Chapter 403: A Feast of Insects at Mount Myoboku
"Croak!" A slightly aged, raspy croak echoed through the dense, oversized foliage.
Two small figures leaped down from the broad leaves of a towering plant, landing with practiced grace on the open ground before Jiraiya.
They were the Two Great Sage Toads of Mount Myoboku: Fukasaku and Shima.
"Little Jiraiya?" Fukasaku squinted, his wrinkled face tilting upward as he sized up the three humans standing in his domain. "Why did you suddenly run back here?"
"And..."
His gaze drifted past Jiraiya, sweeping over the blonde boy, before finally locking onto the man standing quietly at the rear: Uchiha Akira.
Instantly, the old toad's naturally lazy expression vanished. His skin tightened.
"Uchiha... Akira?" Fukasaku's voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.
Beside him, Shima nearly dropped the woven basket clutched in her webbed hands. Her beady eyes widened in alarm. 'Why did this terrifying star come here?'
"Long time no see, you two Sages," Akira said. His tone was flat, devoid of deliberate arrogance but entirely lacking in unnecessary pleasantries. He offered a slight, measured nod.
"Ho... Hokage-sama." Fukasaku and Shima exchanged a rapid, nervous glance before hurriedly bowing.
"Since Hokage-sama has graced us with his presence, there must be a matter of grave importance, right?" Fukasaku looked back at Jiraiya, his eyes silently demanding an explanation.
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, gesturing to the blonde boy beside him. "Boss, Big Sister. Returning this time is mainly for this brat."
"His name is Uzumaki Naruto. Minato's son." Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "I want him to practice Sage Mode here."
"Practice Sage Mode?" Fukasaku blinked, stunned. He turned his head, his cloudy eyes narrowing as a glimmer of intense scrutiny flashed within them.
With a swift hop, the old toad landed directly in front of Naruto, circling the boy twice.
"Looks like a blockhead," Fukasaku muttered, shaking his head. "Little Jiraiya, are you sure he can do it? Sage Mode is not child's play. A single moment of carelessness, and he will turn into a stone statue forever."
Hearing this, Naruto's face scrunched up in immediate displeasure. He planted his hands firmly on his hips, glaring down at the small toad with dead-fish eyes.
"Hey! Old man!" Naruto barked, pointing an accusing finger. "What kind of look is that?! I am the man who will surpass all previous Hokage! Mere Sage Mode? I'll definitely master it in no time!"
"Heh?" Fukasaku let out a dry, exasperated laugh, amused to the point of irritation. "Still a brat with a hot temper. Do you even know what Natural Energy is? With your rash demeanor, I'm afraid you'll turn into stone before you can even sit still for three seconds!"
One human and one toad glared at each other, neither willing to yield an inch. The air crackled with the heavy scent of gunpowder.
"Ahem." Jiraiya hurriedly stepped between them, waving his hands to smooth things over. "Boss, don't look at this kid as just being careless. His perseverance is absolutely number one in the Ninja World."
Jiraiya leaned in, lowering his voice. "He just developed an S-rank Wind Release ninjutsu. His talent is definitely not a problem."
Fukasaku remained entirely unconvinced. "Talent is one thing, but Sage Mode values temperament above all else. This brat's heart is far too impetuous. I refuse."
The old toad waved his webbed hand dismissively and turned his back. "I don't have the spare time to play house with kids."
"Sage Fukasaku."
The voice was quiet. Yet, the moment Uchiha Akira spoke, the ambient noise of the jungle ceased entirely.
"Naruto is my disciple."
Akira's dark eyes fixed on the old toad's back.
"I say he can do it."
He took a half-step forward.
"Then he definitely can."
Three simple sentences. Yet they carried an unquestionable, suffocating dominance. The surrounding air instantly solidified, pressing down on the clearing like a physical weight.
Fukasaku froze. A cold sweat broke out across his warty skin. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind. If he dared to utter the word no, the very next second, this sacred Mount Myoboku, a sanctuary passed down for a thousand years, would have its geography violently rearranged.
"S-Since he is Hokage-sama's disciple..." Fukasaku swallowed hard, forcing a stiff, wrinkled smile onto his face as he slowly turned back around. "Then he must possess extraordinary qualities. This old man's eyes were simply blind just now."
Beside him, Shima hurriedly nodded, her voice pitching up in nervous agreement. "Yes, yes! The old man just likes to joke around! Hokage-sama's disciple must be an unmatched genius. We will definitely teach him everything we know!"
This was the sheer weight of Uchiha Akira's face. In this brutal Ninja World, the size of one's fist dictated the absolute truth.
Naruto blinked, watching the old toad, who had been so stubbornly arrogant just seconds ago, suddenly become incredibly accommodating. He scratched his cheek, muttering under his breath, "Master is so amazing... One sentence and it's all settled."
Akira ignored the blatant flattery of the two toads. His expression remained impassive as his consciousness sank directly into the system space.
Intimidation was enough to secure their cooperation, but Naruto's base aptitude for senjutsu was a fixed variable. Without providing a few calculated advantages, expecting the boy to master Sage Mode in a mere three days was a fool's errand.
[System, open the Disciple Cultivation section.]
Following Akira's mental command, a pale blue holographic screen, visible only to him, unfolded in the air.
[Disciple: Uzumaki Naruto]
[Current Status: Natural Energy Affinity: Medium]
[1. Natural Energy Affinity Constitution (Top-tier): Exchange Price: 80,000 Family Glory Points.]
[Description: Greatly enhances the body's perception and absorption speed of Natural Energy, making the host a favored vessel of the world's natural forces.]
[2. Sage Mode Epiphany (Tenfold Experience): Exchange Price: 30,000 Family Glory Points.]
[Description: After use, the host or designated disciple will experience a tenfold increase in comprehension speed when practicing Sage Mode. Duration: 72 hours.]
Akira scanned the glowing text. The price was steep for an ordinary clan, but for him, this amount of Family Glory Points was nothing more than a drop in the ocean. After successfully annexing the Land of Wind and the Land of Water, combined with his ruthless political maneuvers along the way, his accumulated points had long since broken through the ceiling.
[Exchange for Natural Energy Affinity Constitution (Top-tier) and Sage Mode Epiphany.]
The points deducted instantly. Akira exited the system interface, his focus returning to the physical world.
"Naruto, come here," Akira commanded softly.
"Master, what is it?" Naruto immediately jogged over, his face bright with eager curiosity.
Akira reached out, his slender index and middle fingers gently tapping against the center of Naruto's forehead.
"Don't move," Akira instructed, his voice steady. "Master will give you something."
Hum!
A gentle yet immensely dense surge of power flowed from Akira's fingertips, piercing directly into Naruto's chakra pathway system. Naruto gasped softly as a deep warmth flooded his entire body, sinking deep into his bones.
"T-This is..." Naruto's blue eyes widened in absolute wonder. He looked down at his own hands, flexing his fingers. "Such a comfortable feeling!"
Akira slowly withdrew his hand, letting his arm drop to his side. "This has forcibly opened your acupoints, aligning them to perceive Natural Energy. With this foundation, practicing Sage Mode will be as simple as drinking water for you."
A few paces away, Fukasaku watched the exchange, his bulging amphibian eyes threatening to pop entirely out of their sockets. As a Great Toad Sage who had lived for centuries, he was acutely sensitive to the ebb and flow of Natural Energy.
He could feel it clearly. In that single, fleeting instant, Naruto's very constitution had undergone a world-shaking metamorphosis. The ambient Natural Energy of Mount Myoboku didn't even need to be actively drawn in; it was already swirling around the boy, eagerly converging into his pores of its own volition.
'Wha... What kind of divine technique is this?!'A stormy sea of disbelief surged within Fukasaku's chest.'Just by tapping his forehead, he forcibly rewrote a human's fundamental constitution? This is too terrifying!'
"Alright," Akira said, clapping his hands once to break the stunned silence. "Since the preparations are complete, let's begin."
"Wait!" Shima suddenly waddled forward, clutching her woven basket tightly. An overly enthusiastic, matronly smile stretched across her wide face. "It's already this time of day! Everyone must be starving, right?"
She shot a scolding glare at her husband. "Since you have come to Mount Myoboku, you are our honored guests. How can there be any reason to let guests practice on an empty stomach? Old man, you really are something else. You don't understand hospitality at all!"
Fukasaku slapped his forehead with a wet smack. "Right, right, right! Look at my failing memory. Ma, hurry up and prepare lunch! You must use the highest specification banquet to entertain Hokage-sama and Little Jiraiya!"
Hearing the words highest specification banquet, all the color instantly drained from Jiraiya's face. His stomach performed a violent, preemptive churn.
"Um... is that really necessary?" Jiraiya stammered, holding up his hands in a weak defensive gesture. "I'm... I'm really not hungry..."
"Nonsense! How can that be!" Shima insisted, her tone leaving absolutely no room for argument. "You boys just wait right here. It'll be ready in a flash!"
Without waiting for another refusal, she hoisted her basket and disappeared into the depths of the giant jungle with a few powerful leaps.
In less than ten minutes, the rustling of leaves heralded Shima's return. She balanced several massive lotus leaf plates in her arms, a proud gleam in her eyes.
"Come, come, come!" Shima called out, enthusiastically dropping the heavy plates onto a flat stone table in the center of the clearing. "Time to eat!"
Jiraiya swallowed hard, his eyes locked onto the writhing, multi-colored contents spilling over the edges of the leaves.
"This is a premium specialty of Mount Myoboku!" Shima boasted, gesturing to the squirming feast. "I usually can't even bear to take it out for ourselves to eat!"
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