After Sailing with the Pirate King, I Returned to Konoha - 181

Chapter 181: If I Had Known the Toads in the Ninja World Were So Big...

Speaking of which, this was Boss Gamabunta's first time meeting Naruto.

Originally, this meeting could have happened much earlier. But after learning the Summoning Jutsu, Naruto had never summoned a single Mount Myōboku toad. Instead, he went and made contracts with three other summoning beasts.

Yes, Sasuke had also successfully become one of Naruto's companions.

Later, during the Konoha Crush Plan period, just before Naruto arrived at the battlefield, Jiraiya had cancelled his summoning, causing the two to miss each other perfectly.

This led Naruto to think that Mount Myōboku's toads were only as big as the one Jiraiya had initially summoned. They were even smaller than Gamabunta in terms of size.

This level of summoning beast couldn't help him much, so after returning to the ninja world, he never used them again.

"How do you guys eat to grow so big? I mean, what do you eat to grow so big?"

Ah, if only I had known the ninja world's toads could grow this large...

Though he corrected himself in time, the drool at the corner of Naruto's mouth still made Gamabunta shudder.

"Kid, I don't like you!"

Gamabunta directly pulled out his giant pipe from his mouth and pointed it at Naruto. That predatory feeling, like seeing the giant serpents of Ryūchi Cave, was all too familiar to him.

Mount Myōboku's toads and this brat were naturally incompatible.

After saying this, Naruto also noticed something was wrong.

Usually, he kept such thoughts to himself. The only time he'd spoken them aloud was when he mistakenly thought he was dreaming.

It was as if some force was amplifying his inner emotions and desires.

The culprit behind this, besides Zero-Tails, should be nothing else.

Regarding this, Kurama had a different opinion.

He felt the key reason wasn't Zero-Tails, but rather Naruto's own gluttony.

You even swallowed Zero-Tails' main body whole—this terrifying appetite shouldn't be much affected by that little influence.

It could be said that Zero-Tails at most only did some minor work.

Of course, Kurama didn't voice these thoughts.

After witnessing Naruto devour a chakra construct whole, this fox had instantly become much more obedient.

Unlike him, who was sealed within Naruto's body while maintaining self-consciousness, that Zero-Tails had truly become part of Naruto's body and turned into nourishment.

He wasn't sure if the ninja world would give birth to a new tailed beast after a tailed beast like himself was eaten and absorbed by Naruto.

It could be said that Naruto now possessed the power to truly threaten tailed beasts.

After pointing his pipe at Naruto and saying those words, Gamabunta composed his expression again, putting on a businesslike attitude.

"The Great Toad Sage sent me to pick you up. He already knows you're coming. Hey! Kid! I'm not done talking!"

Halfway through his words, Naruto instantly appeared on his head.

Feeling Zero-Tails' ominous aura up close made Gamabunta's entire body bristle—if he had any fur.

He reached out his claws to grab Naruto down, but as soon as his hand approached, Naruto casually slapped it away. The force was so great that even he felt pain.

"Alright, alright. Big Toad, we can talk while walking. By the way, do you have any good food at Mount Myōboku? What do you usually eat? Do you drink alcohol?"

When it came to food and drink, Naruto became much more talkative, though whether this was Zero-Tails' influence or his true nature was unclear.

"...Fine. Just wait, I'll give you proper hospitality."

Gamabunta said this through gritted teeth.

Jiraiya looked at his old friend's predicament and made a helpless gesture, then also climbed onto Gamabunta's head.

"Really..."

Still in the temple deep within Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage still lay half-reclined with eyes squinted, seemingly foreseeing the future, or perhaps just taking a nap.

This was Naruto's first time here, but Jiraiya was a frequent visitor.

When he trained in Sage Mode, he had stayed in this temple.

Naruto looked at the incredibly aged Great Toad Sage and the two small toads beside him.

Among them, those two small toads gave him the feeling that their strength probably exceeded even Gamabunta's.

As for the half-dead Great Toad Sage, Naruto couldn't see through him.

This was the first time in all his years that he encountered an existence his Observation Haki couldn't penetrate.

He really seemed like just an ordinary toad with nothing special about him.

"Speaking of which, this is truly our first meeting, Naruto Uzumaki."

When the Great Toad Sage opened his mouth, he still had that familiar mystical air, but all three present who had heard the prophecy immediately reacted.

"Great Toad Sage, you mean... Naruto is—"

The Child of Prophecy.

The Great Toad Sage didn't continue speaking, just nodded lightly and looked at Naruto.

"Continue on your path, Naruto. I'm also curious what that future will look like."

After saying this, without waiting for Naruto to ask questions, he turned to Jiraiya.

"Little Jiraiya, your idea is correct."

"Sage Mode can solve Naruto's problem. Let him stay here to learn. It won't take much time."

After speaking, he tilted his head, closed his eyes, and looked dead.

If everyone present couldn't sense that faint presence, they might really think the Great Toad Sage had passed away.

"Actually, this isn't a big problem. Give me some time, and I can solve it myself."

Naruto casually snapped off an extending black hand and said to Jiraiya beside him.

In the main hall earlier, he hadn't even had a chance to ask a question before the Great Toad Sage went on his monologue.

Finally, the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, politely escorted them out and brought them to the training ground.

It was a large pool flowing with yellow liquid, with a giant toad statue standing in the center.

Fukasaku Sage first explained the precautions to Naruto:

Apply the toad oil from this pool to enter a state of sensing natural energy, always maintaining the balance of self, chakra, and natural energy at a 1:1:1 ratio.

If imbalance occurred, he would experience "toadification," requiring Fukasaku Sage to use special black rods to dispel the natural energy from his body.

The principle wasn't complex, but Jiraiya knew this couldn't be accomplished overnight.

He had spent decades without mastering perfect Sage Mode, and Naruto's situation was particularly special.

Currently, besides his own chakra, he also had Zero-Tails' chakra in his body and even sealed Nine-Tails chakra if you looked closely.

However, precisely because he needed to balance Zero-Tails' chakra, Naruto needed to absorb an equivalent amount of natural energy.

Thinking this way, could this kid really achieve what the Great Toad Sage said about "not needing much time"?

Fukasaku Sage wasn't one to talk too much. He directly applied some toad oil and began spreading it on Naruto's body.

Naruto smelled the toad oil's scent—hmm, no strange odor, but it didn't seem like it would taste good.

The moment the toad oil penetrated his skin, the world before Naruto's eyes seemed to undergo earth-shattering changes.