Hearing this, Sage Shima's eyes grew friendlier. "So it really is true. But the old man and I aren't worried at all. Come on. If we wait any longer, the food will get cold and won't taste good."
Jiraiya wanted to say something else, but Mirai stopped him and shook his head somewhat fearfully.
Watching Sage Shima's retreating figure, Jiraiya swallowed as well, then nodded with the same somewhat despairing look.
As the sun set, its gentle light fell upon Mirai's bare body.
Splash.
Beneath the waterfall of Mount Myoboku, the airflow around him seemed to accelerate considerably.
Natural energy surged toward Mirai, while he himself was like a Black Hole, frantically drawing that energy into his body.
Bang!
Some part of his body began to swell irregularly, becoming frog-like.
"Big Brother, do it quickly!"
Beside Mirai, Jiraiya looked extremely worried as he spoke, but Sage Fukasaku, who held a wooden stick, did not make a move.
"Don't make a sound." Fukasaku glanced at him and said softly.
Jiraiya frowned slightly and nodded.
"What a clever boy..."
Fukasaku thought to himself. Having lived alongside nature year-round, he could naturally sense that although the natural energy around Mirai was exceptionally turbulent at the moment, the natural energy entering his body had already been controlled at a relatively stable level.
In an unfamiliar and harsh environment, he had reached this level in just one day.
Such talent for spiritual cultivation could only be described as terrifying...
After centuries of effort, no ninja had ever seen a genius like Mirai.
After stabilizing the natural energy within his body, Mirai consciously stopped absorbing it. The frog-like changes forming on his body abruptly ceased as well.
Mirai opened his eyes. His originally blue eyes had turned brown, with horizontal pupils.
Looking at the several frog-like