Finally Qualified

Space-time ninjutsu!

This was Sage Fukasaku's first reaction. With his vast experience, he faintly sensed a spatial fluctuation. Unlike the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God technique, which he knew to be complex and fragile, this fluctuation carried an irresistible force that he could somehow sense—a power as unfathomable as some law of nature.

The kid had a move like this too? He hadn't formed any hand seals, yet there was a chakra fluctuation. Could he possess some kind of Kekkei Genkai? But weren't those only passed down through human ninja clans? He had never heard of the toad clan, or even summoned beasts, possessing such a bloodline.

While Sage Fukasaku was already imagining some absurdly powerful ancestor from a reclusive bloodline clan and an unspeakable special bloodline inheritance shared with the toad clan, Tahm only felt his body grow heavy, as though he had been filled with lead and then crushed beneath a truck. His mobility was greatly reduced. He could also feel a strange space opening within his body, where Toad White, whom he had swallowed, was being covered by a sticky liquid with peculiar damaging effects. Tahm could clearly sense Toad White struggling and being hurt inside. As the imprisonment continued, every second of maintaining that space placed immense strain on Tahm's body. His mana bar was visibly racing toward empty, while his head began to ache more and more, as though his mental strength was being drained.

So this move formed a special space inside his body, like Doraemon's pocket, to trap people? That made sense. If he had truly swallowed them into his stomach, then with Tahm's build, how could he have swallowed Titans and stone giants larger than himself in the game while staying the same size?

Time passed, and Tahm found it increasingly difficult to sustain the skill's consumption. He could also clearly tell that Toad White, who had been taking continuous damage inside the space, had lost all ability to fight.

Then, open! Tahm opened his huge mouth, and a toad clearly several times sturdier than Tahm himself was spat out from it in an unreal manner. It slammed onto the ground, splashing a burst of strange liquid over the area. The ground blackened and smoked the instant it came into contact with the liquid. Anyone with eyes could tell that this spray was no weak attack.

He had actually been spat out of his mouth?

Having decided that Tahm had used some profound space-time bloodline ability, Sage Fukasaku had never expected the move to end this way. So Toad White's disappearance had meant that he had been eaten! All the watching toads felt an inexplicable chill.

Toad White lay on the ground, completely lacking the strength to get back up. He only gulped down fresh air, as if he had just escaped some apocalyptic terror. He seemed to have even forgotten the pain.

The host toad remained silent for a long while, only snapping out of it when Tahm kept batting his eyes at him from the arena. "The winner of this match—Tahm!" Yet unlike the earlier matches, which ended amid the spectators' cheers, the entire audience was silent now. This might have been the strangest battle they had ever seen in their lives. Its method, process, and outcome had all left them too stunned for words.

Tahm did not feel awkward at all. He simply walked off the stage, though his steps and manner were much steadier now, without his former frivolity and smugness. For one thing, obtaining the strange cheat known as the Datafication System had suddenly broadened the world before his eyes. For another, this battle had taught him a great deal. He no longer dared to underestimate anyone else's abilities, and he truly held respect for his opponent.

Eh? On his minimap, Tahm clearly spotted a familiar icon huddled in a corner—Master Fukasaku, who had taken care of him for the past year. Supporting his big belly, he jogged over to Sage Fukasaku. "Old man, what are you hiding here for? I did pretty well, didn't I?"

"You could actually find me?" Old Fukasaku was surprised once again. With his mastery of natural energy, hiding nearby allowed him to merge completely with nature, making him impossible for most jonin in the ninja world to detect.

"Looks like you still have plenty of secrets you haven't told me, you brat."

"Huh?" Tahm rubbed his smooth bald head and laughed awkwardly. "I only discovered this today too, haha. Don't be mad, old man."

So it really was a special bloodline, one that had only awakened in battle today? Sage Fukasaku could not stop thinking. No wonder the Great Toad Sage had specifically awakened to make a prophecy for him. A toad with such a peculiar Kekkei Genkai—was this not something the ninja world had not seen in a thousand years? Could he be the prophesied toad who could save the world, the Child of Prophecy?

Leaving aside how the master of wild speculation, Fukasaku, nearly placed the sage bloodline status of that blond fox Young Master onto Tahm, Tahm had already lifted Sage Fukasaku's small body. "Old man, say something! Did I qualify to become a ninja toad and go to the ninja world?"

"Put me down!" Sage Fukasaku snapped back to his senses, his face covered in black lines. Senjutsu chakra was nearly taking shape in his palm. "Keep shaking me and you'll lose your ninja toad qualification!"

"Uh..." Tahm silently let go. "So can I live in the ninja world from now on?"

"Live in the ninja world?" Fukasaku narrowed his toad eyes slightly. "Who told you that ninja toads could freely live in the ninja world? According to the Contract Scroll of our Mount Myoboku clan, we only get the chance to appear in the ninja world when a contractor summons us. Mount Myoboku is the sacred land of our toad clan, after all."

"What?" Tahm panicked. He clearly remembered that in the original anime, an old lizard without an owner could remain in the ninja world alone for years. Why was it not allowed when it came to him? Was he supposed to stay on Mount Myoboku and eat fresh bugs for the rest of his life, only occasionally getting a chance to go out for some air?

"No, Master, I have a reason I must go to the ninja world!" Tahm wore a grave expression, faintly radiating righteous resolve.

A reason he had to go? Was it the mission of a prophesied toad? After another bout of imagination, Sage Fukasaku said, "It's not impossible. As long as your name is not placed on our Mount Myoboku clan's summoning scroll, but instead you create a separate Contract Scroll, draft special contract terms, and find a suitable contractor willing to accept those terms, you can fulfill your request."

"Oh? So the specific terms of a summoning scroll can be set by ourselves?"

"Yes. As long as both parties agree."

Tahm understood immediately. So it was just an employment contract. As long as both employer and employee agreed, it took effect; there were no fixed terms. It was only because the ninja world had established customary practices that most summoned beasts were temporary workers who left after the fight.

"Come on, old man, take me to make the scroll. I'll write the terms!" Tahm instantly became lively again. He scooped up Sage Fukasaku's small body and placed him atop his large head, then took off running in some random direction.

Brat, did he really think I needed him to carry me?

Yet as he looked at the afternoon sunlight spilling down and felt the mountain breeze on Tahm's back, warmth faintly stirred in his heart. So thought the old sage who had lived for many years. It seemed he truly was getting old.