Prologue of the Toad Sage
Ch.2 A Whole New World
The ceremony wasn't anything big, just a few farewells, wishes for his safety, and it was over. An hour later Naruto was finally off and he couldn't be more exited. Like many of the young toads he had grown up with, he'd only heard things from the older toads. They often spoke ill of places they visited, rarely praising even the places they liked. Young Naruto didn't understand this too well but he wondered if other summon animals felt the same way and spoke badly about Mount Myoboku.
Two hours into his journey and he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. The large scroll tied to his back felt a bit heavier, his simple black training gi was still a bit itchy, and his hands were getting tired... Then again it was expected as he was currently walking on his hands, having thought that it would be a great way to warm up for what was to come.
After a couple more moments his blue eyes brimmed in awe once he made it to the edge of a large hill, finally out of the deep woods. Before him was an amazing sight, clear skies, large vibrant lakes, giant trees in the horizon as well as snowy mountains barely visible from where he was.
"Wow!" Naruto let out happily as he pushed himself off the ground to stand on his feet once again. "This is so cool!" He chuckled in barely contained excitement before running down the cliff via the use of chakra. The wind felt amazing against his face, its smell wasn't as damp as it was in Mount Myoboku, it was fresh and clean.
Once making it to the bottom of the cliff the boy was slightly winded, having gotten over excited again. He didn't know how far he was from the place he called home but wasn't too worried about leaving it behind since he had a map, not that he could read it yet since he had no idea in which direction he had gone, but that would surely change after he visited new places.
So, with the sun high in the sky, Naruto continued to make his way through this brand new world that was surely full of strong fighters.
The sun was setting, darkening the forest in which Naruto was currently walking. Any other kid his age would be afraid to be out alone but Naruto wasn't exactly normal. Growing up, he was often found wondering around the forest for hours simply because he wanted to see what was out there; this along with his unhealthy habit of wanting to face strong opponents all the time and to become stronger, he was a handful to the Toads.
"Let's see..." Naruto trailed off, arms crossed as he sat against a tree. "I ran and ran... Then went down a cliff...swam in a lake and then I walked in a forest again..." the boy scratched his head in obvious disappointment, he had been sure that he would meet someone by now...
Not so fast!
Naruto's ears picked up the sound of crunching leaves. He sat up almost instantly with a smile on his face, thinking that he finally found something, only to be forced to sidestep as a blade cut through the tree he had been leaning on. He rolled into a kneeling position just in time to see the tree fall and the aggressor standing behind the cleanly cut stump. It was a tall figure with a skinny body and two large blades on each side. The boy focused on the figure before breaking into a grin.
"You're a mantis!" He declared, making the mantis chuckle.
"I've never seen a human before...tell me, are your kind tasty?"
Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, "I dunno. Every time I lick my hand it tastes like dirt."
The mantis smirked as it raised its bladed arms, "Then I'll eat you and find out!"
"Wah!" Naruto cried out as he jumped away to dodge an incoming slash. He landed near a tree and frowned, "You're not a good guy!"
The mantis cackled in response as it charged in at the boy who jumped up a tree much to the amusement of the mantis who cut through the tree as if it were paper. "Give up human," the mantis bared its teeth in a smirk, watching as the tree fell before stopping mid-fall. "Eh?"
Naruto gritted his teeth, muscles tensing as he held the fallen tree on his outstretched hands. The mantis gaped at the human in terror before screaming as he lifted the tree over his head. Naruto let out a cry as he flung the tree at the mantis who weeped in terror as it ducked under the incoming tree that ended up crashing loudly against the ground.
"Hmm..." Naruto pouted when seeing that his attack had missed before dropping into a fighting stance and grinning, "You dodged it! Wow! I bet you're super strong!"
The mantis gaped at the kid before bowing as far as it possibly could, "Please forgive me, Master!"
"Huh?"
"I am indebted to you since you have decided to spare my life," the fifteen foot tall mantis cowered under the four foot human.
Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, "But I don't have a spear... I thought we were about to fight?"
"Of course not Master!" The mantis chuckled nervously, "Please forgive my rudeness and let me assist you in anything you may need."
"Well...Do you know if there's any village around here?"
The mantis seemed to think for a moment before speaking, "Well, you may call it a village but we call it the Forest Colony. It is the home of many of my insect comrades."
Naruto's eyes lit up, "Are they strong?"
"Some are very strong, yes. Do you wish to go there Master?"
The boy nodded in response. "And stop calling me Master, my name's Naruto," he introduced himself with a smile.
"As you wish Master Naruto," the mantis replied as it bowed its head, "I am Daisuke."
"Can you take me to the village then?"
"At once," Daisuke replied as it led the boy through the darkening forest.
The two walked for a few minutes before arriving at a tunnel's entrance on the side of a tall hill. Naruto ran to it and peeked inside in wonder, unaware of the mantis raising one of its bladed arms.
'Heh! There's no way I'm going to be bossed around by a little kid!'
"Is this it?" Naruto turned his head to see the mantis with one arm raised. He looked at Daisuke oddly as it stood there with a look of panic.
"I thought I saw something and was pointing to it!" Daisuke cried out in an attempt to hide its real intentions. The human scratched his head in confusion before the mantis decided to speak, "Umm...yes this is the entrance to our colony."
Naruto nodded happily before running inside. At first there was nothing but darkness but that changed once he made it to the top of a large hill overlooking an underground village, torches were all over the place in order to provide lighting, and he could see several holes on the colony's dirt ceiling. He also noticed that the buildings were mostly green with some being a dark brown.
"This is our underground colony," Daisuke explained, "Most of our homes are made out of leaves or dirt. The holes in the ceiling are for ventilation purposes."
"It's awesome," Naruto pointed out happily before looking at the mantis expectantly, "Hey, where are the strong cobras you were talking about?"
"Cobras?"
The boy grinned in excitement as he placed both hands behind his head, "Yeah, you said you had strong insect cobras in here."
The mantis sighed. "Comrades Master, comrades."
"Yeah those!" Naruto laughed, "Where are they?"
'Think for a minute Daisuke! You could take this human to the others, they should be able to defeat him!' The mantis smiled at the boy, "Yes Master, I'll take you there at once!"
With that the two walked down the hill, one plotting away while the other looked around in awe.