"Really? Why, it's so cute?" Karin asked surprised at my answer.
"While it's bright yellow coloration is indeed very attractive to the eye it is also a warning to any would be predators. It says "I'm poisonous, don't eat me!". Ironically it was because of this very same poisonous nature compounded by the places they liked to live that they were killed until none could be found anymore. They liked dark, cool, watery habitats with lots of moss and bugs, in other words wells. The toxins in their skin would leech into the water and those that drank it fell ill and more often then not perished as a result." I explained calmly while Karin gasped in shock as she looked at the small frog in a new light.
"Does that mean that this is probably the last member of the species?" she asked curiously.
I shook my head "Unlikely given how frogs reproduce. They lay dozens of eggs at a time and if only half of those survive long enough to reproduce themselves that number would explode in a short period of time. More likely than not there is a colony of these frogs somewhere that survived the culling and this little fellow was unlucky enough to be spotted and captured by the merchant who saw the possibility of someone wanting such a vibrant creature." I said with a smile.
"Why did you buy it if that's true then?" she asked confused.
"Because the value of these frogs was also the reason they were killed, their toxin. If properly applied it is a very potent anesthetic and with a steady supply of the toxin cheap as well. My sensei would be more than happy if I were to create a small habitat for a colony of these frogs for the village." I said and she smiled.
"That sounds about right." she said as we moved on.
Once we were done shopping Karin dragged me to an expensive couple restaurant that was disgustingly pink. The entire menu was comprised of dishes meant to be eaten by two people that had cheesy names like "lovebird shake" or "lovers embrace". We got some astonished looks when not only did we NOT share our food with each other but we both ate enough to feed ten people easy. That was a fat hundred thousand ryo gone but admittedly we both enjoyed the food so it's fine.-
We talked on the way home after eating as we walked nice and slowly.
"Today was... pleasant. You may approach me again for another such time in the future should you like to." I said pausing slightly at the start to choose my words carefully.
Shae giggled "You really are terrible with this sort of thing aren't you?" she teased with a smile.
"What did you expect from a recluse?" I asked rhetorically with a shrug.
When we finally got home she gave me a quick peck on the cheek before running away with her face as red as her hair leaving me stunned on the spot.
I eventually just chuckled and shook my head before going to the crystal cavern I slept in normally. I found it easier to rest in a place full of natural energy like this but that may just be because it eased the trouble my passive sage mode went through to maintain itself. More abundant natural energy naturally meant that my body didn't have to gather the stuff due to scarcity. It also helped that I didn't have to suppress my senses here as for some reason I couldn't perceive anything through these crystals.-
I had thought of creating a door out of the crystals for the cavern so I couldn't sense what was down the cave leading to it but thought better of it in the end. The next five days were fairly peaceful as I worked to create a fitting and accessible but enclosed area for my new frog to live. It wouldn't do for any of the future inhabitants of the place to get out and possibly enter the wells around the village after all. It wasn't even that hard to set up as there was a place a few feet below the ground where water naturally collected until it was absorbed by a lack of rain to keep the soil moist.-
All I had to do was dig down to that point before creating an earth release dome to cover the hole and install a small area with two screen doors to keep any frogs from escaping when someone came in to collect their toxins in a nonlethal fashion. The toxins were quite potent so even a little went a long way. Perhaps the village may cull their numbers once there is too many but when there is only a few this worked fine.-
I needed to import some of the moss the frogs liked and had the Aburame clan help with the bugs they liked but I got the place more or less self sustaining and added the frog in. I had already inquired as to where the merchant found it to begin with and my sensei had issued a mission to search that area and bring back at least nineteen more members of the species. The squad assigned this task also needed to mark down where they found the things on a map in case the transferred population failed to survive for some reason.-
At the end of this week my sensei finally got back to me about the results of my blood tests. I was also required to go in for an examination but at the end I was given a clean bill of health. Despite this however my sensei put heavy emphasis on me reporting any discomfort in my body regardless of how minor. I didn't hesitate to agree here as I was frankly bored out of my mind since I couldn't train this whole time.-
Cleared to train I wasted no time at all seeing what changes my transformation had caused to my ability to utilize my chakra armor. Covering my arms and torso was easy and while I felt a little resistance once it went to my waist it formed there as well no problem. Finally it began to stall at my knees and came to a snails pace at the middle of my shins.-
'Ah man so close, just a bit more and then my head to complete the technique finally' I thought excitedly.