Though he said he would leave Takeshi in Fukasaku's care, Jiraiya still appeared at Mount Myōboku from time to time.
Watching Takeshi, who had been meditating for nearly a month, Jiraiya looked serious and somewhat worried as he turned to Fukasaku.
"Is this really okay, Fukasaku-sama?"
Although sensing natural energy did require full concentration, someone who sat still for an entire month without eating or drinking—completely motionless—usually only did so right before turning into a frog.
But Takeshi's small, slender frame showed no signs of frog transformation at all.
"Don't worry," Fukasaku replied calmly. "He's trying to recalibrate the natural energy within his body—to condense Senjutsu chakra."
Fukasaku, being known as one of Mount Myōboku's great sages, naturally possessed extraordinary ability.
With his strong sensory powers, he could clearly perceive the changes taking place inside Takeshi's body.
"But you," Fukasaku continued, squatting on Jiraiya's shoulder, a slight teasing tone in his voice, "you keep saying you're not worried, yet you've been coming here quite often. Since you're already here, why not stay and have dinner before you go?"
"Hahaha, sorry, Fukasaku-sama. There's still cleanup work left to do in the Land of Snow. But in a few days, I'll bring another child here to see you."
Before Fukasaku could persuade him otherwise, Jiraiya hurriedly left Mount Myōboku.
"This kid's getting more impatient by the day..."
Fukasaku shook his head, landing steadily on the ground. He looked at Takeshi, who still showed no sign of movement, and quietly stood guard beside him.
...
A few more days passed.
True to his word, Jiraiya returned to Mount Myōboku. This time, he brought with him Nagato, whom he had urgently summoned from the border of the Land of Fire.
"Nagato, I'll be leaving your little senior in your care for now. If anything happens, you can send a messenger toad to contact me. If it's an emergency, the big boss toad will use reverse summoning to bring me back."
Jiraiya thought carefully about what Takeshi had said before and realized that Senjutsu would play a crucial role in the future. That also reminded him—besides his unreliable student Obito, he still had three disciples he could truly rely on.
Yahiko and Konan still needed to continue leading the Akatsuki to take on outer missions for Konoha, so Jiraiya decided to give Nagato the chance to train in Senjutsu.
He believed that with the Uzumaki clan's unique Physique, Nagato should be able to master it relatively easily.
Nagato's treatment, however, was different from Takeshi's.
After teaching him how to absorb natural energy, Fukasaku remained by his side with a wooden staff in hand.
If Nagato showed even the slightest sign of turning into a frog, Fukasaku would strike quickly to interrupt the process.
To his relief, Nagato's talent was also quite impressive. Though he initially began to undergo frog transformation, he soon grasped the trick and successfully entered Sage Mode.
"So this is... Sage Mode?"
Nagato looked down at the webbing between his fingers, visibly amazed.
"That's right," Fukasaku explained. "After entering Sage Mode, your sensory abilities, strength, and ninjutsu will all be greatly enhanced. Since it's your first time, your body will show some frog-like traits. But once you reach perfect Sage Mode, those traits will diminish considerably."
Seeing Nagato's discomfort, Fukasaku reassured him kindly.
Nagato closed his eyes and focused on his body. Just as Fukasaku had said, every aspect of his physical and sensory functions had dramatically improved.
Most notably, for the first time, he could sense Takeshi not far away—continuously drawing in natural energy.
"Has the Fifth really been doing that all along...?"
He could hardly believe it.
"Not bad," Fukasaku said approvingly, hopping onto Nagato's shoulder. "You can already sense the change in his body. That boy Takeshi has indeed been constantly absorbing natural energy. I believe he's trying something entirely new—something that's not the same as Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu system."
In the history of the ninja world, there had never been a case of merging multiple Sage systems.
Takeshi could be considered the first. What would come of it was still completely unknown.
However, one thing Fukasaku was sure of: Takeshi's progress was going smoothly. He hadn't sensed anything amiss in the boy's energy.
Just as he suspected, Takeshi at that moment was deep within his own consciousness, working hard to stabilize and condense the natural energy.
"You've been trying for quite a while now. Maybe it's time you took a break," Gamabunta muttered, looking up at Takeshi, who was meditating atop his massive head.
Of course, he wasn't truly concerned for Takeshi's well-being—he was simply annoyed that someone was sitting on his head, disturbing his nap.
"I'd like to take a break," Takeshi retorted, opening his eyes in irritation, "but if I do, you'll just absorb all this natural energy I've gathered, won't you?"
Senjutsu chakra was the result of perfectly balancing natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy.
Takeshi's original training under Shikkotsu Forest had given him a unique fusion method. But after adding Mount Myōboku's system into the mix, the two methods didn't harmonize well.
That was why Takeshi had to remain inside his mindscape—painstakingly adjusting the proportions between the energies.
If he stopped now, all the natural energy he'd gathered with so much effort would be released at once. The resulting explosion would probably blow apart the old toad's entire palace.
"I'll keep at it a bit longer," he muttered.
Fortunately, Gamabunta could produce massive amounts of chakra for Takeshi to refine and adjust, so he didn't need to rush to wake up just yet.
...
After sending Nagato to Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya was finally able to relax and focus on stabilizing the situation in the Land of Snow.
When his team completed a thorough search across the entire country, Jiraiya reached a conclusion: the Akatsuki did not have a hidden base here.
Still, the expedition hadn't been fruitless.
Aside from Kazahana Dotō's death, a large number of research materials and experimental results had been secured by Konoha's ninja and sent back to the village.
The most fascinating among them, naturally, were the chakra armor suits—the pride of the Land of Snow.
Not only could they enhance the user's ninjutsu power, but they also provided defensive strength far beyond ordinary armor.
Then there were the railcars—transportation vehicles developed to suit the country's unique environment. Using rails and specially designed carriages, they allowed large-scale commuting and transportation at a speed and efficiency far exceeding anything Konoha currently had.
"That's everything. Ten days from now, all Konoha shinobi stationed in the Land of Snow will be withdrawn."
Jiraiya entered the newly reconstructed palace and bid farewell to the new queen, Kazahana Koyuki.