By the time Raizen and the old toad reached the summit, the air reeked of rain and sage energy.
Before them stood a wooden hall carved into the cliffside — the Great Toad Sage's residence. Waiting outside were two figures: Shima-sama and Fukasaku-sama, the elder sages of Mount Myōboku.
When they spotted Raizen, Shima puffed up her chest and croaked, "Little Raizen, the Great Toad Sage is already expecting you. Don't keep him waiting."
Raizen's eyebrow twitched. Little Raizen? Seriously?
Still, considering both of them had probably seen the Sage of Six Paths in person, he decided not to argue about nicknames.
Following them inside, he found an enormous toad slumped against a stone chair — the Great Toad Sage himself. A huge crystal bead rested beside him, glimmering faintly.
He was fast asleep.
"Great Toad Sage, we've brought the boy you asked for," Fukasaku called out politely.
No reaction.
"Great Toad Sage?"
Nothing.
It took nearly half an hour — and several ear-piercing shouts — before the ancient creature's eyes finally fluttered open.
"...Why are you all here?" the Great Toad Sage muttered, voice deep and sluggish.
"You asked us to find a human boy," Shima replied. "So, we brought him."
The old toad blinked slowly. "Ah… yes. The one who would… change fate." His cloudy eyes scanned the room, confused. "But where is he? I don't see any boy."
Raizen sighed and stepped forward. "I'm right here, Sage-sama."
At the sound of his voice, the Great Toad Sage's gaze sharpened — if only for a moment.
"I saw you in a dream," he rumbled. "The world born from the Sage of Six Paths' teachings… will be altered by your hands. You will become the one who shatters destiny itself."
Raizen froze.
Wait— That line sounded familiar. Like prophecy-level familiar. He'd watched the entire Naruto series in his past life. The Great Toad Sage's predictions were rarely wrong.
"What exactly did you see, Sage-sama?" Raizen asked carefully.
The old toad's eyes drifted shut, as though peering into a memory already fading. "I saw you… fighting an enemy beyond imagination. That battle will decide the fate of this world. If you win, peace may follow. If you lose, all will crumble."
His words hung heavy in the air. Then, as if his purpose had been fulfilled, the Great Toad Sage's head drooped, and within seconds, he was snoring again.
Fukasaku sighed. "He's out cold again."
Shima shook her head, clearly used to it. "Let's go, little Raizen. No point waking him twice."
They guided him back outside, to the thundering waterfall where statues of stone toads sat in eerie silence.
"The Great Toad Sage asked me to help you grow stronger," Fukasaku said, turning serious. "But first… tell me, what do you want to learn, boy?"
"I heard that Mount Myōboku once had a powerful form of chakra control — Sage Mode," Raizen said. "I want to learn it."
Fukasaku's eyes widened slightly. "Sage Mode, huh?"
He led Raizen closer to the statues. "Sage Mode isn't some trick, kid. You absorb natural energy into your body — let too much in, and it turns you to stone. These statues? They were toads who failed."
Raizen studied the stone forms — some frozen mid-leap, others still kneeling. They looked almost alive.
"...So that's what happened to them," he muttered.
It didn't scare him. If anything, it only solidified his resolve.
In the back of his mind, Raizen recalled the legends — Jiraiya, the imperfect sage, and Naruto, the perfect one who'd used shadow clones to balance the flow of natural energy.
He had one thing in common with Naruto: an absurd chakra pool. If he used the same method, he could replicate it.
"I'll do it," Raizen said finally. "Sage Mode is the fastest way to grow — dangerous or not."
Fukasaku studied him quietly.
He's dead serious.
"There's more to it, isn't there?" the old toad said. "You're not just chasing strength."
Raizen smiled faintly. "Maybe I just hate being weak. Maybe I want to see how far someone like me can go."
He didn't mention the other reason — his Super Achievement System. If he managed to draw the Body of the Sage, Sage Mode would become second nature, like it was for Senju Hashirama.
To control natural energy perfectly… to stand on equal ground with the monsters of this era — that was his real goal.
"You understand what's at stake?" Fukasaku asked one last time. "If your control slips, you'll turn to stone. No one can save you."
Raizen's grin didn't waver. "Then I'll just have to make sure I don't slip, won't I?"
Fukasaku sighed, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "You humans… always reckless."
"Fine. Rest for two days. Then we begin. Don't regret it."
Raizen nodded, heart pounding with excitement. "Wouldn't dream of it."
If he mastered Sage Mode, his rise was inevitable.
And for the first time since reincarnating into this blood-soaked world, Raizen felt something dangerous and alive burning in his chest — hope.