Gathering outside the house, Kakashi, Naruto, and Karin wait for Jiraiya, bags packed, scrolls packed, and ready to see Mount Myoboku.
The three didn't have to wait long; Jiraiya appeared in a swirl of leaves 5 minutes later.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Jiraiya had everyone place a hand on his back; all of them were reverse-summoned two minutes later, appearing in front of a small toad with a white beard and long white spikey eyebrows, wearing a grey cloak that covered its green body.
"Welcome."
Fukasaku welcomed them all, eyes locked onto Kakashi as if trying to see through him and see what makes him so special in The Great Sage's eyes, but Fukasaku was only able to see the surface level of the large chakra pool.
"The Great Sage woke up two minutes ago; he's been waiting for you."
Fukasaku said before hopping towards the Great Sage's chamber, giving each of the other two new guests a glance out of the corner of his eye, holding his gaze on Naruto a moment longer than Karin.
Thankfully close to the Great Sage's chamber, Fukasaku walked in to see the Sage very aware and immediately locking in on Kakashi.
"Leave us, Fukasaku, I wish to speak with Hag- this young man. Take Jiraiya to continue his sage training and give Naruto and the young Uzumaki girl over to the toads for some training."
The Great Sage spoke, only speaking up when all but Kakashi left the room.
"You feel just like him."
He sighed, closing his eyes and letting himself feel, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
"Yes, had I been blind, I would've assumed my friend Hagoromo was alive and standing before me."
He opened his eyes.
"You have questions."
"Yes."
Kakashi lifted his headband, showing his Sharingan.
"This eye was gifted to me by a teammate, but unlike before, the chakra usage is much more manageable, almost negligible."
"Mmm, I assume you wish to hear if I have any clue as to why? I might. Whatever has changed you has done more than you realize. When I said you feel like Hagoromo, I meant it literally. You now share similarities with him in the fact that you're the same. Half human, half Otsutsuki. In terms of purity, your blood is thicker than Indra's, and your body stronger than Asura's. That eye is now yours in every sense of the word. Though I'm unclear on what will develop if you were to unlock a Sharingan in your other eye. Perhaps the patterns and abilities in both change…. or maybe just the pattern changes, this is a first for me as well."
Kakashi took a second to absorb everything before his head snapped up.
"Wait! You said this eye is now mine. Would the same happen if I had another Sharingan eye?"
Gamamaru looked at Kakashi strangely.
"You have spare eyes just on you?"
He waved his hand as if he didn't truly want to know the answer.
"Yes, you could essentially pick and choose the abilities you want, assuming the eyes themselves don't change, but considering that eye of yours hasn't changed, it's unknown why or if it's a sort of condition. This is all just theory. Anyone can steal an eye and use its abilities to a certain degree, but none of them have your circumstances. If you had been a Uchiha, then my answer to your question would be more confident; in other words, I have no clue."
"Well, that's all I really have to ask, but I have no wish to slowly gain a Sharingan of my own in my other eye."
Kakashi took out Shisui's eye from the scroll, looking at it.
'If I implant this eye, it could change the pattern of the eye, or change both the pattern and eye, even changing my other eye if that was some sort of hidden risk. The abilities I know vs the abilities that could be random and possibly not as useful as Kamui and Kotoamatsukami.'
Gamamaru let Kakashi think, silently observing the young man with interest.
'Whatever he picks will be a good one. The Eternal Mangekyo is something he won't need, just like Hagoromo, that I know with full confidence.'
"Then I'll take the chance and implant this eye. I need more strength."
Kakashi spoke up after deep reflection, thinking about the future, the distant future of alien invaders, and the dangers lurking underground.
Gamamaru hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his decision, content to see with his eyes where this would lead him.
'Let me see it, let me see if your path is better than the one Hagoromo chose.'
Sighing, Kakashi brought up his fingers to his ordinary right eye.
*Squelch
Opening the solution-filled tube, Kakashi deftly placed the eye in the empty socket, green medical chakra thrumming to life as the nerves connected slowly, Kakashi making sure to be careful with his limited medical knowledge.
"Be sure to wrap that side of your head; don't try to activate the eye."
Gamamaru advised, and Kakashi nodded in acknowledgment, having not planned to in the first place.
"Come here, let me check."
Kakashi leaped up to the armrest of Gamamaru's chair and stayed still as the Old Sage raised his toad hand, green medical chakra humming with more familiarity and expertise than Kakashi had ever seen.
Kakashi relaxed, letting the soothing chakra work its magic; the stinging was gone, replaced by a smooth, rejuvenating feeling he had never felt from medical chakra.
"Senjutsu."
Kakashi murmured, watching the senjutsu gather in a swirl in Gamamaru's palm, the senjutsu sinking into both of his optic nerves, not overbearing and trying to overpower him, but complete and mastered to a degree that likely only The Sage of Six Paths had reached.
Kakashi staggered suddenly, feeling something change within him, the change too sudden, unlike when he first arrived and became Kakashi; he wasn't in pain, it was simply too fast a change, his body shutting down his consciousness.
Gamamaru caught Kakashi and lay him down next to him before closing his eyes as well, estimating that it'd take Kakashi a full day of rest before he eventually awoke.
'I'm very interested to see the changes within you, young one. This old heart hasn't been this excited in centuries.'
- With Jiraiya -
*Whack
"Ahhh! Do you have to smack me so hard?!"
Jiraiya yelled in annoyance, with large bumps already on his head, showing that this has been happening for a while now.
"Yes, you fool!"
*Whack
Fukasaku smacked him over the head once more, just because he felt like it.
"You're horrible at this, but I won't let you leave with a flimsy excuse like last time. You'll become a perfect sage, or I'll have beaten your head into a paste. Now back to work, you old perv!
*Whack, Whack
"Ahhhggh! Not the face!"
Jiraiya pleaded, regretting agreeing to Kakashi now, but he already agreed, and Jiraiya was many things, but a coward who went back on his word wasn't one of them. If he agrees to something, then he'll damn well do it, or die trying.
Crossing his legs once more, Jiraiya concentrated more than he ever had before.
'For Naruto.'
Ha affirmed in his mind, not letting himself waver, even if that damn stick stung.
"Good."
Fukasaku allowed a small smile to tug at the corners of his mouth, seeing the conviction in Jiraiya's eyes fired him up.
"Begin gathering the senjutsu."
"Yes, sensei."
Jiraiya began the process of gathering senjutsu, but the speed at which he began gathering it was much slower than his previous attempts, choosing to achieve perfected sage mode at a slower rate before improving the time it took to gather the senjutsu with continuous practice, Jiraiya being a hands-on learner and always improving best with a clear goal and the drive to achieve it, regardless of the set backs.
- Chapter End -
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I've waited too long, acquiring Shisui's eye was a hint that I'm not sure if anyone picked up on, it wasn't just a 'You shouldn't have that eye, Danzo' moment, no, that was the objective from the start, Kakashi just wasn't sure if implanting the eye would be a good idea, leaving me to develop a reason and hypothetical ways the implant could go down.