95 93. Mount Myoboku

Huff… huff…

"Guess I will leave it as a work in progress."

Izuna huffs and wipes his sweat.

"I have spent an entire month to figure out a way to enter Sage Mode while engaged in combat. But it is very difficult and I am going insane with this slow progress."

Izuna sits near the root of the Giant tree and contemplates his progress.

'I have spent the past six months of training in the Shikkotsu Forest. My strength has grown considerably. I can open and sustain the Seventh Gate for a while, and the biggest progress is Sage Mode. I can enter Sage Mode in just under two minutes and it lasts for fifteen minutes. But I still can't enter Sage Mode while battling.'

"Looks like I have to visit toads for more information. Maybe they could help me with this problem."

Izuna stands up and walks towards Katsuyu. He bows to her in gratitude.

"Thanks for your help, Lady Katsuyu. You helped me a lot in my Sage Mode Training. Thanks to your pointers, I could learn and perfect my Sage Mode so quickly."

"There is no need to thank me, Izuna-kun. It was all your hard work and talent which lead to your success." Katsuyu shakes her optical tentacles.

"What are your plans, Izuna-kun?" She asks him curiously.

"I would like to pay a visit to Mount Myoboku. Those toads are also the master of Sage Mode, I want to enter Sage Mode while engaged in combat. Maybe their pointers could help me improve further." Izuna replies to her.

"Then, Izuna-kun! I would like to ask a favor from you. Can you convince Tsunade to visit Shikkotsu Forest? It would be great if she could learn the Sage Mode. Her strength is declining with her age, I have a feeling the future is embroiled in Chaos and I don't want Tsunade to lack strength." Katsuyu requests to Izuna.

"I will convince her and send her here. She is taking care of Naruto for now. I will send her immediately in a few more months when she leaves Konoha on a journey. Until then, Farewell Lady Katsuyu."

���That's a relief to hear. I hope Tsunade will master Sage Mode too. On behalf of Tsunade, I thank you for taking care of her." Katsuyu bows and her optical tentacles shake.

"Farewell Izuna-kun!"

Izuna closes his eyes and senses the space co-ordinates of his markings on the toad summons of Jiraiya.

"Found it. Time to leave."

Izuna teleports from Shikkotsu Forest and reappears inside the Mount Myoboku.

He is welcomed by the sight of various small waterfalls and streams flowing around. The air is fresh and there is a lot of sunlight in the area.

This beautiful and exquisite site enchants him, and he stores it deep into his memories.

"Mount Myoboku has a fresh air compared to Shikkotsu Forest. Shikkotsu Forest was dark and humid whereas this place has lots of sunlight and has a freshness to it. Both places have their own merits."

Izuna takes a deep breath and continues to frame the vast expanse of small hills and various strange trees and shrubs in his memory.

Croak...

"Oye Kid!..."

The sound of the croaking of a frog disturbs this peaceful scenery. Izuna ignores the croaking and continues to gaze at the scenic beauty of Mount Myoboku.

Croak... Croak...

"Oye Kid! Don't test my patience. Answer to me."

The frog croaks again.

'Damn! This frog is ruining the beauty of Nature for me.'

Izuna turns around and angrily stares at Gamabunta.

"Can't you see, I am busy, you rusty frog." He yells at Gamabunta.

"Kid! I should be the one to get angry. You entered our territory without my permission, and now you are bossing me around. Don't you know who I am? I am the chief toad of Mount Myoboku, the Land of Toads. That Kid Minato never taught you any manners."

Gamabunta angrily stares at Izuna.

"I will teach humbleness to you." Gamabunta withdraws his Dai blade and gets ready to slash Izuna.

"Stop it! You moron. He is a guest of our Mount Myoboku. Few people can reach here, and it has been a while since we had a visitor."

A small green frog with white hairs styled in mohawk, thick eyebrows and a small goatee jumps in front of us. He held a stick in his hand. The frog jumps up and slams the stick on the giant frog's head.

The stick looks like a toothpick in front of the massive size of Gamabunta.

Bang…

The impact from the stick smashes Gamabunta on the ground and creates a crater around him.

"Go back to your training. Don't dillydally around."

Gamabunta rubs his forehead and complains,

"But Paa! He is an intruder, and he talked rudely to me. I must teach this sharp-tongued kid a lesson."

The green frog glares at Gamabunta with a scrutinizing gaze.

Gamabunta picks up his blade and hops away from the place. The green frog turns towards Izuna and greets him.

"Welcome Izuna-boy! I have been expecting you for a while. The 'Great Toad Sage' had already prophesied about your arrival. I am Fukasaku, one of the 'Two Great Toad Sage' of Mount Myoboku. Me and my wife Shima are the heirs of the 'Great Toad Sage'.

The 'Great Toad Sage' wants to meet you. He has a prophecy for you." Fukasaku informs Izuna.

'There is no harm in meeting with 'Great Toad Sage' this early. My goal was to ask a few questions from him. But he wants to meet me, this makes things a lot easier.'

"I am Izuna Uchiha. It is nice to meet you." Izuna bows before Fukasaku.

"I know about you, kid. Jiraiya-boy informed me about you. You were one of the student of Minato-boy. Sadly, Minato-boy passed away too early." Fukasaku sighs in grief.

"Let me take you to meet with 'Great Toad Sage'." Fukasaku leads Izuna towards a temple.

Many toad statues line up in front of the temple. They reach near the entrance and Fukasaku stops.

"Let me inform 'Great Toad Sage' about your arrival."

Fukasaku enters inside the temple. Izuna observes the surrounding area.

He can see many gigantic toad statues lines around. A few meters away, he notices a small pool of oil with many gigantic stone statues of toads encircling the area.

'So, this is the legendary Toad Oil of Mount Myoboku. It helps in the absorption of Nature Energy.'

The image of slimy white liquid appears in his mind, and he almost pukes out his breakfast.

'Thankfully, I don't have to use that slug oil to master Sage Mode.'

After a while, Fukasaku returns with a disappointed expression. He sighs and informs Izuna.

"Great Toad Sage is deep in his meditation. It will be awhile before he wakes up from his meditation. Why don't you spend these days in Mount Myoboku?

I will teach the 'Sage Mode' to you. It will help you a lot in your Shinobi Journey."

Izuna closes his eyes and absorbs Nature energy. Fukasaku stares at Izuna with wide-eyes.

A Cyan color Cloak appears around Izuna, and golden and silver markings appear around his eyes. He turns towards Fukasaku and replies,

"I have already mastered the Sage Mode."

Fukasaku inspects Izuna's Chakra cloak and murmurs to himself,

"This is a strange variation of Sage Mode. I have never heard or seen anything like this. This large density of Nature energy and those markings around his eyes. It is a perfect Sage Mode.

Not even Jiraiya-boy can enter the perfect Sage Mode. This kid is talented in Senjutsu."

Fukasaku muses for a while before he responds,

"I am surprised to see your talent in Senjutsu, Izuna-boy. I will teach 'Frog Kata' to you. Only those who have mastered the 'Sage Mode' can learn the 'Frog Kata'. It is an exclusive technique available only to Senjutsu users.

The Great Toad Sage created this technique and passed it to us. Are you interested in learning this technique?"

'Frog Kata is an excellent technique. I must learn it.'

Izuna nods his head.

"Yes, teach me 'Frog Kata', Fukasaku-san."

"Don't be so formal, Izuna-boy. Call me Paa like the rest of the people. It is decided then, I will teach you Frog Kata until Great Toad Sage wakes up from his meditation."

Fukasaku clasps his hand and enters Sage Mode. He explains about 'Frog Kata' to Izuna.

"Izuna-boy! Frog Kata is a taijutsu technique exclusive to Sages. The Senjutsu Chakra activates the body in various ways, enhancing the speed, reflexes, strength, stamina, and durability of the user.

This allows the user to perform incredible feats like leaping great distances, shattering sharp materials with bare hands, and lift objects several times their size and weight."

Fukasaku jumps around and showcases the enhanced strength of Sage Mode.

"To properly use this enhanced strength in combat, we require frog Kata.

The user can create an aura of Natural energy around their body and use it to attack their enemies. The Aura acts as the extension of one's body and only other Sage Mode Users can see it. This makes the attack caused by 'Frog Kata' to appear invisible to others."

Fukasaku clenches his fist and punches a boulder. He held his fist a few centimeters away from the boulder.

Crack…

A crack appears on the boulder and it shatters from the attack.