Chương 3: Mount Myoboku

The white hospital ceiling swam into focus, each breath sending dull waves of pain through Jiraiya's bandaged chest. He lay still, his mind surprisingly clear despite his injuries.

About one year until Shippuden begins, he thought, his eyes fixed on a small crack in the plaster above. Nearly two years until my supposed death at Nagato's hands.

A faint smile touched his lips, barely visible beneath his wild white hair. Well, we'll see about that.

As morning mist blanketed Mount Myoboku's training ground, ancient stone monuments rose from the damp earth, worn smooth by centuries of toad oil.

Twenty Naruto clones stood in rigid formation, each gripping a broad leaf between their palms. Sweat ran down their faces as they concentrated, channeling chakra through the leaves, trying to slice them cleanly.

Overseeing them, a Jiraiya clone with his familiar wild white hair stood watch, a steady figure against the misty backdrop. Meanwhile, thirty yards away, two more clones practiced the Wind Razor technique.

Their movements disturbed the morning fog, sending invisible blades through the air, each sweep leaving rough, uneven cuts in the strange vegetation nearby.

The real Jiraiya sat cross-legged on a weathered stone platform, fresh bandages visible beneath his mesh armor. Despite Ma's healing, the recent training accident with Naruto had left its mark.

Perched on a moss-covered stone, Fukasaku observed the scene below with interest.

"So that's the child of prophecy Jiraiya-chan is so certain about, ribbit?"

Shima landed softly beside her husband.

"Hmph! Look at him struggling with those leaves, croak. Are you sure about this one, Pa?"

"Ma-chan, you said the same thing about Jiraiya-chan back then, ribbit," Fukasaku replied with a knowing smile. "And now look where he is…"

The real Jiraiya shifted his stance slightly, his mesh armor feeling tighter than usual—his third time that week noticing his clothes didn't quite fit right.

His body was changing, though not in the way a man his age would typically expect. Laid out before him was an enormous scroll, covered with Minato's original seal notes alongside Jiraiya's new designs.

He had always admired the Fourth Hokage's genius, but now, with memories from another world merging with his own, he truly grasped the elegance of Minato's work.

Where others saw seals as rigid constructs, Minato had viewed them as flexible, modular components—parts that could be modified without disrupting the whole.

"Naruto! Too much chakra!" one of his clones called out. "Don't just throw it all in!"

Twenty identical blond heads nodded, adjusting their grip on the leaves. The training ground fell quiet except for the soft whisper of wind and the occasional frustrated grunt from a Naruto clone.

It had been two weeks since the training incident. After waking in the hospital, Jiraiya had decided to come to Mount Myoboku to contemplate his newfound knowledge and receive healing from Ma.

As he worked on designing a new seal, a sudden spike in his chakra made him wince, disrupting his brush stroke. These surges had grown more frequent since his chakra capacity abruptly increased by 15%.

His chakra coils felt stretched, still adapting to the expanded reserves.

"His chakra has grown substantially since the accident, ribbit," Fukasaku observed, his tone turning thoughtful.

"Near-death experiences can sometimes strengthen a shinobi's reserves, but this…"

"The growth is unusual," Shima agreed, watching as Jiraiya popped another food pill—his fourth that morning. "Jiraiya-chan always did have more yang chakra, that's why he was unable to master senjutsu properly, but now…"

"More yin energy than yang, ribbit," Fukasaku finished, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

"And look at his body responding…" He gestured at Jiraiya's broadening frame. "Two centimeters taller in two weeks. Muscle mass increasing. At fifty-two!"

"His physical form is trying to match his expanded spiritual energy, croak," Shima mused. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

"If the spiritual energy and physical energy come to equilibrium, ribbit," Fukasaku said, watching as one of Jiraiya's clones attempted another Wind Razor technique.

The clone's chakra control wavered, causing the invisible blade to cut deeper into the vegetation than intended.

"Perfect Sage Mode, croak," Shima nodded. "After all these years…"

What neither of them realized was that Jiraiya's chakra increase wasn't merely the result of a "near-death experience," but the effect of a fusion of souls.

As the hours passed, the mist began to burn away under the climbing sun.

Jiraiya's brush continued its careful dance across the seal matrix, while his clones worked diligently on their wind techniques. He absentmindedly chewed another food pill, his jaw feeling stronger.

Might need Tsunade to look at this, he thought as another surge of hunger hit him.

Finally, Jiraiya made the last brushstroke, completing the integration with Minato's original design.

He sat back to examine the seal matrix—clean, modular, and designed with a fail-safe that would activate if the Nine-Tails' chakra exceeded three tails.

You'd appreciate this kind of elegant solution, Minato, he thought.

A sharp crack drew his attention. Thirty yards away, one of his clones had attempted the Wind Razor jutsu on a boulder, and this time, instead of the usual rough gash, the stone split cleanly in two, the cut surface smooth as glass.

The clone had finally reached the precision needed for the technique.

"Hey, hey! Look at this!" Naruto's excited voice echoed across the training ground. "I did it! I did it!"

Jiraiya looked up to see Naruto holding two halves of a leaf, beaming with triumph. The cut was clean, precise—exactly as it should be.

Around him, the other clones began dispelling, their accumulated experience flowing back to the original.

"Well done," Jiraiya called out, rolling up the seal scroll. Though his mesh armor felt tight again, he ignored it. Today's successes were worth a little discomfort.

"Now do it again. A hundred times."

"What?! But I just—ugh, fine," Naruto grumbled, grabbing another leaf.

"I'll master this way faster than you think, believe it!"