Chapter 101 (Patreon)

Over the next few days, Yujiro remained in Iwagakure and allowed himself a rare chance to rest.

Yujiro himself did not think much of it, but his continued presence placed enormous pressure on everyone in the village.

The officials responsible for accommodating him barely dared to relax. Afraid that even the smallest oversight might offend Konoha’s delegation, they remained available at all hours of the day.

At last, the day of Yujiro’s departure arrived.

Ōnoki personally came to see Yujiro and the others off as they left Iwagakure.

The Third Tsuchikage maintained a dignified expression throughout the farewell, but the people standing behind him were secretly overcome with relief.

The troublesome guest was finally leaving.

Ever since Yujiro had arrived, Iwagakure’s shinobi had been unable to eat or sleep in peace. Now, at long last, they could finally breathe again.

Yujiro and his companions soon returned to Konoha.

By then, the village had truly entered a period of rapid development.

With the enormous amount of wealth and resources Konoha had obtained, the village’s territory had expanded to nearly five times its former size.

Shinobi and civilians alike had been mobilized to assist with its construction and development.

Even several nearby villages and small market towns had chosen to place themselves under Konoha’s protection.

Naturally, Konoha welcomed anyone who sincerely wished to settle within its territory.

However, every new arrival still had to undergo a thorough investigation. No one was willing to risk allowing enemy spies to slip into the village amid the rapid influx of people.

With the Uchiha clan and the Yamanaka clan jointly overseeing the inspections, few enemy shinobi would be foolish enough to attempt it.

The Sharingan could expose suspicious behavior, while the Yamanaka clan possessed methods capable of directly examining a person’s mind.

Trying to deceive both clans was no different from throwing one’s life away.

Little by little, everything began settling into place.

Kakashi, Shisui, Itachi, and Might Guy had all been promoted to squad captains within the Anbu.

Each of them trained relentlessly, pushing themselves every day in pursuit of greater strength.

The entire village operated like an enormous, well-maintained machine, every part moving with purpose as Konoha continued to grow at a staggering pace.

There was, however, one person who seemed completely unaffected by the village’s frantic atmosphere.

That person was naturally Yujiro.

“Display my status.”

A translucent panel appeared before him.

[Personal Status]

[Host: Yujiro]

[Attributes: All Attributes]

[Chakra: 10,000,000—equivalent to Hashirama Senju’s chakra reserves]

[Skills: Multiple]

[Ninjutsu: Multiple]

[Kekkei Genkai: Wood Release, Boil Release, Lava Release, Scorch Release, Ice Release, Storm Release, Magnet Release, Dust Release]

[Limiter: Level Three—60.0%]

[Current Objective: Unlock the Fourth Level of the Limiter]

Yujiro reclined comfortably in a rocking chair as he examined the information before him.

Terumī Mei sat on his left, carefully peeling an apple for him, while Pakura stood behind the chair and gently massaged his shoulders.

Yugito Nii sat on his right. Having recently joined the other two, she was now being treated in much the same way.

Half an hour later, Jiraiya appeared before them.

“Hey, Yujiro,” Jiraiya called out with a broad smile. “Have you finally made up your mind? Are you coming with me to Mount Myōboku or not?”

This was already the fifth time Jiraiya had asked him that question during the current month.

The corner of Yujiro’s mouth rose slightly.

“All right. Let’s go meet the legendary Great Toad Sage.”

By now, Yujiro had searched for nearly every known possessor of a Kekkei Genkai throughout the shinobi world.

Those who remained had either become missing-nin or disappeared into hiding, making them extremely difficult to locate.

For the time being, Yujiro had no reliable way to find them.

However, he had learned something important from the system.

The progress of his Limiter did not increase solely through the acquisition of Kekkei Genkai. Any form of energy capable of strengthening him could contribute toward unlocking it.

That realization naturally brought the three legendary sage regions to mind.

Mount Myōboku.

Ryūchi Cave.

Shikkotsu Forest.

He had yet to visit any of them.

Therefore, when Jiraiya approached him again, Yujiro finally agreed.

“All right!”

Jiraiya burst into laughter when he heard Yujiro’s answer.

“When we get back, I’ll give you an entire volume of an unreleased edition of Icha Icha Paradise!”

Yujiro merely shrugged.

He had little interest in something like that, but Kakashi would probably treasure it. He could always save the book and give it to him later.

“So, when do you want to leave?” Jiraiya asked with a grin. “Tell me when you’re ready.”

“There’s no reason to wait,” Yujiro replied. “Let’s leave now.”

“That works for me.”

Jiraiya nodded.

The two soon arrived at an open field outside the village.

Jiraiya reached behind himself and removed the contract scroll belonging to Mount Myōboku’s toads.

He unrolled it and spread it across the grass.

“Write your name here and leave your fingerprints in blood,” Jiraiya explained. “Once you’ve signed the contract, you’ll be able to summon the toads of Mount Myōboku.”

He pointed toward the empty space on the scroll.

“After that, we can use the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to travel directly there.”

“Understood.”

Yujiro wrote his name on the contract and pressed his bloodied fingertips beneath it.

Jiraiya then showed him the hand seals required for the Reverse Summoning Jutsu.

The two formed the seals at the same time.

“Reverse Summoning Jutsu!”

“Reverse Summoning Jutsu!”

Bang! Bang!

Two clouds of white smoke erupted across the field.

When the smoke dispersed, both Yujiro and Jiraiya had vanished without a trace.

Mount Myōboku was known as one of the three great unexplored sage regions.

The reason was simple.

The entire region was filled with an incredibly dense concentration of natural energy.

Through many years of training, the toads living on Mount Myōboku had learned how to sense and control that energy.

Once they mastered it, they could enter Sage Mode.

A ninjutsu enhanced by senjutsu chakra could become more than ten times stronger than an ordinary technique.

In a grassy clearing somewhere within Mount Myōboku, two figures suddenly appeared amid separate bursts of white smoke.

Yujiro looked around.

Strange trees rose high above the ground. Enormous flowers bloomed among unfamiliar plants, many of which looked unlike anything found in the ordinary shinobi world.

“So this is Mount Myōboku.”

The moment he arrived, Yujiro could feel the pure natural energy permeating the surrounding air.

However, he had not come all this way merely to absorb ordinary natural energy.

Since he had already entered Mount Myōboku, he naturally intended to obtain the strongest source of power found here.

The Great Toad Sage.

Although the ancient toad had grown old, he had lived for thousands of years.

His life stretched all the way back to the era of the Sage of Six Paths, when Ninshū had first begun spreading across the world.

“Come on, Yujiro.” Jiraiya tilted his head toward the mountain ahead. “I’ll take you to meet the Great Toad Sage.”

“All right.”

Yujiro nodded, and the two began making their way deeper into Mount Myōboku.

However, the instant Yujiro and Jiraiya arrived, the entire mountain was thrown into chaos.

Inside the temple at the summit of Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage had issued an emergency summons.

Such an order had not been given even once in the past thousand years.

Yet today, the Great Toad Sage had suddenly activated it.

Within three minutes, toads from every corner of Mount Myōboku had gathered before the temple.

“Great Toad Sage, what happened?” one of them asked anxiously. “Why have you suddenly summoned everyone?”

Gamabunta lowered his enormous head toward Fukasaku.

“Fukasaku-sama, do you know what’s going on?”

“I don’t know either.”

Fukasaku scratched his head, his expression unusually troubled.

“This emergency summons has existed since before I was born, but I’ve never seen it used.”

The assembled toads turned their attention toward the Great Toad Sage seated above them.

The ancient toad’s expression was unusually solemn.

“Something unexpected has happened.”

Even his voice had changed.

The usual sleepy, absentminded tone was nowhere to be heard.

“Five minutes ago, I sensed an oppressive presence appear within Mount Myōboku.”

The Great Toad Sage’s voice dropped into a grave whisper.

“That energy… That presence…”

His eyes, which were normally half-closed, opened completely.

“I have never encountered anything like it before.”