"How embarrassing. Shut up already! Yelling like that is drawing way too much attention!"
Gamabunta looked helpless, his tone full of awkwardness. He quickly reached out with his thick frog hand, grabbed Jiraiya, and hurried deeper into Mount Myoboku.
Along the way, Jiraiya's eyes were wide open, filled with sights he had never seen before. Shock kept surging through him.
People walked back and forth holding glowing little panels in their hands. On the roads, steel beasts roared past at high speed.
Everything felt unbelievable... like a world from the future.
"I... probably stumbled into the heavenly realm by mistake..."
Looking at the strange and dazzling scene before him, Jiraiya could not help muttering to himself, his voice full of shock.
Hearing this, Gamabunta glanced at him and replied in a deep voice, "The heavenly realm? That description does suit the state of our Mount Myoboku."
As the two went deeper inside, the tall buildings around them gradually became fewer. In their place came dense mist that never dispersed, along with increasingly heavy sage arts energy.
At the very end, a grand ancient hall stood before them.
The moment he stopped before the hall entrance, an immense and boundless pressure rushed toward him like a mountain crashing down, pressing directly against his mind.
The overwhelming pressure made Jiraiya's whole body stiffen.
A deep sense of reverence rose uncontrollably from his heart, and even his breathing unconsciously became lighter.
"Go in."
Gamabunta lowered his head and stood outside the hall with extreme respect. He raised a hand, signaling for Jiraiya to enter alone.
Jiraiya steadied himself, putting away his usual carefree nature. Step by step, he slowly and solemnly walked into the hall.
The moment he entered, his gaze immediately landed on the seat in the center of the hall.
A handsome young man sat there calmly.
The youth's appearance was peerless, like someone untouched by the mortal world.
With only a brief glance, Jiraiya's heart shook violently. He felt as though the person before him was the embodiment of the will of heaven itself.
Usually mischievous and carefree, he now did not even dare breathe loudly, much less act disrespectfully.
"Jiraiya, you've come."
The young man slowly raised his eyes and looked at Jiraiya.
Arisu silently nodded to himself. Since leaving Konoha, this kid had grown quite a bit taller.
"H-Hello. I am Jiraiya. Pleased to meet you!"
Jiraiya unconsciously clenched his hands. His tone was full of restraint as he bowed respectfully.
Seeing this, Arisu smiled gently and lightly raised a hand. "No need to be so nervous. We're family."
Confusion flashed through Jiraiya's eyes. For a moment, he could not understand the meaning behind those words.
Then Arisu turned to Gamamaru beside him.
"Gamamaru, you explain it.", Arisu spoke.
"Understood!"
Gamamaru immediately stepped forward and said, "I once received a prophetic dream at night. In that dream, you would come to Mount Myoboku. This is the fate destined for you."
"The Great Immortal of Mount Myoboku has already agreed to pass down this mountain's sage arts inheritance to you."
Hearing this, Jiraiya's heart shook. Only now did he finally learn that this place was called Mount Myoboku. Surprise and shock mixed together inside him.
If he learned sage arts, wouldn't that mean he would become stronger?
Then beating Hiruzen Sarutobi with his feet and punching Danzo Shimura with his fists would be easy, right?
Would Tsunade start chasing after him instead?
Would Orochimaru also humbly ask him for advice?
(Tsunade: "Jiraiya... c-can you date me?")
(Orochimaru: "Jiraiya, you're Konoha's number one genius. I'm the dead last one.")
Thinking this, Jiraiya could barely suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth, though he did not dare show it.
"However, before receiving the inheritance, you must sign a contract."
As soon as Gamamaru finished speaking, he casually waved his hand. An ancient scroll appeared out of thin air and slowly floated into Jiraiya's hands.
Jiraiya opened the scroll and carefully read it.
It stated that he must strictly keep all Mount Myoboku secrets and never reveal even the slightest trace of this place to outsiders. He was also forbidden from privately teaching or leaking Mount Myoboku sage arts to others...
After reading every word, Jiraiya did not hesitate at all. He nodded heavily and said with complete seriousness, "This junior is willing. I will definitely abide by the contract!"
———
[In The Summoning Realm]
"Have any of you seen this human child?"
The Monkey King held a slightly curled photograph and asked the monkey clan members in a deep voice.
One monkey after another leaned in to look carefully. They looked at each other for a moment before all shaking their heads together.
"Don't know him. Is he your brother?"
"No. A friend's disciple."
After that, he headed to the Mirage Clan, the summoning beast clan of the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki.
"Have you seen this child?", The Monkey King asked.
The enormous clam slowly opened and closed its heavy shell, letting out a deep bell-like hum. "Never seen him."
Next, the Monkey King's figure appeared all across the Summoning Realm.
From the dog clan, to the lucky cat clan, then the panda clan, the dream tapir clan, the ninja hawk clan...
After visiting several summoning clans in a row, he traveled through more than half of the Summoning Realm and asked every familiar clan, yet still received no news about Jiraiya.
"Sigh..."
"Could something have already happened to that kid..."
The Monkey King let out a heavy sigh. His thick brows twisted tightly together as he clenched the photo in his hand.
In the end, he headed toward the Three Great Sage Lands.
"Looks like I can only try my luck at the Three Great Sage Lands."
"I've already done everything I could..."
"I can only ask the Great Immortals if they can help bring Jiraiya back..."
Actually, the Monkey King did not hold much hope inside.
The three sacred lands had powerful barriers set up by the Great Immortals since ancient times, isolating them from the mortal world.
For thousands of years, nobody had been able to force their way inside, much less a human brat who had only just learned summoning techniques.
Unless... his luck was really so good that it defied heaven.
The Monkey King mainly wanted to ask the Great Immortals for help finding Jiraiya.
Very soon, the Monkey King arrived at Mount Myoboku.
As the strongest of the monkey clan, and with deep ties to Mount Myoboku, he naturally could directly meet the Great Immortal and head straight to the heavenly court.
———
[Mount Myoboku, Great Hall]
The Monkey King stood respectfully inside the hall.
"The Monkey King came to see me? Didn't you just visit a few days ago? Why are you here again...", Arisu asked with a smile.
The Monkey King quickly smiled back. "Great Immortal, I'm here looking for someone. My human friend's disciple went missing because he accidentally used summoning techniques incorrectly. I wanted to ask if he came to Mount Myoboku."
Hearing this, Arisu immediately understood.
So he came looking for Jiraiya.
"Is it that child named Jiraiya?", Arisu slowly said.
The Monkey King's eyes lit up with joy. "Great Immortal truly knows everything beforehand!!"