Journey to Mount Myōboku

"What should we do next?"

Katsuo asked.

"Have it open its mouth. We enter it, then dispel the Summoning Technique!"

"But how do we get back?"

Katsuo continued, not wanting them to end up going there with no way back...

"Don't worry!"

Orochimaru smiled and whistled to the side. An Anbu appeared in response.

Orochimaru cut a small opening in the toad's body with his finger, took a drop of toad blood, and dripped it into the remaining bottle of blood.

Ignoring Katsuo's questioning look, Orochimaru instructed the Anbu:

"In one hour, use this bottle of blood as the medium and perform the Summoning Technique!"

"Yes!"

Seeing the Anbu obey, Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction.

"This beast's blood has fused with Jiraiya's blood. A Summoning Technique performed with it will also affect the beast. We can use it to return afterward!"

After hearing Orochimaru's explanation, Katsuo could not help but praise him.

"Your understanding and application of the Summoning Technique truly are unmatched!"

"Truly? I'm increasingly realizing that you know me very thoroughly. You could even say you know me inside out. I'm very curious..." Orochimaru said, his expression intent.

"..."

I was careless... Orochimaru is far too sensitive. Even a casual compliment can make him suspicious! Dealing with a freak with such terrifying intelligence is just too difficult...

Seeing that Katsuo was unwilling to explain further, Orochimaru did not press him. He jumped straight into the giant toad's mouth.

Katsuo immediately followed. The two lay down inside the toad's mouth. Katsuo controlled the giant toad and had it close its mouth, and as soon as Orochimaru saw it shut, he immediately dispelled the Summoning Technique!

With a bang, a jarring tremor shook them, then everything fell completely still!

Katsuo felt that only a few seconds had passed when Orochimaru beside him said:

"Have it open its mouth. We've arrived at Mount Myōboku!"

Even as he marveled at how simple and fast it had been, Katsuo was even more amazed that Orochimaru still dared to speak inside such a foul-smelling mouth!

He silently praised him in his heart.

As expected of Orochimaru!

Then the giant toad opened its mouth, and the two instantly leaped out!

"So this is Mount Myōboku?"

Katsuo said in surprise. Though he had seen scenes of it in the anime, he was still struck by the beauty of this place!

"As expected of one of the three great Immortal Holy Lands. The Natural Energy here is even denser than inside Ryūchi Cave!"

Orochimaru said with emotion, revealing a secret Katsuo had not known.

"Heh... No wonder the Snake Clan has been attacking Mount Myōboku all year round!"

"Hm?"

Katsuo immediately focused, signaling for him to continue. Unfortunately, Orochimaru ignored him...

Perhaps he did not know, or perhaps he was deliberately stopping halfway to get back at him...

As they drew closer to the center of Mount Myōboku, the number of toads around them steadily increased!

The two advanced cautiously, doing their best to avoid the toads' line of sight.

They dodged left and right along the way, aided by the Transformation Technique, and were not discovered by the toads. After all, this was Mount Myōboku. Humans and other races rarely managed to invade this place.

Even the Snake Clan of Ryūchi Cave could not possibly infiltrate this far. They did not know that Katsuo and Orochimaru had arrived directly through the Summoning Technique!

Clinging to a mountaintop, their bodies smeared all over with yellow mud matching the mountain's color, Orochimaru warned gravely:

"We can't go any farther. I can sense some terrifying presence inside the palace ahead. We'd better stop here!"

Katsuo nodded, his expression equally grave. He could feel it too. The fluctuations produced by the massive absorption and exhalation of Natural Energy were so distinct that it showed just how terrifying the other party was—close to the level of a tailed beast!

It might even be more terrifying than a tailed beast!

"It's that thousand-year-old Old Toad!"

Katsuo said quietly. His words made Orochimaru's pupils contract sharply!

"What Old Toad? What do you know?"

Faced with Orochimaru's question, Katsuo fell silent again. Originally, he had not intended to let Orochimaru know too much, but on second thought, there was no harm in letting him know these things. After all, he still needed Orochimaru to contribute. Revealing some secrets himself would not only make Orochimaru wary, but also show that he was fully capable of cooperating with him!

At the very least, he had now made one thing clear to Orochimaru:

Don't really treat me like a nine-year-old. My background is beyond anything you can imagine!

"That is a thousand-year-old Old Toad. It is the ruler of Mount Myōboku and the Sage of Six Paths' teacher. It once taught the Sage of Six Paths senjutsu!"

"What?"

Orochimaru was utterly shocked. Katsuo's words were simply too astounding, and he found them hard to believe!

"How could you possibly know such things?"

Katsuo deliberately closed his eyes with an inscrutable air, then shook his head meaningfully.

"Orochimaru, there are things you could spend your entire life pursuing and still never understand. Your vision, your breadth of mind, your knowledge—they are all far too narrow. You are simply not qualified to come into contact with a higher level..."

Katsuo's words were exceptionally harsh, yet surprisingly, Orochimaru did not get angry. At that moment, aside from deep shock, only doubt remained in his heart.

He doubted Katsuo's words, and even doubted himself!

"You should have met the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave, right? Mount Myōboku also has a similar Toad Sage. But whether it is the White Snake Sage or the Toad Sage, they can only be considered juniors before that Old Toad..."

Katsuo had originally wanted to tell Orochimaru that Old Toad's name, but seeing Orochimaru standing there with his mouth agape and unable to speak, he gave up on the idea of provoking him further.

Orochimaru had now completely confirmed one fact: Uchiha Katsuo had indeed been possessed. The one occupying his body was most likely an "old monster" that had lived for a very long time!

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to know such things. If someone several decades old knew them, Orochimaru would not have thought this way. But the problem was, he was only fucking nine years old!

Orochimaru could not calm down for a long while, but Katsuo had no intention of wasting time like this.

"See that yellowish-brown waterfall in the distance? Come on, let's get closer and take a look!"

That was where Mount Myōboku's Toad Oil was found. Katsuo recognized it at a glance from memory.

Mount Myōboku's Toad Oil contained incomparably dense Natural Energy. It could even be said that it was a product formed from condensed Natural Energy.

And this was also the closest thing to the substance Orochimaru had described as "Sage Dew"!

Seeing Katsuo use the Body Flicker Technique to rush over, Orochimaru frowned and hesitated for a moment before following him!

He did not actually support Katsuo's actions. That building was not far from the waterfall, and Orochimaru was extremely wary of the presence within. His sense of danger constantly warned him to leave!

Hidden on a cliff, the two looked down at the waterfall spring. What they saw there astonished them both!

"This is..."

"They're shedding their skin!"

Before their eyes, little toads bathed in the Toad Oil, layers of old skin breaking free from their bodies!

"No wonder the Snake Clan is so desperate to seize Mount Myōboku. With such a spring, the Snake Clan could shed their skin more easily. They could even obtain larger, stronger bodies because of it. Perhaps even transforming into dragons would not be impossible!"

"I need this Toad Oil for research!"

Orochimaru licked his lips and said excitedly.

"We don't have much time. Move quickly."