After Sailing with the Pirate King, I Returned to Konoha - 183

Chapter 183: Shikkotsu Forest and Ryuchi Cave: Bragging!

"Only three days?"

"Beside the Great Toad Sage," Shima Sage said somewhat incredulously.

Although she had heard from her husband about how different this child Naruto was over the past two days, she never imagined he would be this different.

At this moment, Naruto, standing in Mount Myōboku's temple, looked no different from when he first arrived.

That uncomfortable chakra had also disappeared, replaced by a natural feeling that blended with the surrounding environment.

It was as if Naruto had become a stone, a blade of grass, a wildflower—if you didn't observe carefully, you wouldn't notice any abnormal aura at all.

"Can you still maintain Sage Mode even now? Naruto Uzumaki, you truly are a different existence."

The Great Toad Sage rarely regained consciousness twice in such a short period. He opened his somewhat cloudy eyes, carefully examining Naruto up and down, and said words that even Fukasaku and Shima found incredible.

"This kid is in Sage Mode now?"

"Really... incredible."

Fukasaku Sage had originally wanted to say "really an incredible monster," but changed his words at the last moment.

The longer one lives, the better one becomes at mastering the art of speech—toads included.

Only then did they notice that Naruto's pupils still had that cross-shaped appearance.

As for Sage Mode's built-in cosmetic effects—that sort of thing could be directly concealed.

"Yes, thank you for your care these past few days."

Naruto first smiled and thanked the Great Toad Sage and Fukasaku and Shima, then raised his palm to look at it.

"However, I always feel this current state is still somewhat incomplete."

Naruto could sense that the senjutsu chakra in his body had indeed greatly improved in destructive power, defensive capability, and even regenerative ability.

Genjutsu that could previously affect Naruto now posed much less threat in this mode.

But this didn't seem to be the end point.

Unlike Jiraiya, who could only briefly maintain Sage Mode, Naruto could even be said to have evolved at the "life level."

Precisely because of this, he could vaguely see there was still a staircase he could continue climbing beyond this.

This was the instinct of life pursuing perfection.

Even Naruto was curious about its true form.

Moreover, he had vaguely sensed some indescribable power.

That was the power that allowed him to travel back and forth between two worlds.

If he could advance further, perhaps Naruto could actively master the ability to "traverse" worlds.

Speaking of which, with Naruto's current physical condition, getting drunk was becoming increasingly difficult.

Next time he returned to the pirate world, Naruto didn't know how much alcohol he'd need to prepare.

Perhaps finding Orochimaru to research some anesthetic drugs might work?

He had found similar products in the other's memories.

Unfortunately, his own educational level was too low—even with memories as reference, there wasn't much possibility of successful replication.

"Naruto, do you want to change this world?"

The Great Toad Sage suddenly asked.

Fukasaku, Shima, and Jiraiya all turned to look at Naruto—they were actually quite curious about this too.

By now, everyone had little doubt that Naruto might be the "Child of Prophecy" the Great Toad Sage had mentioned before.

Who else could it be?

Hearing the Great Toad Sage's sudden question, Naruto also fell into brief silence.

Honestly, initially Naruto had just felt that "ninjas" in this world were things that shouldn't exist.

They possessed power yet willingly served rulers; they could manipulate natural elements yet only used them to harm others.

This existence that seemed designed for combat from birth was like something forcibly "inserted" into the course of history by some external force.

But when it came to actually changing this world, Naruto didn't have a concrete idea.

Eliminate all ninjas? Then destroy the monarchs of the Five Great Nations and turn the world into a unified whole?

That sounded somewhat brutal.

And he felt there should be better methods.

Unfortunately, Naruto hadn't received a "Guide to Action in Other Worlds"—everything was still just a vague prototype.

Like how he instinctively gathered those homeless people and had them rebuild the Land of Whirlpools.

These actions had no specific purpose and were more like a great hero instinctively helping others.

"This world shouldn't be like this."

If power was only used for destruction and killing, then no matter how far civilization developed, it would still be deformed.

After hearing Naruto's words, the Great Toad Sage nodded with satisfaction.

It seemed he had already seen this scene in his prophecies of the future.

"Then go change it."

"You are the one who can completely transform the ninja world."

These words actually made Naruto feel somewhat overwhelmed.

He had never thought he alone could become a savior.

A large white hand with a mouth extended from Naruto's shoulder, helping him scratch his head.

This scene left the two Toad Sages silent.

"The 'completeness' you seek might be found in the other two sage locations. Perhaps when you become 'complete,' you'll possess the ability to thoroughly change the ninja world."

He said this meaningfully.

Following the Great Toad Sage's sudden act of betraying his allies, the White Snake Sage in Ryūchi Cave and Katsuyu in Shikkotsu Forest both sensed something and shuddered simultaneously.

"Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest..."

Naruto knew about Ryūchi Cave—Orochimaru had a contract with it, so he could ask him about that.

But Shikkotsu Forest...

"Tsunade has a contract with Katsuyu-sama of Shikkotsu Forest. You can ask her about that."

Jiraiya seemed to see Naruto's thoughts and mentioned Tsunade's name without concern.

That settled it!

After dealing with that Akatsuki organization, he'd set out to find these two sage locations.

Having finished with business, Naruto was ready to bid farewell and leave Mount Myōboku, but just as he was about to exit the hall, the Great Toad Sage suddenly added another comment.

"Naruto, no matter what happens next, you need not feel confused. Just follow your instincts—fate has already—"

Even Naruto couldn't hear the last few words clearly. He turned back to look at the Great Toad Sage, only to find he had already fallen asleep.

Exchanging glances with Jiraiya, neither understood what those cryptic words meant, so they decided to ignore them.

In the forest, Karin was sparring with Sasuke.

Unlike before, this time Karin wasn't using her transformation but was honestly fighting with fists and feet.

In this situation, she was no match for Sasuke at all.

The opposing Sasuke only needed to use one hand to easily neutralize Karin's attacks.

Both their physical abilities had been greatly enhanced by Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits.

But unlike Sasuke who had undergone long-term training, Karin relied more on Garuda's inherently powerful steel body. Once she left her transformation, her base form was only at the level of an ordinary chunin, and her combat awareness was inferior to some genin.

This was still the effect after passive enhancement from the Devil Fruit.

Karin's weaknesses were still too obvious.

Therefore, she had specifically asked Sasuke to train her these past few days.