Mount Myōboku

Over the next few days, the Third Hokage gave Hinata a large stack of scrolls and told her to study on her own.

Some of the scrolls recorded ninjutsu, while the rest were the Third Hokage's notes.

They contained his understanding of ninjutsu, documented in incredible detail.

These scrolls were of considerable help to Hinata.

Inspired by them, she learned several new methods of circulating and controlling True Qi, and also developed a few fairly powerful moves.

"You finished reading all of them!?"

The Third Hokage stared at Hinata in astonishment as she returned the scrolls.

It had only been three days, yet she had finished such a huge pile of scrolls.

"True Qi is different from Chakra. Ninjutsu that can be performed with Chakra may not necessarily work with True Qi."

"So these scrolls can only help me so much."

A sense of helplessness welled up in the Third Hokage's heart.

Jiraiya, hurry back. I truly know nothing about Nature Energy. I can't teach this disciple!

"I truly don't understand Nature Energy. And it will still be some time before your Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya returns. Is there any particular ninjutsu you want to learn?"

"About that... I heard that Hidden Leaf Village has a Scroll of Seals, which records nothing but forbidden techniques!"

"...The Scroll of Seals cannot be viewed casually. Of course, you are different."

Given Hinata's current circumstances, as long as she did nothing against Hidden Leaf Village, the Third Hokage would do his best to satisfy her requests.

She only wanted to read the Scroll of Seals. Approved!

Although Hinata was permitted to view the Scroll of Seals, it could not leave the Hokage Building. She could only read it inside the building.

Fortunately, Hinata now had a photographic memory. Although the Scroll of Seals contained many ninjutsu, she memorized every one of them.

She only needed to slowly digest them later.

Then another three days passed.

That day, Hinata followed the Third Hokage as his assistant, helping him process documents.

Just as the Third Hokage stamped a document, the door to his office was kicked open.

"Old man, was what you said in the letter true?"

A man with long white hair, a forehead protector bearing the character for "oil," and red markings beneath his eyes kicked his way inside.

The Third Hokage looked at the kicked-open door with heartache. There went another repair bill.

"You're already so old, yet you're still this reckless. Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"

"How I am isn't important. Forget that, old man. Was what you said in the letter true?"

The Third Hokage sighed, then smiled. "It's true. Hinata, this is your Senior Disciple Brother, Jiraiya."

"Hello, Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya."

"Good, good, good..."

Jiraiya said "good" three times in a row. He wanted to place a hand on Hinata's head, but she avoided it.

Jiraiya did not find it awkward. He was incredibly happy now, because he might have found the Child of Destiny mentioned in the prophecy.

Only then did Jiraiya seriously examine Hinata.

Her smooth black hair fell all the way to her hips. Unlike the Byakugan of ordinary Hyuga clan members, Hinata's Byakugan seemed remarkably spirited and lovable. Her exquisite face left no doubt that she would become a peerless beauty when she grew up. As for her figure?

She was only eight years old. Being cute was enough!

What? You were asking why Jiraiya was not surprised by the horn on Hinata's forehead?

She was the Child of Destiny. It was understandable for her to be unusual in certain ways.

"Old man, I'm taking this child to Mount Myōboku immediately."

"Very well. Go early and return early."

The Third Hokage also understood why Jiraiya was in such a hurry.

The Shinobi World was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Almost everywhere Jiraiya went, he heard locals chatting about people dying somewhere or other.

He had even encountered Bizarre Creatures himself, and more than once.

Fortunately, the shinobi of this world were not fools. Or rather, anyone who could become a shinobi and survive was very intelligent.

Combined with the life-or-death existence of shinobi, they had their own ways of rapidly calming down. Whenever they encountered Bizarre Creatures, they could always discover the creatures' killing mechanisms at the first opportunity.

The difficult part was sealing the Bizarre Creatures without violating those killing mechanisms. Many shinobi died there.

Jiraiya wandered alone. Although he could always discern a Bizarre Creature's killing mechanism when he encountered one, he could only protect himself, much less save others.

All he could do was tell the shinobi who came to seal them about the killing mechanisms he had discovered.

This only strengthened his resolve to find the Child of Destiny who would bring peace to the Shinobi World, as foretold in the prophecy!

When he learned of Hinata's situation, he rushed to Hidden Leaf Village without stopping. He did not even rest after arriving before taking Hinata to Mount Myōboku.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The smoke in the room cleared, revealing a toad where it had been. The toad had white eyebrows and a white beard, and it could speak.

"Jiraiya, did you summon me for something?"

"Sage Fukasaku, I found the Child of Destiny from the prophecy. I want to take this child to Mount Myōboku to meet the Great Toad Sage."

Jiraiya supported Hinata as he spoke.

"Very well."

Sage Fukasaku looked at Hinata beside Jiraiya. He could sense an astonishing energy within her. It seemed to be Nature Energy, yet it was different from Nature Energy.

Then Jiraiya released the Summoning Jutsu, and Sage Fukasaku returned to Mount Myōboku.

Jiraiya took out a scroll. Following his instructions, Hinata used her own blood to write down her name.

As she wrote her name, Hinata wondered whether her blood would corrode a hole through the scroll.

Fortunately, Hinata was not that mischievous. She deliberately controlled the activity of her blood, keeping it dormant.

"Teacher, if I return late, sorry for the trouble, but please notify my father."

The Third Hokage nodded to indicate that he could do so.

The next moment, Sage Fukasaku used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to summon Jiraiya and Hinata back to Mount Myōboku.

"It can actually summon me to Mount Myōboku. This Summoning Jutsu is far more sophisticated than I imagined."

This Summoning Jutsu clearly contained the power of space.

But spatial abilities were not so cheap.

This made Hinata wonder whether the Sage of Six Paths had also participated in creating the prototype of the Summoning Jutsu.

After all, when it came to control over spatial abilities in the Shinobi World, one had to look to the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan.

And the Great Toad Sage was close friends with the Sage of Six Paths, so it was not strange for the Sage of Six Paths to have participated in creating the prototype of the Summoning Jutsu.

At that moment, Hinata became somewhat eager to meet the Great Toad Sage.

After all, Hinata was not entirely oblivious. When the God Tree factors within her awakened, her appearance had begun transforming toward that of Otsutsuki Kaguya.

In other words, Hinata now resembled Otsutsuki Kaguya by at least thirty percent!