Konoha's lexicon of ninjas

Jiraiya quickly found a rather elegant izakaya, and his eyes immediately lit up as soon as he entered.

Bunny girls, and catgirls.

Uniforms, stockings...

"Impressive!"

"I never expected to find something like this here... Hahaha, I definitely made the right choice coming here!"

Jiraiya felt a little drunk even before he had tasted any alcohol.

Soon, he was led into a private room by a still-attractive woman wearing an apron. Before long, a group of women came to accompany him, each with a different style, making it difficult for Jiraiya to choose.

In the end, Jiraiya chose a woman with a leopard print to drink with him. While drinking, he learned about the changes in Amegakure over the years from the woman.

After a long while, Jiraiya emerged from the izakaya, drunk.

"Hey, it's raining?"

Jiraiya looked up and saw that a light rain had begun to fall, making the entire Amegakure village somewhat hazy.

In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to the Land of Rain.

However, he was soon awakened by the sounds of children cheering and playing in the rain.

Everything is different now.

Jiraiya staggered through the rain until he was mostly sober, then leaped away and disappeared into the street.

……

"Nagato, he lives such an easy life all by himself."

Inside the hall, Jiraiya strolled around casually, looking here and touching there: "It's been a long time since I've been back, hasn't it?"

"At this age, not even dating a woman, he really doesn't know how to enjoy life!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind Jiraiya: "Breaking into someone else's home so abruptly doesn't seem like very polite behavior, Jiraiya-sensei!"

Jiraiya turned around and looked at Nagato, who had suddenly appeared, without any embarrassment: "I already knocked on the door, you know."

"Since no one responded, I was worried something might have happened to you, so I came in to check on you. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

Nagato said, "But, Jiraiya-sensei, you're still single, aren't you?"

Jiraiya's smile froze: "She really isn't cute at all!"

"I really miss that little guy from back then."

Nagato immediately stabbed him in the back: "Jiraiya-sensei is just covering up his embarrassment, isn't he!"

Jiraiya immediately lost his temper: "Hey, Nagato, when did you start talking so meanly?"

Nagato watched Jiraiya's performance quietly.

Jiraiya looked at Nagato and spread his hands helplessly, saying, "As your teacher, I've come all this way to see you, I'm really not being polite at all!"

Nagato added insult to injury: "Jiraiya-sensei must have caused trouble in Konoha, right?"

Jiraiya's face instantly darkened.

Sure enough, kids shouldn't grow up, because they'll all be annoying once they do.

……

After a brief bickering session, the two returned to normal conversation and began cleaning up as well.

"By the way, Nagato, aren't you planning to get married? Konan had a daughter, and she's absolutely adorable!"

"This is not part of my plan. The ninja world seems peaceful, but there is still the huge threat of the Otsutsuki clan."

"This isn't just your burden; in fact, this is something that Shuichi should be thinking about. He's living a very comfortable life right now!"

"Is Jiraiya-sensei jealous of Shuichi?"

"How is that possible? Hmph, that guy is already bound to Konoha!"

……

After cleaning up, eating instant noodles, and watching the drizzling rain outside the window, Jiraiya said, "The future belongs to young people. You don't need to put too much pressure on yourself."

"The chosen one has already appeared; the ninja world no longer needs our help to save it."

Nagato said, "Everyone's fate is in their own hands. One person cannot save others, much less the ninja world."

Even the chosen ones need the help of other destinies.

Jiraiya listened, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

……

After parting ways with Kakashi at the Alliance Fortress, Hoshino Shuichi thought that with Kaguya Otsutsuki now living in his house, he decided it was best not to go back so soon.

"Let's go to Mount Myoboku..."

Hoshino Shuichi thought for a moment, then directly opened the portal to space and time and arrived at Mount Myōboku.

Deep within Mount Myōboku, Gamamaru slowly opened his eyes: "That boy, Shuichi, is here. Go and lure him over!"

The hermit Fukasaku nodded and said, "He doesn't come here easily; it seems something's up."

Gamamaru chuckled, "Perhaps it's related to the future of the ninja world."

The hermit, filled with curiosity, left.

A moment later he encountered Hoshino Shuichi standing on Gamabunta's head. Gamabunta said, "He wants to see the master."

Fukasaku nodded: "Leave it to me!"

Gamabunta looked up at Hoshino Shuichi: "This is as far as I can take you."

"Thank you, Bunta."

Hoshita Hideichi leaped down to Fukasaku's side and followed him to Gamamaru's front.

Gamamaru looked at Hoshita Shuichi and couldn't help but laugh, "Seeing you reminds me of Hagoromo from back then!"

Hoshino Hideichi laughed and said, "I am not the same as the Sage of Six Paths."

"The Sage of Six Paths is a chosen one of heaven."

He's incredibly shameless now, treating himself as someone who rose from humble beginnings and never mentioning that he's somehow cheated his way to success.

Gamamaru smiled and said, "Indeed, it's different. Your achievements should have already surpassed his."

Hoshino Shuichi humbly replied, "That's impossible to say for sure; we'll only know after we fight."

Gamamaru said, "I'm not talking about strength, but about the changes I'll bring to the ninja world."

"The ninja world is indeed different now, something I never foresaw."

"The changes in the ninja world are more drastic than we imagined."

Xingxia Xiu said, "It's all about human effort; I'm not the only one who did this."

Gamamaru immediately laughed and said, "But you are the most crucial one, the leader."

Hoshino Hideichi shrugged: "Thank you for the compliment."

Gamamaru looked at the mysterious young man before him and asked, "So, what is the purpose of your visit?"

"Although I dreamed about some things, you know, when you're dreaming, you're often not in control of your own mind."

"What I see in my dreams is not up to me."

"Perhaps this is also the unpredictability of fate."

Getting to the point, Hoshino no Shuichi stopped rambling and said directly, "I want Mount Myōboku to be further integrated into the ninja world."

Fukasaku, the sage, replied, "Our connections with the ninja world are already very close, aren't they?"

"Furthermore, as people who are far removed from the conflicts of the ninja world, if we get too involved, we will lose our original stance."

Hoshino Hideichi chuckled lightly, "As long as you stand on the side of the ninja world, your stance will never change."

"And this is what Mount Myōboku has always adhered to."

The immortal remained silent.

Hoshino Shuichi continued, "Mount Myōboku may seem detached from worldly affairs, but what I've seen is that it has been constantly influencing the situation in the ninja world."

"It could even be said to play a crucial role."

"He guided the Sage of Six Paths brothers to rebel against Kaguya Otsutsuki, and led Jiraiya in the search for the chosen one..."

Gamamaru laughed and said, "I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do."

Xingxia Xiu said, "Everyone is the same."

Gamamaru nodded slightly.

Indeed, everyone is doing what they believe is right.

Changing someone's mind is an incredibly difficult thing.

Hashirama Senju could not change Madara Uchiha's mind.

Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't change Kaguya Otsutsuki's mind.

Even though Kaguya Otsutsuki could control Hamura Otsutsuki, she could not change his will.

Therefore, Kotoamatsukami, which can directly change the will of others, is aptly called the strongest illusion technique.

Unfortunately, the power of any technique does not depend on the technique itself, but on the person who uses it.

After a further, more direct probing, Gamamaru laughed and said, "You are indeed different from Hagoromo."

"You are more controlling and more assertive than him."

Upon hearing this, Hoshino Hideichi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Perhaps it's because I'm younger than him."

Gamamaru couldn't help but laugh, then asked, "You've tried your best to unify the power of the entire ninja world, but you must have also considered that if you fail, the ninja world will have no power left to turn the tide, right?"

"Shouldn't a ninja always have a trump card up their sleeve?"

"Or rather, it's necessary to conceal your intelligence as much as possible, rather than revealing all your abilities."

Xingxia Xiu nodded: "That is indeed the case under normal circumstances."

"When you are facing an opponent who is far stronger than you, and you will not have another chance after one failure, then there is no point in using your intelligence or trump cards."

"If the entire universe is a dark forest, then the Ōtsutsuki clan is the hunter in this forest, and we are the prey."

"More importantly, we, as the prey, have been completely exposed to the hunters' sight."

"They've locked onto our stronghold, and we know absolutely nothing about them."

"In the darkness, they can hunt us at any time, and each time could be fatal."

"We cannot allow any failure, because failure means losing our means of survival in this dark forest."

"Therefore, when facing such powerful hunters, we must go all out every time to defeat them and make ourselves stronger."

"It's not just about defending against the next hunt, but about transforming from prey into hunter."

These words made Gamamaru fall into deep thought.

Meanwhile, the immortal Fukasaku frowned deeply and pondered intently.

Shuichi Hoshino's Dark Forest Theory is a remarkably vivid and profound explanation of the relationship between the ninja world and the Otsutsuki clan.

Moreover, there is some truth to what he said.

If the Ninja Alliance fails.

So, can Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave withstand the Ōtsutsuki?

I'm afraid there's no way.

The immortal Fukasaku did not have much confidence in this.

a long time.

After considering it, Gamamaru smiled and said to Hoshino Hideaki, "I have to say, you've convinced me."

"Hehe, but it's been a long time since I've encountered something like this."

"The Dark Forest, prey and predator—an interesting analogy."

"So, how do you plan to integrate Mount Myōboku into the Ninja Alliance?"

Hoshita Shuichi was secretly pleased.

It would be best to avoid fighting and killing if possible.

It seems that Gamamaru is quite sensible.

So, how to integrate... Hoshino Hideichi already had some ideas on this, and immediately smiled and said, "Of course, we can't let the immortals of Mount Myōboku leave this place."

"In fact, for the ninja world, the greatest treasure of Mount Myōboku is Sage Mode."

"And this is also our powerful strength in fighting against the Otsutsuki."

"However, the power of Sage Mode is far more difficult to master than that of chakra."

Gamamaru laughed and said, "That's true. Many people try to cultivate immortal arts, but not many succeed."

"Even on Mount Myōboku, not every toad can complete the training of Sage Mode."

Hoshino nodded: "I have developed the Sage Art Seal, and it can be implanted on a large scale, even in every ninja in the ninja world, so that they can also utilize the power of Sage Art to a certain extent."

"But for me, it's about controlling this power. Because people can change all the time, and desire, in particular, can devour the human heart."

"Moreover, the significance of Sage Mode lies not in its ability to improve ordinary ninjas, but in its ability to enhance the elite."

"An elite Jonin who masters Sage Mode can rival a Kage, and a Kage-level ninja who masters Sage Mode can possess power surpassing that of a Kage. The stronger one is, the more astonishing the power of Sage Mode will be."

Upon hearing this, the sage Fukasaku couldn't help but say, "In that case, since elites are a minority, wouldn't it be better to use more convenient sage techniques and incantations?"

Hoshino Hideichi shook his head: "I have always believed in one principle: the power that you control yourself is the only power that truly belongs to you."

"The curse I planted does not belong to anyone else."

"If I die in battle one day, the cursed seal will disappear."

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

"If one day, Sage Mode becomes the mainstream in the ninja world, then I think the ninja world will have the confidence to become a hunter."

Upon hearing this, Gamamaru couldn't help but sigh, "Your success today is definitely not just due to luck."

Of course, it wasn't luck, because they were cheating.

Hoshino Hideichi muttered to himself.

Fukasaku the Sage said, "So, Shuichi, you mean to open Mount Myōboku so that more elite ninjas can come and learn Sage Mode?"

Xingxia Xiu nodded: "Cultivating immortal arts is indeed very difficult, but if my immortal arts seal is used as an aid to eliminate the risks, then the lethality of cultivating immortal arts can be reduced to almost nothing."

"Once I master Sage Mode, I will be able to retract the Sage Art Seal."

"In this respect, the toads of Mount Myōboku are treated the same."

After hearing this, Gamamaru said, "Then let's decide on this. I hope it can help you."

"Leave the rest to Fukasaku and the others..."

As he spoke, Gamamaru slowly closed his eyes.

Fukasaku the Sage looked somewhat helpless, then asked Hoshishita Hide, "So, how do you plan to begin?"

Hoshita Shuichi thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "How about we start with the toads of Mount Myōboku?"

Fukasaku nodded, then turned around: "Then come with me!"

There are many toads on Mount Myōboku, but very few of them are capable of mastering sage techniques.

Soon, the hermit Fukasaku arranged for two toads for Hoshino Shuichi that could not speak, only croak.

Isn't this a bit too difficult?

Hoshino Shuichi crouched down and then tapped a toad's back with one finger.

With a hiss, the lotus brand appeared, and the natural incantation seal was formed.

Of course, it's just a single amplification seal.

Then he placed a curse mark on another toad.

Standing up, Xingxia Xiu smiled and said, "Then it's up to you guys now."

"Once we master the immortal techniques, we will proceed to the next step." (End of Chapter)