In just five days on Mount Myōboku, he had managed to master natural energy while still unconscious?!
Calling him a genius no longer came close to describing it.
The two of them looked up at the Great Toad Sage, hoping to get an answer from him.
The Great Toad Sage quickly regained his original composure. A faint gleam of wisdom shone through his half-closed eyes, making him seem reassuringly dependable.
"Great Toad Sage, how did Chiba..."
Before Fukasaku could finish his question, the Great Toad Sage raised a hand to stop him.
"Everything is ordained by fate!"
His inscrutable manner soon had both toads fooled.
They stared blankly at the Great Toad Sage seated above them, their eyes soon filling with reverence.
Seeing that he had fooled them both, Gamamaru secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Who knows where this little freak came from!
If I hadn't received fate's guidance in my dream, I'd have wiped him out with a Senjutsu technique-for the good of toadkind!
Gamamaru buried his shock deep inside, keeping Fukasaku and Shima from noticing.
He let out a deep breath and said:
"Fukasaku, entrust Chiba to that boy who's good for nothing except being a pervert!"
The Great Toad Sage gave his instructions.
"Speaking of which, what was that boy's name again?"
The Great Toad Sage's dementia seemed to have flared up again.
His failing memory was an unmistakable sign.
At that moment, however, Chiba could no longer spare a thought for anything else.
The natural energy within him had reached its peak.
His pitch-black eyes suddenly changed.
Two barely perceptible markings crossed at the center of his golden pupils.
Golden-red eyeshadow formed around his eyes, though it was not especially pronounced.
"Th-this..."
Seeing this, Fukasaku opened his toad eyes so wide that he almost wanted to pull them out for a better look.
"What in the world happened?"
"Could my old eyes be playing tricks on me?"
He could scarcely believe his eyes.
The sight before him was simply too shocking for a human-no, for a toad.
A child of only five or six had figured out Sage Mode on his own, without any guidance from his elders!
Most importantly, he had only been on Mount Myōboku for five days.
Fukasaku had thought Chiba's ability to sense natural energy was already outrageously impressive.
Yet the very next moment, the boy had thoroughly proved him wrong.
Shima was not taking it much better.
She shook Fukasaku hard, murmuring:
"Dear, dear, have I gotten so old that my eyes are failing me?"
"Why am I seeing little Chiba use Sage Mode?!"
A sharp gleam flashed through the Great Toad Sage's half-closed eyes. He was somewhat taken aback, but he asked no questions.
He had received very few portents concerning Chiba's existence.
Nor had he seen any glimpse of Chiba's future in his dreams.
He had, however, received a revelation about the future fate of the shinobi world.
In the war-torn shinobi world, blood flowed in vast seas and slaughter was everywhere. Human life had become the cheapest thing of all.
And above that shinobi world, a pair of unseen hands seemed to be controlling everything.
There had been a dark figure whose face he could not make out.
The only things he could see clearly were two intersecting markings deep within that figure's pupils.
They looked very much like the eyes of the Chiba before him.
At that thought, the Great Toad Sage sighed softly.
"Have you notified that white-haired little pervert?"
He still could not remember Jiraiya's name.
Fukasaku came out of his stunned daze. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to ask the Great Toad Sage about Chiba.
But the sage had spoken first.
He took several deep breaths, suppressing his shock.
"Yes, Great Toad Sage. I've already notified little Jiraiya."
"He'll come to Mount Myōboku once he finishes the business he has at hand."
The Great Toad Sage nodded in satisfaction, then gestured for them to leave.
Fukasaku understood. He took Chiba onto his toad mount and left the temple.
After they left, a long, lingering sigh came from deep within the temple.
It seemed to lament this thing called fate...
Inside a tree house, a tall ninja with waist-length white hair sat cross-legged across from Chiba.
The two stared at each other, as though trying to read something in the other's eyes.
After a while, Jiraiya was the first to give in.
"Kid, did you really learn Sage Mode?"
Chiba nodded solemnly. There was no way he could hide this from Jiraiya.
Since he had already met Gamamaru, he could simply credit everything to him.
"The Great Toad Sage taught me!"
His childish voice betrayed no hint of deception.
Jiraiya could not help feeling a headache coming on.
A child of only five or six had already mastered Sage Mode.
Would putting the boy under his care hold back his talent?
At this point, Jiraiya still had no clear understanding of his own ability as a teacher.
His students would become unquestionably "famous" throughout the shinobi world in the future!
Whether that fame was good or bad was not particularly important.
They all shared one trait, anyway: they could fight, and they could fight very well!
"Show me your Sage Mode!"
Jiraiya decided to see how things stood first.
Chiba calmed his mind and soon settled into the proper state.
In truth, he could enter Sage Mode instantly, but to be safe, it was better not to do anything too earth-shattering.
Time ticked by, second after second.
Having successfully learned Sage Mode himself, Jiraiya could naturally sense the natural energy continuously gathering from the air.
About ten minutes later, two patches of golden-red eyeshadow appeared around Chiba's eyes!
Jiraiya, who had been keeping track of the time, could not help staring in disbelief.
"T-ten minutes?!"
Chiba opened his eyes and looked at Jiraiya with an innocent expression.
"Jiraiya, sir, is this good enough?"
At the sound of Chiba's voice, Jiraiya nearly choked to death on his own spit.
"Ahem, I-I suppose it's a passing grade?"
Jiraiya quickly straightened up, adopting the demeanor of a senior as he began instructing Chiba.
"Ten minutes to enter Sage Mode is only passable. You still need to work harder!"
His calm face showed nothing but sternness toward a junior.
Inside, however, he was screaming.
Ten minutes to enter Sage Mode! Where did this little monster come from?!!
And I'm supposed to teach this little monster? The Great Toad Sage really must have gone senile!
"Little Jiraiya, these are the Great Toad Sage's instructions!"
Fukasaku spoke with perfect composure from the side, holding a cup of tea.
"Just teach Chiba the same way you teach that boy Minato."
"There's no need to worry too much!"
Hearing that, Jiraiya knew he could not refuse and could only agree.
Just as Jiraiya agreed, a mechanical system voice suddenly sounded in Chiba's ears.
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