra. And the fewer 'sage face markings' you have, the more refined you are. As long as you don't end up like Jiraiya, that's good enough."
"That's easy enough."
Kiyohara nodded.
Either way, the second wish sounded simple.
If he'd already inherited part of it, why would he fail to learn the real thing?
And he could always ask Toad Kiyohara for guidance.
"…By the way," Kiyohara asked, "can I form a summoning contract with you?"
In a sense, Toad Kiyohara was… a summon, wasn't he?
"No."
Toad Kiyohara shook his head. "If I want to interact with reality, I have to rely on you."
"I see."
Kiyohara nodded.
Even if he could sign a contract, it wouldn't matter much.
Toad Kiyohara was already inside an urn—Kiyohara could just "slap the urn" when needed.
Unless someone else could summon Toad Kiyohara… but they couldn't see him or host him, so it'd be pointless.
"Huh."
Toad Kiyohara circled him once. "You've even got a curse mark."
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
The Earth Curse Mark—a senjutsu imitation.
He was thinking whether he could collect the Heaven Curse Mark too.
If he combined the two, could he create some kind of automatic "continuous recharge"?
After all, only Hashirama could enter Sage Mode instantly.
Even Naruto in his thirties couldn't—he needed pre-placed shadow clones, or leftover senjutsu chakra to trigger it.
"I'm curious," Toad Kiyohara said, fascinated. "If I fuse into you like you said, what does your bloodline even become?"
It looked weird coming from a toad face, but his curiosity was real.
"What's your chakra nature?" Kiyohara asked.
"Water."
Toad Kiyohara answered.
"Water…"
Kiyohara wasn't surprised.
In the shinobi world, chakra natures are inheritable—DNA-level information.
Most Sarutobi and most Uchiha have fire nature; only a few outliers don't.
And most Mount Myōboku toads use water style—Gamabunta, Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, all of them.
They have chakra pathways too—just different from humans.
"Then that fills my missing water nature." Kiyohara said. "That means I'll have all seven major chakra natures."
In theory, if he mastered Yin-Yang Release, he could create Truth-Seeking Orbs.
Truth-Seeking Orbs are essentially ultra-dense chakra formed from Yin-Yang plus the five elements.
Of course, with Six Paths senjutsu or the Tenseigan, you can create them even without the full set, but still.
"Haha—decisive."
Toad Kiyohara patted his belly happily. "That's 'me,' alright!"
If he had a human form, he'd definitely be just as excellent as Kiyohara.
After chatting a bit more, Kiyohara returned his consciousness to reality.
Toad Kiyohara slipped back into his urn to reduce energy consumption.
"So the first non-human future has appeared…" Kiyohara rubbed his chin. "Who knows what other bizarre futures might show up later."
Then he shrugged.
"If I really inherit toad blood and Mount Myōboku senjutsu… I'd probably be 'more authentic' than Jiraiya."
The shinobi world doesn't do human–beast romance, meaning: Kiyohara would probably be the only human with actual toad blood.
"I wonder if my lifespan will increase," he mused.
After thinking for a moment, he continued training.
Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
When Shimura Danzō stepped into the highest tower of the Amegakure, the sound of rainfall was sealed out by thick walls. Water dripped down the drains outside.
Two Root shinobi followed behind him, carrying a corpse wrapped in oilcloth. Dark red stains seeped from the cloth's edges.
Hanzo the Salamander sat high above, a gas mask covering most of his face, only his eyes watching the visitor.
Four Rain elite jōnin stood behind him, hands resting on their pouches.
"Danzō-sama," Hanzo's voice came through the mask. "You said you had urgent matters to discuss, yet you bring a corpse into my council hall. Is this Konoha's etiquette?"
"Hanzo, this is what we found."
Danzō raised a hand, and one Root shinobi pulled back the oilcloth.
The corpse was a middle-aged man, skin tinted bluish-purple. Three puncture wounds pierced his chest, their edges scorched.
"My men tracked the battle traces. The enemy had at least five people. Their tactics were coordinated, and they erased their tracks during retreat. That isn't something ordinary rogue-nin or wandering swordsmen can do."
Hanzo fell silent, then waved for his men to inspect.
A Rain jōnin stepped forward, formed a seal, and pressed a palm to the corpse's forehead.
"You suspect an internal organization within the Rain," Hanzo stated bluntly.
"It's Akatsuki."
Danzō continued.
"Akatsuki claims 'peace through dialogue.' They don't take assassination jobs, don't involve themselves in great-nation wars—only protect small villages, drive off bandits, hunt wandering rogues. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"
Hanzo didn't respond.
"But Hanzo-sama, you understand better than anyone."
Danzō's voice lowered.
"In this land, beautiful things die fastest—unless they become strong enough to rewrite the rules. And Akatsuki is becoming strong."
He gestured again, and another Root shinobi presented a scroll.
Unrolled, it showed a map of the Rain Country, dotted with dozens of red marks.
"Red indicates confirmed Akatsuki activity. Yellow indicates villages suspected of supporting them. Doesn't it look like a net?"
Danzō traced from the center—Amegakure—outward.
"Danzō-sama," Hanzo said slowly. "You're a shinobi of Konoha. You've come all this way to tell me this—what do you want?"
Danzō's single eye flashed.
"Cooperation."
He kept it simple.
"The Rain's location is special. Its resources are rich—especially iron and chakra-metal. Konoha needs stable supply channels. In return, Root can handle matters that… would be inconvenient for the Hidden Rain to do openly."
"Such as wiping out Akatsuki?" Hanzo asked.
"Such as maintaining stability and bringing peace," Danzō corrected smoothly.
"Any power that might threaten the current rule should be strangled at birth. That is for the Rain's sake—and for long-term friendly relations between the Land of Fire and the Rain."
Hanzo fell silent.
Only the rain against the high windows remained.
At length, Hanzo lifted a hand.
"Leave the body. Leave the map. I need time to consider."
"Of course," Danzō said with a slight nod. "But hesitation often costs more blood."
With that, he exited with his two Root shinobi.
After they left, Hanzo asked the jōnin behind him:
"What do you think?"
"He wants to use our hands to destroy Akatsuki and seize control of our mineral resources," one jōnin said bluntly. "He's using us."
"I know," Hanzo said, nodding. "But he's right about one thing—Akatsuki is growing. Before, they were just a few dozen idealists. Now?"
Hanzo stared at the red dots on the map.
Once, he'd held those ideals too.
When he was young, he wanted to change this country—so it wouldn't be a chessboard for the great nations, so children wouldn't grow up in war.
But ideals need power to defend them.
And power… corrodes ideals.
He chose authority. He chose to play the great nations. He chose iron-handed control to keep a fragile balance.
And he became the kind of man he once hated.
"Contact Danzō," Hanzo decided. "Tell him I can cooperate—but the terms must be renegotiated."
"Yes," the jōnin answered and withdrew.
Hanzo walked alone to the window.
"Don't blame me. This country… can't survive another revolution."
...
In Akatsuki's underground training ground, Kiyohara stood with eyes closed.
In his mind, Toad Kiyohara's voice croaked.
"Feel the flow in the air. Natural energy is everywhere, but it's like fish in water—it won't come to you on its own. You have to become still. Still enough that it thinks you're part of nature too."
Kiyohara relaxed every muscle.
Gradually, he heard more.
Outside, the rain hitting the ground wasn't random patter anymore—it became layered ripples.
The micro-tremor of worms moving in soil, the faint vibration of spider silk as it was spun…
"Yeah. That's it."
Toad Kiyohara sounded pleased.
"Now try using your curse mark."
Kiyohara activated it.
The curse mark patterns surfaced across his skin.
He felt his chakra change.
Then he tried concentrating that chakra into his hand—
and the natural energy in the air began to drift toward it.
Like ants drawn to honey, it gathered slowly.
Kiyohara threw a straight punch—missing the wooden post by a clear margin.
Bang!
The post exploded with spiderweb cracks across its surface.
But his fist had been a full ten centimeters away.
Frog Kata.
It was a technique Toad Kiyohara taught him—using natural energy around the body to extend the reach of attacks.
"Good. That's it," Toad Kiyohara nodded. "Let your motion pull natural energy along—like wrapping your fist in a big mass of water so the 'fist' becomes bigger."
This was the most basic way to use natural energy.
Above it was "Frog Slap," concentrating natural energy in the palm for heavier blows.
"This is great for ambushes."
Kiyohara nodded.
Not everyone could sense natural energy.
By controlling how much natural energy gathered, he could control the "coverage" around the hand.
An enemy might dodge the physical fist and still get hit by the extended natural-energy layer—like a hidden glove.
"You can keep training," Kiyohara said.
Even in Curse Mark State One, he could use natural energy—just not as naturally as true Sage Mode.
But it was enough for now: early senjutsu fundamentals.
"Right. You can expand it—from straight punches to kicks and elbows," Toad Kiyohara said. "Once you can maintain that natural-energy 'coating' while moving, Frog Kata can be considered truly learned."
For toads, it was instinct.
For a human body, it required practice.
Over the next few days, Kiyohara trained there.
During the day, he went out with Konan and the others to help Akatsuki deal with raids.
For some reason, the attacks became much less frequent.
Until one day, Amegakure suddenly sent shinobi to Akatsuki.
They claimed Hanzo-sama had taken notice and would "legalize" Akatsuki—recognize their status.
"What…?"
Yahiko and Nagato stared at each other in shock.
~~~
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