[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV
Mount Myōboku, Year 42.
...
...
"I am Chief Fukasaku. Jiraiya had spoken about you...", the chief toad said.
"I am Minato Namikaze. Thank you for receiving me, Chief Fukasaku. Despite the three-week delay," Minato commented.
"I'm sorry, the Elder ended up dozing off, as you probably already know. Anyway, let's see him before he falls asleep again," he said, jumping ahead.
Minato nodded without any issue, since he didn't want to wait another three weeks, and they moved forward, passing by the place where Jiraiya had trained in his adolescence after ending up here through a summoning contract.
Minato was the first human to come there after Jiraiya.
Fukasaku kept jumping ahead of Minato as they crossed a bridge, around a stream, and then a waterfall, where they saw one of the great toads sitting still, eyes closed, letting the water hit his back, without his usual armor and weapons upon seeing who it was.
"Hello, Gamaken!" Minato waved at him, as the toad opened his eyes and saw him there.
"Hello Minato... Be careful not to get hurt there! I'm kind of clumsy," Gamaken said, as Minato and Fukasaku passed him, heading toward another waterfall on a nearby peak with an entrance to a cave.
There were several toads of all kinds around, with Minato only recognizing a few he had actually used or summoned in his missions and bad situations for certain tasks.
"Hm?" a female toad with purple hair approached along the path they were taking, carrying a basket full of mushrooms and larvae in her arm.
"Father, so you're with Jiraiya's student?!" the female toad said, studying Minato.
"Yes, I'm taking him to the Elder, mother," Fukasaku said.
Minato recognized her as Shima, the mother of the Toad Path. And the contents of her basket were certainly not very pleasant to Minato.
"Hm? I see you're interested in our food. I make an excellent lunch and dinner. I would even ask you to come over to our home, but you're busy now. Take him there later, father. He'll love our food," Shima said, seeing Minato's look at her ingredients, thinking he was hungry and wanted her food.
"Wait, that's not it!" Minato tried to deny quickly. He didn't want the same experience that Jiraiya and Naruto had eating those larvae.
"Sure, let's go, Minato-boy!" Fukasaku said, ignoring Minato's protests, while the two toads said goodbye to each other. Shima would go to her home, while Fukasaku led him into the cave.
The place wasn't big, and just after passing the entrance, they could already see the Great Elder standing there, sitting with a staff and showing the marks of his millennia-old age.
After all, he was the one who taught Senjutsu to the two hybrid Ōtsutsuki brothers, who were the sons of Kaguya with a human.
"Elder Gamamaru!" Fukasaku approached. Minato was right behind.
"Hm?" the old toad murmured, seeming to open his eyes. "Who's there?" he asked.
"It's me, Fukasaku. I'm here with Jiraiya's student, the one who might be involved with the prophecy you gave to Jiraiya-boy, Elder," Fukasaku said.
Gamamaru seemed thoughtful for a moment, while Minato studied him.
"Who is Jiraiya again?" he asked, making Minato and Fukasaku fall to the ground, stunned by the statement.
"Ah, I remember," the Elder said next.
"The prophecy... I remember speaking one to that human..."
"Yes, and one of Jiraiya's students is here. After asking to enter our land, you took three weeks to respond, after falling asleep!" Fukasaku said.
"The prophecy..." the elder murmured, seeming to try to understand it, before looking at the old toad with his tired eyes and then staring at Minato for a few seconds.
"What is this prophecy again?" he asked, confused, making both of them fall to the ground again, stunned.
'What's wrong with this old man? Is he some kind of troll?' Minato muttered internally. At this rate, they wouldn't get anywhere.
"I'm joking, I'm joking," the Elder said suddenly, seeming to smile.
"I remember the prophecy... about a young man among Jiraiya's students... who would grow and change the ninja world. Or at least one of the two. When they faced each other, if the path leaned toward good or evil for the future, everything would depend on that fight," the Elder said seriously.
"Yes, exactly!" Fukasaku said, pointing at Minato.
"Please, Minato-boy, come closer," he requested, as Minato stepped forward.
"So you asked permission to come here. We are here to listen to you. What do you wish for?" the old toad said, looking at the blond human with his half-closed eyes.
"I would like to learn Sage Mode. I will need this power," Minato said directly, knowing that even with all his abilities, his jutsus, his physical strength, his akuma no mi, all three hakis... having Sage Mode would further enhance everything he had.
Even though it had taken him 17 years to seek it out, he believed he was now ready to further increase his strength.
"Sage Mode?" Fukasaku seemed surprised to hear that, looking at Minato.
"I see. Difficult times are coming. The boy before us wants to become stronger. It's understandable," the Elder said.
While Minato waited for an answer, Fukasaku, still a bit surprised, looked at the Elder, also awaiting his response.
"Sage Mode... he must learn it." He decided. "Then, Fukasaku, see to the boy and begin his training," the Elder requested.
"Even without asking permission from Jiraiya-boy?" Fukasaku asked.
"Yes. The boy has already surpassed Jiraiya. He is stronger than his teacher," the Elder said, while Fukasaku looked a little surprised, studying the boy for a moment before nodding.
"I understand... very well. I will train you." He said.
Minato nodded at hearing this, satisfied. "Thank you," he replied.
"Let's go back, Minato-boy. You probably want to rest."
Minato nodded, but turned his attention again to the Elder. "Before that, I'd like to ask a question," he said carefully.
"Go ahead," the Elder said informally, while Fukasaku waited.
"Do you remember the time when you met the brothers Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and Hamura Ōtsutsuki and warned them about their mother, Kaguya, wanting to turn all of humanity into white Zetsus, over a thousand years ago?" Minato asked directly.
He wanted information about that time that he didn't know. Maybe a point of view directly from someone who had lived through it could be interesting and bring new insights. However, Minato didn't have much hope in this character — and he wasn't wrong.
"Who are those? I don't remember them," the Elder said.
"Not even about the Infinite Tsukuyomi, that Kaguya cast on the world? You were young, but you witnessed the birth of chakra in our world..." he commented, while Fukasaku looked confused by that information.
"I don't remember," Gamamaru said, and Minato felt it was time to leave.
"Thank you for the information, anyway..." Minato said and headed outside.
The chief of the toads followed him, moving out of the cave while guiding him.
The Elder looked for a while at Minato's shadow disappearing along with the chief of the toads.
"Interesting," he murmured.
But right after that... he simply seemed confused.
"Ah, I forgot again..." he said before going back to sleep.
A moment later...
"Eat, eat! It's delicious!" Shima handed Minato a plate full of larvae after he had entered their house.
"I'm not hungry... I actually ate before coming here," Minato tried to make an excuse.
"How can you say that after I cooked with so much love?" she said, as Minato looked once again at that plate, wanting to vomit just from seeing it.
"Sorry, I'll owe you this one. Please, don't make me eat it. It's better if I don't overeat..." he said, on the verge of tears, trying not to be rude.
"All right..."
"Let him be, mother. At least there'll be more left for me," Fukasaku said, as Shima shrugged, respecting the fact that Minato didn't want to eat.
"Well... then, Minato-boy, you want to train in Sage Mode. But it won't be easy training, and you could even turn into a toad. Do you still want to go through with it?" Fukasaku asked, while eating the larvae without leaving any on the plate.
"Yes. I need it," he replied, ignoring the toad's plate.
"I see. I imagined Jiraiya would come here and ask this for you, but since you took the initiative yourself and the Elder accepted you — and you even seem to know about our training — that's fine."
"I just need to send some information to the Village. I'll have to take some time off," Minato said, as he would have to clear his responsibilities as ANBU leader.
He would have to deal with Guren, having confirmed her presence in the Fish Clan, and learn Sage Mode at the same time.
"Anyway, I'll show you around," Fukasaku said, as Minato left the couple's cabin with him and walked through Mount Myōboku.
"Hello, Gamabunta," Minato greeted, seeing the giant toad standing in a large lake along the path.
"Hello, Minato. You finally came," he replied in his usual grumbling tone, but with respect.
Minato soon found the place where he would train, encountering several statues of humans who had attempted the same training and failed, turning into toads.
"These were the ones who failed. But don't worry. If Jiraiya-boy succeeded, and you surpassed him, according to the Elder... you'll succeed too. After all, you might be the one destined to change the world, the child of prophecy... and I've got this!" Fukasaku said, showing a rod in his hand — the one that expels natural energy from the body when touched.
Minato didn't look favorably at the statues, but it also gave him a certain concern. He'd have to understand how it would work being a Logia user, since he'd need to be touched by that rod...
"Can we test that, if possible, Chief Fukasaku?" Minato asked suddenly, while the toad looked at him confused.
"What do you mean by that, Minato-boy?"
"Just try to hit me with the rod," he requested, raising his palm.
The toad observed him for a few seconds before nodding and striking the extended hand with his rod. To Minato's surprise, he felt an impact. He was caught off guard by the pain, even though it didn't hurt him due to his strong body. Still, he even felt some of his chakra draining, despite it not being natural energy.
"Interesting..." he murmured, quite satisfied with that.
"Did you expect something different, Minato-boy?" Fukasaku asked.
"Yes. Anyway, let's try that again, but this time in a different way."
Minato once again showed his hand, and it started to turn black, using Armament Haki as a protective layer.
Fukasaku was confused to see the hand darkening, but nodded before striking with the rod. When it hit, Minato was surprised to feel nothing. There was no effect.
"Interesting," he said, realizing that Haki could protect him even from that rod.
In any case, he removed the Haki, and he and Fukasaku spent a while talking, planning how the training would proceed. Minato already knew beforehand how it worked, but still listened to the chief toad.
After that, Minato returned to Konoha the same day. He now needed to plan how he would stay away from his missions for two or three weeks to train with his summoning contracts.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 249 - The Little Itachi?
Chapter 254 - The Uzumaki Clan Must Be Saved.
Chapter 264 - The despair of the Uzumaki clan.
Chapter 273 - Executing a Kage.
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