Toad Hundred-Million Sage

"Jiraiya, have you gotten into some kind of trouble lately?"

In Nanga Town, the settlement closest to Konoha Village, Tsunade drank her sake and glanced at Jiraiya beside her.

"Hm? Lately, I... No, wait. I've only had money since the night before last. Surely indulging myself for two nights doesn't count as getting into trouble?"

Minato rolled his eyes at Jiraiya. What an emotional idiot. How could he say he had indulged himself for two nights in front of Tsunade?

They had still given Jiraiya too much money, letting him indulge excessively in wine and women.

Tsunade snorted coldly, thinking that Jiraiya truly was hopeless. She said, "I heard your bounty at the Underground Exchange increased by twenty-two million ryo. Can drinking with hostesses for two nights really add that much to your bounty? Did you provoke someone you shouldn't have?"

Minato unconsciously lowered his head and took a small sip of wheat juice.

This was bad, bad. The Underground Exchange in Nuanhe Town had been robbed, and it seemed the blame had fallen on Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was far too conspicuous. Everywhere he went, he had to visit the most crowded bathhouse and tavern. Someone must have learned that he had appeared in Nuanhe Town that night.

Four people had died at the Underground Exchange, and twenty million ryo had been stolen. Minato suddenly realized a crucial point: in the Underground Exchange's eyes, those four people were worth two million ryo!

Jiraiya thought about it briefly, found the Underground Exchange utterly baffling, and instead said, "Haha! They've finally discovered my heaven-sent talent and narrowed the bounty gap between me, you, and Orochimaru.

"From today onward, we are no longer the Three Ninja. We are Jiraiya and his two slightly stronger classmates!

"My bounty increased by twenty-two million ryo. Doesn't that mean it's over a hundred million now?

"From now on, please call me the Toad Hundred-Million Sage!"

Minato abruptly turned his head. Jiraiya had started calling himself a sage—but when had he trained for it?

Given the intensity of his peeping, could it be that after peeping, he entered a man's post-climax sage time, emptied his mind of all things, and comprehended how to meditate and absorb Natural Energy?

Still, judging by Jiraiya's strength, it took him more than half an hour to enter Sage Mode. It could not be considered part of his normal combat ability.

Tsunade also keenly caught the word "sage" and asked, "You learned it?"

Shikkotsu Forest also had sage techniques, but Tsunade had never quite grasped the method.

Jiraiya rarely spoke seriously. "I've gained a slight understanding, but I'm still far from being able to use it in actual combat."

Tsunade nodded. Sage Mode was exceptionally difficult to cultivate.

Jiraiya asked, "Tsunade, how far have you gotten?"

Tsunade replied, "My chakra reserves aren't enough to withstand the invasion of Natural Energy. I'm studying how to increase my chakra reserves."

In the original story, Tsunade developed the Yin Seal, sealing chakra within the diamond-shaped Cursed Seal on her forehead and releasing an enormous amount of chakra when needed.

Minato looked over. There was still no diamond-shaped Cursed Seal on Tsunade's forehead.

Jiraiya earnestly warned Tsunade, "Chakra reserves are crucial to the sage techniques of the Three Great Sage Lands. I only began to delve deeper into it this year myself. One careless mistake and you'll turn to stone. Tsunade, you need to be careful too. I heard that if you fail to cultivate the sage techniques of Shikkotsu Forest, your body will soften and melt like a slug."

"I understand. You need to be careful too."

Tsunade glanced at Minato. Jiraiya held nothing back in front of his disciple Minato, casually speaking of secrets such as sages and sage techniques. It seemed Jiraiya would not hide anything from this disciple.

Tsunade said, "I arrived half a day earlier than the letter I sent Takeoto. I wonder when they'll bring Kushina's younger brother here."

As she spoke, there was a knock at the door.

The mayor poked his head inside and said, "Honored ninja, Young Clan Head Fugaku asked me to contact the town clinic and provide you with a sterile examination room. Please follow me."

Tsunade nodded. "Young Clan Head Fugaku has been very thoughtful."

The Nanga River was a great river that flowed past one corner of Konoha Village. During the Warring States Era, Nanga Town had been the territory of the Uchiha Clan.

Later, the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan moved from their original territories into Konoha together, and the town became jointly administered by the Uchiha Clan and the Land of Fire.

After entering the town clinic, the mayor said, "I have sent my Vice Minister of Central Affairs to wait at the town entrance. The moment the Senju Clan ninja from Konoha arrive, he will bring them here immediately."

Minato said, "Thank you very much."

The mayor smiled and left.

Minato waited by the doorway, watching the Nanga River flow slowly in the distance.

The Uchiha Clan's secret meeting place was beside the Nanga River.

Minato suddenly recalled the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet from the original story, as well as Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows.

He wondered what Uchiha Madara was plotting in secret.

Uchiha Obito should have been born by now. If Minato interfered with Obito's growth, would Uchiha Madara choose another Uchiha that Minato knew nothing about to replace Obito?

It was impossible to sift through the several hundred lower- and middle-ranked ninja of the Uchiha Clan. There were simply too many of them.

Amid hurried footsteps in the distance, Senju Takeoto, Qian Kong, Uchiha Mikoto, Haneina, Akimichi Jirokuma, and the others arrived at the clinic with Uzumaki Shinmen.

Minato did not see Kushina. The village would not permit Kushina to leave, even if it was only to the town closest to Konoha Village.

Kushina must have argued with the Third Hokage and Biwako, but unfortunately, the village would not allow her to be willful in this matter. They would never let Kushina leave the village.

Uzumaki Shinmen had remained unconscious. Tsunade stepped forward to examine him briefly and said, "Lightning Release damaged his nerves. Take him into the examination room. It will take a long time to slowly repair them."

The wait was agonizing. They waited from noon until the middle of the night. Tsunade came out several times to rest, and only when she emerged for the last time did she say, "It's done. I repaired the boy's nerves. He needs time to recover slowly."

Inside the examination room, Uzumaki Shinmen tilted his head toward the doorway, watching Tsunade leave with reluctance.

The doctor had just introduced herself as Tsunade of the Senju Clan, making Uzumaki Shinmen feel an immediate sense of closeness.

The instant Tsunade left, the inhuman abuse he had suffered in the Cloud Hidden Village immediately flashed through Uzumaki Shinmen's mind.

Nine Uzumaki Clan children had been imprisoned in the cell. The older children were taken away first and tortured to death by different experiments.

The younger children were taken away afterward, until it was finally the youngest, Uzumaki Shinmen's, turn.

He had been very, very young then, with only vague memories. Every day, there were glaring surgical lamps, people constantly drawing his blood or conducting Sealing Technique experiments on him.

Others forcibly taught him to read and write, solely so that he could understand certain Sealing Technique intelligence.

Uzumaki Shinmen later learned that all of that intelligence had been extracted from the brains of dead Uzumaki Clan members.

That inhuman abuse continued until he was controlled, taken from the Cloud Hidden Village, and brought to Konoha Village.

The painful memories caused a piercing pain inside Uzumaki Shinmen's head.

After a while, a blond-haired boy walked in.

He wore a warm smile like sunlight, carrying a special kind of friendliness.

"Shinmen, you're awake." Seeing the confusion on Shinmen's face, Minato said, "I'm your sister Kushina's friend, Minato Namikaze. Unfortunately, your sister couldn't leave Konoha Village. She must be worried about you."

"Sister? I have a sister?"

Sure enough, Uzumaki Shinmen remembered nothing. On the night his clan was exterminated, he had been abducted when he was only three years old.