"Thank you for your efforts."
Kaede smiled faintly.
Compared to Ryūchi Cave, the toads of Myoboku were noticeably more polite.
He wondered if the Great Toad Sage had sensed his arrival and sent Toad Shinsaku to meet him, or if the sage had somehow dreamt a prophecy about him.
The Great Toad Sage was one of the very few in the ninja world who could access the power of time itself. At least, the prophecies it spoke of were glimpses of the true future.
"You were using the Ryūchi Cave's sage arts earlier, right?"
Toad Shinsaku hopped ahead, leading Kaede down a wide path as he asked.
Kaede had used the Ryūchi Cave's sage arts to navigate through the maze-like forest surrounding Myoboku, which had caught the toad's attention during its long watch.
"Yes," Kaede answered calmly.
Toad Shinsaku laughed heartily. "So, you learned the Ryūchi Cave's sage arts and then came here to Myoboku? Looking to gain our arts, huh? Sounds like the Ryūchi Cave's techniques didn't quite satisfy you."
The relationship between Myoboku and Ryūchi Cave was notoriously poor.
It was so bad they could argue on sight.
Yet, instead of being offended by Kaede's actions, Myoboku was quite pleased, because it meant he found Ryūchi's sage arts lacking. That brought them a sense of satisfaction.
"Indeed, I'm not entirely satisfied."
Kaede glanced at Shinsaku and replied honestly.
His dissatisfaction with Ryūchi's techniques was true.
"That's right..." Shinsaku smiled knowingly. "Those long-legged bugs over there have terrible sage arts. They have no clue how to properly harness natural energy."
After a moment, Shinsaku led Kaede deeper into Myoboku.
There, the Great Toad Sage sat on a giant cushion, wearing a scholar's cap and a beaded necklace. It opened its eyes as Shinsaku and Kaede approached.
"You've arrived..." it said slowly.
"My prophecies have failed time and again in recent years. Whenever I dream of a certain being, the visions are shattered, I can't gain any information about them..."
The Great Toad Sage looked at Kaede with grave seriousness. "Until recently, I only learned of your existence through young Jiraiya. The one interfering with my prophecies every time must be you…"
Hearing this, Rin looked at Kaede with surprise.
She'd heard about prophecies before, most were baseless nonsense, but coming from the Great Toad Sage, it was probably genuine.
And that Kaede could interfere with those prophecies made her very curious, she'd never heard of him having prophetic abilities.
"Prophecies are disturbed by me?" Kaede tilted his head.
He was a bit surprised to hear this but not shocked. The Great Toad Sage's power was simply foresight, nowhere near the scale of the Illusory Clock's control over time.
When his power touched the Illusory Clock itself, it made sense that prophecies would be disrupted.
"Seems you're not quite sure either?"
The Great Toad Sage's eyes drooped, its voice heavy and drowsy. "You must possess a special power that disrupts my prophecies, or perhaps something in the future... Since a few years ago, my ability to see the future has completely failed. I cannot sense this world's path forward."
Though uncertain why, one thing was clear: Kaede was no ordinary human ninja.
Even the Sage of the Six Paths could not interfere with its prophecies.
Despite its drowsiness, the sage's mind was sharp, it knew Kaede either possessed similar powers or was the key figure guiding the world's future.
Even though Kaede's chakra wasn't strong compared to Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage did not underestimate him; in fact, it regarded him with great seriousness.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have immediately sent Shinsaku to wait for Kaede outside Myoboku and personally escorted him here.
Kaede said nothing.
The Great Toad Sage's eyelids drooped further. It continued in a barely awake voice, "So, what do you want from Myoboku?"
"Your sage arts," Kaede said straightforwardly.
"Ah…"
The sage's voice lowered. "If you passed through the maze outside Myoboku, you've already been tested. Shinsaku, teach him the method to cultivate the sage mode…"
With that, the Great Toad Sage's head drooped, and it fell asleep right there.
Shinsaku sighed helplessly, a line of stress marks appearing above its head, then turned to Kaede. "The Great Toad Sage is old, this always happens. Come with me."
Shinsaku led Kaede to a place where he retrieved a scroll detailing the sage mode training methods and handed it over, then guided Kaede to the training grounds.
After Shinsaku left, the Great Toad Sage opened its eyes again.
"That one…"
"There's a terrifying power within him…"
Its cloudy eyes flashed with fear. Up close, the power Kaede radiated was more frightening than the Sage of the Six Paths.
Just like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki...
It was a power not native to this world.
The Great Toad Sage murmured, "Another outsider… But unlike Kaguya, from somewhere entirely different..."
One thing was clear.
This was someone not to be trifled with.
It couldn't decide who was more terrifying, Kaede or Kaguya, both inspired an indescribable dread.
….
Five days later.
By a toad oil pond in Myoboku.
Kaede suddenly opened his eyes, faint frog-like marks appearing on his face, resembling Jiraiya's sage mode form.
"Perfecting sage mode isn't easy... But the basics are done, that's enough for now," he muttered, watching his reflection in the pond.
At the same time, Toads Shinsaku and Shima, who were out hunting insects for dinner, stopped and looked in Kaede's direction.
"Sage mode!"
Because Kaede already mastered Ryūchi Cave's sage arts and understood natural energy well, training Myoboku's arts posed no real danger, even without their instruction, success was inevitable.
But what shocked Shinsaku and Shima was how quickly Kaede achieved it.
Just five days.
"Five days to master sage mode... Old lady, I think the fastest before was over a month ago, right?"
"I can't recall exactly, but at least a month," Shima said slowly.
They exchanged a glance, both recognizing the shock in each other's eyes.
No wonder the Great Toad Sage took that human ninja so seriously, even ordering them to assist him however possible.
That ninja…
Was a monster!
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 514+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 308
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 251
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 150
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 133
Playing Genshin Impact in Danmachi (Danmachi x Genshin Impact) — Up to 63