Group Cultivation

After a bout of vomiting, the three of them stopped. Before Jiraiya could speak, Naruto Uzumaki turned to Sage Fukasaku and said, "I'm truly sorry, we didn't mean to do that."

Sage Fukasaku shook his head upon hearing this and said, "You cannot be blamed for this; after all, our dietary habits are different from those of humans."

At this, Jiraiya remarked, "Boss, I still can't get used to that taste."

Sage Fukasaku sighed but remained silent.

Naruto Uzumaki pondered for a moment and asked, "Sage Fukasaku, may I bring some ingredients over?"

Sage Fukasaku nodded and replied, "That is no problem, but as for the old woman..."

Naruto Uzumaki immediately interjected, "I will handle Sage Shima. From now on, as long as I am on Mount Myoboku, I will be in charge of preparing dinner."

Sage Fukasaku agreed, provided that Naruto Uzumaki could convince the old woman.

"Sage Fukasaku, may I leave a Flying Thunder God mark on Mount Myoboku?" Naruto Uzumaki asked again.

Hearing about the Flying Thunder God, Sage Fukasaku asked in surprise, "Little Naruto Uzumaki also knows the Flying Thunder God technique? You may certainly leave one if you wish."

Jiraiya stepped forward and said, "Boss, I told you before, Naruto Uzumaki is the child of Minato Namikaze."

Sage Fukasaku looked enlightened and said, "My apologies, I didn't recall it for a moment."

He then looked at Naruto Uzumaki and sighed, "Little Minato Namikaze..."

Seeing this, Jiraiya quickly added, "Boss, I will have a surprise for you in a while."

As for what the surprise was, even after Sage Fukasaku pressed him repeatedly, Jiraiya refused to say, telling him only that he would know in time.

The three of them then followed Sage Fukasaku back to their residence. After leaving a Flying Thunder God mark there, Naruto Uzumaki vanished from the spot with Jiraiya and Hinata.

After they left, Sage Fukasaku quickly arrived at the palace of the Great Toad Sage and woke him up.

He then taught the cultivation method to the Great Toad Sage and explained his thoughts. Once the Great Toad Sage nodded in agreement, Sage Fukasaku left the palace.

He then used a croak to summon all the inhabitants of Mount Myoboku who had fully grown into toads, gathering them all at the Training Ground.

Before long, the Training Ground was crowded with toads of all shapes and sizes.

Leading them were the three Gamabunta brothers, and behind them were the members of Mount Myoboku who frequently appeared in the ninja world.

Gamatatsu, Gerotora, Iron Arm Toad, Showcase Toad, Gamariki, and so on. Behind these toads sat a toad of immense size.

He was the largest toad currently living on Mount Myoboku—the Rock-Dwelling Toad.

Seeing that all the toads with limbs had arrived, Sage Fukasaku announced loudly, "I have gathered you all here to teach you a method of cultivation. This method allows you to cultivate natural energy without turning to stone, which means that in the future, you can all become sages."

"This cultivation method is called a technique. I will teach it to you shortly. After studying this technique, I discovered that if we operate it simultaneously, we can accelerate the cultivation speed of many of you. Therefore, I have decided that everyone should gather here tomorrow morning to practice the technique together."

Once Sage Fukasaku finished speaking, the toads below began to roar impatiently. They all longed to become stronger, but many had been deterred by the risks of cultivating natural energy.

Now that they heard a cultivation method without side effects existed, their fighting spirits were ignited.

Seeing this, Sage Fukasaku did not stop them, but simply sat there smiling.

After all the toads ceased their roaring, Sage Fukasaku used a special sage art to transmit the technique into their minds.

He then said, "Go back tonight and study the technique in your minds well, but you are not to practice it privately. Dismissed."

After he gave the order to dismiss, the toads hopped away, and Sage Fukasaku returned to his own residence.

When Naruto Uzumaki and the others reappeared, they were back at the Altar. Hinata immediately went to the kitchen to prepare food.

Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya went to prepare the supplies to bring back to Mount Myoboku.

After eating the food Hinata prepared, the two sat there contentedly, patting their stomachs.

Naruto Uzumaki then called for Sakon and Tayuya. The two had returned from the Land of Waves that morning with Minato Namikaze and the others, and since they hadn't been assigned tasks yet, Naruto Uzumaki intended to hand over the cooking duties to them.

After all, Hinata would be going to Mount Myoboku to cultivate with him, and she would not be able to cook for others during this time.

After giving his instructions, Naruto Uzumaki took the prepared supplies, along with Jiraiya and Hinata, and returned to Mount Myoboku. After moving all the supplies into the small cabin Sage Fukasaku had prepared for them, the three began to organize.

Once the supplies were sorted and put away, Jiraiya took the two of them to Sage Fukasaku's house.

Upon entering, Naruto Uzumaki walked straight to Sage Shima and said, "Sage Shima, you don't need to prepare food for us anymore. You can focus on your cultivation."

Sage Shima looked slightly disappointed and asked, "Is it because the food I make doesn't taste good?"

Naruto Uzumaki waved his hands quickly and said, "No, the food Sage Shima makes is delicious, but it takes too much time. So, from now on, leave the cooking to me, and Sage Shima can just focus on cultivating."

Sage Shima then asked, "But wouldn't having you cook delay your cultivation just the same?"

"I don't need to use my main body; I can use a Shadow Clone and let the clone do it," Naruto Uzumaki replied.

Sage Shima said with slight reluctance, "Very well, then the task of cooking is yours from now on."

Naruto Uzumaki nodded frantically. The three of them sat down, and Jiraiya began chatting with the two sages, sharing interesting stories from his years in the ninja world.

Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata sat to the side, listening intently, and whenever they saw the tea cups were empty, they immediately refilled them.

A long time later, Jiraiya took Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata back, as they were to begin their cultivation on Mount Myoboku tomorrow, and they needed to let the two sages get some rest.

After returning to their respective rooms, the three did not cultivate but instead drifted off into a rare, peaceful sleep.

The next day, Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes to a series of urgent knocks. After dressing neatly, he walked out of the room, and Jiraiya and Hinata also emerged from their rooms, rubbing their eyes.

Upon opening the door, the figure of Gamatatsu appeared before them.

Seeing the door open, Gamatatsu said to Jiraiya, "Lord Jiraiya, Sage Fukasaku sent me to fetch you. He says it's time to begin."

Jiraiya nodded upon hearing this and replied, "Understood. Let's head over together."

The three of them then followed Gamatatsu to the Training Ground.

Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata were stunned by the sight before them; the training ground was gathered with all manner of toads. He recognized Gamahiro, Gamatatsu, and Gerotora among them, along with several others he had never seen before.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, had already stepped forward to converse with the toads.

"Gamabunta, it's been a long time. Still as fond of smoking as ever, I see," Jiraiya said, patting Gamabunta.

Gamabunta let out a cold snort and replied, "Indeed, it has been a long time. Or have you forgotten about me entirely?"

Gamabunta was the first friend Jiraiya made after arriving at Mount Myoboku, and thus, they shared a deep bond.

Jiraiya responded awkwardly, "How could that be? It's just that I've been too busy these years, and without any particularly difficult battles, I haven't had the need to summon you."

Gamabunta snorted again and fell silent, while Jiraiya turned to chat with the other toads.

A moment later, four robust toads appeared, carrying a massive throne. Seeing this, Jiraiya quickly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Great Toad Sage, you have come as well."

The other toads crouching below fell silent the moment the Great Toad Sage arrived, waiting quietly in place.

The Great Toad Sage heard someone greeting him, lifted his eyelids to see it was Jiraiya, and said, "Little Jiraiya, it has been a long time. You have become a true sage."

The moment he saw Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage sensed the energy fluctuations radiating from within him—a violent surge of power he knew all too well. It was the energy fluctuation that only appeared after fully awakening the Sage Body.

Jiraiya replied, "Not at all, I still have a long way to go."

"Sage Fukasaku asked me to come and train alongside them; it should accelerate their progress," the Great Toad Sage said, shifting the topic.

Jiraiya said with slight surprise, "If you are joining in as well, just how fast will their training speed become?"

The Great Toad Sage replied with a hint of lethargy, "It shouldn't increase by much. I have looked over that technique; the further one progresses, the more difficult it becomes, and many of our subjects here have never practiced it before."

Jiraiya pondered this and realized it was indeed the case, so he nodded and stepped aside.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Sage Fukasaku hopped to the side of the Great Toad Sage and announced to the crowd below, "Everyone is here. We may now begin."

Jiraiya quickly led Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata to a distance, watching the assembly of toads begin their training.

A strange ripple began to emanate from the Great Toad Sage, slowly expanding until it enveloped every toad present.

Soon, the same ripples began to pulse from the bodies of the other toads, and these vibrations rapidly merged into one in the air.

At this moment, spiritual energy began to converge toward every toad. As they circulated the technique within their bodies, the speed of the energy gathering grew faster and the volume increased significantly.

In the perception of Naruto Uzumaki and his companions, the spiritual energy formed a funnel above each toad, pouring continuously into their bodies.

The Great Toad Sage drew in the most energy; the sheer density of it made Naruto Uzumaki's heart race with alarm.

Next were Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima; while the energy around them was not as vast as that of the Great Toad Sage, it was still many times denser than that of the other toads.

Naruto Uzumaki noticed that among the other toads, there was one whose surrounding spiritual energy was nearly catching up to the two sages.

He directed his perception toward that direction and saw a toad of unfathomable size sitting there.

Because it was so massive, Naruto Uzumaki had mistaken it for a mountain when they first arrived.

Now, with his perception focused, he finally saw its full form.

Compared to this one, even Gamahiro, whom Naruto Uzumaki had seen before, appeared thin and small. Its entire body was covered in rock-like muscles that pulsed rhythmically as it inhaled and exhaled the spiritual energy.

Ti Ta provided the original work, Naruto: Starting with Asura Chakra.