When the Great Toad Sage saw Hinata, his eyes widened.
"Y-you are?"
Only after confirming that she did not carry any aura he recognized did he rein in his shocked expression.
"I'm sorry. You resemble someone I once knew, and it caught me off guard."
The Great Toad Sage looked at Jiraiya. "I'm sorry. Ever since those things appeared several years ago, fate has become impossible to predict, and the future of the Shinobi World has entered the unknown."
"However, I can be certain that this child will reach the pinnacle of the Shinobi World!"
After saying that, the Great Toad Sage closed his eyes.
Jiraiya did not continue disturbing the Great Toad Sage and left with Hinata.
After Jiraiya and Hinata disappeared from sight, the Great Toad Sage opened his eyes.
"This bloodline is already very close to Hamura's, isn't it? Her eyes will probably awaken soon as well."
"And... the ability to directly absorb and use Nature Energy—is that an ability inherited directly from the Divine Tree?"
"Sigh... What will the future become?"
The Great Toad Sage closed his eyes again, as though he had fallen asleep.
Mount Myōboku was filled with toads. As they walked along the road, they could hear croaks coming from every direction.
Although Jiraiya had not received confirmation from the Great Toad Sage that Hinata was the Child of Destiny, the Great Toad Sage had not denied it either. That meant there was a very high chance that Hinata was the Child of Destiny.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya wanted to nurture Hinata into a true savior.
"Ahem, Hinata, since you can sense and use Nature Energy, how quickly can you absorb it?"
Hinata spread out her right hand. In an instant, the Nature Energy within a hundred-meter radius gathered in her palm, where she compressed it into a dazzling multicolored crystal that floated above her hand.
Jiraiya: "..."
Hinata lightly touched the crystal with her fingertip. It immediately shattered, and the Nature Energy within returned to heaven and earth.
"Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya, what do you think?"
Jiraiya: "..."
What was there to say? Her speed of absorbing Nature Energy and her control over it had already left him countless streets behind.
"Ahem, little Hinata, there's nothing more I can teach you about Nature Energy."
"In that case, I'll teach you Senjutsu directly..."
Jiraiya suddenly remembered that Senjutsu used Senjutsu Chakra, a blend of Nature Energy and Chakra, while Hinata used "True Qi," which she refined from Nature Energy.
Could the Senjutsu he taught be performed with True Qi?
Jiraiya was not confident.
But even so, he would only know after trying.
He deliberately found a place on Mount Myōboku rich in Nature Energy and began teaching Hinata Senjutsu.
After teaching Hinata Senjutsu for two straight days, Jiraiya had no choice but to give up.
That was because Hinata's True Qi and the Senjutsu Chakra used in ninjutsu were fundamentally not part of the same system.
If she followed the usual method, she could not use ninjutsu at all. Even when she forced it out, its power was pitifully weak.
That was not what troubled Jiraiya the most. What troubled him most was that, at this rate, even if the Great Toad Sage personally taught Hinata, he would not be able to teach her their Senjutsu.
"Hinata, I'm sorry. There isn't much I can teach you..."
Jiraiya's face was full of guilt. Hinata clearly possessed astonishing power within her, yet he had no idea how to draw it out.
"It's okay, Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya. You've already done your best."
At that moment, a frog hopped over to them.
"Lady Hinata, the Great Toad Sage wishes to see you."
"Why does the Great Toad Sage want to see Hinata?" Jiraiya asked.
"I don't know."
With that, the frog leaped away with a kick of his hind legs.
"Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya, I'm going to see the Great Toad Sage."
Hinata did not know why the Great Toad Sage had summoned her either.
"Great Toad Sage, I'm here."
The Great Toad Sage opened his eyes, lowered his head to look at Hinata, and said, "Hinata, I know about what Jiraiya has been teaching you these past two days."
"As for how to use the True Qi in your body, perhaps only you can develop that yourself. However, I can draw out another power within you."
"This power is no weaker than the True Qi in your body."
Another power? What power? How did I not know about it?
"Hinata, come a little closer."
Hinata took two steps forward. She was curious about the power the Great Toad Sage was talking about.
The Great Toad Sage pointed at Hinata's forehead from afar. Instantly, she felt a force surge into her eyes.
Hinata immediately understood. So the Great Toad Sage was talking about the Tenseigan.
This power was somewhat similar to her Tenseigan, yet also somewhat different. Hinata did not deliberately analyze it and simply controlled her Tenseigan to devour it.
The Tenseigan gave off a comfortable sensation. This power counted as nourishment for her.
Wait...
Hinata suddenly realized that this was a perfect opportunity.
Given the talent she had already displayed, it would be perfectly normal for her Tenseigan to awaken after being stimulated by the power bestowed by the Great Toad Sage, wouldn't it?
Hinata had always been considering when she should reveal her Tenseigan.
She was simply too young. Having such powerful eyes could no longer be explained by talent alone.
It was not that Hinata was worried about anything. It was just that explaining it would be extremely troublesome.
Other people did not matter, but what mattered was how her parents would see it. She still cared a great deal about how her parents looked at her.
But now, with her extraordinary talent combined with the power bestowed by the Great Toad Sage, her eyes had directly evolved into the Tenseigan.
The public could accept that explanation. After all, the Great Toad Sage was a legendary sage. Wasn't it perfectly normal for him to possess such abilities?
Hinata opened her closed eyes. Then, the Great Toad Sage saw that Hinata's Byakugan had vanished, replaced by a pair of brilliant sapphire-blue eyes as dazzling as gemstones.
The Great Toad Sage's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
Th-this... this was far beyond his expectations!
Only after a while did he understand. It seemed that the bloodline within her was far purer than he had imagined...
Then, before the Great Toad Sage's eyes, Hinata's entire body was enveloped in sky-blue energy, and her body floated into the air.
She was flying!
And that was not all. One, two... a total of three black spheres appeared and revolved around Hinata.
Hinata grasped a Truth-Seeking Orb. It was a weapon manifested through the Tenseigan after physical power and spiritual will had been fused, developed to their limits, and made tangible.
It was incredibly powerful!
The Great Toad Sage blinked. Since the Tenseigan had already awakened, then condensing Truth-Seeking Orbs was perfectly normal... right?
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