"Little Jiraiya wouldn't summon us for no reason..."
Sage Shima shook his head worriedly, concerned that something might have gone wrong, turned around to look at the huge chair nearby, and said, "Wait until the old coot wakes up and let him check if Jiraiya is in any danger... where's the old coot?"
"Huh?"
Sage Fukasaku stared in shock at the empty chair, his face suddenly turned panicky: "Not good, the Great Toad Sage is in trouble..."
"The old coot is missing!"
Sage Shima's face was also full of alarm!
Even though he always called the Great Toad Sage a sleepy old coot, he knew very well that the Great Toad Sage was the pillar of Mount Myoboku!
On the other side.
On the hill near the town.
Akihara Kagura sat on top of a doctoral hat.
The always sleepy Great Toad Sage woke up confused, opened his eyes to take in the surroundings, and saw Jiraiya before him.
Jiraiya's mouth opened wide in shock, looking incredulously at the Summoned Beast Akihara Kagura had summoned, he reached out a trembling finger: "Kid... you kid... how did you manage to summon the Great Toad Sage!"
"Ahhhhh..."
"I'm going to get scolded to death by Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima!"
Panic showed in Jiraiya's eyes, he was so frightened that he ran around on the ground.
"Right, you kid!"
Jiraiya suddenly stopped, raised his hand to point at Akihara Kagura sitting on the Great Toad Sage's hat: "Get down quickly! Don't sit on the Great Toad Sage's head!"
"..."
Akihara Kagura jumped down, looking at the terrified Jiraiya, frowned and said: "This Summoned Beast shouldn't have been summoned, right? Its size is large but it doesn't seem to have any combat abilities..."
"It's the Great Toad Sage!"
Jiraiya grabbed Akihara Kagura's shoulders, explaining to his disciple the severe consequences of summoning the Great Toad Sage: "The highest sage in Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage possesses the power of prophecy and foresight. You summoned it over here, and all the toads in Mount Myoboku will go mad. If those guys find out, they'll definitely scold me to death!"
"Don't be so nervous, Teacher Jiraiya..."
Akihara Kagura looked at the anxious Jiraiya, began to soothe his teacher, offering an idea: "I could kill the Great Toad Sage, and the toads in Mount Myoboku wouldn't know about this, right?"
After Akihara Kagura said this, she looked at the loyal toad summoned by Jiraiya: "Also, it's best to kill Teacher Jiraiya's summoned toad too, to prevent it from going back to Mount Myoboku to report..."
"..."
Jiraiya's head spun in fright.
Jiraiya trembled as he pointed at Akihara Kagura, scolding: "Don't say such terrifying things aloud! And don't harbor such extreme ideas!"
"..."
The loyal toad summoned by Jiraiya, upon hearing Akihara Kagura's words, immediately sensed the gravity of the situation, quickly un-summoned itself and went back to Mount Myoboku to report.
"That guy ran away."
Akihara Kagura sighed.
"My life... is over..."
Jiraiya hopelessly cradled his head.
"If I hadn't accepted the old man's task, I wouldn't have taken you as a disciple; if I hadn't taken you as a disciple, I wouldn't have taught you Summoning Jutsu; if I hadn't taught you Summoning Jutsu, today's incident wouldn't have happened..."
This tall, carefree man now seemed like a resentful woman, cradling his head squatting on the ground, questioning his life's choices.
However...
After brooding for a while, Jiraiya quickly recovered.
"Things haven't reached the worst yet!"
Jiraiya looked at the gradually awakening Great Toad Sage, took a step forward voluntarily, approached him, nodding and bowing, apologizing profusely.
"Sorry, sorry..."
"Great Toad Sage, my disciple is a bit ignorant, unfamiliar with Mount Myoboku's circumstances, please have the grace to overlook today's incident..."
"And..."
"It would be great if you could put in a good word for me with Sages Fukasaku and Shima..."
"..."
The Great Toad Sage pondered for a while, looking at the nodding and bowing Jiraiya, thought for a moment, then asked: "Oh, you are...?"
The Great Toad Sage always slept, with a thousand-year lifespan having experienced too many events, forgetting many people and things, even often forgetting Jiraiya's name.
In the past, when the Great Toad Sage forgot him, Jiraiya always felt a bit helpless. Today, he suddenly felt a bit delighted.
"Don't remember me? That's wonderful!"
Jiraiya's face lit up with glee, happily persuading it, "Then you must also forget about today, quickly lift the summoning and go home to sleep!"
"I remember now, it's little Jiraiya..."
The Great Toad Sage slowly uttered Jiraiya's name.
"..."
Jiraiya's expression instantly froze, slumping to the ground in defeat, preparing to accept a scolding, "Oh well, I'll summon Wen Tai first and explain everything clearly!"
Mount Myoboku.
The temple deep within Mount Myoboku.
Just as Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima were still wandering about, a gigantic toad leapt over, it was their son, Gama Bunta!
"Gama Chu just returned!"
"Gama Chu told me the Great Toad Sage has been summoned away!"
"That guy Jiraiya took on a disciple, and that kid's first use of the Summoning Jutsu was unskilled, summoning the Great Toad Sage directly!"
"That kid wants to silence, kill the Great Toad Sage!"
"That guy Jiraiya summoned me!"
The gigantic Gama Bunta sensed someone summoning him, holding a huge pipe, "I'll go right now, see who that arrogant kid is!"
The mountaintop near the small town.
"Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
With Jiraiya's execution of the Summoning Jutsu, an exceedingly large red toad appeared here!
This giant toad held a pipe in its mouth, had a row of tongue studs, and a short sword hanging at its waist, giving off a very social vibe.
Indeed, it was Mount Myoboku's Gama Bunta.
"Which brat..."
Just as Gama Bunta appeared, ready to curse, he saw the Great Toad Sage sitting attentively on the ground, staring at a young boy standing in front of it.
The Great Toad Sage chatted for a couple of sentences with Jiraiya, then stopped looking at Jiraiya, focusing intently on Akihara Kagura who had summoned it.
"Little one..."
"A little one who's never appeared in dreams..."
"Even stories of Kaguya and Hagoromo I can see, even stories of an ant moving house I can see, but I can't see your story..."
"Huh?"
Jiraiya, preparing to explain to Gama Bunta, suddenly reacted upon hearing these words, looking at the Great Toad Sage!
"Wait, Great Toad Sage!"
"The Great Toad Sage can't see Kagura, does it mean Kagura isn't the prophesied child?"
"..."
The Great Toad Sage slowly shook its head.
"Not?"
Jiraiya frowned, a trace of disappointment emerging on his face.
"..."
The Great Toad Sage didn't answer, continuing to observe Akihara Kagura, as if wanting to see through this boy, yet seemed obscured, unable to clearly see, only able to see everything Akihara Kagura displayed on the surface.
"But..."
"Nature is really fond of you."
"Can't you perceive their presence?"
The Great Toad Sage's body held immeasurable Natural Energy, also seeing the Natural Energy constantly drawing close to Akihara Kagura.
This Natural Energy was even more inclined towards Akihara Kagura than the Great Toad Sage, something it hadn't witnessed in thousands of years.
"You mean... these?"
Akihara Kagura raised his palm, seemingly able to sense the Natural Energy.
This Natural Energy was absorbed into Akihara Kagura's body.
A mixed black and white eye shadow appeared on Akihara Kagura's face, an earth-shattering aura erupted from his body, instantly blowing away Gama Bunta and Jiraiya, leaving only the Great Toad Sage unmoved!
Jiraiya quickly sought refuge atop Gama Bunta's head, gazing in amazement at Akihara Kagura standing before the Great Toad Sage!
"That is... Sage Mode!"