Fukasaku and Shima

As he spoke, the Yatagarasu immediately produced the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, offering them up with both talons!

"Oh?"

Manji raised an eyebrow slightly, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"This sage is most pleased! Most pleased indeed!"

Manji took the Totsuka Blade and examined it carefully.

He immediately understood. Could Uchiha Itachi's legendary Totsuka Blade have come from here?

He thought of Uchiha Itachi and his contract with the crows.

And crows held no ordinary place in Japanese mythology.

It seemed everything was connected.

"Heh heh, I'm glad the sage likes them."

The Yatagarasu forced a smile.

"Wonderful, wonderful... What a fine sword..."

However, Manji's gaze suddenly darkened!

The next second!

"Whoosh—!!!"

Manji suddenly thrust the Totsuka Blade at the Yatagarasu with blinding speed!

"Pfft!"

"Sage!!!"

Caught completely off guard, the Yatagarasu was pierced through. It stared at Manji in disbelief, its eyes wide.

Manji's gaze was as cold as frost.

Did this bastard really think he hadn't noticed?

His killing-intent sense had been going off like crazy. Did it really take him for some mindless machine?

What the Yatagarasu had thought Manji was like:

It had actually dared to assassinate him. It had truly taken the wrong path.

It had earned its death!

He'd only planned to leave after learning Senjutsu. He wouldn't have interfered with it, either. And yet it had tried to assassinate him?

Then it couldn't blame him for being ruthless. Better for a fellow cultivator to die than for him to perish.

Manji might be an amiable person, but when it came to killing, he never hesitated!

One reason Manji had survived so long was that he knew when to let things go. The other was that he dealt with threats before they could grow.

"No!!!!"

The Yatagarasu let out an enraged roar!

In the next instant, its body was sucked into the Totsuka Blade and sealed away completely!

"Looks like it's the real thing..."

Manji nodded in satisfaction as he examined the Totsuka Blade.

So the Totsuka Blade really was genuine.

Manji walked slowly out of the Land of the Yatagarasu.

"Manji, how did it go?"

The White Ape King hurried over, his voice full of concern.

Manji's expression was grave, his brows knitted with worry.

"This place is exceedingly sinister. The threat has been dealt with."

"To prevent anyone from wandering in and dying, I plan to destroy this place completely. What do you think?"

"Good! I was thinking the same thing!"

The White Ape King nodded at once. If a human accidentally wandered into such a deadly place, there would be no chance of survival. Destroying it was the safest course.

"Mm."

As he spoke, violent lightning surged in Manji's palm. Purple Lightning danced like a dragon and serpent, tearing through the air around them.

"Sage Art: Lightning Style: Kirin!"

His deep shout shook heaven and earth. A dazzling Kirin, radiating overwhelming might, came crashing down from the heavens!

"Boom!"

The lightning exploded, leveling the Land of the Yatagarasu in an instant. Not an inch was left untouched, only charred ruins and the lingering aura of lightning.

"White Ape King, I'll take my leave."

Manji dispelled his Sage Art, his aura subsiding slightly as he cupped his hands to bid farewell to the White Ape King.

"Wait, Manji..."

"When we meet again, who knows how many years will have passed?"

The White Ape King stepped forward, his voice carrying a hint of complicated reluctance.

Manji paused, then thought for a moment before answering slowly. "Perhaps not until a hundred years from now. From here on, I'll live and cultivate at Mount Myōboku. The affairs of the human world have nothing to do with me."

Hagoromo was there in the human world. Nothing would happen.

There was no need for him to meddle in other people's business.

The next time he appeared might be when Indra or Asura came along.

Those two were also hidden threads running through Naruto.

Manji had a plan in mind.

From then on, he would devote himself to Mount Myōboku and study how to combine the five forms of Senjutsu from Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest, Enma, and Yata.

If he could unite the five Sage Arts, perhaps he could break through to the Six Paths realm, escape the system's restraints, and ascend to an even higher level.

Being stuck at Super Kage level made him invincible, but if the Otsutsuki appeared, they would still be troublesome.

Being stuck at Super Kage level felt like being stopped just short of release.

"Alas, so be it."

The White Ape King sighed softly as he watched Manji. A trace of melancholy passed through his eyes. Time flew by so quickly; after this parting, a long stretch of years would pass before they met again.

"Farewell!"

"Sage Art: Immortal Mist Body Flicker."

Manji vanished amid a wisp of mist.

Back at Mount Myōboku

Manji appeared directly in the Sage Hall.

As soon as he arrived, Manji paused, sensing something was amiss, then headed to the side hall.

It was the hall where the Sage Art scrolls were kept.

It held all the Sage Arts Manji had created: those of Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave, as well as a series of ordinary ninjutsu that required no hand seals.

As Manji's figure solidified in the Sage Hall,

the Senjutsu Chakra around him keenly detected faint fluctuations of energy coming from the side hall.

The faint whispers grew clearer, carrying the nervousness and hopefulness unique to young frogfolk.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? If the Great Sage—or, no, if the Grandmaster finds out, the consequences will be unthinkable..."

A timid male frog's voice rang out, full of unease.

"What are you afraid of? We're only taking a look, maybe secretly learning one or two basic Sage Arts. The Grandmaster has always been kind. At worst, he'll make us copy the Mount Myōboku rules a few times. He won't punish us harshly!"

Another, slightly bolder female frog hurried to reassure him, though a hint of guilt also crept into her voice.

Manji pushed the door open without a sound, taking in the scene inside.

Towering shelves of scrolls rose in layers, lined with countless scrolls recording Sage Arts and ninjutsu.

At the very bottom of the shelves, in a corner,

two palm-sized young frogs were huddled together. They had their heads close over an unrolled Sage Art scroll, pointing their little forepaws at the patterns on it as they studied intently, completely unaware of the person behind them.

"What are you two looking for?"

Manji spoke calmly, his voice echoing softly through the spacious hall.

The two young frogs stiffened all over, frozen as if by a body-binding technique. When they slowly turned around, their round eyes were wide as saucers, their faces full of fear and shock.

"Ah!? Grandmaster!"

"Great Sage, s-sorry!"

They sprang away from the scroll almost at once and hurriedly knelt on the stone floor, their little heads bowed low. They didn't even dare breathe loudly.

"So you were sneaking a look at the scrolls."

Manji watched them tremble and glanced at the open scroll. He understood everything at once.

These two little toads had sneaked into the Sage Art hall, hoping to learn Sage Arts on their own.

"Grandmaster, we were wrong! Please forgive us!"

The two young frogs begged in unison, their voices breaking as though they were about to cry. They were clearly terrified of being punished.

Manji wasn't angry. He simply asked, "What are your names?"

Manji wasn't angry.

It was only natural for young frogfolk to yearn for Sage Arts. Sneaking into the hall was wrong, but it wasn't serious enough to warrant a harsh punishment.

They had been right just now: he really was easygoing.

At most, he'd make them copy the Mount Myōboku rules, just as they'd said.

"I-I'm Fukasaku."

The male frog stammered out his name.

"My name is Shima."

The female frog spoke right after him, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Hearing their names, Manji raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised.

So they were Fukasaku and Shima, the two future sages of Mount Myōboku. He hadn't expected them to be such young, naïve frogs right now.

Given the timing, it made sense that they had been born by now.

Manji's gaze returned to the open Sage Art scroll. The cover clearly bore the words "Sage Art: Goemon."

"You've been looking at it for a while. Have you learned it?"

Manji asked casually.

Fukasaku and Shima exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.

The two frogs shook their heads together. "Reporting to the Grandmaster: we've looked at it for a long time, but the patterns on the scroll are too obscure to understand. We have no idea how to circulate Senjutsu Chakra, either. We can't learn it at all."

Manji chuckled to himself. Of course they couldn't learn it.

Anyone who could learn it would be a genius.

At this point in the Ninja World, the art of Hand Seals had yet to be invented. Sage Arts and ninjutsu were cast entirely through instinctive Chakra control and the guidance of one's intent. With their current level of Senjutsu, they simply couldn't handle a technique as complex as Sage Art: Goemon.

They could only learn it through Hand Seals.

"You haven't learned Hand Seals yet, so naturally you can't use a Sage Art like this."

Manji explained calmly.

"Hand Seals?"

Fukasaku raised his head, looking puzzled.

"Grandmaster, what are Hand Seals?"

Shima blinked as well, full of curiosity and confusion. She had clearly never heard the term before.

Manji didn't explain further. He waved a hand.

"I'll teach you about that later."

"For now, go to Gamamaru and collect two copies of the Mount Myōboku rules. You'll each copy them three hundred times as punishment. Until you finish, you're not to set foot in the Sage Art hall."

Manji spoke calmly.

Hearing that their punishment was only to copy the rules, rather than clean the whole of Mount Myōboku or be confined to hard training, Fukasaku and Shima immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for your mercy, Grandmaster!"

The two frogs bowed respectfully.

After bowing, the two young frogs hurried out of the Sage Hall, hopping along as they went.

Manji stood alone in the hall full of scrolls.

"Hand Seals..."

He gently rubbed his chin, falling into thought.

Indra hadn't been born yet, let alone invented the art of Hand Seals.

In that case, why not create the art of Hand Seals himself, ahead of time?

Creating Hand Seals wouldn't be difficult.

Once the art of Hand Seals was introduced at Mount Myōboku, not only would the frogfolk master Sage Arts and ninjutsu more quickly, but Mount Myōboku would grow stronger still and take the lead in the Ninja World.