Chapter 91: Training Arc
Slightly further away from the Shogun's mansion, the two guards assigned to transport the body made their way through the forest trail, the weight of the corpse distributed evenly between them. Their pace was steady, and neither had spoken since leaving the palace compound.
But they wouldn't make it far.
Without warning, the ground beneath them shuddered. A moment later, it split open.
The earth swallowed both men whole.
There was no time to react. No time to defend.
A carefully executed earth-style jutsu buried them alive before they could even form a seal.
Just like that, two Jonin-ranked shinobi were dead.
This was my plan to escape all along.
The entire squad of chunin? They were never real. They were all just shadow clones—copies of me, controlled and orchestrated for this very moment.
I had eliminated the actual squad inside the Shogun's mansion and taken their place. Their identities, appearances, even their gear had been replicated and folded into my deception.
And the false death?
That had been the core of the strategy.
I had instructed my clones to stab me through non-vital areas—precisely beside the heart, not deep enough to damage organs but deep enough to make the wounds look convincing. Then, using a pre-inscribed fuinjutsu seal hidden beneath the skin over my chest, I halted my heart's rhythm entirely. Blood would continue to flow, thanks to the seal's unique chakra channeling function, but my pulse would register as dead.
The illusion wouldn't last forever.
But it didn't need to.
From a safe distance, I watched through my remaining clone's eyes as the guards carried my seemingly lifeless body away.
Then, with the subtle weave of a single hand sign, I dispelled the remaining clones.
The chakra came rushing back.
And then I acted.
The moment the guards crossed the premarked point on the path, I activated the trap.
Earth surged beneath them, and before they could so much as shout, they were gone—buried alive by a technique I had prepared hours in advance.
Their strength didn't matter.
Their ranks didn't matter.
They were Jonin. But even Jonin dies if caught off guard.
Moments later, I emerged from the dirt, pulling myself free from the burial pit with barely a scratch. I took a deep breath of fresh air, rolled my shoulders, and looked around. There was no pursuit. No alarm.
I had escaped the Shogun's mansion.
And no one even knew I was still alive.
After successfully eliminating both guards, I moved with practiced discretion, slipping through the outskirts of the Land of Iron's capital. I kept my chakra suppressed to the absolute minimum, ensuring no sensor-type ninja would be able to track me. Only after placing a safe amount of distance between myself and the capital did I finally initiate the reverse summoning technique.
A swirl of chakra spiraled around me.
Moments later, I was standing in the familiar wilderness of the Moon Shadow Clan's territory—back in the Land of the Cats.
"You've already made it back?" Yoru's voice called out as she trotted into view.
"Yes, the task was shorter than I expected," I replied, dusting myself off.
"Oooo! Were you able to find a blacksmith?" she asked in her usual high-pitched, childlike tone, bounding onto my shoulder without waiting for permission. She nestled into the crook of my neck, rubbing her chin in a familiar feline fashion.
"Yes, he was easy to locate," I said, offering no further details. There wasn't much point in recounting everything now. Besides, I wasn't finished yet—not by a long shot.
There was still work to be done.
Specifically, I needed to reach the Land of Toads.
My shadow clone was already there, training. But for me to join it with my original body, I had to go through the formal process again. That meant relying on Yoru and her mother to contact the toads, who would then initiate another reverse summoning to bring me over.
Fortunately, the request was quickly handled.
Within minutes, another toad arrived to retrieve me.
Once again, the world blurred.
When my vision cleared, I found myself standing at the exact location where my shadow clone had been training. I watched as it dispersed in a soft puff of smoke, and with it came a rush of information.
Everything the clone had experienced—every movement, every interaction—flooded my mind.
Most importantly, I now knew that I had succeeded in convincing Jiraiya.
He was on my side. At least, for now.
That was a massive win.
But with the mission in the Land of Iron now behind me, my attention had to shift to what lay ahead.
First and foremost: mastering Sage Mode.
I didn't need anyone to tell me how critical that was. Not just for the boost in physical abilities and perception, but for the synergy it could bring to my long-term plans.
Then there was the second objective—perhaps even more ambitious.
I needed to complete the Strength of a Hundred Seal, Tsunade's technique, and apply it across each of the tenketsu linked to my Eight Inner Gates. The idea was simple in theory but dangerously complex in practice: store sage chakra and my own chakra in the seal points to reinforce my body and prevent the typical consequences of turning into a toad.
Ordinarily, Sage Mode required a perfect balance between natural energy, spiritual energy, and physical energy. Mess it up, and you'd begin the petrification process.
But I had Matatabi.
Even if my own Chakra was mixed into my special Jutsu...I still had a tailed beasts Chakra to rely on.
Jiraiya returned to the mist-laced borderlands between the Land of Water and the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village. There, gathered under the gray sky, were the temporary war deployment teams—Team Kakashi, including Naruto, and Team Asuma. Tension simmered as the shinobi prepared for another day of skirmishes against enemy factions.
The Toad Sage appeared in a sudden puff of smoke, drawing immediate attention. But instead of greeting everyone with his usual grin and half-hearted banter, his face was set with a grim resolve. Without a word, he beckoned Kakashi and Nido to follow him.
"What is it, Lord Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked politely, adjusting his mask with a flick of his thumb. He was puzzled—Jiraiya rarely carried such an air of gravity. Even amidst war, he'd usually toss out a jest or two to keep morale up. But not now.
Jiraiya didn't speak at first. He glanced at Nido, who stood tall with arms crossed, his monk's robe ruffled slightly in the breeze. He, too, sensed the weight in Jiraiya's demeanor.
"I need to tell you something important—something I'm only sharing in case something happens to me," Jiraiya finally said. "And because you have a right to know."
He turned to face Nido more directly. "My disciple."
At that, Nido's expression darkened. He knew exactly who Jiraiya meant.
"What happened?" Nido asked, his tone unnaturally calm. Beneath the stillness, a storm brewed.
"Shikomu is alive," Jiraiya said plainly.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Kakashi's single visible eye widened. The name alone struck a chord of disbelief. He had personally led missions to track Shikomu's trail, and the last traces had vanished somewhere near the Hidden Mist. There had been no signs since—no chakra signatures, no witness accounts.
Yet now, Jiraiya was saying he still lived.
Jiraiya explained the entire encounter—his trip to Mount Myoboku, the conversation, and the claims made by Shikomu. The Toad Sage spared no detail.
"I think you made the right call," Kakashi said, though his voice was hesitant. "But we can't take his word at face value. Everyone here knows what Shikomu was capable of. After Might Guy, he was the strongest taijutsu user in the village. It's hard to believe that someone like him couldn't defeat a unit of enemies, save his squad, and capture a Root operative."
Kakashi spoke evenly, but there was a subtle edge of skepticism. And behind it, grief.
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "I had my doubts too. But the Shikomu I spoke to wasn't lying about everything. Some part of him still holds onto Konoha."
As the wind carried the tension deeper into the woods, Jiraiya spoke again, his tone quiet but firm. "While this issue is a secret, it was only meant to be a secret from Danzo. I still strongly believe we should report this to the Hokage—but I know sensei. The moment he hears of it, he will bring it up to Danzo. They were once best friends. And the second Danzo knows... everything could unravel for Shikomu and his running would become pointless..."
He looked at Kakashi. "This information stays locked down. Share it only with those you trust not to tell a soul. Not unless there's no other choice."
Kakashi nodded, expression serious.
Nido, however, said nothing. He remained still, unmoved.
"What are you thinking about?" Jiraiya finally asked. He had trained Nido personally and could read the monk better than most.
Nido exhaled slowly and stepped forward, toward the looming silhouette of the Mist Village.
"Oh, nothing much," he said casually.
Jiraiya let out a long breath, glancing at Kakashi. Kakashi's shoulders eased. For a moment, both men felt relief.
"Thank god," Jiraiya muttered. "Maybe he won't do anything rash."
"Yeah," Kakashi agreed. "He took that better than expected."
Then Nido spoke again, without turning back.
"Just thinking about how a village elder is going to die the second I step foot in the Hidden Leaf."
Both Jiraiya and Kakashi froze. The blood drained from their faces.
A chill ran down their spines—not from the weather, but from the unspoken fury behind those calm words.
Nido's voice was flat, free of rage, yet it carried an unshakable certainty.
A promise.
Jiraiya watched his disciple disappear into the mist.
He and Kakashi exchanged a glance.
This war was about to get a lot more complicated.
…
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator