Sage Mode!

A long while later, the groggy Great Toad Sage finally came to.

"Little Jiraiya, come here a moment."

Jiraiya's heart sank. Damn it, he hadn't forgotten.

"It shouldn't have been you who summoned me—you don't have that ability. Who was it?"

Jiraiya steeled himself and said, "Barely counts as my student. I taught him the Summoning Jutsu today."

Hearing this, the Great Toad Sage grew interested.

"Little Jiraiya, what kind of student did you take on this time?"

"His name is Uchiha Eiji. He's under twelve, learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, defeated Orochimaru, and has a pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan. That's about it."

After listening, the Toad Sage didn't rush to respond.

Instead, he closed his eyes again. Jiraiya even heard him snoring.

A few hours later, the Toad Sage opened his eyes.

"In my dreams, I did not see this child. Jiraiya, he may not be the Child of Prophecy you seek."

"However, this child does possess a heart of justice."

Jiraiya was deeply disheartened.

That was fate—giving him a sliver of hope, only to let him down again.

"I understand."

Jiraiya was lost. The so-called Child of Prophecy always seemed to be around him, yet he could never figure out who it was.

How infuriating was that?

Luckily, Jiraiya had a thick skin. After chatting with a few familiar toads for a while, his mood improved. "I'm heading out."

"Little Jiraiya, you must never let that brat use the Summoning Jutsu again!"

"Rest assured, seniors. I'll warn him."

Jiraiya found Eiji again.

Naruto had already gone back to rest—apparently, the giant toad had scared him half to death.

Eiji, meanwhile, had ordered a bowl of ramen and was slurping it down.

"I just went to Mount Myōboku. Lucky for me, the Great Toad Sage didn't seem angry."

"But the other sages told me I absolutely cannot let you use the Summoning Jutsu again."

Eiji brushed it off. "Got it. That Toad Sage didn't look like he could fight anyway. If I summoned him, I'd have to babysit him."

Though Eiji's words disrespected the Toad Sage, compared to what had happened before, this was nothing.

He also ordered a bowl of ramen and sat down next to Eiji.

"At first, I thought you were just some ordinary kid. Looks like I underestimated you. Give me a bottle of sake too."

"Honestly, I should have figured—someone who could beat Orochimaru and walk away clean couldn't be ordinary."

Jiraiya stopped talking and focused on eating his noodles and drinking.

He knew his student was something special, but not this special.

What was there left to teach? Might as well go play.

Eiji hadn't expected his teacher to come and go so fast.

That morning, Jiraiya had sworn to teach him some techniques, but by nightfall, he was off drinking.

He only left behind a "You go ahead, I'll catch you another day."

To that, Eiji really wanted to ask: What the hell day is "another day"?

Then, while Eiji was taking a sip of water, Jiraiya slipped off to a tavern for some fun with the ladies.

Jiraiya called over a few pretty girls. "Hehe, this one's good, keep her. That one too. Ah, keep them all."

He rubbed his hands together excitedly, like an old pervert.

"Sit, sit, sit next to me."

But before Jiraiya could make a move, crack—the door burst open.

"Security Division on duty! Everyone clear out!"

When Jiraiya saw who it was, he gritted his teeth in fury.

"Uchiha Eiji, do you have some kind of illness?! We're all adults here!"

Eiji didn't care. He shooed all the pretty girls out.

He sat down right in front of Jiraiya. "Weren't you supposed to teach me ninjutsu, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya was annoyed out of his mind. There was no way he'd dare teach Eiji ninjutsu now.

Last time, he summoned a giant toad. Next time, would he summon Mount Myōboku itself and drop it on the enemy?

Jiraiya leaned back against the sofa with the shamelessness of a true scoundrel. "Eiji, there's nothing I can teach you. The Old Man was worried you'd go astray, but the Toad Sage said you have a heart of justice."

To his surprise, Eiji grinned slyly. "Lord Jiraiya, could you teach me how to use the legendary Sage Mode?"

"Sage Mode?" Jiraiya weighed the question. "Even I can't fully master that state. Are you sure you want to learn?"

Eiji nodded like a chicken pecking rice. Sage Mode was great—he had to learn it. Never mind that he was somewhat famous in the village now; if he ever set foot on a real battlefield, those cheaters would crush him in seconds. Let alone the aliens. As for how hard it was to learn? Bro had a system!

"Alright, follow me."

Jiraiya brought Eiji to Mount Myōboku and once again apologized to the toads. Shima and Fukasaku circled Eiji again and again, racking their brains but coming up empty. This utterly unremarkable kid—how had he pulled off something so incredible? Later, the Toad Sage called Eiji before him.

"Hmm, I remember you. You're the one who sat on my head."

Jiraiya trembled like a quail, nearly prostrating himself before the Toad Sage. "A thousand apologies, Toad Sage. Eiji didn't mean it—right?"

Eiji said seriously, "I really don't know why either. I just wanted to ask the toads of Mount Myōboku for help."

The Toad Sage had lived over a thousand years; his heart wasn't that small. "Forget it. Occasional trips to the outside world don't matter." When he heard that Jiraiya wanted to teach Eiji Sage Mode, he raised no objection. In fact, he was a little curious—could this white-haired brat surpass that Little Blondie from back in the day?

With the Toad Sage's permission, Fukasaku and Shima jumped straight into teaching. "Listen up, Eiji. Sage Mode is about absorbing a certain amount of Natural Energy to create Sage Chakra. You use Natural Energy to enhance attack and defense, massively boosting the power of your ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. But entering this mode is extremely difficult. Even I need their help to succeed."

[Ninja World Scientist, activated!]
[You have mastered Perfect Sage Mode - Mount Myōboku Version]

"Come on, take off your clothes. I'll smear some toad oil on you..."

Eiji raised his palm. He felt streams of Natural Energy flowing into his body. He closed his eyes—and a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering aura erupted from him! It blasted the two sages before him flying in an instant! Then, a golden eye shadow appeared on Eiji's face.

"Y-Y-Y-You! That's Sage Mode!"