"Mount Myōboku."
Naruto had never taken the time to understand this place.
He was only interested in the "Summoning Technique" itself. As for those toads—honestly, they didn't look good, and their strength was rather average.
In his battles, they weren't much help.
As for the "Sage Mode" associated with Mount Myōboku, he did have some interest.
However, its importance was lower than what he was currently working on, so he never pursued it.
But now… was he going to deal with those guys?
He picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Jiraiya.
Three days later, on the border of the Land of Fire, inside a small pastry shop in a town.
"It's been a year, Naruto—you've gotten taller." Jiraiya looked down at the blond teenager before him and sighed emotionally.
He paused and complimented, "That outfit looks good on you too."
Much better taste than Minato ever had.
Clearly, he inherited his mother's good fashion sense.
"Jiraiya-sensei hasn't changed much," Naruto replied with a smile and gestured for him to sit down.
Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed. "At my age, there's not much left to change."
"I just hope to do a few more useful things before I die… to make up for some past regrets."
He accepted the tea from Karin and then his expression turned serious. "In your letter, you said you wanted to go to Mount Myōboku to start Sage Mode training?"
"I think it might be better if you waited a few more years."
Not because Naruto didn't need the training.
The issue was age.
Sage Mode first required balancing one's spiritual and physical energy. On that foundation, one then had to integrate natural energy delicately, achieving equilibrium among all three to succeed in the training.
Naruto was still young. Even though he was already strong, both his chakra and his physical and spiritual energies were still growing.
The balance he achieved this year could be disrupted by growth in the following years, rendering his training useless.
If he waited until his body was more developed—around sixteen or seventeen—it would be more suitable.
"It's not about Sage Mode." Naruto shook his head and smiled slightly. "I want to ask the Great Toad Sage some questions."
Jiraiya was taken aback.
He wanted to see the Great Toad Sage?
"Do you want it to give you a prophecy?" Jiraiya wasn't surprised Naruto knew of the Great Toad Sage. Among summoning creatures, the three great sanctuaries were seen as sacred, and rumors about them weren't secret—just inaccessible to the weak.
Naruto shook his head again. "I heard the Great Toad Sage has lived for over a thousand years. I want to ask about history, gods, and the Pure Land."
The legend of the Sage of Six Paths was also from over a thousand years ago.
That answer didn't surprise Jiraiya.
He had heard that Naruto had spent the past year searching for "gods."
Others didn't understand what he was trying to do, but Jiraiya knew very well.
"Then I'll take you there." Jiraiya nodded and agreed right away. After contacting the toads of Mount Myōboku, he added, "Don't resist what happens next—it's just part of the technique."
"Mount Myōboku is too far away. Using the summoning technique will be more convenient."
After he spoke—
Naruto immediately sensed a wave of chakra rising beneath him. He quickly grabbed Karin and wrapped her in his chakra.
"Reverse Summoning Technique."
The formation activated, transporting both him and Karin.
Jiraiya was a step behind and was also transported.
With a flash of white smoke—
The scenery changed.
Towering mountains rose from the ground, waterfalls cascaded down, and in the distance were massive broadleaf trees. Some enormous toads were resting or play-fighting. Behind the trees, a few large, insect-like houses could be seen.
It gave a strange illusion—as if they had shrunk in size.
"Impressive, right?" Jiraiya said with pride in his tone. "This is one of the Three Great Holy Lands—Mount Myōboku."
Naruto nodded and looked to the side.
Two auras were approaching.
The chakra was faint, but carried immense natural energy within.
Two cloaked frogs.
"Jiraiya, is this the kid you were talking about?" asked a green-skinned frog with three tufts of white hair.
"And who's the red-haired girl?" said the purple-skinned frog, eyeing Karin.
"She's with me. I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone outside," Naruto answered.
Jiraiya introduced everyone.
The male toad was named Fukasaku, and the female Shima. Both were elders of Mount Myōboku, known as "Sages."
"The elder has agreed to see you," Fukasaku said gently, motioning them to follow. "Come with me."
They climbed the stairs, entered the temple behind, and walked into a large hall.
At the end of the room was a throne marked with the word "仙" (Sage).
An enormous orange toad sat upon it.
It wore a square-shaped hat, and a necklace with a "油" (oil) bead hung from its neck. It radiated an incredibly ancient aura.
"Who goes there?" it asked in a trembling voice, like an old man on the edge of senility.
"It's me, Jiraiya," the white-haired ninja answered. "And this is Uzumaki Naruto, Minato's child."
"He has some questions for you."
The Great Toad Sage nodded and turned its head. Upon seeing Naruto, its yellow eyes widened slightly, as if it sensed something.
"Uzumaki Naruto, is it?"
"What an interesting child."
"What do you wish to know?"
Naruto raised his head and spoke clearly, "I want to understand natural energy and chakra."
"I also want to learn about the gods—especially the Shinigami."
"And I want information about the Pure Land."
The Great Toad Sage lazily tilted its head. "You sure have a lot of questions."
"Let me think about how to answer you."
It fell silent. Completely still and quiet—as if it had fallen asleep.
Naruto waited patiently.
Karin was less patient. She tugged on Naruto's sleeve.
Even the three sage toads were beginning to lose their composure—
Finally, the Great Toad Sage began speaking again:"These are very ancient matters. Back then, I was just a young toad."
"In this world, chakra didn't originally exist."
"There was only natural energy, known as senjutsu or sage power."
"The gods were beings that controlled sage power and were worshiped by humans. They once held dominion over many natural forces."
"But one day, a Divine Tree fell from the sky. Shortly after, that woman arrived."
"She fell in love with a king and gave birth to the Sage of Six Paths."
Naruto listened carefully.
Jiraiya, too, was hearing all of this for the first time and looked grave.
"But that woman's ambition went beyond being queen. She sought the Divine Tree's power and turned the king and his people into sacrifices for it."
"The Sage of Six Paths couldn't bear to see humanity suffer. He gained the power of chakra, defeated his mother, sealed her on the moon, and cast the Divine Tree out of this world—saving mankind."
"Afterward, to restore the land, he traveled the world, sealing away the gods—the Shinigami included—and later founded Ninshū, the precursor to the ninja system."
"That answers your first two questions."
The Great Toad Sage paused.
Naruto furrowed his brows.
Karin quickly unrolled a scroll to record what they'd just heard.
They had known the Sage of Six Paths founded Ninshū. But they didn't expect this backstory.
So… the records of the Uzumaki clan were accurate.
The Shinigami was a being more ancient than the Sage of Six Paths.
No wonder all they could find were legends about the gods—never the gods themselves. It turned out they had all been sealed away by the Sage.
Including the Shinigami.
The Great Toad Sage continued:"As for your third question—the so-called Pure Land..."
"I don't know much about it."
"All I can say is that when I was young, there were rumors of the Shinigami and King Enma, but not of any Pure Land."
Naruto pondered those words.
So, was the Pure Land created by the Sage of Six Paths?
Was that soul-dragging force he sensed from the dead… from the Sage himself?
Some of his confusion began to clear.
"Thank you very much for answering my questions," Naruto said sincerely.
The Great Toad Sage shook its head.
It stared at Naruto silently.
Naruto and Karin left—they weren't in the mood to explore Mount Myōboku. The two toads used the summoning technique to send them back.
Jiraiya stayed behind.
"Great Toad Sage, is Naruto the Child of Prophecy?" he asked.
The Great Toad Sage shook its head. "Little Jiraiya, that's something you must discover."
Jiraiya said no more.
"But in this boy… I see something different." The Great Toad Sage went on.
Jiraiya looked up.
"Mist and chaos," it said cautiously, uttering two words.
Mist?
Chaos?
Jiraiya blinked, confused. Those could describe a person—but not Naruto.
Naruto wasn't lost. His will was firm. His thoughts were clear.
The Great Toad Sage remained silent.
It, too, had some doubts.
In its vision, this blonde brat should still be a Leaf ninja right now—and shouldn't have such great strength yet.
He was supposed to travel with Jiraiya.
Soon after, Jiraiya was supposed to be wounded by a red, chaotic force from Naruto.
But reality had changed. Naruto left the village alone.
"Chaos" referred to the chaos in the prophecy.
And in the boy… there were experiences the Great Toad Sage couldn't see through.
That was the "mist."
Just like that woman who had appeared with the Divine Tree long ago.
(End of Chapter)