Sage Fukasaku was silent for a moment, and finally let out a long sigh, "You've been like this since you were a kid, and you can't get back what you believe in."
It turned around and looked in the direction of Mount Myōboku, where the fairy spirit lingered all year round. "That's all. Since you have made up your mind, I will take you to see Great Toad."
Regarding Red Swallow, my little knowledge alone is not enough.
Great Toad If you are willing to speak, you will at least know what you are facing."
Jiraiya put away his smile and nodded solemnly, "Thank you Sage Fukasaku."
One person and one Toad set off immediately, Sage Fukasaku went back first and then used Reverse Summoning Technique to pull Jiraiya to Mount Myōboku.
The stone steps under your feet were covered with thin moss, and the plants on both sides were towering. The further you walked in, the Natural Energy in the air became richer, and even the sound of the wind gradually became lower, as if the entire mountain was holding its breath.
Jiraiya walked behind, knowing clearly that this trip was not just to ask for information.
Great Toad's attitude may be more important than the information itself.
Red Swallow If it was as terrifying as the legend, then this battle might be more dangerous than he expected.
But he touched the envelope in his arms and thought of the ordinary people who were about to be involved in the disaster, and his steps became a little firmer.
Sage Fukasaku was walking in front and suddenly spoke without looking back, "Little Jiraiya, when you meet Great Toad, no matter what you hear, don't rush to beat your chest, listen to it first and then decide."
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I know, I know, you love to worry."
But there was also a trace of tension hidden in his smile that he didn't even notice.
Sage Fukasaku didn't respond to Jiraiya's teasing, but just walked towards the depths of Mount Myōboku with steady steps.
Jiraiya scratched his head, not wanting to follow too closely, so he simply turned a corner at the fork in the road and wandered towards the hut where Fukasaku and Shima lived.
Anyway, Great Toad hasn't been summoned yet, so it's best to take a rest first.
The hut is still the same, with dried herbs hanging under the eaves and several steaming pots at the door.
Purple Eyes The curly-haired Sage Shima was standing in front of the stove working. When he looked up and saw Jiraiya, his face suddenly burst into laughter.
"It's little Jiraiya, coming here to eat?"
Jiraiya was about to respond when he glanced at the pot on the stove and saw a few fat and white insects twisting their bodies in the gurgling soup, half of them still exposed outside the soup surface.
His face tightened, and his stomach suddenly turned sour that he almost pushed out the beef noodles from his last meal.
"No need to work, eldest sister, I have already eaten."
Jiraiya forced a smile and took half a step back.
"That's really a pity."
Sage Shima shook his head regretfully and sprinkled another handful of seasonings into the pot.
"This was just caught this morning, it's fresh."
Jiraiya laughed dryly and was thinking about how to change the topic when Sage Fukasaku came back.
Old Toads caught sight of Jiraiya standing by the stove with a blue face, and snorted, "I knew you Kid were here."
Let's go, you're just in time, Great Toad is still awake."
Sage Shima was stunned, the spoon in his hand stopped in mid-air. "Hey, little Jiraiya is here to find Great Toad?"
"Well, I'm leaving first, eldest sister."
Jiraiya felt like he was being pardoned and quickly followed him, fearing that he would be left to eat again.
The two walked through several corridors one after another, then climbed up the stone steps on the mountain wall, and finally arrived at the Palace, the largest of Mount Myōboku.
The gate of the palace is high and wide, with everlasting lamps burning on both sides, and the air is filled with a distant and calm fairy spirit.
Great Toad Sage is sitting on the huge futon in the center of the hall. He is huge but looks thin, with layers of skin folds. He looks like he is almost at the end of his life.
He lowered his head, seeming to be taking a nap or deep in thought.
"Great Toad, little Jiraiya is here."
Sage Fukasaku Respectfully report.
Great Toad Sage slowly raised his eyelids, turned his cloudy eyes twice on Jiraiya, and said slowly, "Who are you?"
"Great Toad, he is little Jiraiya!"
Sage Fukasaku quickly reminded.
"Little Jiraiya?"
Great Toad Sage blinked, suddenly showing a look of surprise.
"Oh, by the way, I remembered that kid who accidentally entered Mount Myōboku."
Jiraiya twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking that at his age, he was still a child in Great Toad's eyes.
But he was used to it and bowed respectfully. "Great Toad, I have something important to ask."
Great Toad Sage nodded, his face suddenly became serious, and there was a rare dignity in that old look.
He spoke slowly, his voice low and distant. "Fukasaku has told me, are you here for Red Swallow? Red Swallow That guy's weakness is very obvious... that is..."
Jiraiya and Sage Fukasaku raised their ears at the same time, held their breath, and leaned forward unconsciously.
"ZZZ~~ZZZ~"
Great Toad Sage Halfway through speaking, his eyelids drooped, his head tilted, and two round bubbles appeared in his nose, which expanded and contracted with his breathing.
The anticipation on Jiraiya's face solidified instantly.
Sage Fukasaku also had a stiff look on his face, and it took him a while to react. He quickly took a few steps forward, got in front of Great Toad Sage, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Great Toad, now is not the time to sleep!"
With a "pop" sound, the nose bubble burst.
Great Toad Sage suddenly shook his head and opened his eyes. "Ah? It's Fukasaku? What's wrong?"
"What did you say was Red Swallow's weakness?"
Sage Fukasaku asked eagerly.
"What's red?"
"Red Swallow ah!"
"What swallow?"
Great Toad Sage tilted his head, his cloudy eyes were blank, and he smacked his lips.
"I really want to eat wontons."
Jiraiya I just felt like my breath was stuck in my chest, and I couldn't get up or get down.
He opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed it back.
Sage Fukasaku patted his forehead helplessly and let out a long sigh.
The hall was so quiet for a while that the only sound left was the occasional burst of sparks from the ever-burning lamp.
Just when Jiraiya thought that he might not be able to ask anything today, Great Toad Sage suddenly spoke again, his voice a little more sober than before. "Red Swallow... that guy... when I saw it back then, it was just a ball of disembodied resentment.
Later it gained a body and strength, but there was always one thing it could not get."
Jiraiya and Sage Fukasaku were shocked at the same time and held their breath again.
Great Toad Sage raised his withered claws and slowly pointed in a distant direction outside the hall. "Its weakness... is very obvious, in... in..."
"At what?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but ask.
Great Toad Sage's eyelids began to sink again, but this time he held on and did not close them. His lips moved and he uttered the last few words: "In a place that... he... can never find..."
After saying that, he tilted his head and nose bubbles came out again.
Jiraiya was stunned in place, chewing on this sentence over and over again, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.
Sage Fukasaku was silent for a long time, and finally whispered, "Great Toad said it, I'm afraid you are the only one to go find it yourself, little Jiraiya."
Jiraiya came back to his senses, took a deep breath, grinned, and gave a thumbs up. "Okay. If you can't find it, go look for it. It's better than not knowing anything."
But when he turned around and walked out of the Palace, his steps were a little heavier than when he came.
That formless resentment, that sealed body, that weakness that even Red Swallow himself couldn't find... all of it was like a mess, entangled in his heart.
He touched Scroll in his arms, and then thought of Tsunade's face, and suddenly felt that what he asked during this trip to Mount Myōboku might be more disturbing than what he didn't ask.