A Polite Refusal
Matatabi Tailed Beast Ball appeared, spinning and taking shape. There were no enemies here, so it had plenty of time to prepare.
After a moment of buildup, it spat it out.
The Tailed Beast Ball crashed into a distant mountain peak.
The blinding light illuminated the Maze Mountain, and even the thick fog that permeated the mountains could not obscure it.
There was no explosion of flames, but the Tailed Beast Ball, formed from the Two-Tails' special Chakra, displayed its destructive power in a more thorough way. The intense heat wiped everything away, leaving a huge gap in the mountain's waist.
The mountain emitted a terrifying sound, lost its stable structure, and its upper part began to collapse.
This scene also stunned the observers hidden in the fog.
The color unique to when Chakra is active appeared in Uchiha Shingen's eyes.
The Toad are communicating with each other.
At this moment, the mountain peak had already disintegrated amidst the roar, and a torrent of soil, rocks, and vegetation debris was spreading down the mountain.
However, it was no problem for Uchiha Shingen and Matatabi; Matatabi easily leaped away from the area.
As a free-moving Tailed Beasts, its own movement is even more destructive than the torrent itself.
Finally, the "person" hidden in the fog couldn't take it anymore.
The Maze Mountain is a very important security measure for Mount Myoboku.
As the Matatabi, a figure leaped out from the mist.
"Shingen! Shingen!" it cried out, "Please be patient, the passage is already opening."
It was a Toad, not very big.
He has quite a loud voice.
"Huh?" Uchiha Shingen looked surprised. "Matatabi, look, there's Toad in the fog! How amazing!"
Matatabi stopped condensing the Tailed Beast Ball and looked at the little guy with hostility.
It's so small, even smaller than a two-legged creature, making it hard for Matatabi, Master Youlu, to see!
And why didn't you come out sooner? You made Matatabi Rider have to swallow his Chakra again!
So it raised its paw, seemingly wanting to angrily pat the Toad's head.
"Shingen! I am an envoy from Mount Myoboku! One of our own! One of our own!" The Toad that jumped out spoke even louder, its voice cracking slightly.
"Sorry, I accidentally woke up Matatabi, and it's in a bad mood right now," said Uchiha Shingen. Through the mental link, Matatabi's displeasure was clearly transmitted.
"Matatabi, don't be angry, it's apologizing to you."
Hearing Uchiha Shingen's words of comfort, Matatabi finally withdrew his claws in satisfaction.
Helping is no problem, but an "appearance fee" is absolutely essential.
It lay down on the spot, allowing Uchiha Shingen to jump off its head.
The intimate interaction between the human One-Tail beast made the Toad's already large eyes widen even more.
Those Toad are familiar with history have never seen this before.
The lesson they learned from the Great Toad Sage was that no human, except for the chosen one, could subdue Tailed Beasts.
Could it be? This fierce-looking person is actually the chosen one that Mount Myoboku has been searching for?
How did he become a successor of Ryūchi Cave? Those rogue snakes are lucky if they don't offend anyone; the Child of Destiny and Ryūchi Cave's style are completely incompatible...
Although they knew they couldn't jump to conclusions so easily, the Toad couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.
Uchiha Shingen walked up to the Toad.
The Toad Clan of Mount Myoboku, who appear before the world as spirit beasts, are usually enormous Toad skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
However, this type of Toad is rare on Mount Myoboku.
The Toad of Mount Myoboku are not all that exaggerated in size. In fact, most of the Toad are not good at fighting. This is reflected in the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku, which is more like a buff rather than something that directly affects the user like in Ryūchi Cave.
The Toad in front of me is a small, neighboring frog.
As for why Uchiha Shingen knew this, it was because he had seen it with Jiraiya.
And it's right here in front of us.
"Shingen, why the rush?" The liaison frog looked at the young Konoha Ninja before him, feeling bitter inside.
When I first met Uchiha Shingen Uchiha Clan, I found him to be quite creepy.
How many people must he have killed?
In the Toad's minds, the chosen one should be someone approachable, idealistic, and averse to killing.
Instead of being a ruthless person who resorts to blasting mountains at the slightest disagreement.
"You've come at the right time. I have a token from the White Snake Sage to give to the Great Toad Sage. Lead the way," said Uchiha Shingen.
The token must be passed on; it represents the private relationship between the Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage.
Uchiha Shingen already understood that he and Mount Myoboku were not on the same side, but he still had to complete this process.
"Yes, Shingen," the liaison frog said. "Please follow me. However, the passage is too fragile for the Two-Tails' power, so..."
"Knew."
Uchiha Shingen showed no impatience and readily agreed.
Let the Matatabi wait for him here, and he will follow the liaison frog into the thick fog.
He casually put his gas mask back on.
"Shingen, you are overthinking it. This is natural fog, it's not poisonous," the liaison frog said.
"It's good to think more; it'll help you live longer." Uchiha Shingen seemed to have a hidden meaning in his words, and the contact frog gave up trying to persuade him further.
After all, the fog wasn't entirely clean, although there were certainly no harmful things inside.
The surrounding fog quickly became thicker, and after walking for a while, the air currents changed.
The fog began to thin, and through the hazy mist, a huge outline could be seen ahead.
He is passing through the "barrier".
As the feeling of passing through disappeared, the fog vanished, revealing an environment completely different from the Maze Mountain.
Not only the vegetation and mountains, but the climate is also completely different.
The air humidity was just right, and the plants, resembling enlarged lotus leaves, grew directly from the ground.
The surrounding mountains resemble inverted horns, with white water flowing down from the peaks to form waterfalls.
Mushrooms were growing on the ground, reaching up to a person's waist in height.
The drastically different climate and vegetation seem to explain why there are such enormous Toad.
"Lord Shingen, please follow me. The Great Immortal is waiting for you."
Chapter Twenty-Three: A Gentle Refusal
Uchiha Shingen removed his gas mask.
He was annoyed by the fog, but now that he's inside Mount Myoboku, he can get rid of it.
Following the liaison frog, he began his journey through this secret realm renowned throughout the Ninja World.
Toad are everywhere here.
There are small ones like the liaison frog, and others that are several meters tall.
Some were lazily sleeping on the giant lotus-leaf-shaped plants, while others were energetically doing frog jumps in groups.
Mount Myoboku may be a hidden paradise, but first and foremost, it is the home where Toad live.
These Toad are not aggressive; they are very focused on protecting their home.
In order to survive, they have no choice but to cooperate with humans.
After the ninjas entered the Kunimura era, human power became so great that Mount Myoboku had to start choosing sides.
Uchiha Shingen's Konoha Ninja attire allowed him free passage through this area.
The Toad all knew this was the attire of their allies.
In fact, geographically speaking, Sunagakure is the most suitable ally for Mount Myoboku, but Sunagakure cannot provide Mount Myoboku with enough security.
After all... even Sand Village was ambushed by Kumogakure, which is located several countries away.
As he walked, Uchiha Shingen noticed that buildings were beginning to appear ahead.
A building constructed in the shape of Toad.
Compared to the giant snakes, the Toad's lifestyle is closer to that of humans.
Guided by the liaison frog, Uchiha Shingen walked up a flight of steps and ascended a High Plateau.
An old toad was sitting on a huge green-backed chair, with a large piece of blue square cloth hanging on the chair and the word "immortal" written on it.
Uchiha Shingen still remembers that in the anime's storyline during the zero loop, the Great Toad Sage, under the identity of "Gamamaru," met the Ōtsutsuki Clan brothers and taught them the Hagoromo Otsutsuki Senjutsu.
In the Naruto: Shippuden manga, the Great Toad Sage is characterized by his dementia, love of playing ball, sleeping, and telling ghost stories. However, based on the words of the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, it can be inferred that the Great Toad Sage did indeed know him.
As for whether Hagoromo Otsutsuki went to learn Senjutsu from Mount Myoboku back then, that remains unknown.
Like the White Snake Sage, the Great Toad Sage wears the same hat, which also has a crystal ball on it, and a necklace with the character "oil" around its neck.
It slightly opened its eyes, bent down, and looked at Uchiha Shingen in front of it.
"Great Toad Sage, hello." Uchiha Shingen took out the White Snake Sage's keepsake. "This is a keepsake given to me by the White Snake Sage."
The liaison frog on the side raised its hands, stood on tiptoe, and caught the stone ball that Uchiha Shingen placed in its hands.
"Well then, I've disturbed you this time," said Uchiha Shingen. "I'll be leaving now."
The liaison frog was taken aback; it hadn't expected Uchiha Shingen to say that.
Weren't they about to enter Mount Myoboku?
"Don't rush, little Shingen," the Great Toad Sage on the chair spoke.
"Do you have something to say to the White Snake Sage?" Uchiha Shingen was very patient; since he had no requests, he felt no pressure.
"The children have been a bit impolite, but please understand, Mount Myoboku is not as powerful as outsiders think." The Great Toad Sage sighed, shifting its massive body. "The White Snake Sage has already told me everything; we would be happy to teach you the Senjutsu of Mount Myoboku."
"Great Toad Sage, you are a friend of the White Snake Sage, I cannot lie to you." Uchiha Shingen shook his head. "I have no opinion on this. Mount Myoboku its own stance. But since we are not compatible, let's not force it. Let's each go our own way."
The Great Toad Sage looked at the young man before him and thought that he did indeed resemble him.
It looks just like Indra.
Indra's personality is very straightforward. If you get along, you hang out together; if you don't, you each do your own thing and no one criticizes anyone else.
However, overwhelming power can easily create barriers between people.
Thus, Indra became the most unconventional person in the era of the Ninshu.
However, those who are unconventional are more likely to be isolated, and Indra, for example, never explained himself to anyone his entire life.
When he was labeled, he directly confronted the critics.
"You are very similar to Indra; although you are kind-hearted, you are easily misunderstood."
"Sage, you misunderstand," Uchiha Shingen said. "My companions and I are completely open with each other; there's no misunderstanding."
"The children of Mount Myoboku mean no harm; they are just afraid of strangers." A new voice came from the side.
Uchiha Shingen looked over upon hearing the sound.
"You must be Sage Fukasaku? Lord Jiraiya mentioned you to me. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yes." As one of the highest-ranking Toad on Mount Myoboku, Fukasaku's size is rather unusual, not much larger than the liaison frog. "Jiraiya has mentioned you to us many times; we've always wanted to meet you."
The highest level of organization at Mount Myoboku is the Elder. The Great Toad Sage is the Grand Elder, Fukasaku is an Elder, which is one level below the Great Toad Sage.
Since that's what it said, Uchiha Shingen had no choice.
Mount Myoboku is an important ally of Hidden Leaf Village, and if Fukasaku goes to the Hokage Building, he will be received by the Hokage. Although Uchiha Shingen thinks the Toad are not very decent, he Fukasaku has to give Fukasaku face since he has put it this way.
"Although I don't know why you want to see me... never mind, just tell me."