In fact, Gamamaru's sage region had always maintained the closest relationship with Konoha.
A special portal known as the Distant Body Water connected Mount Myōboku directly to the village, allowing smaller toads to move between the two freely, without relying on the summoning technique.
When paired with a toad capable of performing the Summoning Technique, this link ensured the toads could still appear in Konoha's defense even if no living summoner was present.
It wasn't a coincidence. Konoha was the central axis of this world's fate, and that connection had been arranged long ago.
Through that same portal, Gamamaru could observe the village whenever he wished.
Because of that, he knew every current plan the Konoha leadership had drawn up to deal with Ryusei Nishida.
Gamamaru's throat swelled as he spoke again, his tone slow and deliberate. "This might be our best chance," he said.
"I can't openly move against the boy. If I send the toads to attack him, it will twist the world's fate even further. You know how fragile the balance still is."
Hagoromo listened in silence, his expression calm, faintly calculating.
He had already noticed something strange about the boy; every spiritual probe, every subtle attack he sent toward him had failed completely.
That wasn't unheard of among powerful souls on Earth, but this was different.
The resistance wasn't just a matter of strength; it felt wrong, foreign.
It was as if the boy himself wasn't a natural part of this world's spiritual cycle, just like the effect with the natural energy Gamamaru observed.
"And you," Gamamaru continued, "can't afford to manifest either. Reviving now would tear your own fate apart, the one we mapped for your eventual ascension. The route we charted for that perfect body, one greater than any common Otsutsuki, would collapse the moment you step in too early."
Hagoromo's light pulsed faintly, a small signal of agreement.
"It's not just risk," Gamamaru went on. "Finding a vessel strong enough to hold your full body now would be almost impossible. Even if one existed, touching it prematurely would break the cycle. No, the only move now is guidance. Influence. You must bend the living to your will, those already hostile to the boy, and let them finish the work for you."
Hagoromo's faint glow steadied, his presence growing sharper, colder. "Then it's settled," he said softly. "I'll push the living hands already reaching for him. I'll whisper where it hurts, guide their blades without ever touching them."
Gamamaru gave a single, satisfied blink. "Good. Let the mortals handle the mess. Their hatred will serve us better than our own power ever could."
Hagoromo's gaze shifted slightly, his tone calm but thoughtful. "Just in case," he said, "we should strengthen the destined boy's parents. It would be troublesome if something happened to them too early, before we've resolved this anomaly."
Gamamaru nodded slowly. "I thought the same," he replied. "I plan to call Minato soon, teach him Sage Mode a bit earlier than we intended. Maybe even feed him a few fragments of inspiration, concepts his son would one day create, passed to him now through my visions."
Natural energy was the energy born from the air, water, and earth of the world.
It existed everywhere, constantly flowing and circulating through the planet as an inseparable part of nature itself.
Senjutsu was the art of blending that natural energy with one's own physical and spiritual energies to create a stronger, purer form of chakra, which could greatly enhance both the user's body and their techniques.
Those who mastered this art were known as Sages.
Only by achieving perfect balance between natural energy and their internal energies could one produce true senjutsu chakra and become a sage.
Sage Mode was the state reached when a sage fully empowered themselves with this refined energy.
In that state, fire burned hotter, water struck with greater force, lightning moved faster, wind cut sharper, and earth grew denser and tougher.
Illusions became harder to break, binding deeper into the senses, while physical strikes gained overwhelming power, capable of crushing steel or toppling buildings with ease.
Depending on which sage region had trained them, their abilities and appearance would reflect that region's distinct characteristics.
There was a sacred fountain on Mount Myōboku that produced a rare oil rich in natural energy, radiating Gamamaru's essence throughout it.
The oil allowed those who trained there to sense and absorb nature's energy far more easily.
Yet, if the user failed to remain perfectly still while merging with nature, the balance would break.
Their body would begin to transform into that of a toad, and eventually, they would turn completely to stone.
The oil itself could only exist within the unique atmosphere of the mountain and would evaporate instantly if taken too far from Gamamaru's domain.
For ordinary people, such as the greatest samurai or monks of the past, awakening Sage Mode and mastering senjutsu had been impossible, no matter how profound their perception or discipline.
It wasn't just their lack of chakra, physical durability, or control; it was because, for humans, reaching that harmony without the direct aid of a sage region was unattainable.
At best, they could channel traces of natural energy externally to enhance their techniques, a feat that demanded a lifetime of dedication and was achieved only by a few legendary monks and warriors recorded in ancient history.
A special staff, on Mount Myoboku, held by one of the elder toads, helped maintain the delicate balance during training, but it was reserved only for those chosen by prophecy, the child of destiny, or those closely tied to him, like Minato and Jiraiya.
That was just one of many hidden aids and privileges given to them by the toad elders.
Many others who arrived on Mount Myōboku by accident had foolishly tried to master its power and perished instead, without being offered any help, their bodies turned to stone and scattered across the mountain as silent warnings of their failure.
Only some animals of the same lineage as the three great sage regions' great elders could use their powers way more easily, and without depending so much on chakra.
This was because they already shared nature's form and essence, given to them, for example, by the constant, historical proximity to Gamamaru and his Sage Region.
Hagoromo's faint light flickered in quiet approval. "Good. Then I'll speak with Kurama if need be. I could plant the idea of cooperating with Kushina more closely when the time comes."
Both ancient beings understood perfectly what they were discussing.
Ryusei had grown far too powerful, and the scale of his anomaly was spreading.
It wasn't just him anymore; his presence distorted everything around him, reshaping fate itself. They couldn't risk anything happening to the destined boy's parents, at least.
Gamamaru's throat pulsed as he continued, "It may work to our advantage. If the ruling faction in Konoha ends up clashing with Ryusei, it'll push Minato and Kushina into direct conflict with him too, increasing the chances of his demise."
Hagoromo agreed without hesitation. "They are both talented enough to surpass any Kage, after all, they are his parents..." he said quietly.
"It won't be difficult to raise them to that level if we nudge them correctly. But it may make things harder later… for the impostor Madara to kill them, I mean. That death is still a key part of the path to create the blue-eyed child of destiny."
Gamamaru closed his eyes, his mind weaving through hundreds of branching outcomes in an instant, calculated way before, revisited countless times, he was now remembering again.
"It's fine," he said finally. "In the original timeline, Minato never mastered Sage Mode in time for that battle with Obito. He couldn't gather natural energy quickly enough. That's why his son later relied on shadow clones to gather energy for him, and had Fukasaku or Shima reverse summon them back when needed."
To sense natural energy, one had to remain perfectly still, unmoving enough not to disturb the quiet rhythm of nature that living beings always disrupted simply by existing.
Only when a person reached such stillness that their presence blended into the world around them, no longer separate from the wind, the soil, or the, could they begin to perceive that energy.
Once they learned to see it, they could draw it in and absorb it into their bodies.
But if they drew in too little, they couldn't form true senjutsu chakra, and if they drew in too much, their bodies would begin to change in search of balance until they turned to stone, becoming part of nature itself.
Sensing and managing this while moving was nearly impossible; even the smallest disturbance scattered the flow, and their divided focus would cause the energy to overflow and consume them.
Meaning that all of this was also nearly impossible to perform in the heat of battle, especially with stakes that high and an opponent of that caliber pressing in.
Unless one had the aid of the elder toads mid-battle, or used that shadow clone trick like Minato's son later did.
He opened his eyes again, their golden glow dim and wise. "This time again, we still won't hand him that convenience. No such clone shortcuts and deliberate guidance, as with his son. We'll only make him learn Sage Mode earlier, nothing more."
Hagoromo's spirit pulsed softly, approving.
They still wanted him to die at that time, more than anyone, because it was the key initial stage of their play, regaridng the creation of the fateful "hero".
Gamamaru added, "Even if Minato becomes stronger, Obito, this fake Madara, will sense it. He'll adjust, probably bring others with him when he moves to release the Nine Tails, or reclaim his other eye before that attack. It changes the details, but not the destination."
Hagoromo's tone deepened, slow and deliberate. "Yes. Obito isn't meant to win. He's meant to corner Minato, to force his sacrifice, and make him seal the Nine Tails into his son. That act must remain the pivot point for the child of destiny's path."
Gamamaru gave a faint croak of agreement.
"In that case," Hagoromo continued, "I'll instruct Kurama to aid Kushina only if she's pushed to the brink, before the birth and the attack. Let it stay hidden otherwise."
"Good," Gamamaru said. "And I'll see to it that my toads help Minato reach Sage Mode faster if he's ever in danger. Quietly, without ever realizing he's being helped."
Gamamaru inwardly decided he would summon Minato without delay.
At the same time, he realized he should keep a closer eye on Jiraiya as well.
The man's role in the destined child's story was too great to ignore; he wasn't just a mentor, but almost a spiritual father.
And when blood parents were gone, it was always the mentors who carried the soul of the prophecy forward.
At the same time, Hagoromo was also quietly calculating which of his hidden contingencies to trigger next, the one that would bring him back closest to success in his original long-term design, even if it meant further disrupting the balance in the short term, so long as it ensured Ryusei's utmost necessary elimination along the way.