When Jiraiya saw the smile on Naruto's face, he assumed it was because Naruto was about to gain a new power—one that would allow him to protect his comrades.
"Then I'll take you to Mount Myōboku right now."
Jiraiya took out a summoning scroll. After forming hand seals, he pressed his palm against it and activated the technique.
"Reverse Summoning Technique!"
Jiraiya and Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke.
When Naruto arrived at Mount Myōboku, he was immediately struck by the sight of enormous plants towering around him. Countless toads lounged comfortably on the branches and leaves, basking and resting. The scene filled Naruto with a sense of wonder.
"So this is Mount Myōboku…"
Suddenly, Gamabunta, a pipe clenched in his mouth, descended from the sky.
"Jiraiya, why did you have me summon you back to Mount Myōboku?" Gamabunta asked.
"Isn't Konoha still at war with the other ninja villages?"
Jiraiya explained,
"Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure have all withdrawn from the war. Only Sunagakure insists on continuing the fight against Konoha. The two sides are currently in a standoff, so I took the chance to bring Naruto here to train."
Gamabunta took a puff from his pipe and looked at Naruto.
"You planning to teach this brat Senjutsu Chakra? Does the boss know about this?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"Naruto has already made his resolve. I'll inform the Boss and the Big Sis."
Gamabunta suddenly looked up at the sky.
"The Boss is here."
Naruto and Jiraiya both looked up. Two toads descended from above.
One was a small green toad with white eyebrows and a white beard.
The other was a small green toad with purple hair and purple lips.
Their size was completely incomparable to Gamabunta's massive frame.
Yet Gamabunta bowed respectfully to them.
"Boss, Jiraiya came to see you. I'll take my leave now."
After Gamabunta departed, Fukasaku looked at Naruto.
"So this is the child you spoke of, Little Jiraiya—the Child of Prophecy?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"That's right, Boss. This time, I want to bring Naruto here to learn Senjutsu Chakra."
Shima looked at the young Naruto with some doubt.
"Little Jiraiya, don't you think Naruto is still too young?"
Jiraiya scratched his head.
"Big Sis, this was Naruto's request. Due to unavoidable circumstances, he's already joined the battlefield. But he doesn't want to rely on the Nine-Tails' power, so he wants to learn Senjutsu Chakra to make up for his lack of strength."
Shima was about to say more, but Fukasaku stopped her.
"Mother of the children, since Little Jiraiya has already made his decision, that means Naruto is prepared."
Shima no longer objected.
"Alright then, Father of the children. I'll go prepare a meal."
With that, Shima left.
Fukasaku turned to Naruto and Jiraiya.
"Follow me."
Fukasaku led them to a spring and asked Naruto,
"Little Jiraiya should have already explained Senjutsu Chakra to you, correct?"
Naruto nodded.
"Spiritual energy and physical energy from within the body, plus natural energy from outside. When these three are fused and used to mold chakra and perform techniques, that's called Senjutsu."
"That's right," Fukasaku said.
"Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu performed with Senjutsu Chakra all receive a tremendous boost in power."
To allow Naruto to directly experience the power of Senjutsu Chakra, Fukasaku walked up to a gigantic stone toad statue. After forming a hand seal, he placed both hands at the base of the statue.
Jiraiya exclaimed in admiration,
"As expected of you, Boss. Natural energy is steadily gathering."
Naruto looked around, but couldn't sense anything unusual.
Suddenly, Fukasaku lifted the stone toad statue—one that weighed dozens, even hundreds of times more than his own body.
"H-He lifted it?!"
Naruto was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.
"This is the power of Senjutsu—chakra fused with natural energy."
Fukasaku tossed the stone statue to the ground. The earth shook violently, making its incredible weight unmistakable.
Naruto asked in confusion,
"But I couldn't see anything at all. You just formed a seal and lifted it."
Fukasaku replied, panting slightly,
"Of course you couldn't tell. Right now, you're unable to sense natural energy. That also means you can't absorb it into your body."
"You must become one with nature."
"Become one with nature?"
Naruto had no idea what Fukasaku meant.
Jiraiya said simply,
"Basically… you die."
"Huh?!"
Fukasaku scolded him,
"Little Jiraiya, don't use such strange metaphors."
Turning back to Naruto, Fukasaku explained,
"I don't mean actually dying. Let me explain properly."
"To absorb natural energy, you must first sense it, then draw it toward yourself. Becoming one with nature means controlling natural energy—allowing it to enter and leave your body freely. As for how to train…"
Fukasaku suddenly raised a finger and pointed at Naruto.
"Don't move!"
Naruto was completely baffled.
"Don't move? What does that mean?"
"It means exactly that," Fukasaku said.
"You must stop moving. Only after an animal's activity completely halts, and the flow of natural energy becomes balanced, can you sense it for the first time."
Naruto frowned.
"It can't be as simple as just not moving, right? Jiraiya-sensei said 'die' earlier—does that mean I have to be like a corpse?"
Fukasaku stared at him in surprise.
"You're much smarter than Little Jiraiya. For a living creature, staying perfectly still is the hardest thing of all. This kind of training takes time, and its difficulty is extremely high."
"It takes a long time?" Naruto asked urgently.
"But I don't have that much time. The war with Sunagakure still needs me. Is there any way to shorten the training?"
Naruto's plan was to leave Konoha and the Land of Fire during the war with Sunagakure. If the training took too long and the war ended, escaping Konoha would become extremely difficult.
"In that case," Fukasaku said, "there is a better method."
He pointed toward a waterfall behind him.
"This waterfall contains Mount Myōboku's secret Toad Oil. It has the ability to attract natural energy and can serve as an aid in training."
Fukasaku took out some toad oil and applied it to Naruto's wrist.
"As long as the oil is applied to your body, natural energy can enter you. Your skin will gradually begin to sense it."
The moment the oil touched his wrist, Naruto could clearly feel a strange energy flowing into his body.
"This feeling…"
"You must seize this sensation," Fukasaku continued.
"Someday, you'll be able to do this without the oil—but—"
Suddenly, Fukasaku's tone shifted.
"This method carries risk. If someone who cannot properly control natural energy uses it…"
"They may turn into a frog!"
Naruto looked down—his entire arm had already transformed into that of a toad.
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