Toad Oil

Katsuo nodded without speaking. He could only comply with Orochimaru's request; after all, it concerned his own body.

Three tomoe appeared in his eyes as he observed the toads shedding their skin, then he quickly vanished.

Soon, in Orochimaru's sight, a juvenile toad—roughly the size of an adult human—in the midst of shedding its skin came into view. He watched the toad glance toward where he was, then leap straight toward Toad Spring.

"The Sharingan's power of control is truly terrifying!"

Orochimaru could not help but praise it. He knew that toad had already been completely controlled.

Katsuo controlled the toad from a distance, making it jump into the oil and imitate the other toads as it shed its skin. Its actions did not draw the attention of the other toads, including a powerful Blue Toad by the spring!

This special Blue Toad was clearly a supervisor. That was the main reason Katsuo had to remain extremely cautious even while controlling the toad's movements!

Katsuo's toad occasionally dove to the bottom of the spring. He needed to thoroughly investigate this mysterious place!

"Hey, kid over there, don't get too carried away. Leave as soon as you're done shedding. Soaking too long isn't good for you, especially at your age!"

The Blue Toad suddenly spoke. Its voice carried exceptionally well, and even Katsuo, hiding at a distance, could hear it clearly. His toad stopped moving at those words and gradually settled down.

"Ribbit!!!"

"Tch, another one that can't talk? Why are the little toads' minds awakening so slowly this year?"

Before Katsuo's toad could react, another toad about the same age beside it immediately protested:

"Who says we can't talk? Ribbit? I'm telling you, don't look down on a poor toad, ribbit!"

"Heh... Straighten out your tongue before you start talking, brat!"

While they were bickering and not paying attention, Katsuo's toad quietly swallowed a large mouthful of Toad Oil, then prepared to climb out.

But before it could leave, it sensed the Natural Energy in the waterfall above suddenly increase severalfold. The originally yellowish-brown Toad Oil even became somewhat clear!

"You're very lucky. You happened to catch an eruption of the Water Vein—the Water of Life from Sage Spring has overflowed!"

"This only happens once every ten years! I told you not to soak too much before, but that restriction is gone now!"

Water Vein! Sage Spring! Water of Life! Such a thing really exists!

The Blue Toad's words deeply shocked him. He had never expected the "Sage Treasure" recorded in ancient texts to truly exist!

A spring daring to call itself the Water of Life was most likely capable of healing his body!

The thought made Katsuo unbearably eager. In the next instant, he controlled the little toad and made it leap toward the top of the waterfall, but before it could get very far, a long tongue wrapped around it and pulled it back!

When it turned around, it saw that the tongue belonged to the Blue Toad!

"Brat, the area above is where the grown-ups—adult toads—shed their skin. What are you going up there for? There's also the Sage Spring's sealing barrier. If you accidentally enter it, you'll die without leaving even a corpse. It's very dangerous!"

The Blue Toad suddenly warned it sternly. It had yet to notice anything unusual about the little toad!

Katsuo's toad froze for a moment, then shook its head and jumped back into the Toad Oil!

After swallowing another mouthful of fresh Toad Oil, Katsuo directly controlled the toad and left Toad Spring.

The Blue Toad watched its retreating figure and clicked its tongue.

"Another idiot!"

In a secluded spot, Katsuo and Orochimaru met up. Orochimaru found a large lotus leaf, took the Toad Oil spit out by the toad, then smashed the toad's brain with a single blow of his hand!

Katsuo frowned at the sight, but Orochimaru said indifferently:

"Don't underestimate the toads here."

Katsuo was taken aback, but did not dwell on it. He was not a good person himself, nor did he have a saintly heart!

"It's about time. We should leave!"

After saying that, Orochimaru pressed one hand to the ground. The earth slowly turned into a swamp, and the dead toad quickly sank beneath the ground. After a short while, the ground returned to its original state!

Once that was done, the two returned the way they had come and arrived beside the subadult toad. Before leaving, they had knocked it unconscious and hidden it away, and it had yet to awaken!

They pried open its gaping mouth and jumped inside together. A moment later, though the toad was still unconscious, it was summoned away by a ninja in Konoha!

The familiar sensation of jolting suddenly appeared, then quickly vanished. Understanding each other without words, they forced open the toad's mouth, saw the familiar surroundings, and leaped out!

"I just heard a very useful lead!"

The moment they left Mount Myōboku, Katsuo spoke impatiently.

Orochimaru had the waiting ninja leave.

"For you to be this eager, could it be that you've found a lead on that thing?"

Katsuo suddenly burst into laughter.

"Haha! Nothing really gets past you. I really did find out about it!"

The two found an izakaya, and Katsuo told Orochimaru everything he had learned. He had no intention of hiding it, because he knew he could never accomplish it alone...

At this stage, he still needed Orochimaru. At least until his body recovered, he had to rely on him. Depending on someone else felt terrible, but Katsuo had no choice but to do so now. In the end, his strength was still far too weak!

"That kind of thing really exists!"

Orochimaru exclaimed in disbelief.

"From what you said, that Water Vein must be the source of Mount Myōboku's vast energy, while Sage Spring is at its core. A place like that must be guarded with extreme vigilance. Sneaking in and obtaining that Water of Life would be nearly impossible..."

The sudden cold shower extinguished Katsuo's enthusiasm. The hope of obtaining the Water of Life truly was exceedingly slim. With their current strength, they could not contend with Mount Myōboku at all, much less seize the Water of Life by force!

They did not even possess the conditions necessary to steal it!

First, they did not know the exact situation there, nor did they know the strength of its guards. Second, they did not know the precise level of that sealing barrier, but it could not possibly be a simple seal. That was the core of Mount Myōboku; he could not imagine how profound its thousand-year foundation was!

"For now, let's study this Toad Oil first and see whether it can heal your body!"

Katsuo nodded, temporarily casting aside his greed. He knew there was no use overthinking such matters. If it could not be done, then it could not be done. Forcing a plan might even cost him his life!

Ah, I can only pray that this Toad Oil works for me!