Training Together

After throwing up for a while, the three of them finally stopped. Before Jiraiya could say anything, Naruto apologized to Sage Fukasaku. "We're really sorry. We didn't mean to."

Sage Fukasaku shook his head. "You can't be blamed. After all, our eating habits are different from humans'."

Jiraiya spoke up. "Boss, I still can't get used to the taste."

Sage Fukasaku sighed and said nothing.

Naruto thought for a moment, then asked, "Sage Fukasaku, can I bring some ingredients here?"

Sage Fukasaku nodded. "That's no problem. It's just that old lady..."

"I'll talk to Sage Shima," Naruto said at once. "Whenever I'm at Mount Myoboku from now on, I'll prepare dinner."

Sage Fukasaku agreed. As long as Naruto could convince old lady Shima, that was all that mattered.

"Sage Fukasaku, can I leave a Flying Thunder God Mark at Mount Myoboku?" Naruto asked.

Hearing him mention the Flying Thunder God Technique, Sage Fukasaku asked in surprise, "Little Naruto, you know the Flying Thunder God Technique too? You can leave a mark here, of course."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "Boss, I told you before that Naruto is Minato's son."

Sage Fukasaku looked as if he suddenly remembered. "Sorry, it slipped my mind for a moment."

He looked at Naruto and sighed. "Little Minato..."

Jiraiya quickly said, "Boss, I'll give you a surprise in a little while."

Even when Sage Fukasaku pressed him repeatedly about what the surprise was, Jiraiya didn't tell him. He only said that he would find out later.

The three of them followed Sage Fukasaku back to his home. After leaving a Flying Thunder God Mark there, Naruto took Jiraiya and Hinata and disappeared.

After they left, Sage Fukasaku hurried to the Great Toad Sage's palace. He went inside and woke the Great Toad Sage.

Then he taught the Great Toad Sage the cultivation technique and explained his idea. Once the Great Toad Sage nodded in agreement, Sage Fukasaku left the palace.

He then used Frog Song to summon all the Mount Myoboku residents who had fully grown into toads. They were to gather at the Training Ground.

Before long, the Training Ground was filled with all kinds of toads.

At the front were Gamabunta and his two brothers. Behind them stood the members of Mount Myoboku who often appeared in the Shinobi World.

Gamatatsu, Gerotora, Iron Arm Toad, Showcase Toad, Gamariki, and many others. Behind them sat a toad of astonishing size.

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

Once all the toads who had grown four limbs had gathered, Sage Fukasaku announced, "I've called you all here to teach you a method of cultivation. It will let you cultivate Natural Energy without turning to stone. That means you can all become sages someday."

"This method of cultivation is called a cultivation technique. I'll teach it to you shortly. After studying this technique, I discovered that if we all practice it at the same time, many of you will cultivate much faster. So I've decided that we'll gather here tomorrow morning and practice it together."

The toads below him let out eager cries. They all wanted to grow stronger, but many had been deterred by the risks of cultivating Natural Energy.

Now that they had heard there was a cultivation technique without any side effects, their fighting spirit flared.

Sage Fukasaku didn't stop them. He simply sat there, smiling.

Once all the toads had fallen silent, Sage Fukasaku used a special Senjutsu to transmit the cultivation technique into their minds.

"Study the technique in your minds carefully tonight, but don't practice it on your own. You're dismissed."

At his words, the toads hopped away, and Sage Fukasaku returned to his home.

When Naruto and the others reappeared, they were back at the Altar. Hinata hurried off to the kitchen to prepare food.

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

After eating the food Hinata had made, the two of them leaned back contentedly and patted their bellies.

Naruto then called Sakon and Tayuya over. They had returned from the Land of Waves with Minato and the others that morning, and Naruto hadn't assigned them any tasks yet. So he planned to leave the cooking to them.

After all, Hinata would be going with him to Mount Myoboku to cultivate. She wouldn't be able to cook for the others during that time.

After giving them their instructions, Naruto took the prepared supplies, along with Jiraiya and Hinata, back to Mount Myoboku. Once they had moved everything into the little house Sage Fukasaku had prepared for them, the three of them began putting things in order.

After sorting and storing the supplies, Jiraiya took the two of them to Sage Fukasaku's home.

Once inside, Naruto went straight to Sage Shima. "Sage Shima, you don't need to prepare food for us anymore. You can focus on your cultivation."

Sage Shima sounded a little disappointed. "Is it because my cooking doesn't taste good?"

Naruto hurriedly waved his hands. "No, Sage Shima. Your food tastes great. It's just that preparing it takes too much time. So from now on, leave the cooking to me. You just focus on your cultivation."

Sage Shima asked, "Wouldn't cooking get in the way of your cultivation just as much?"

"I don't need to use my real body. I can use a Shadow Clone to do the cooking," Naruto said.

Sage Shima still seemed reluctant. "All right, then. I'll leave the cooking to you from now on."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. Then the three of them sat down, and Jiraiya chatted with the two sages, telling them amusing stories about his adventures in the Shinobi World over the years.

Naruto and Hinata sat nearby and listened attentively. Whenever they noticed someone's teacup was empty, they immediately refilled it.

Much later, Jiraiya took Naruto and Hinata back. Since Mount Myoboku's cultivation session would begin tomorrow, the two sages needed a good night's rest.

After returning to their respective rooms, the three of them didn't cultivate. Instead, they enjoyed the rare chance to fall asleep.

The next day, Naruto opened his eyes to a rapid knock at the door. He dressed and stepped out of his room. Jiraiya and Hinata emerged from their rooms too, rubbing their eyes.

When they opened the door, Gamatatsu was standing outside.

As soon as the door opened, Gamatatsu said to Jiraiya, "Lord Jiraiya, Lord Fukasaku asked me to bring you over. He said they're about to begin."

Jiraiya nodded. "Got it. Let's go together."

The three of them followed Gamatatsu to the Training Ground.

Naruto and Hinata were stunned by the sight before them. The Training Ground was crowded with all kinds of toads. Gamahiro, Gamatatsu, and Gerotora were among the familiar faces, along with many toads they had never seen before.

Jiraiya had already gone over to chat with them.

"Gamabunta, long time no see. Still fond of smoking, huh?" Jiraiya said, patting Gamabunta.

Gamabunta snorted. "Yeah, it's been a while. You almost forgotten about me?"

Gamabunta had been Jiraiya's first friend after he came to Mount Myoboku, and the two of them shared a deep bond.

Jiraiya answered awkwardly, "How could I? I've just been busy all these years. And I haven't had to face any particularly tough battles, so I haven't summoned you."

Gamabunta snorted and said nothing more. Jiraiya turned to chat with the other toads.

A little while later, four stout toads came slowly toward them, carrying a huge throne. Jiraiya hurried forward and greeted the Great Toad Sage respectfully. "Great Toad Sage, you came too."

The other toads sitting below fell silent when the Great Toad Sage arrived. They waited quietly where they were.

The Great Toad Sage heard someone greet him, raised his eyelids, and saw Jiraiya. "Little Jiraiya, it's been a long time. You've become a true sage."

As soon as he saw Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage sensed the energy radiating from him. He was familiar with that intense energy fluctuation. It only appeared after someone had fully awakened their Sage Body.

Jiraiya replied, "No, I still have a long way to go."

"Little Fukasaku asked me to come practice with everyone. It should help them cultivate faster," the Great Toad Sage said, changing the subject.

Jiraiya looked surprised. "If you join them too, how much faster will they cultivate?"

The Great Toad Sage answered languidly, "Probably not by much. I've read the technique. It gets harder as you progress, and many of the residents haven't cultivated before."

Jiraiya thought it over and realized that was true. He nodded and stepped aside.

Once everyone had arrived, Sage Fukasaku hopped up beside the Great Toad Sage and addressed the crowd. "Everyone's here, so we can begin now."

Jiraiya hurriedly led Naruto and Hinata farther away to watch the toads cultivate.

A strange ripple spread from the Great Toad Sage. It gradually expanded until it enveloped all the toads.

Then the same ripple began to emanate from the toads. The ripples quickly merged together in the air.

Natural Energy began to gather around each toad. As they circulated the cultivation technique, the energy gathered faster and faster, and in greater quantities.

To Naruto and the others, the Natural Energy seemed to form a funnel around each toad before continuously pouring into its body.

The Great Toad Sage had the most Natural Energy around him by far. The sheer density of it made Naruto's heart race.

Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima were next. Although the Natural Energy around them wasn't as dense as it was around the Great Toad Sage, it was still many times denser than it was around the other toads.

Naruto noticed that one of the other toads had almost as much Natural Energy around him as the two sages.

He directed his senses toward that spot and saw an impossibly huge toad sitting there.

Because of his enormous size, Naruto had mistaken him for a mountain when they first arrived.

Now that he focused his senses on him, Naruto could finally see him clearly.

Compared to him, even Gamahiro, whom Naruto had seen before, looked tiny. Muscles like bulging rocks covered his body, twitching continuously as he drew in and released Natural Energy.