Chapter 73: That Final Glance Before Leaving

The stone forest of Mount Myoboku. 

For thousands of years, many had cultivated Sage Arts here. But from this day forward, due to a great battle, this place would be submerged beneath seawater, transforming into a vast lake. 

At the edge of the lakeshore below, 

three enormous toads—one orange, one red, and one green—were bound by several golden chains that locked their limbs and bodies. Lined up in a row, they lay disgracefully on the earth. 

Standing above them was a teenage boy with short white hair. 

It was he who restrained the Toad Trio using those golden chains. It was also he who altered the environment using Ninjutsu, creating this lake before their eyes. 

Heiyan — Konoha's Number One Prodigy, known as "Little Tobirama." 

Right now, Heiyan stood atop Gamabunta's head, his expression cold and intimidating. Yet no one could have guessed—he seemed unstoppable but was actually weak inside. 

Because his Sage facial markings had vanished. 

"Good thing I subdued these thick-skinned guys with Adamantine Sealing Chains before exiting Sage Mode. Otherwise things would've gotten dangerous." 

Heiyan mused silently. 

While inwardly sighing with relief, he also realized the flaw in his Sage Mode: 

Just one word—short duration. 

The reason was simple. 

In theory, maintaining Sage Mode only required continuously absorbing Natural Energy. The problem was, during absorption, you couldn't move at all. 

Thus, once Heiyan entered combat, he couldn't continue drawing in Natural Energy. When the stored energy within him ran out, he would immediately revert from Sage Mode. 

This transformation only lasted for about five minutes. 

To compensate for this weakness, Mount Myoboku's solution was "fusion"— 

by having either Fukasaku or Sage Shima standing on one's shoulders and synchronizing breath through [Sage Art: Amphibian Technique], fusion could be achieved. 

After fusing, each party would assume separate "moving" and "still" roles. While one engaged in battle, the other remained motionless, gathering Natural Energy. 

This was the ultimate form of Sage Mode. 

For Heiyan, however, this method was not an option. Under Gamamaru's orders, neither Fukasaku nor Sage Shima were allowed to fight alongside him. 

In fact, without these two Sages' support, Heiyan not only struggled to maintain Sage Arts for long periods but also failed to unleash the true power of Mount Myoboku's Sage techniques. 

Because the essence of Mount Myoboku's Sage system lay in high-level S-ranked skills like [Five Phantom Fire Flames], [Frog Kata], and [Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant]. 

Most of these secret techniques were combination moves that had been gradually developed over more than a thousand years specifically to complement Sage Mode, making them incredibly powerful. 

Without proper coordination from these techniques, the Sage Arts Heiyan learned on his own barely qualified as a "poor man's version." 

To sum it up: his current Sage Mode only lasted five minutes and lacked a complete system of Sage techniques. 

Really... if Sage Arts ended up like this, there was hardly any point in learning them at all. 

But still, from the very start, his mind had been set: he'd come this far—he wasn't leaving with nothing.

So even if it's an inferior version of Sage Art, I'll learn it first and make do with it for now.

As Heiyan was collecting his thoughts—

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Fukasaku and Grandma Shima, the two sennin, hurriedly rushed over from a distance.

Seeing this, Heiyan seized the opportunity while things were still good. Without waiting for them to speak in defense, he actively released the Adamantine Sealing Chains and jumped down from Gamabunta's head.

"Little Heiyan, that..."

Fukasaku and Grandma Shima both looked somewhat embarrassed, lost for words.

Naturally, they hadn't come here to accuse him.

In fact, they felt that Heiyan disciplining Gamabunta this time would help improve the latter's bad temper.

This wasn't such a bad thing.

Just when the two sennin felt awkward, Heiyan spoke up.

He explained the conflict with the Toad Trio, then sincerely thanked the two sennin before expressing his decision to leave.

His tone contained neither confrontation nor resentment, no sarcasm either.

Only proper manners.

After all, Heiyan knew that behind the scenes making all decisions was Gamamaru.

Actually, this Great Toad Sage hadn't done anything wrong either.

Ultimately, he had merely not chosen Heiyan. Mount Myoboku didn't owe Heiyan anything.

The footsteps echoed.

Under the complex gazes of the frogs, Heiyan left with the Stealth Frog.

With its help, he would use the *Far Body Water Technique* to return to Konoha.

Before leaving,

he turned his head for one last look at this place.

Unless something unexpected happened, this was his first and last visit to Mount Myoboku.

From now on, he would have absolutely nothing to do with the frog clan anymore.

Except for this Stealth Frog on his shoulder.

Heiyan's gaze pierced through space, looking toward the direction of the temple deep within Mount Myoboku.

Thanks to his powerful sensory abilities, he had long detected something amiss, and thus guessed that Gamamaru had been secretly watching from afar.

You, the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku.

If your vision of the future doesn't include me, then I will forge my own path and break free from this so-called fate.

Let's see whether the world follows your lifeless prophecy step by step, or is shattered by someone like me.

Thinking this, Heiyan walked away from Mount Myoboku without looking back.

"This child is different from every human we've ever seen before..."

Grandma Shima looked at Heiyan's retreating figure and murmured softly.

Deep inside Mount Myoboku, in the temple.

Gamamaru, who was lying on his throne, saw Heiyan's glance right before he left.

That youth's eyes were calm yet deep, like an endless ocean.

A chill shot down Gamamaru's spine.

After a while,

"I'm sleepy."

He muttered to himself, and before long, was already snoring away.

Obviously, Gamamaru wasn't worried at all.

For him, even if he had miscalculated and missed Heiyan, it wouldn't really be much of a loss.

After all, at present, Heiyan was merely a young genius.

Such geniuses appear once or twice every few decades—it doesn't even qualify as a once-in-a-century occurrence.

In the future, however, guided by fate, Mount Myoboku will welcome the Child of the Prophecy—a once-in-a-millennium savior, uniquely chosen by destiny for greatness.

As long as the Frog Clan binds itself to this savior, it will grow ever stronger, and the sacred status of Mount Myoboku will remain unshaken forever.

Therefore, Gamamaru continued his peaceful slumber as always.

Konoha Village.

On the outskirts, deep within a forest, lay an old well coated with green moss.

Suddenly—

"Kero!"

With a loud croak, a dark green frog shot out of the water and landed on the edge of the well.

It opened its mouth wide.

Then something shocking happened.

An arm stretched out from the frog's mouth, followed by a head, torso, legs… Finally, an adult man crawled right out of the frog's body.

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