That night.
The night at Mount Myoboku was not much different from that in Konoha.
The same lush forests, the endless chorus of insects, and the faint scent of grass lingering in the air.
There were no human dwellings within Mount Myoboku, so Rikusei and his group casually settled into a spacious house suitable for a Great Toad to sleep in.
His classmates lay peacefully asleep on tatami mats beneath their blankets, occasionally letting out incomprehensible murmurs in the soundless night.
Having witnessed it all, Rikusei slowly slipped out from beneath his blanket and leaned against the wooden wall with his arms behind his head.
Facing the full moon outside the window, he closed his eyes and sensed the abnormality that had occurred with his chakra during the day.
The moment his chakra-containing cells encountered Natural Energy had felt almost spiritual. It made Rikusei feel like a bear awakening from hibernation, its craving from the depths of its body at the sight of living prey.
Fortunately, Rikusei had long been mentally prepared for the peculiar chakra that had affected his Sharingan since childhood, so he was not overly surprised.
But—
Rikusei wanted to figure out where the Natural Energy that had been absorbed twice had gone.
After all—
Mount Myoboku and ninja alike had to obey the law of conservation of mass.
Having prepared himself, Rikusei gently pulled aside the thin blanket, put on the coat folded beside his pillow, opened the wooden door, and headed outside.
The moon shone bright while the stars were few, and the night breeze drifted gently by.
Rikusei leapt easily onto the roof and looked down over the tranquil Mount Myoboku beneath the night sky. In the distance, he could vaguely see a brilliantly lit temple concealed among the mountains.
Rikusei took a deep