Chapter 393: Thinking Snake
They had observed the training of the toads in the Toad Kingdom. Tobitake Tonbo gained a lot of inspiration from it. Beyond specialized training for Taijutsu ninja, other forms of training could be implemented. By establishing unique training grounds for specific types of drills, the results might be even better.
Furthermore, the abilities of certain toads gave him flashes of insight. Just then, a massive chakra signature appeared within his perception range.
"Gamakichi, what is that?" Tonbo suddenly pointed in one direction. A mountain range appeared in his mind—it rose and fell, marked with black spots across the ridges, and the mountain itself seemed to move, as if it were breathing. This "mountain" contained an immense amount of chakra.
More than even Naruto. And natural energy saturated its body.
Gamakichi replied: "That is the Great Iwagama. He's the largest toad in the Toad Kingdom. Whatever you do, don't make him angry, or the entirety of Mount Myoboku will shake."
It would definitely shake. Based on size alone, it was twice as large as Turtle Island. Just moving around randomly would cause tremors in the surrounding environment. No wonder there were no other living creatures nearby. Inside the Great Iwagama, Tonbo sensed a powerful aura of flames. It seemed this was a toad that utilized fire abilities.
"Incredible!" Naruto stammered upon seeing it. Hinata felt the same; through her Byakugan, all she saw was a dense, blinding mass of chakra.
Naruto added: "So that's the Great Iwagama... I've never summoned him before." He truly hadn't. The entity was simply too large; a summoner could usually only bring forth a portion of its body.
This must be one of the core combat assets of the Toad Kingdom, Tonbo thought. Not surprising.
"Hey, Gamakichi, are you here to see me? Do you have any tasty bugs? I'm hungry." Just then, a voice drifted over. It hit their ears with deafening force, like a giant bell ringing right next to them, complete with echoes.
Gamakichi patted the pocket behind his cloak and said: "None, absolutely none! I'm taking guests on a tour, so I won't disturb you further." He then hurried to lead Tonbo and the others away.
Whish!
A colossal tongue shot out, sweeping past Gamakichi's body and dragging out a giant insect. Then it retracted. Just from seeing the tongue, Tonbo and the others felt as if a giant curtain had swept across their vision.
"Dammit! I knew I shouldn't have brought you guys this way. My prized big bug..." Gamakichi was extremely annoyed. He had intended to hide it for a snack later.
"Then take us to where you catch them; we'll help you catch more," Naruto said confidently.
"Bugs of that quality are too rare. You can't just find them whenever you want," Gamakichi muttered dejectedly as they walked.
"Hey, when I have time, I'll take you to the Turtle Island in the Land of Lightning," Naruto offered, trying to cheer up his childhood companion. "There are tons of big bugs there. Even the Great Toad Sage called it a resort."
When Naruto first went to Turtle Island, he genuinely thought the Great Toad Sage's prophecy meant it was a vacation spot. Who would have thought it was an environment full of nothing but giant insects?
"Really? That's great!" Gamakichi cheered up instantly. He had heard that the Land of Lightning had a Turtle Island filled with delicious bugs. Hearing Naruto's words, he was beyond excited.
Tonbo watched their interaction, feeling a bit speechless. Gamakichi was celebrating too early. Naruto's honeymoon was almost over; where would he find the time to take a toad to the Land of Lightning? Once they returned to Konoha and Naruto entered his study period, he'd probably forget Gamakichi even existed.
Only Tonbo knew just how heavy Naruto's study load was. Although Naruto's theoretical grades at the Academy were much higher than in the original anime due to Tonbo's butterfly effect, he still only barely passed. He couldn't even beat Akamaru in a test. His foundation was too poor; a curriculum that Tonbo could master in a week might take Naruto a year. No wonder it took several more years in the original timeline before it was Naruto's turn to become Hokage. He deserved it.
However, Naruto's capacity for theoretical learning was indeed a bit lacking. Gamakichi's happiness would last for a while at least, so Tonbo didn't burst his bubble. It's like working away from home—never tell your parents you're coming back the day before you arrive; that only gives them one day of happiness. Tell them a week in advance, and they'll be happy for a whole week. At least Gamakichi was getting some emotional value out of it.
There wasn't much else of note in the Toad Kingdom after that, but the group had a good time. Naruto especially enjoyed it; he had never thought of bringing Hinata to Mount Myoboku for tourism, so he managed to kill two birds with one stone. The couple was genuinely happy. Naruto had indeed matured quite a bit.
"Goodbye then, Gamakichi. Wait for me to take you to Turtle Island!" Naruto said to Gamakichi as he performed the summoning jutsu to wrap the three of them.
Gamakichi beamed: "Goodbye, Naruto! Goodbye Hinata and Tonbo-ojisan!"
Poof!
The three of them vanished. Gamakichi began to drool. It should be soon, right? Delicious bugs... super-sized delicious bugs. And the special toad meals Tonbo mentioned. This is great. He decided he should visit the Shinobi world more often; he heard things had changed a lot.
Poof, poof, poof!
The three reappeared at their original location. Naruto was still holding Hinata.
Tonbo said: "Goodbye. Go back and keep studying hard, Naruto." Then he vanished before their eyes.
"..." Naruto froze. He remembered now. His honeymoon was over, and he had to return to those dark, bottomless days of studying. And he couldn't dodge it; his sense of responsibility wouldn't let him.
His vision went dark as if infinite numbers were floating before his eyes. He felt as if the road home was no longer exciting, but rather a path into endless darkness.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" Hinata waved her hand in front of his face.
"It's nothing. Let's go back," Naruto said despondently.
Poof!
When Tobitake Tonbo reappeared, he was standing in front of the Technical Development Bureau. He headed straight for the District 13 laboratory. District 13 was protected by a powerful spatial barrier; space-time ninjutsu couldn't penetrate it. After a short while, he reached the lab.
Click!
The laboratory doors opened, and a long tunnel extended inward.
"You're back. That was fast. Just in time—I've come up with some ideas regarding the concept of sealing the future." Orochimaru set down his work and looked at Tonbo.
Although Tonbo's future sealing idea was a bit ethereal, after half a day of contemplation, Orochimaru had found a few directions. Of course, they were just directions. All research required practice.
"That fast?" Tonbo was shocked, fresh off his info-gathering trip to Mount Myoboku.
Damn. He had been thinking about this for a long time. He had never think anyone develop a way to prevent precognition. Was he really going to have to develop a nature transformation from scratch to prevent an unknown ability? That sounds like Kekkei Mora level difficulty.
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