Chapter 296: Sword Masters, Literary Masters, and…
Putting Sasuke aside, Naruto was still very concerned about Jiraiya.
Earlier, after Orochimaru had sealed "that part" of Jiraiya, Jiraiya told him that in order to remove the seal he would need to train in Sage Mode and master Wind Release's nature transformation.
Now Naruto was trying to do exactly that, all for the sake of lifting Jiraiya's seal.
Wind Release: One Thousand Years of Death!
On the fingers of Naruto's shadow clone, white wind blades spun rapidly, like a meat grinder. Perhaps this was the embryonic form of the Rasenshuriken.
"Hm?"
The Great Toad Sage's body twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Noticing that the Great Toad Sage had awakened, Naruto hurriedly dispelled his shadow clone so he wouldn't be discovered.
At that moment, Naruto felt sincere admiration for Kakashi's father, the Konoha White Fang, who had developed the technique "One Thousand Years of Death."
This really was an extremely practical ninjutsu. It could be combined with all kinds of techniques and directly strike the enemy's vital weak points.
Previously he had used this move together with explosive tags to defeat Gaara. Now he had used it again to wake the slumbering Great Toad Sage.
Wonderful.
"Huh? Why did the Great Toad Sage wake up?"
Sage Shima, who had been preparing to wait patiently, heard the noise. She looked up and froze in surprise.
"Who cares? Since the old man is awake, we might as well hurry and tell him that Naruto is leaving."
Sage Fukasaku didn't think much of it. He stepped forward and reported the situation to the Great Toad Sage.
This included the fact that Naruto had already completed his Sage Mode training and had skillfully mastered the use of senjutsu.
"Sage? Sage… Sage of Six Paths? Hagoromo? Is that you? Hagoromo?"
The Great Toad Sage still seemed half-asleep. They were clearly talking about Sage Mode, yet the moment he heard the word "Sage", he thought of the nightmare he had just had.
Snore…
After saying that much, the Great Toad Sage fell asleep again.
Watching the Great Toad Sage indulge in baby-like sleep, Sage Fukasaku looked helpless.
But Sage Shima, who had read the 'Limited Tsukuyomi' series of novels, wore a horrified expression.
She regarded the 'Limited Tsukuyomi' novels as fragments of past memories released by the slug through Tsunade's hands. Some of the events in them had truly happened.
Which parts were true and which were false had to be judged for oneself.
What Sage Shima had never expected was that the relationship between the Sage of Six Paths and the Great Toad Sage, something that could never be spoken of publicly, had actually happened!
Otherwise, why had the Great Toad Sage just made such a shy sound?
As if someone had poked him somewhere.
"Naruto boy, the Great Toad Sage won't wake up again for a while. If you have something urgent, then eat dinner and head out."
Knowing the Great Toad Sage's sleep schedule well, Sage Shima took Naruto out of the great hall.
That evening.
Looking at the lavish dinner Sage Shima had prepared for him, Naruto fell into deep thought.
"Naruto boy, why aren't you eating? Is it not to your taste? Looks like you really do prefer eating insects. I'll just…"
As she spoke, Sage Shima moved to clear away the food on the table and replace it with the insect feast she had already prepared in the kitchen.
"No, no, no, Granny Toad! I'm just pleasantly surprised by how rich this dinner is. I'll eat right away, right away…"
Naruto hurriedly stopped her, then began eating the meal.
And honestly…
Sage Shima had promised Naruto he would eat well and drink well, and she had truly delivered.
A cup of 'Life Curry Fiery Chili Flavor Drink', and a large bowl of 'Xiangpiaopiao condensed milk rich milk matcha ramen'.
If only the flavors of these two things were swapped, Naruto could have accepted it. But now…
He could only grit his teeth and eat it.
After all, once it reached the stomach, it was all the same.
Gulp gulp.
Slurp slurp.
"Naruto boy, I heard that recently your vision has been a bit blurry. I prepared this for you. Wear it for now."
Sage Shima had prepared the lavish dinner, and Sage Fukasaku had also prepared a farewell gift for Naruto.
"What's this?"
Naruto took the box and opened it.
"This is a Cherished Vision Glasses set sold at a chain store from Amegakure Village."
"…Wow, it really works. Thank you, Grandpa Toad!"
After putting on the glasses, Naruto discovered that his vision had indeed become much clearer, and he was overjoyed.
Actually, with Naruto's physique, even if he flew wildly every day, it wouldn't cause much damage to his body in the short term.
Naruto knew this himself.
Because he had discovered that the vision wear he experienced after his "hard training" would recover quite a bit after taking just one day of rest and a good sleep.
If he rested for several days, it might even recover completely.
But he couldn't do that.
Sasuke was still waiting for his rescue.
He couldn't give up on Sage Mode.
His declining eyesight was indeed an important problem, so the glasses Sage Fukasaku gave him were truly a timely help.
Although… a toad giving someone glasses somehow made him think of something very violent.
After finishing the meal and putting on the glasses, Naruto bid farewell to the two toad sages and used the Summoning Technique to return to Konoha.
But he had no intention of staying.
He was going to search for Sasuke immediately!
[Wait, kid. Don't rush off yet.]
The Nine-Tails' voice suddenly sounded beside Naruto's ear.
"What's wrong?"
Naruto stopped on a rooftop.
[Go into the shop down there. There should be medicine inside that can help you.]
"?"
Following the direction indicated by the Nine-Tails, Naruto looked down. It was another chain store from Amegakure Village, though this one seemed to be a pharmacy. It also had a strange name.
"Niuzihou Bottle-kun? What does that mean?"
[Idiot. Let me ask you this: what do 'Sword Master' and 'Literary Master' mean?]
"I don't know."
[…I swear… The 'master' here refers to someone with extraordinary talent in that field! A Sword Master means someone with exceptional talent in swordsmanship. A Literary Master means someone with exceptional talent in literature!]
"I see. Then what does the 'Bottle-kun' at the end mean?"
Naruto was curious.
[Even I don't know that. Why don't you go in and see?]
"Good point."
Naruto noticed that the people entering the shop were all middle-aged men. To avoid looking suspicious, he used the Transformation Technique before stepping inside.
The shop was filled with a dazzling array of medicines.
Some were for prolonging duration. Others were for quickly entering a "state."
Each medicine had its function written beside it.
Naruto's eyes immediately lit up.
As the number of times he entered Sage Mode increased, the speed at which he could enter it had become faster and faster.
But aside from the deterioration of his eyesight, there was another thing that had begun to worry him.
He was entering the "state" more and more slowly.
Naruto noticed that many of the adults around him were buying medicines that prolonged duration. But he didn't need anything that prolonged it. If anything, he wished he could be faster.
What he needed was something that could help him enter the state quickly.
Naruto took out his little frog coin purse and bought several boxes of medicine.
Before leaving, Naruto curiously glanced at another item sold in the shop.
"What's that?"
"Customer, would you like to buy this? This is 'Bottle-kun' also called a 'Cup.' This model is called 'Gentle Catgirl,' this one is called 'Spring Breeze Sprite'…"
The shop assistant enthusiastically introduced the usage of "Bottle-kun" to Naruto.
As Naruto listened, his eyes gradually lit up.
This ninja tool is great! It seems like it could help him enter Sage Mode even faster!
(End of this chapter)