Chapter 102 (Patreon)

The moment the Great Toad Sage finished speaking, every toad gathered below went tense.

A presence that could make even the Great Toad Sage feel pressured?

Did that mean whoever had entered Mount Myōboku was stronger than even him?

“All right, everyone! Prepare for battle!”

Fukasaku reacted immediately. He leaped onto Gamabunta’s head and called out to the others.

“Right!”

The toads drew their weapons, their expressions grim.

In an instant, the entire mountain was placed on alert.

Even Fukasaku began gathering natural energy, preparing to enter Sage Mode.

At the foot of Mount Myōboku, Yujiro and Jiraiya were making their way up the mountain.

“Strange…”

Jiraiya scratched his head as he looked around.

“Why is it so quiet today? I haven’t even seen Fukasaku-sama.”

He continued walking while glancing from side to side, but no one appeared.

Not a single person.

Or rather, not a single toad.

About ten minutes later, Jiraiya led Yujiro to the temple near the summit of Mount Myōboku.

The moment they arrived, Jiraiya froze.

A line of giant toads stood in front of the temple, all of them carrying weapons.

Gamabunta stood in the center with his pipe between his teeth and his massive tantō at his waist.

Fukasaku stood atop his head, already in Sage Mode.

“Jiraiya?!”

Fukasaku stared at him in surprise.

Could the presence the Great Toad Sage had sensed have come from Jiraiya?

No.

Fukasaku immediately looked past him.

His eyes settled on Yujiro.

The young man was dressed in black, with a black sword hanging at his waist. His expression was calm, and he showed no sign of hostility.

No matter how Fukasaku looked at him, he seemed completely ordinary.

“Fukasaku-sama, let me introduce him.”

Jiraiya stepped forward with a grin and pointed toward Yujiro.

“This is the Child of Prophecy I told you about. His name is Yujiro.”

He then looked at the armed toads surrounding them.

“More importantly, what happened here? Why is everyone ready for a fight?”

“So this is the Child of Prophecy…”

Fukasaku gave Yujiro a brief smile before turning back to Jiraiya with a serious expression.

“Jiraiya, are you certain he’s the only one who came with you?”

“Of course.”

Jiraiya nodded without hesitation.

He glanced around once again.

“Fukasaku-sama, what exactly is going on?”

Fukasaku let out a sigh.

“A little while ago, the Great Toad Sage summoned all of us.”

“He said he sensed a presence that made even him feel uneasy. According to him, he hasn’t felt anything like it in thousands of years.”

Fukasaku’s expression darkened.

“That means someone dangerous may have entered Mount Myōboku.”

“What?!”

Jiraiya’s eyes widened.

“A presence strong enough to affect even the Great Toad Sage?”

“That’s right.”

Fukasaku nodded.

“That’s why the entire mountain is on guard.”

He looked at Yujiro once more.

“But since it’s only you and the Child of Prophecy, come inside. The Great Toad Sage is waiting.”

“Thanks, Fukasaku-sama.”

Jiraiya nodded.

Yujiro, meanwhile, was looking at Gamabunta.

The enormous toad had a large pipe in his mouth and a giant tantō at his side.

“Hey, kid.”

Gamabunta lowered his head and stared at him.

“What are you looking at?”

His eyes moved toward the black sword hanging from Yujiro’s waist.

“What? You want to test your sword against mine?”

Gamabunta burst out laughing.

“Gahahaha!”

“A little.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

He was curious.

If he relied only on his swordsmanship, without using his other abilities, would he be able to cut through Gamabunta’s blade?

“Gahahaha! I like that answer!”

Gamabunta laughed again.

“So you’re the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad Sage spoke about.”

He tapped the hilt of his tantō.

“Once you’re done meeting him, how about a spar?”

“Fine.”

Yujiro answered casually.

He then followed Jiraiya and Fukasaku into the temple.

The Great Toad Sage sat at the far end of the hall.

The instant Yujiro entered, the old toad’s half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide.

He stared down at him.

There was no mistake.

The presence he had sensed was coming from Yujiro.

But it was strange.

It was not chakra.

It was not natural energy either.

It was something the Great Toad Sage had never encountered before.

No matter how carefully he observed Yujiro, he could not understand what kind of power it was.

Yujiro raised his head and looked back at him.

At that moment, he activated the Simulation Acquisition ability of the third level of his Limiter.

One second later, a familiar voice sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Mount Myōboku Sage Mode!]

[Limiter unlocking progress increased by 10%.]

[Current progress: Level Three—70%.]

A new power immediately appeared within Yujiro’s body.

Without hesitation, he began drawing it out.

The next moment, the natural energy spread throughout Mount Myōboku suddenly began moving.

It rushed toward the temple from every direction.

And at the center of it all stood Yujiro.

He closed his eyes and remained perfectly still, sensing the natural energy gathering around him.

This was the power needed to create senjutsu chakra.

Once mastered, Sage Mode could raise a shinobi’s strength, speed, senses, and jutsu to an entirely different level.

Jiraiya stood beside him, speechless.

Yujiro had only just arrived at Mount Myōboku.

No one had explained Sage Mode to him.

No one had taught him how to sense natural energy.

Yet he was already doing it.

Jiraiya had seen many talented shinobi in his life, but this was beyond talent.

He could not even think of a word that suited Yujiro anymore.

The surrounding toads stared at him in shock.

Even the Great Toad Sage could no longer hide his disbelief.

Someone who had never trained in senjutsu was gathering natural energy as naturally as breathing.

How was that possible?

At the same time, the Great Toad Sage finally understood.

Yujiro was not the Child of Prophecy.

He was something beyond the prophecy.

The Great Toad Sage had once believed he could see the path Yujiro would take, but now he realized how foolish that thought had been.

From the moment Yujiro appeared, the future of the shinobi world had begun to change.

Even the Great Toad Sage could no longer see where it would lead.

As the natural energy continued gathering, Yujiro mixed it with the physical and spiritual energy inside his body.

The three energies came together without the slightest imbalance.

A moment later, senjutsu chakra flowed through his body.

Yujiro had entered Sage Mode.

He slowly opened his eyes.

His appearance had barely changed.

Only markings had appeared beneath his eyes.

His pupils remained black, without the horizontal shape normally seen in the users of Mount Myōboku’s Sage Mode.

However, the pressure coming from him had grown even stronger.

The Great Toad Sage stared at him, his body trembling.

“He…”

His voice shook with disbelief.

“He has complete control over natural energy…”