Touching Hiroki's spiritual form, Kaguya murmured to herself, "He should wake up soon."
His physical body outside was in good condition, having been checked daily by her and also guarded by Kimimaro.
Should anyone dare disturb him, she would sink the entire Land of Water without hesitation.
Previously, Hiroki had interacted with Terumi Mei. Kaguya could sense the imprint he left behind within Terumi Mei's spiritual world.
She could possess Mei's body whenever she wished.
The physical body had already recovered; what mattered now was his consciousness.
During his previous injuries, his spirit also suffered severe damage. Once his spiritual form stabilized and completed its healing, just as before, he would awaken.
If that didn't work, then she would have no choice but to use her own spiritual energy to complete the healing process.
Meanwhile, Tsunade returned to her dwelling and flipped through her calendar, checking her schedule.
"Tomorrow is the day I promised with the Slug Sage to learn Sage Art training."
The next day.
Shikkotsu Forest.
Tsunade sat cross-legged on the grass with her eyes closed, several tiny slugs attached to her skin, guiding natural energy into her body.
Several hours later, a small slug crawled toward her. It only began speaking once Tsunade slowly opened her eyes: "Tsunade-sama, the Slug Sage wishes to see you."
Tsunade proceeded deep into Shikkotsu Forest toward a secluded temple, lifting her head to gaze upon the massive figure of the Slug Sage.
"Tsunade, although your training isn't finished yet, you've already understood the method, right?" the Slug Sage spoke.
"Mm," Tsunade nodded slightly, "I've memorized everything you've explained thoroughly."
"In reality, training for Sage Mode doesn't necessarily have to be done here at Shikkotsu Forest; any location suffused with natural energy will suffice."
Tsunade was taken aback by his words.
Then she heard the Slug Sage continue, "Tsunade, from now on, you should train outside."
"But..." Tsunade hesitated.
"It is only at Shikkotsu Forest that you can make the most rapid progress," before she could finish, the Slug Sage interjected.
Hearing this, Tsunade stood frozen.
The Slug Sage had previously said she could come here whenever she liked to train in Sage Mode, so why such a sudden change?
As if reading her mind, the Slug Sage sighed heavily before speaking again, "The Gamabunta Clan doesn't want Shikkotsu Forest getting entangled in Mount Myoboku's feud with that woman — Kaguya otsutsuki."
"...Is this feud with Kaguya otsutsuki?" Tsunade asked cautiously.
"You truly encountered that woman?"
Tsunade remained silent.
"If you wish to understand, go ask her yourself." It seemed the Slug Sage didn't want to disclose much further, only offering those words.
"Then... am I still able to summon slugs for assistance?" Tsunade asked.
...
The Slug Sage gave no reply, yet Tsunade understood its meaning all too well, sighing inwardly: What exactly have I gotten myself caught up in...?
Without the ability to summon slugs, she couldn't perform large-scale Medical Ninjutsu techniques.
May such a time never come, Tsunade prayed inwardly.
Leaving Shikkotsu Forest, Tsunade couldn't resist asking Kaguya directly, "Lady Kaguya, exactly what kind of feud exists between you and Mount Myoboku?"
"Ever since our fight, you've stopped showing respect to me," Tsunade muttered.
"Hated enemies. The kind that can't coexist peacefully," Kaguya replied coldly. "Let me clarify further. Do you know what your friend Jiraiya is currently doing? He's hunting down everyone connected to me."
"You, Hinata, Yugao, Hiroki, even Yugito, or others."
"They hold no grudges against Jiraiya and have never interacted with him. Simply because they followed the Frog's orders, he intends to kill them all."
"He might care about you, but what about others? Yugao was severely injured by him. Without my help, she would already be dead."
"Tsunade, you're currently the strongest. If you keep letting Jiraiya off easy, one of these people might actually die."
"Do you understand?"
Tsunade remained silent momentarily, as if digesting his words. "Yugito? So it was also you who placed Yugito as Raikage?"
Kaguya chuckled lightly, filled with mockery and derision. "'Ruling' a mountain range is called governing. Thousands or tens of thousands of supporters are termed power. If you desire it yourself, obtaining such things would be incredibly simple."
Tsunade said nothing.
If she truly wanted authority, why would she need to leave Konoha?
Even within Konoha alone, many were willing to follow her.
"Master Jiraiya, it's time for dinner," Naruto said, entering the room and placing the tray on the table with little energy.
This was already the seventh day—exactly one week. Jiraiya had been absentminded and locked in his room.
Naruto brought him meals every day and felt surprisingly grown-up doing it.
"Master Jiraiya, didn't you write tons of books before? Did you fall into some sort of scheme...?"
"Master Jiraiya, you can like other people too, right? Didn't you always say there are countless beautiful women in the world?"
Whether Jiraiya heard any of Naruto's pleas remained uncertain; he simply gazed absentmindedly out the window without speaking.
Sighing, Naruto murmured to himself, "Why can't Ero-sennin remember what Elder Fukasaku told us..."
"Naruto!" Jiraiya suddenly shouted.
"Master Jiraiya, are you finally back to normal?" Naruto perked up immediately.
"Bring me my notebook!"
"What?"
"I'm having a burst of inspiration!"
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Naruto handed him the manuscript.
Before, he used to be curious about Jiraiya's writings and sneak reads whenever he could.
But ever since seeing Jiraiya like this, Naruto had come to see those pages as useless trash.
What's all this nonsense about men and women? What's love got to do with anything?
Thinking back to his last encounter with Tsunade, Naruto couldn't help but shiver. Beautiful, smart, powerful—yet utterly terrifying!
And love? The way it turned Master Jiraiya from his usual self into this wreck—that's even scarier!
"I should probably ask the Frog Sage to think of a way to save Master Jiraiya instead."
Closing the door to Jiraiya's room gently, Naruto returned to his own room and performed the [Summoning Jutsu] he had already learned.
Fukasaku answered Naruto's summon.
"Elder Fukasaku, you saw it too, right? Master Jiraiya seems to be sick," Naruto said anxiously.
"There's not much I can do in this situation. It's something he must understand on his own," Fukasaku shook his head.
"Do you think Master Jiraiya will return to normal?"
"He will. Just give him a little time. If he were that easy to break in spirit, he wouldn't have become the war hero known as Jiraiya."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief.
Fukasaku continued, "Naruto, you remember what I told you before, don't you? You must trust the perception given to you by Nine-Tails, and don't be deceived by people's appearances. Even if it comes wrapped in sweet-sounding promises, evil is still evil."
Inside Naruto, Nine-Tails snorted contemptuously, closed its eyes to meditate, temporarily severing its sensor link with Naruto and refusing to hear another word of the frog's preaching.
These creatures are just as despicable as humans.
How powerful could she really be…? What makes them willing to go this far for her...?
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