Mount Myouboku.
"Little Jiraiya, you've finally arrived," Sage Fukasaku said, a hint of impatience in his voice.
"My apologies, both of you," Jiraiya sighed helplessly, a slight awkwardness on his face. "The situation in Konoha was too tense recently. I couldn't find the time to heed the Great Toad Sage's teachings."
Although searching for the Prophecy Child, training him, and helping him bring peace to the ninja world was Jiraiya's lifelong dream, Konoha was equally important to him.
The village had been in a crisis, and he had to put matters concerning the Prophecy Child on hold. Even when the Great Toad Sage personally summoned him, he couldn't make it.
Sage Fukasaku seemed to understand this, so he didn't reprimand him.
Turning, he leaped toward the main hall, calling back over his shoulder, "Little Jiraiya, hurry and follow me. The Sage has been waiting for quite some time."
Jiraiya wasted no time, quickly following Sage Fukasaku into the hall. The Great Toad Sage was in his usual outfit, wearing a doctoral hat, squatting in a basin of water.
However, unlike his usual calm, almost perpetually drowsy demeanor, Jiraiya immediately sensed a restless energy emanating from him.
The Great Toad Sage, restless? Jiraiya's heart sank.
"Ah, Little Jiraiya, you've finally arrived," the Great Toad Sage said, his eyes half-closed as he looked at Jiraiya. This time, there was no need for Sage Fukasaku's awakening service, the Great Toad Sage spoke on his own.
"Yes, Great Toad Sage," Jiraiya responded.
"I've been unable to come and listen to your teachings due to the war recently. Please forgive me," Jiraiya knelt and apologized.
"War..." The Great Toad Sage let out a long sigh.
Just as Jiraiya and Fukasaku thought he might fall back asleep, the Great Toad Sage's voice continued.
"The destined fate has been twisted to a dangerous degree. Little Jiraiya, if we cannot restore it to its proper course, this world may face something far more terrifying than war." The Great Toad Sage was clearly serious now, speaking without any signs of drowsiness.
"Destined fate?" Jiraiya felt a bit disoriented.
Twisted fate, the destined fate… what exactly was the true path of fate supposed to be?
The Great Toad Sage didn't elaborate, instead shifting to another topic.
"Little Jiraiya, in order to set fate right, you must accelerate the training of the Prophecy Child."
"But I haven't even found the Prophecy Child yet," Jiraiya said, confused, looking up.
"Haven't you already found him? Haven't you already accepted it in your heart? Why continue to hesitate?" the Great Toad Sage asked, his voice a bit sharp.
The image of a small golden figure flashed in Jiraiya's mind.
"So it really is Naruto," Jiraiya muttered under his breath.
"I understand, Great Toad Sage. After returning today, I'll speed up Naruto's training," he said with determination.
"No, that's not enough. The Prophecy Child doesn't have enough time to grow," the Great Toad Sage countered.
"What should I do?" Jiraiya asked, now more anxious.
The Great Toad Sage took off a necklace from around his neck, a pendant inscribed with the word for oil, and handed it to Jiraiya.
"I've worn this necklace for over a thousand years. It contains dense natural energy and the power to influence Ashura. Wear it," the Great Toad Sage instructed.
Jiraiya took it, and the pendant magically transformed into a necklace of a regular size. As soon as he put it on, he felt a surge of natural energy flow through his body, nurturing him.
With this, he could enter Sage Mode in an instant and with greater power, his duration extended at least twofold.
However, while he was pleased, he was also puzzled. The latter part of the Great Toad Sage's words—'influence Ashura'—left him with more questions.
What was Ashura?
"Go," the Great Toad Sage said, his eyes growing heavy.
Not daring to disturb him further, Jiraiya respectfully exited the hall.
Sage Fukasaku did not follow, but instead looked up at the Great Toad Sage with concern. He knew more than Jiraiya did. Such a blatant revelation of fate could bring severe backlash.
"Great Toad?" he softly called, testing.
The Great Toad Sage's head tilted, his body growing weaker.
"Go inform the Ryuchi Cave," he said weakly. "Have the White Snake begin fulfilling the agreement with Indra regarding his training."
...
Sound Ninja Village.
Deidara arrived with Kakuzu and Hidan. No longer needing Kimimaro to lead them, they easily found Orochimaru, who was conducting an operation in a lower lab.
"Yo, Orochimaru!" Deidara greeted.
"What's going on this time?" Orochimaru asked without looking up, fully focused on his procedure.
"Three things this time," Deidara replied.
"I'm not your subordinate, Deidara. You've got too many requests," Orochimaru grumbled, a bit irritated.
"That's ungrateful of you," Deidara shot back, a hint of annoyance in his tone. "I paid for each request. We're even. And to be honest, all your recent results are based on my ideas."
"In fact, you've made a profit," Deidara added in a sharp retort.
"True enough," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.
"Alright, what's your request now?"
"First, I want you to help me research this new clay." Deidara handed Orochimaru a piece of clay.
After his battle with Obito and then the A–B Combo, Deidara had leveled up, adding a point to his Materials Science skill, now at level 4.
"Durable Clay (requires 300 research points): Inherits all the benefits of Advanced Clay and Anti-Lightning Clay, and now a single unit of clay can create twice as many clay creatures."
In other words, with Durable Clay, he wouldn't need to carry two types of clay anymore. Its consumption was reduced to a third of the previous, allowing him to create more clay creatures in one battle.
Deidara also had two skill points left, one to unlock Shape Optimization Level 2 (requiring Sasori's Red Secret Technique, the Hundred-Person Summon). Sasori had treasured this for years, and Deidara needed to figure out how to obtain it.
The other point was for Explosive Mastery Level 3, requiring the sacrifice of a fragment of Kurama's chakra.
That was the second reason Deidara came to Orochimaru—by summoning Minato Namikaze with Edo Tensei, he could capture a piece of Kurama's chakra and unlock more skills.
Why not?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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