The White Snake Sage looked at Natsuro. Despite thinking that his vision was limited, he was still the only one of his kind in the world, leaving the sage no choice but to accept him.
With that in mind, the White Snake Sage spat out a large scroll and, with a flick of its massive tail, tossed it to Natsuro.
Natsuro caught the scroll, a bit puzzled. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the summoning scroll from Ryūchi Cave. "Shouldn't this scroll be with Orochimaru?" Natsuro asked after a moment of silence.
"What's wrong, kid? Are you unwilling to sign a contract with Ryūchi Cave?" The White Snake Sage's tone suddenly became threatening as its snake tongue flickered.
"It's not that. I just thought this scroll was with Orochimaru," Natsuro explained again while opening the scroll. To his surprise, the signature space was blank—there was no one's name written on it.
Natsuro froze for a second but quickly realized what was going on. He signed his name in blood without hesitation.
"Hmph. This is a new scroll from me," the White Snake Sage said, its tone softening slightly after Natsuro signed his name.
Natsuro had just realized that he was dealing with the founder of Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage itself. It wasn't surprising that the sage could easily produce a new summoning scroll. In fact, Natsuro thought that if not for the risk of over-distributing Ryūchi Cave's contracts, the White Snake Sage could likely pull out several more scrolls.
This revelation also made him think of Sasuke. He had assumed Sasuke wouldn't be able to sign a contract with Ryūchi Cave, but now it seemed that he could give Sasuke access himself.
At this point, the Slug Sage also spat out a scroll, though it was much smaller than the one from the White Snake Sage. Natsuro accepted it and saw that it was indeed the summoning scroll for Shikkotsu Forest. There was only one slug to summon, so the scroll naturally didn't need to be large. Without delay, he also signed his name on the Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll.
Now, Natsuro had successfully acquired all three great summoning contracts. If there were a system in place, he would have likely unlocked an achievement and received some sort of reward.
"Natsuro, you've been in Mount Myōboku for seven days now. It's time you returned to Konoha," the Great Toad Sage said after the other two sages had handed over their summoning scrolls.
"Seven days already?" Natsuro was surprised. He had felt the passage of time in that state but had no way to accurately gauge it. He couldn't sense the outside world at all, only relying on his own estimations. He hadn't expected the initial transformation to have taken a full seven days.
"I'll take my leave then, Great Toad Sage, White Snake Sage, and Slug Sage," Natsuro said before using the Flying Thunder God technique to leave Mount Myōboku.
It wasn't that he wanted to leave so quickly, but the Great Toad Sage's tone had made it clear that he was being gently urged to go. There was no reason to defy the sage's wishes.
After Natsuro left, the White Snake Sage stared at the Great Toad Sage and said, "Gamamaru, that kid is now your responsibility. Make sure he stays off the path of chakra. That road has no future."
"I understand," the Great Toad Sage responded.
"If you can't manage, hand him over to me," the White Snake Sage added.
This time, the Great Toad Sage didn't reply.
The Slug Sage, speaking for the first time, said in a voice that was hard to distinguish as either male or female, "I never thought we'd actually see such a being. Perhaps it's time for the shinobi world to change."
"It's long overdue for a change, wouldn't you say?" the White Snake Sage snorted. "What good is a path that's so limited?"
"So, are we betting everything on him?" the Great Toad Sage asked, sounding contemplative.
"Do we have any other choice?" the Slug Sage responded.
At that, the three sages fell silent. Indeed, they had no other option. They weren't even sure if there would ever be another Natsuro.
"Hmph, Gamamaru, are you certain that 'he' won't intervene with the boy?" the White Snake Sage asked.
"I'm not sure. But if 'he' does, could we stop him? We can't stay by Natsuro's side all the time," the Great Toad Sage replied.
The White Snake Sage let out another snort before vanishing from the hall.
"Gamamaru, watch him closely. He may be our last hope," the Slug Sage said before also disappearing.
After a moment of silence, the Great Toad Sage summoned Fukasaku.
"Is there something you need, Elder?" Fukasaku asked respectfully. He could already guess that what the Great Toad Sage was about to say was related to Natsuro.
But Fukasaku was not expecting what came next: the Great Toad Sage instructed him to fully support Natsuro in the future.
This left Fukasaku stunned. "Elder, does this mean that Jiraiya's prophecy has changed?" he asked.
The Great Toad Sage shook his head. "No, I haven't seen any new changes. But that no longer matters. Fukasaku, remember this: for us, Natsuro may be more important than the entire shinobi world."
Fukasaku's eyes widened, and he stood there, stunned for a long time. The Great Toad Sage offered no further explanation.
In the end, Fukasaku nodded, bowing deeply. "I understand, Elder."
Once Fukasaku left, the Great Toad Sage's eyes filled with uncertainty. He reflected on the prophecy he had once seen concerning Natsuro.
The bloodshed and storms he had spoken of weren't just about Natsuro's killings in the Anbu. After all, a few deaths in the shinobi world were nothing in the grand scheme of things.
The Great Toad Sage's vision of bloodshed and storms was meant to encompass the entire shinobi world. But the impact of Natsuro's actions so far had been like a drop in the ocean.
Could the storm still be farther off? The Great Toad Sage dismissed the idea. Since Natsuro had stepped onto this new path, the sage had lost sight of his future, and even the fates of those connected to him had become hazy...
Could it be that he had misinterpreted the prophecy all along?
...
Back home, Natsuro first met with his mother, Shinai, and Ino. Fortunately, the communication toad had already informed them about his stay at Mount Myōboku, so they hadn't been too worried.
They had assumed he was simply on another mission, which allowed Natsuro to breathe a sigh of relief. If he had disappeared for seven days without explanation, Shinai and Ino would have been worried sick, especially since he hadn't left without notice since he'd stopped working for the Anbu.
After that, Natsuro checked with Hakudō to find out if anything significant had happened in Konoha while he was away.
After hearing Hakudō's report, Natsuro's face darkened.
A lot had indeed happened in those seven days.
As for the mission to demonstrate Konoha's strength, seven days was too short of a time to show significant progress. Even for jonin, it was difficult to complete multiple missions in such a short span, so the mission's pace had been slow.
Meanwhile, Sunagakure had proven that, despite their reduced numbers, they still had the search capabilities of one of the Five Great Nations. In a short time, they had located the position of Otogakure (the Village Hidden in Sound).
However, Sunagakure hadn't attacked immediately. Knowing they were on enemy turf, they decided to proceed cautiously, chipping away at Otogakure's forces step by step before planning a final, decisive battle.
Sunagakure was treading carefully because they couldn't afford more losses. Even though Otogakure didn't have many ninjas left, Sunagakure needed to conserve as much of its own strength as possible.
In the meantime, Sunagakure had contacted Konoha for Natsuro's assistance, but he had been absent, forcing them to delay their plans.
As compensation, Konoha had sent Gaara and his team to assist. Gaara had reportedly performed well, without any of the instability he had shown in the past.
It seemed like Naruto's actions had been pretty effective.
Most of the news Natsuro had received was good, but the last piece of information was what caused his face to darken.
Rumors about Natsuro had begun to spread throughout Konoha, including his deeds during his time in the Anbu, which were quietly being talked about. As a result, Natsuro's reputation had skyrocketed once again.
If it was just this, it wouldn't be too much of a concern. Natsuro had expected that his identity as Ink wouldn't stay hidden for long.
However, the real issue was that the people secretly spreading these rumors were also advocating for Natsuro to become the Fifth Hokage!
Given Natsuro's current reputation, this suggestion quickly gained traction and was impossible to suppress. Even though some people thought he might be too young, no one doubted Natsuro's qualifications or strength.
As a result, this movement calling for Natsuro to be the next Hokage spread throughout Konoha faster than anyone could have anticipated.
Natsuro didn't think this was something Hiruzen would have orchestrated. Even if the Third was foolish, he couldn't be shortsighted enough to stir up such a commotion, especially when Tsunade was on her way back. What would be the point? To make things difficult for Tsunade? Was he trying to repeat the tragedy of the White Fang?
However, Natsuro wasn't like White Fang. He didn't subscribe to that kind of self-sacrificing mentality. If a situation like that occurred again, and he felt he wasn't in the wrong, he would stand his ground no matter the criticism. Push him too far, and he would fight back ruthlessly if needed!
Moreover, Tsunade wasn't like the Third Hokage. When the White Fang incident happened, the Third had been in his prime and wasn't willing to give up his position. But Tsunade? She had no interest in becoming Hokage. How things would play out with her was anyone's guess.
Natsuro rubbed his temples. There was no doubt in his mind that Danzo was behind this. After all, Natsuro had already thoroughly angered him.
Danzo wasn't stupid. After reflecting on their past conflicts and observing the movements of Jiraiya and Naruto, he likely figured out what was happening and launched this scheme.
It was a vicious move, and now that things had progressed this far, Natsuro had no way to stop it. In fact, even if he had known about it earlier, there would have been no way to prevent it—the momentum behind his reputation had become a burden.
As Natsuro contemplated the situation, he made his way toward the medical center. He needed to meet with the Third Hokage and Sasuke.
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Currently on Chapter 202 - Deadly Art