"Brush."
Karot suddenly appeared before Tsunade, who was handling official business, with Jiraiya covered in blood.
"Jiraiya, are you alright?"
Tsunade saw Jiraiya covered in blood, her heart clenched. She immediately used Medical Ninjutsu to check on Jiraiya's condition.
Jiraiya struggled to open his eyes.
"It's Tsunade. I thought I'd never see you again."
Jiraiya said weakly.
"What exactly happened? Why are you so badly injured?"
Jiraiya knew Tsunade's strength. He was among the top Ninja World. To think that an enemy could push Jiraiya to the brink of death and have him barely survive would make him come back. Just how monstrous must that enemy be?
"There's still a perfectly healthy person here. If you two want to be all lovey-dovey, you should wait until I leave first."
Karot interrupted their conversation. Karot had no desire to get involved in their feud.
"Since Jiraiya has already delivered, then goodbye."
Tsunade and Jiraiya blushed, a rare occurrence, after what Karot said. Tsunade held Jiraiya in her arms, though she dared not pull too hard, afraid of hurting Jiraiya again.
"Shizune, schedule surgery immediately."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade's secretary immediately ran out of the Hokage Building to arrange for the operating room.
"Honestly, I told you not to go. But you insisted on going."
When Tsunade and Jiraiya parted ways, she already had a vague sense of the danger Jiraiya was about to face.
"I didn't expect it either, but thankfully I made it back."
"Cough, cough."
Jiraiya finished speaking, he began to cough violently.
"Tsunade-sama, everything is arranged."
"Shizune reported."
Tsunade then carried Jiraiya in her Tsunade Jiraiya headed to the hospital.
The surgery wasn't finished until the early hours of the morning, and Jiraiya was pulled back from the brink of Gate of Death. However, his injuries were severe, and he needed to rest.
"Jiraiya, I really don't know what to say to you."
After the surgery, Jiraiya recounted all the information he had gathered to Tsunade, including the fact that Pain was his disciple.
"Your disciple now wants to kill you. You've failed as a master, Jiraiya."
"Yes, I'm such a failure as a teacher."
Jiraiya reflected on his life. Minato's most prized disciple died young, and the disciple he hailed as the Child of Destiny wanted to kill him.
"That child will come looking for us. We need to be prepared."
Jiraiya said to Tsunade, "Now that I'm injured, Konoha has lost a major fighting force. Pain will definitely not let this opportunity pass."
"Don't worry, I've already given the instructions, and the defenses have been reinforced."
Tsunade truthfully explained her plans. If he didn't even trust Jiraiya, then there was no one in this world she could trust.
"What about Karot?"
Jiraiya asked. Although he hadn't seen Karot make a move, the fact that Karot was able to rescue him from Pain showed that this person's strength was extraordinary.
"Karot is not in the village right now."
"Tsunade said."
Where did he go?
"You're very familiar with the place he went to, Mount Myōboku."
"How could he go to Mount Myōboku without signing a contract?"
This completely violated the rules, leaving Jiraiya somewhat bewildered.
"I don't know either, why don't you ask someone?"
While Tsunade and Jiraiya discussing Karot had already arrived at Mount Myōboku to chat with Naruto. Karot had no intention of interfering; even if Pain came to Konoha to capture the Tailed Beast, Naruto could handle it. This battle was Naruto's chance to become a hero, to see his own heart clearly, and to find love. How could Karot bear to ruin it? Naturally, he stayed far away.
"Karot, thank you. If you hadn't appeared in time, Jiraiya would be dead."
Sage Fukasaku thanked Karot. If it weren't for Karot, Jiraiya have been buried in the deep sea long ago. Sage Fukasaku had watched Jiraiya grow up, so their bond was naturally very strong.
"No need to thank me, I just want Naruto to suffer less."
Karot picked up the tea brewed by Sage Fukasaku and drank it all in one gulp. It's no wonder Sage Fukasaku lived so long; his tea-brewing skills were truly exceptional.
"Good tea."
Karot praised.
"You're quite the tea connoisseur for your age."
"My father liked to drink tea, so I gradually picked up a little bit of it from a young age."
Karot is increasingly eager to go back. After all, this isn't his home.
"Sage Fukasaku, Karot, you two come and take a look. Why does my Sage Mode last for five minutes?"
Naruto was smugly pleased with himself when he successfully mastered Sage Mode, but he could only hold it for five minutes, which was a huge blow to Naruto. "I trained so hard, and it only lasted five minutes? That was too fast!"
"Alright, isn't this normal? When you enter Sage Mode, if your body moves, you can't continuously absorb the power of nature."
Sage Fukasaku explains the drawbacks of Sage Mode to Naruto.
"Is there any way to remedy this?"
Naruto asked. Because a battle can't possibly end in five minutes. So Naruto requested that the time be extended.
"Of course there is, just like with Jiraiya. Me, you, and Niichi, I'll help you absorb the power of nature, and you just focus on fighting."
The Sage Fukasaku provided a solution.
"Great! Let's try it right away!"
Naruto was eager to try; he couldn't wait a moment longer.
Karot couldn't help but shake his head. He knew this method would fail; Nine-Tails) would not allow another Toad to grow inside Naruto's body.
Just Sage Fukasaku onto Naruto's shoulder, and they were about to connect.
"Bang!"
The Toad was knocked into the air, flipped over in mid-air, and then landed steadily.
"Sage Fukasaku, what's wrong with you?"
Naruto asked, looking puzzled.
"Naruto, this method might not work. The Nine-Tails inside you is preventing me from establishing a link with you."
Sage Fukasaku also wore a wry smile; being unable to keep his word felt like being slapped in the face.
"What should we do then?"
Both Naruto and Sage Fukasaku fell silent.
"Why not use Shadow Clone to absorb natural energy? When Shadow Clone is dispelled, its memories and power can be recovered by the original body, so can't Natural Energy also be recovered?"
Karot's words caused a huge stir, opening a new world for Naruto. Naruto, being a man of action, began experimenting with a method as soon as he found one.
"Karot, you're so clever to have thought of this method."
Sage Fukasaku praised Karot.
"No, it just popped into my head."
Karot feigned Sage Fukasaku's praise, but inwardly he was overjoyed. He didn't resent being flattered. Karot was simply stating an answer he already knew; he knew Naruto would figure it out sooner or later. Karot merely sped things up. Karot and Jiraiya's predictions were the same: Pain was about to attack, and the stronger Naruto was, the better.