96 94. Prophecy of Great Toad Sage

"That's how you do it, Izuna-boy."

Fukasaku demonstrates Frog Kata to Izuna. Izuna clenches his fist and stands in front of a boulder. He punches the boulder and stops a few centimeters away from the boulder.

Some slight cracks appear on the boulder, but it holds itself.

"I need some practice to master it completely."

"This… Izuna-boy. How did you do this? You could utilize Frog Kata to such an extent on your first observation." It flabbergasts Fukasaku.

Izuna turns around and shows his Sharingan to Fukasaku.

"Remember! I am an Uchiha. My Sharingan can see through all kinds of jutsus, no matter what it is.

I used the 'Eye of Insight' of Sharingan to copy the jutsu. But it seems like I have to practice a little to master Frog Kata."

"That's convenient, Izuna boy. Jiraiya boy took so long to learn Frog Kata, and even his Sage Mode is imperfect. Minato-boy was able to learn the perfect Sage Mode, but his fighting style didn't match with the Sage Mode. So, Minato-boy neglected the Sage Mode.

You are impressive Izuna-boy. You mastered the Sage Mode and its taijutsu technique at such a young age. There hasn't been a genius like you to visit Mount Myoboku in a while."

Fukasaku points at various stone statues and remarks,

"All of these statues were human once. Most of them were one of a kind genius. They were able to successfully able to travel through the secret path and visit Mount Myoboku.

But Sadly, none of them achieved the Perfect Sage Mode, and in their desperate attempts, they turned into a stone statue."

Fukasaku sighs and continues,

"I will give pointers to you. Follow my instructions and you will master Frog Kata in a few days."

Thus, another intense session of Sage Taijutsu starts for Izuna.

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After a week,

Izuna punches a boulder from a few inches away and the boulder blows into smithereens.

"Looks like you have completely mastered the Frog Kata. Your rate of progress is amazing, Izuna-boy.

It's time to meet Great Toad Sage. He has summoned us."

Fukasaku leads the way to Great Toad Sage's residence. Izuna follows Fukasaku and enters inside the temple.

A giant brown toad with a white belly appears in his vision. The toad's skin is wrinkled, and the toad is squinting to gains vision. The toad wore a professor's hat with tassels and an orb on top of it. He also wears a necklace around his neck with a giant bead with 'oil' in kanji written on it.

There are giant scrolls lined behind him and the toad sits in a shallow pool of water with the kanji 'Sage' inscribed on it.

'So, he is the Great Toad Sage Gamamaru. He has lived for a thousand years and was born way before the arrival of Kaguya.

I am already aware of this fact, but the actual thing is more like a living fossil.'

Izuna examines the Great Toad Sage Gamamaru. Fukasaku bows before Gamamaru and informs him,

"Ojiji-Sama, the one you summoned has arrived as you predicted."

The Great Toad Sage gestures for Izuna to get near him.

"I was expecting your arrival, Izuna Uchiha. I have divined the future, and it involves you in lots of events. So, I divined about your future and got some information.

I have a prophecy for you. Hear me out."

Izuna perks up his ear to listen to the prophecy.

'This Old frog's prophecies are quite accurate. Maybe he can give me a clue or two about the 'Sin Seal'.'

"Boy, I can see danger looming over your family in near future. You will fight against lots of powerful enemies in the future, and I can see a giant pillar linked with chains."

The Great Toad Sage turns silent for a while and meditate.

"That's it. I can only see this much. For some odd reasons, your future is hazy and I can't peek much into your future.

Now, if you have any questions, I will listen to them."

Izuna contemplates for a while,

'I could ask about 'Six Paths Sage Mode' from him. Maybe he can lead me in a certain direction. It is decided then.

"Uh… I would like to have a private conversation with Ojiji-sama; if it is fine with him."

The Great Toad Sage gestures to Fukasaku and nearby toads to leave the temple. After all of them exits the temple. He turns towards Izuna and replies,

"I am aware of your problems. I have already divined about them. I will answer them for you."

Izuna is surprised to hear this, his surprise turns to excitement, and he anxiously looks at Gamamaru.

"Don't be too hasty, boy. Everything moves at its own pace. Now for your questions, I will first narrate the details of Rikudou Sennin to you."

The Great toad Sage closes his eyes and narrates the event.

"You must be aware of the details of the fight between Rikudou Sennin and The Ten-tails.

He fought against the ten-tails and sealed it inside himself. Thus becoming the First Jinchuruki to exist ever. After becoming the Jinchuruki of Ten-tails, he gained God-like powers. He manifested Truth Seeking Orbs the ultimate manifestation of all Nature transformations through the use of Yin-Yang Release.

As the jinchuruki of Ten-tails, his Senjutsu was enhanced to its peak, and he named it 'Six Paths Senjutsu'.

However, sometime before the end of his lifespan, Hagoromo separated the Ten-tails from his body and sealed its body inside the moon. He extracted its chakra and formed the Nine-tailed beasts you know today.

As a result, Hagoromo lots all of his powers and the 'Six Paths Sage Mode'. However, Hagoromo wielded Rinnegan in his eyes. His ocular power allowed him to re-master and re-invent the 'Six Paths Sage Mode'. He mastered all Nature Transformations from scratch and finally gained access to Truth-Seeking Orbs.

Thus, by mastering all the Nature transformations and finally shaping them into Truth Seeking Orbs Hagoromo gained 'Six Paths Sage Mode' again.

Hagoromo was the jinchuruki of Ten-tails and he had Rinnegan to help him with Nature Transformations. With his prior experience, it wasn't a difficult feat for him.

But, Izuna-boy! You on other hand don't possess any of those things. The journey to gain 'Six Paths Sage Mode' will be extremely hard for you."

The Great Toad Sage explained everything to Izuna. Izuna exits from the table and muses over Gamamaru's words.

'So, to gain Six Paths Sage Mode; I have to master all Nature Transformation and create a Kekkai Mora. Only then will I able to create my Truth Seeking balls and enter in Sage Mode.'

Izuna starts to ponder over 'Six Paths Sage Mode'.

'Naruto exhausted every last bit of chakra in his fight against Sasuke. Thus effectively losing all of Hagoromo's chakra, but he later regained the 'Six Paths Sage Mode' though he permanently lost the Truth-Seeking Balls.

Maybe it has something to do with the chakra of all tailed beast. Hagoromo was a jinchuruki of Ten-tails and Naruto was a pseudo-jinchuruki. Do I have to steal chakra from every tailed-beast to enter 'Six Paths Sage Mode'? That's a lot of work.

I will try to figure out another way to enter the Sage Mode.'

Izuna stares at the 'Sin Seal' and contemplates a little.

'Maybe who knows this nasty seal can help me. Though it is unreliable, it has saved my ass in some thorny situations. But I won't leave everything to it, I will start the Nature Transformation training first.'

A while later, Fukasaku enters the temple and bows in front of 'Great Toad Sage'.

"Ojiji-sama! Is he the 'Child of Prophecy'? The 'Saviour of Mankind'." Fukasaku questions the Great Toad Sage.

The Great Toad Sage shakes his head and replies,

"No, he is not. He is more like the 'Guardian of the World' then its protector."

Fukasaku tilts his head in confusion and questions,

"What's the difference between them? Aren't they the same?"

Great Toad Sage shakes his head and replies,

"No, there is a difference. The 'Saviour' will protect the world from its dangers, whereas the 'Guardian' will defend the world from otherworldly threats.

It is no use talking about it now. You will understand in the future. Just keep in mind, maintain a friendly relationship with the boy. Guide him to the correct path.

You can leave now. I need to enter my meditation."

Great Toad Sage dismisses Fukasaku.

'This grumpy old senile geezer. All he does is sleep. At least, give me a proper explanation…'

Fukasaku complains to himself and exits from the temple. He spots Izuna sitting on a boulder. Fukasaku hops towards Izuna.

"Izuna-boy! I will help with your Nature transformation training. We toads have some ancient scrolls passed down as heritage. These scrolls existed way before the Rikudou Sennin."

'Oh! That seems intriguing.'

Izuna's interest is piqued after listening about the origin of the Scrolls.