Jiraiya swallowed hard, a chill creeping into his heart.
But he was not the type to stand still and be afraid.
Scratching his head, he encouraged himself.
"What's there to be afraid of? I'm a man who's going to become a great writer! I'm just lost. I can walk back!"
He picked a direction at random and started walking.
Before long, he noticed that the creatures here were a little... strange.
A frog hopped past his feet.
It was an ordinary frog, only a little bigger—about the size of his palm.
Then another one hopped by.
This one was bigger, about the size of a watermelon.
When a third frog hopped past, Jiraiya stopped.
That frog was crouched on a rock, tilting its head at him. It was... about as tall as he was.
"Ribbit."
The frog croaked, then bounced off into the woods.
Jiraiya stood there without moving for a long while.
"...What is going on?"
He continued onward.
There were more and more frogs, and they kept getting bigger.
Some lay on rocks, some squatted atop mushrooms, and some swam in streams.
The smallest were fist-sized. As for the largest—Jiraiya looked up at the giant purple frog sitting on a tree branch, bigger than his whole body by a full circle, and silently quickened his pace.
He had no idea how long he walked before the scenery around him gradually changed.
The trees grew older, vines hung down like curtains, and an indescribable faint fragrance filled the air.
The outline of buildings could vaguely be seen ahead.
Jiraiya pushed aside the last branches blocking his view, and his vision suddenly opened up.
A massive temple stood in the valley.
No, it was not a temple—it resembled some kind of ancient shrine.
Stone steps stretched upward in layer after