Make Your Position Clear / Entering Mount Myōboku

Uchiha Madara, who wore his best friend's face on his chest, was the second one.

The Senju Half-Immortal is indeed very capable. Six Paths didn't give him any extra advantages, he is the pinnacle of immortals.

Uchiha Shingen ventured deeper and deeper inside.

The setting that you'll be sent out if you fail a challenge is definitely suspicious. Although this place is a large maze, a ninja with slightly better perception shouldn't be unaware that they're Earth Flow.

Uchiha Shingen did not summon the Black Snake, believing that the creature in the mist would also be useful to the giant snake.

He didn't have a gas mask big enough to put on Black Snake.

After exploring the mountains for several hours, Uchiha Shingen concluded that the Toad of Mount Myoboku must have known he had arrived.

Because he sensed several instances of Chakra appearing and disappearing intermittently; the quantity was very small and different from Chakra of ordinary people.

It is Senjutsu Chakra, which is generated by the combination of Natural Energy and Chakra.

The keepsake given to him by the White Snake Sage also contained this kind of Chakra.

[Is he not going to give the White Snake Sage face, or is he trying to see if I'm a "sincere" person?]

Such a thought flashed through Uchiha Shingen's mind.

If it's the former, then that's fine.

He found the latter rather amusing.

Others may not know what those Toad on Mount Myoboku were thinking, but he felt he had seen it clearly.

At least the Toad's current behavior is, in his view, good evidence.

If you really want to count, Mount Myoboku could be considered an ally of Leaf Village, so he has always been quite polite to them.

Now it seems that we don't need to be so polite.

Mount Myoboku's actions can be seen as disregarding the White Snake Sage.

You can refuse, but you can't refuse like this.

As the successor of Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage was a good teacher and elder to Uchiha Shingen. It was fine if Mount Myoboku didn't give him face, but it was unacceptable if they didn't give face to the White Snake Sage!

Chapter Twenty-One: Making a Statement

Uchiha Shingen stopped in his tracks; he felt the distance was about right.

From the perspective of the entire Hokage worldview, Mount Myoboku is less a sacred place concerned with the safety of the world and more like a remnant of an old era.

As one of the three secret realm leaders, the Great Toad Sage is the only one whose age is given a relatively clear age in the official lore.

Of course, it's still very vague, spanning thousands of years.

That's really awkward.

As for the three-eyed girl on the moon, she can be clearly identified as a character from the ancient era of this time.

Taking the hometown of Zero-timeline as an example, the era of the Third Generation is ancient times. From this perspective, if the Great Toad Sage's "several thousand years" is just a median and not someone on welfare, then there is a very high probability that he came from the era of the Ōtsutsuki Clan brothers.

This is the truth behind the so-called prophecy and "chosen one" marketing themes—it's not that the Toad genuinely care about humanity, but rather that both sides are in the same boat.

The Great Toad Sage may not have met the Three-Eyed Girl and her dutiful son, but it must know the power of the God Tree and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It is powerless to stop all of this, so it needs to find someone who can stop it, teach them Senjutsu to enhance their strength, and achieve a win-win situation through cooperation.

However, Mount Myoboku, as a clan, is weak compared to the ninjas. Therefore, they need to appear as if anyone can learn their Senjutsu Mode, while also seeking the strongest force to protect them.

At this stage, Hidden Leaf Village has become their ally.

It's all for survival, I can understand.

But understanding is one thing, having a temper is another; they are two different things.

It's about mutual respect and courtesy; Ryūchi Cave did a great job of that.

He slapped the ground.

Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!

Deep blue Chakra manifested in the valley, bringing with it high Chakra and air currents. The Chakra's owner let out a roar the moment his body was revealed.

Uchiha Shingen's unique secret technique— The Big Cat's Morning Grumpiness!

This secret technique directly damages the Big Cat's Wind Release Roar!

This secret technique inflicts indirect damage—it'll take you to see a meteor shower!

This secret technique inflicts additional damage—making the target run around randomly, dig in the ground, and roll around!

The fog was torn apart, and a hurricane swept through the mountains, stripping away all the vegetation, soil, and even rock strata along the way. Blue fireballs, shaken off from the Tailed Beasts, rained down, plowing through the surrounding land.

The angry big cat scratches everything in sight, curls its tail, sits on its rear end, and howls angrily.

This place has become a complete mess.

The fog has cleared up, at least for now.

The air was scorching hot, but something that shouldn't be there was missing.

Everywhere he looked was a scene of devastation, either flattened by the wind or burned to ashes by flames. But this miserable state, as if it had been ravaged by hundreds or thousands of cannons, was surprisingly reassuring to Uchiha Shingen.

Wiping the mud off his hands and removing his gas mask, Uchiha Shingen breathed in the gunpowder-like smell and revealed an extremely satisfied expression.

This expression is the same as that of a seasoned smoker taking his first puff after holding back for most of the day.

It's unclear whether the Toad responsible for surveillance was killed by a stray bullet.

Probably not. They probably returned to Mount Myoboku when they saw Matatabi.

That's good.

Mount Myoboku's expectations for its partners boil down to two points.

Formidable strength.

They have no ill intentions towards Mount Myoboku and provide it with protection.

The latter, Mount Myoboku, safeguards itself by cultivating an image of detachment from worldly affairs and through the "prophecy" of the Great Toad Sage.

Even collaborators possess a sense of "mission".

The two became deeply intertwined.

Just like Jiraiya.

Uchiha Shingen could demonstrate his strength and obtain the Senjutsu Mode from Mount Myoboku, he would be willing to reciprocate and repay Mount Myoboku.

But if you're trying to market something to him, then Toad about it.

He's definitely not a "pilgrim" of Mount Myoboku.

He recognized only one "saint," but he never worshipped that one.

After all, the saint has been scolded just as many times as he has...

A whistling sound came from below.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Matatabi, I didn't know you were sleeping." Uchiha Shingen began to coax him gently, "Don't be angry, tell me what you want, and I'll get it for you."

"Awoo~~"

The big cat buried its head and dug furiously at the ground. After a while, it suddenly felt that a rock wall next to it was not quite right in front of it. With a cute cat breath, it burned a hole big enough to build a house.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Uchiha Shingen could only force a smile and continue to coax him.

After much coaxing, her Matatabi calmed down a bit.

"If you keep doing this, I'm really going to get angry," it said gruffly.

Although I haven't been in Leaf Village for long, Matatabi 've already really liked this place.

Even when it's grumpy in the morning, it still makes sure to protect the two-legged creature on its head.

But I'm still angry!

"Yes, yes, yes, I promise I won't do it again." Uchiha Shingen agreed readily.

Matatabi was over, I decided not to be angry with the two-legged beast anymore.

After all, this two-legged creature was the friendliest to it since the Sage of Six Paths.

I'll try to comfort it when I see it's angry.

All these years, no one has known to coax it!

If you don't coax it, how can it not get angry!?

Once it calmed down, it began to observe its surroundings.

I don't know them, I've never seen them before, and I've never been here.

"Where is this?" it asked.

"A gathering place for Toad and small Toad," Uchiha Shingen said.

Matatabi: "???"

I don't understand! I'm angry!

"I'm not lying to you..." Uchiha Shingen said helplessly, "It's really true. I only know it's called Mount Myoboku, but I've never been inside."

That's more like it! I forgive you!

The Matatabi stopped its "woof woof woof" and gracefully began to stride forward, as if surveying its territory.

"Shingen, are you looking for a place called Mount Myoboku?"

"Yes, but these Toad don't quite understand the rules. They don't seem to be able to distinguish between rejection and giving someone the cold shoulder."

"Oh." He understood Matatabi.

The two-legged creature on its head is extremely arrogant; it will get angry if it's given the cold shoulder.

So the two-legged creatures are really angry.

Thinking about this, Matatabi felt very comfortable.

Even two-legged creatures would comfort it when it got angry!

Matatabi traveler is a man of honor, and the two-legged creature is in such a state, of course he has to help it!

"Shingen, what do you plan to do?"

"I think the doorbell at Mount Myoboku might be broken. Let's knock on the door."

Uchiha Shingen thought for a moment and asked:

"Matatabi, can you level this mountain?"

He glanced Matatabi, and a hint of worry crept in.

"This is so tiring," it said.

The Tailed Beasts don't actually like the feeling of blasting Tailed Beast Ball.

"It's okay, I'll fry them with you. We don't need to fry them all at once. Just knock on the door."

"Uchiha Shingen said."

Of course it won't actually be leveled.

To be honest, given Mount Myoboku's attitude, he had lost interest in its Mount Myoboku Senjutsu, but he still wanted to express his opinion.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Entering Mount Myoboku

Unable to demonstrate "sincerity," Uchiha Shingen decided to finish displaying his power, deliver the token from Ryūchi Cave to Mount Myoboku, and then leave.

The idea of a win-win cooperation at Mount Myoboku turned into recruiting lackeys, Uchiha Shingen to suspect that the Toad who grew up later actually believed they were embodiments of justice.

From the perspective of the original timeline, the Toad were more "clever," while the giant snakes were more "stupid."

Uchiha Shingen felt he had been a bit "dramatic," but he genuinely hoped his companions wouldn't be too shrewd.

If he could, he would wish the whole world were full of idiots.

This is actually the main reason why Uchiha Shingen had a more favorable impression of Ryūchi Cave and a more nuanced attitude towards Mount Myoboku.

"Matatabi, spray some water over there, spray it big." Uchiha Shingen glanced at a spot in the thick fog in the distance, then pointed in an almost completely opposite direction.