A Painful Dinner

A moment later, the Great Toad Sage spoke, "I have had two dreams recently!"

Sage Fukasaku heard this and hurriedly asked, "What kind of dreams were they?"

The so-called dreams of the Great Toad Sage were, in fact, his prophecies. Throughout his long life, the Great Toad Sage spent most of his time in a dormant state, but this was not merely for sleep; his prophetic abilities were intrinsically linked to his dream state.

Before Sage Fukasaku had awakened him, he had experienced two more dreams, so he said to him, "I dreamt that in the near future, a child with golden hair and blue eyes will call out the names of the nine great beasts... Beyond that, I also saw the disciples of little Jiraiya leading a group of people to slaughter that clan."

"And what do you mean by that?" Sage Fukasaku asked in a low voice.

The Great Toad Sage pondered for a moment before saying, "Go and tell the disciples of little Jiraiya that Mount Myoboku has decided to use the strength of our entire clan to assist him. I believe the time has come."

Sage Fukasaku nodded, said "Yes," and hopped away, while the Great Toad Sage, lying on his throne, fell into deep thought.

Takamagahara—what a familiar yet distant name. He had not heard it mentioned in over a thousand years.

The true ancestral home of the Mount Myoboku lineage was in Takamagahara, but due to certain reasons, they had relocated here.

As his thoughts grew increasingly chaotic, the Great Toad Sage closed his eyes and drifted back into a dormant state.

After leaving the palace, Sage Fukasaku returned straight to the small hut. The three individuals inside stopped their conversation and looked at him as he returned.

Sage Fukasaku hopped to his original spot, sat down, and said, "I have obtained the consent of the Great Toad Sage. Our Mount Myoboku lineage will assist you with all our might."

Naruto Uzumaki bowed respectfully upon hearing this and said, "Thank you. I will pass the cultivation technique to you now. Every citizen of Mount Myoboku can practice this technique."

After Sage Fukasaku nodded in agreement, Naruto Uzumaki stepped in front of him, said "Excuse me," and pressed his finger to the center of Sage Fukasaku's brow.

A moment later, Naruto Uzumaki withdrew his finger and returned to his original position, while the Tidal Art appeared in Sage Fukasaku's mind.

This was a water-attribute cultivation technique, and it provided a powerful boost to the water-attribute spiritual energy cultivated through it.

As for martial arts, Naruto Uzumaki did not pass any to Sage Fukasaku, for he knew that Mount Myoboku had long possessed a powerful martial art of its own.

This martial art could only be practiced by those who had mastered Sage Mode; it was known as the Frog Sniper.

Once the technique appeared in his mind, Sage Fukasaku could not wait to examine it. As he read slowly, the spiritual energy already present within his body began to circulate, gathering toward his dantian.

The surrounding spiritual energy was also rapidly drawn in. Just then, Sage Fukasaku stopped his movements and opened his eyes.

He realized that if he began practicing the technique now, it might take a very long time, so he pulled himself out of the meditative state.

Opening his eyes, Sage Fukasaku said to Naruto Uzumaki, "Thank you. I just tested it, and this technique can indeed be practiced by all the citizens of Mount Myoboku. This means that from now on, there will never again be toads who turn into stone statues because of practicing Sage Mode."

Naruto Uzumaki scratched the back of his head and said, "You are too kind."

Sage Fukasaku shook his head and said, "In the past, because there was no specific method of cultivation, the citizens of Mount Myoboku encountered too many accidents while practicing natural energy—what you call spiritual energy. Even..." Sage Fukasaku did not continue.

The three did not press him, simply watching Sage Fukasaku with smiles.

Sage Fukasaku continued, "This technique is very powerful and perfectly suited to our clan. This means the citizens of Mount Myoboku will be able to master it quickly. Furthermore, those who master this technique will no longer be subject to time limits when summoned by you."

Naruto Uzumaki asked hurriedly, "Are you sure, Sage Fukasaku?" This was an unexpected windfall for him.

He had originally intended only to strengthen Mount Myoboku so they would have more high-end combat power to deal with that clan in the future; he had not expected the technique to have this effect as well.

Sage Fukasaku nodded and said, "I will have all the citizens of Mount Myoboku begin practicing this technique tomorrow. However, mastering it will take some time, which means Mount Myoboku will have no combat power during that period. If possible, I hope you can stay here until the training is complete."

Although they could have practiced in batches, Sage Fukasaku did not want to do so, as he had seen a note in the technique: if multiple beings practiced it simultaneously, those who were slower would have their speed increased by the help of others.

Although Mount Myoboku would temporarily lose its combat power once everyone entered the training state, Sage Fukasaku was not worried. After all, Mount Myoboku was not located within the ninja world, but in the void surrounding it.

This place could be considered an independent small world; if one were not a contractor of Mount Myoboku, no one could find it. As for Jiraiya, he was an exception.

Leaving Jiraiya and the others to stand guard was merely a precaution.

Jiraiya said immediately, "Don't worry about that, Boss. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have stayed."

Sage Fukasaku nodded and said, "Then I will trouble you."

Jiraiya shook his head, then as if remembering something, he added, "Boss, my other disciple here hasn't signed a contract with Mount Myoboku yet. Why don't we have her sign it now?"

Sage Fukasaku smiled and nodded, "You can decide that yourself; after all, you are the representative of Mount Myoboku in the outside world for this generation."

Sage Fukasaku then turned his head and let out a croak. Although the sound was very soft, Naruto Uzumaki sensed that it traveled a great distance.

Before long, the voice of Gamatatsu came from the entrance, "Lord Fukasaku, did you call for me?"

Sage Fukasaku replied, "Shrink down and come in."

Gamatatsu said "Yes" from outside, and a moment later, he crawled in.

Seeing Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki inside, Gamatatsu said, "Lord Jiraiya, Naruto, you're both here."

Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki greeted him with smiles.

Sage Fukasaku then said, "Bring out the contract and let this young lady sign the summoning contract."

Gamatatsu did not speak, simply opening his mouth wide, and a scroll held by his tongue was placed on the ground.

Seeing Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya nod at her, Hinata Hyuga stepped forward and said to Gamatatsu, "Please take care of me."

Gamatatsu replied quickly, "Please take care of me as well."

Hinata Hyuga lowered her head, opened the scroll, wrote her name—Hinata Hyuga—in the blank space after Naruto Uzumaki's name, and pressed her thumbprint.

With this, Hinata Hyuga became another contractor of Mount Myoboku.

After signing the contract, Gamatatsu did not leave; he put the scroll away, swallowed it, and the three people and two toads sat there chatting.

As evening approached, the door was pushed open and a frog roughly the same size as Sage Fukasaku hopped in. Upon seeing Jiraiya and his group, it said, "Little Jiraiya, long time no see. I heard from the old man that you were coming to Mount Myoboku, so I specifically went out to find some food."

As it spoke, it lifted the basket in its hand. Even without using sensory perception, Naruto Uzumaki already knew what was inside, because he saw something wriggling beneath the cloth covering the basket.

Jiraiya, however, replied with a grim expression, "Big Sister, long time no see."

Sage Shima then added, "These must be the new disciples you've taken on, right? I heard about them from the old man."

Jiraiya nodded, and both Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata stepped forward to bow and greet Sage Shima.

After hearing them, Sage Shima nodded and said, "You all chat for a bit; I'm going to prepare the food. Oh, and Gamatatsu, you might as well eat here too."

With that, she turned and hopped toward the kitchen.

Seeing this, Jiraiya closed his eyes as if resigning himself to his fate and took a deep breath.

Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata, who had no idea what was going on, waited with full anticipation.

A short while later, the sound of Sage Shima calling them to eat drifted from the kitchen. The three humans and two toads rose and headed toward the dining table.

Once they arrived, Naruto Uzumaki finally understood why Pervy Sage had worn such a strange expression.

The table was already covered in various insects; some were still alive, twisting their bodies on the plates, while others were submerged in soups of bizarre colors.

Naruto Uzumaki looked up at Jiraiya, and seeing Jiraiya give a helpless shrug, he had no choice but to sit down.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Sage Shima said, "Dig in, don't be shy, there's plenty more."

She then placed a bug soaked in soup onto each of their plates and watched the three of them with expectation.

At that moment, Jiraiya suddenly picked up the bug from his plate, shoved it into his mouth, and without even a hint of chewing, swallowed it whole.

Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki gritted his teeth, picked up his bug, and followed Jiraiya's lead, swallowing it down before turning to look at Hinata.

Seeing that both Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki had eaten, Hinata tremblingly picked up her bug and performed the same action as the other two.

Once Hinata finished, Jiraiya quickly said, "Boss, Big Sister, Gamatatsu, you all should eat quickly too; we're already full."

Sage Shima replied, "I saw how fast you ate, you must be hungry. Have some more."

As she spoke, she prepared to serve them more bugs, specifically the ones that were still wriggling.

Seeing this, Jiraiya hurriedly stopped her, "Big Sister, we really are full. We ate a lot before coming here; if you don't believe us, ask Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata."

Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata immediately nodded frantically, indicating that everything Jiraiya said was true.

Seeing this, Sage Shima didn't insist further, and she, Sage Fukasaku, and Gamatatsu began to quickly devour the feast before them.

After the meal ended and Sage Shima refused their help in cleaning up, Jiraiya said, "I'm going to take them out for a walk," and led Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata outside.

The moment they stepped out, the three of them sprinted into the distance. Once they felt they were far enough away, they stopped and began to retch, bending over in unison.

As they were vomiting, the voice of Sage Fukasaku came from behind them. They heard him say, with a hint of embarrassment, "It was hard on you all."

The three did not look up, continuing to retch, merely raising their hands to wave at Sage Fukasaku.

. The above is provided by the great Ti Ta from Naruto: Starting with Asura Chakra