Sage Shima.
She was a high-ranking elder of Mount Myoboku and had lived for over eight hundred years. Alongside her husband, Sage Fukasaku, she was revered as one of the Great Toad Sage's two senior elder attendants.
Never expected to meet her here. What a coincidence.
Heiyan noticed the basket in Sage Shima's hand and guessed that she was likely out foraging.
After all, Sage Shima had always dreamed of being a good housewife, excelling in various colorful insect-based dishes. In the original timeline, during Pain's invasion of Konoha, she had been foraging near the Village Hidden in the Leaves herself.
"You Konoha kids, let me say this again—I'm no suspicious character."
With one hand holding the basket and the other on her hip, Sage Shima scolded several Konoha ninja, raining down sharp words at them. "Drop your weapons now and leave! Out of respect for my disciple, Jiraiya-sama, I will forgive this insult!"
"Hahaha!"
Several Konoha ninja burst into laughter upon hearing that.
"Did I hear right? Did this frog just claim Lord Jiraiya is her disciple?"
"This is the funniest joke I've heard all year."
"…"
They burst into laughter.
Hearing their mockery, Sage Shima's expression darkened instantly, her anger skyrocketing.
"You insolent brats—I gave you a chance!"
She let out a cold snort, set down her basket, then formed a seal with her two webbed hands.
The next second—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A massive fireball appeared out of thin air, flying rapidly toward the group of Konoha ninja. Before they could react, it exploded violently, sending them flying through the air.
They landed sprawled across the ground, groaning in pain.
And even that was only because Sage Shima had held back—this was just a warning, not a killing blow.
Otherwise, none would have survived.
"Huh? Another Konoha ninja? There's no end to this."
At this moment, Shima noticed Heiyan not far away. Naturally, she assumed he was backup for the others.
Thus—
Once again, she used the same trick, unleashing another Fire Release. A gigantic fireball roared toward Heiyan.
So you're treating me as an enemy too?
Heiyan had simply been watching the show, never expecting to be mistaken for an opponent by Shima.
With no choice—
Facing the incoming blazing fireball, he raised his right hand and quickly formed several seals in a single motion, finally extending his thumb forward.
[Water Release: Water Formation Wall]
Instantly, a rapidly spinning circular wall of water erupted from beneath Heiyan's feet, surging into the air like a powerful waterspout.
Sssshhh!
The fireball struck the water wall and was instantly swallowed up, turning into white steam.
Splash!
After Heiyan released the jutsu, the Water Formation Wall collapsed, flooding the empty lot and forming a small lake.
Witnessing this scene, Sage Shima was deeply shocked.
"To perform such a powerful Water Release in a place with no water… incredible Chakra Reserves Amount…"
She murmured in disbelief.
Looking at Heiyan before her, it reminded her of Jiraiya; both possessed chakra far exceeding that of ordinary people.
"Hello, Elder Shima," Heiyan greeted politely. "I'm Heiyan, a Jonin from Konoha."
At this point, Heiyan took the initiative to speak up and clear up the misunderstanding.
Such a young Jonin?
Upon hearing this, Elder Shima felt surprised inwardly and thought even more highly of Heiyan.
"How do you know me?" she scrutinized him, confirming this was their first meeting.
"I know Senior Jiraiya. He once told me about Mount Myoboku and his mentors—you and Lord Fukasaku."
Heiyan replied partially truthfully.
"Oh, so you're a friend of little Jiraiya's." Upon hearing this, Elder Shima looked enlightened.
After exchanging a few more words casually, they gradually became more familiar with each other.
During their small talk, Heiyan cleverly catered to her interests by offering to help gather ingredients for Elder Shima and kindly inviting her to visit Konoha.
Elder Shima happily accepted.
Thus, man and toad headed toward the village together.
An hour later.
At the courtyard of a three-story house beside the hot spring river,
Heiyan handed out insect lists to over a dozen hunters.
"These bugs on the list—try to collect as many as possible. We need big ones, fresh ones. Got it?" he instructed.
"Yes, Young Master, we understand."
Everyone nodded hurriedly.
Though puzzled by the need for so many insects, they knew better than to question Young Master Heiyan's orders.
After all, Heiyan offered generous payment.
"What convenience!"
Witnessing this scene, Elder Shima couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
With Heiyan's help, she undoubtedly saved lots of time and energy.
"It should take about two or three days for these hunters to gather enough ingredients. If you don't mind, Elder Shima, please stay at my home during this time."
Heiyan suggested.
"Young Heiyan really knows how to be thoughtful. Then I won't hold back."
Nodding appreciatively with a beaming smile, Elder Shima said, "From now on, just call me Grandma Shima instead of 'Elder,' which makes us seem too formal."
"All right, Grandma Shima."
Heiyan also smiled.
His effort to win Grandma Shima's favor, of course, aimed at obtaining [Sage Art].
As one of Mount Myoboku's high-ranking elders, Grandma Shima's main duty usually involved selecting candidates suitable for learning [Sage Art].
Although Heiyan already had the Third Hokage's promise that Jiraiya would personally bring him to Mount Myoboku, having Grandma Shima's support could only make things safer.
At least, this trip to Mount Myoboku would definitely not end empty-handed.
Therefore,
Over the next few days, Grandma Shima stayed in Heiyan's home.
During this time, much like Naruto in another timeline, Heiyan tried the insect-based dishes she prepared.
It wasn't that bad.
He silently evaluated.
He didn't mind eating bug dishes at all; on the contrary, he found them rich in protein and nutritionally valuable. Perhaps he was simply used to eating fitness meals.
Besides that, Heiyan visited the hospital every day to visit Pakura.
For the rest of his time, he followed his original plan to relax and rest.
It wasn't until the fourth day that Heiyan finally received a summons to go to the Hokage office immediately. Jiraiya had already completed preparations for traveling to Mount Myoboku and was waiting there.
At this point, Grandma Shima also learned about the matter.
"That boy Jiraiya—though he usually seems irresponsible, he's got surprisingly good taste."
It was rare for her to praise Jiraiya like that.
Then Grandma Shima looked at Heiyan with a warm smile. She felt genuine satisfaction toward this boy who was about to enter Mount Myoboku.
Over the past few days, she had come to fully understand Heiyan's abilities, personality, accomplishments, and reputation in the village.
Even by her usual picky standards, Heiyan met every requirement. He was a suitable candidate with the qualifications to enter Mount Myoboku to train in Sage Art.
"Heiyan, I'll go with you," Grandma Shima said, jumping onto Heiyan's shoulder. "It's about time I returned—otherwise my husband will start worrying again."
"Alright, Grandma Shima."
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