Chapter 272: What Is the Shortcut?
"What?!"
Sage Shima could not hold it together after reading only the beginning.
The Sage of Six Paths had actually had his 'wisdom window' bitten off by the White Snake of Ryūchi Cave next door!
And it was precisely by seizing that opportunity that the White Snake had mastered senjutsu power!
"So that's how it is. No wonder Ryūchi Cave is clearly a bunch of snakes, yet they insist on saying they've sublimated into dragons… It's because they elevated their life by eating the Sage of Six Paths' wisdom window!"
"This must be the intelligence Tsunade got from Katsuyu. To avoid drawing attention, she turned it into a novel and had someone else publish it."
As Sage Shima read through the plot, she suddenly felt enlightened.
From a non-human perspective, the contents were perfectly logical.
The White Snake ate the Sage of Six Paths' wisdom window and gained senjutsu chakra. Wasn't that the same principle as her making Naruto eat the worms of Mount Myoboku to better attune to nature and cultivate more easily?
And then there were the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure, who were said to have gained tailed beast chakra after eating the Nine-Tails' flesh.
These were all vivid examples.
As for how Katsuyu knew about it?
There was only one slug in Shikkotsu Forest. All the slugs that were summoned were split from the main body.
But Katsuyu's seniority was not particularly high.
Because each time a slug split, it was equivalent to giving birth to an offspring.
As time passed and the number of splits increased, the earliest memories would gradually fade.
That was why Katsuyu addressed Tsunade as "Lady."
Now, for some special reason, Katsuyu must have recovered some of those ancient memories!
Sage Shima felt she had uncovered the truth.
Among the three Great Sage Regions, the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku slept all year round.
The White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave was their sworn enemy.
Leaving aside whether the White Snake Sage would even tell them what had happened back then, even if it did, there was no guarantee it would be the truth.
"If we want Naruto to quickly master senjutsu, do we need to have him eat the Great Toad Sage's wisdom window?"
Sage Shima fell into deep thought.
First of all, it was certain that the Great Toad Sage sat there half-asleep all day and never exercised. He definitely had a wisdom window.
It was just that…
"No. The Great Toad Sage is so old. What if he bleeds out and dies by accident?"
Sage Shima shook her head and rejected the idea.
Other than the Great Toad Sage, that only left the two of them.
But she and Fukasaku exercised regularly. They had no wisdom windows.
And compared to the Great Toad Sage, their senjutsu was still lacking. Even if they did have wisdom windows, the concentration would not be enough.
"After I left, that little girl Tsunade immediately brought out this book. That means she probably never intended to hide it from me. And she refused to tell me about Jiraiya boy's situation."
"These past few days I checked the summoning contract. Jiraiya boy truly isn't in mortal danger… Could it be?"
Sage Shima felt she had become Mount Myoboku's master detective.
Outwardly a toad, inwardly a genius with extraordinary intellect.
She thought of Naruto working hard and earnestly at Mount Myoboku. Could it be that they were deliberately putting on an act?
If so, then letting her see this book on purpose would make sense.
They must have wanted her to find a method of teaching Naruto within this book…
"Let me keep looking."
Sage Shima continued flipping through the pages.
She remembered seeing something earlier.
Right, this was it!
"The Sage of Six Paths once had an improper relationship with the Great Toad Sage, and it was through this that he mastered senjutsu… What? Could it be that we need to arrange a marriage for Naruto?"
"No, no. That's far too against modern propriety. Besides, Naruto boy already has someone he likes. Think again…"
…
"Got it!"
A flash of inspiration struck Sage Shima. If the quality was insufficient, then they would win with quantity!
After coming up with a method, she carefully hid the book and went to find Sage Fukasaku.
"Pa, let's go soak in a hot spring. I've thought of a way to help Naruto boy quickly master senjutsu. I'll tell you while we soak."
"Isn't this just soaking in a hot spring?"
"An artificial hot spring."
Sage Shima set up a pot and began boiling water.
After making sure the temperature was not too hot, she sprinkled some flowers and medicinal herbs into the pot, then pulled Sage Fukasaku in with her.
Glug glug.
Glug glug.
"Ah, comfortable."
An hour later, Sage Shima hopped out.
Sage Fukasaku also jumped out, putting on his clothes while asking doubtfully, "Will this really work?"
There were no toxins on them, but they had not bathed in quite a while. The water quality was probably not very clean.
It certainly would not kill anyone if drunk.
"This is a chicken I bought in Konoha today while grocery shopping for Naruto boy. Didn't he say he doesn't like eating worms? Perfect timing to nourish him."
Sage Shima tossed the chicken into the pot they had just bathed in and turned up the fire.
Over on Naruto's side, he woke up early. Since he had not yet been assigned Sage Mode training for the day, he first began attempting to master tailed beast chakra with the Nine-Tails in his mind.
"Naruto boy, training so diligently? Come eat first."
Carrying the chicken soup, Sage Shima approached Naruto, who was meditating.
"Is it worm soup again?"
Naruto opened his eyes and pulled a long face.
"No, this is chicken soup. I specially bought chicken from Konoha today."
Sage Shima set down a whole pot of chicken soup in front of Naruto.
"Granny Toad, isn't the color of this chicken soup a bit strange? And why is there such a huge pot?"
Naruto was bewildered. Was this chicken soup or bathwater for the chicken? The pot was so big he could jump in and bathe. Would it even taste like chicken?
"This isn't ordinary chicken soup. I added Mount Myoboku's medicinal herbs."
"Didn't you say you didn't want to eat worms? Then drink more soup. We'll win with quantity."
"Uh… alright."
Naruto hesitated, but eventually compromised.
At least it was just herbs and chicken soup. Compared to worms, even if it tasted bad, he could endure it.
After struggling to drink half a pot, Naruto could not take it anymore. Clutching his bloated stomach, he collapsed onto the ground.
"Naruto, now we will begin teaching you how to cultivate senjutsu. To enter Sage Mode, you must empty your mind and remain calm, free of distracting thoughts. So you need to sit in meditation up there."
Sage Fukasaku pointed to a stone slab atop a tall, spiked pillar.
"Calm my mind?"
Naruto's face twisted in distress.
Not to mention that he naturally had many thoughts and liked to move around.
The Nine-Tails was still chattering nonstop in his head. How was he supposed to calm down?
"Grandpa Toad, isn't there some shortcut?"
Smack!
Sage Fukasaku leapt up and flicked Naruto on the forehead. "There are no shortcuts! If you want to save Jiraiya boy, you must do this! Ma, let's go! Let this kid think it over himself!"
Naruto remained where he was, dejected.
"Brat, actually… there is a shortcut."
The Nine-Tails seemed to have made a difficult decision. Only after a long pause did it finally speak.
(End of this chapter)