Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I gain money from writing stories that coexist with them.

A/N: Well, here's to me writing one of the saddest parts in the whole manga/anime. Don't beat me up for making toddlers cry, because it's just what they would do if they were in the anime.

Frwt: Okay, this is a valid question. The twins are two and a half and yes, they do amazing things like jumping to a roof but you have to think that they have been around when Jiraiya was training Naruto and they do speak better than most at that age, but that's one thing I love about Japan, they are ahead of us in most ways, their children speaking before those in the US is no difference and that's what I based that on.

Inuyasha16451: I'm glad you loved it.

Melyway: Love the reaction; I'm glad I wowed you.

Luckyinugirl: I'm having the same issue, writing this scene has made me cry because I put myself in Naruto's shoes to write it and know how losing a father figure feels. What killed me is the fact that the twins thought of him like family and their reaction hit me hard since they are more mature than most two and a half y/o's and knew what death means.

Chapter Twenty-One

Naruto is now slowly walking with the twins who are now deeply asleep since they cried themselves to sleep before she put them onto the fox that is walking slowly besides her. Her memories are flooding through her head, making her relive every moment she's had with Jiraiya, tears brimming in her eyes. "Hey, Naruto!" Iruka grins at his pupil as she comes closer to him. "I hear you're doing all sorts of dangerous missions these days. Everyone in the village is talking about you. What do you say we hang out, for old time's sake? How about we hit Ichiraku? Eh? Get some ramen!" He says trying to get her to cheer up which doesn't work as she looks down at the ground, making him stare at her with worry filled eyes.

"No thanks," she says as her and the fox walk past him, her thoughts and heart full of pain. Iruka stares back, hating that he cannot help his student when she's mourning.

~3~

As soon as Naruto gets home, the twins asleep and lying down on the bed, she tries to eat her some ramen but after a few bites she couldn't stomach anymore. She figured that she would go out and take a walk, leaving the twins in the protective care of her foxes.

She walks down one of the many slopes until she walks in front of a general store. She buys herself a popsicle and sits on a bench in the park where she brought the twins to play when she doesn't have a mission. The popsicle hangs from her hand, dripping as it is a pretty warm night as she is overwhelmed by her memories and the pain that is crushing her chest, tears dripping down her cheeks as she couldn't help but to cry from it all.

"Naruto," Iruka walks up to her slowly and sits next to her on the bench as she scoots down to give him some room. "I heard about Lord Jiraiya."

"I wanted him to keep watching me; I wanted him to be here when I became Hokage. To have him see me do more than just screw up," she smiles as the tears dry on her cheeks. "He promised that he would be there for me and the twins, a grandfather to us."

"Lord Jiraiya had nothing but praise for you. He'd brag constantly about you, how you were practically his granddaughter," Iruka says and smiles at the girl. "How you were a woman who'd inherited his spirit. He never doubted for a minute that you'd grow up to be a wonderful Hokage," he says as he stares at the woman. "Lord Jiraiya will always be watching over you. I'm sure he's looking down on you now, wherever he is," he stands up to look down at her. "But if you just sit around sulking, he won't be able to brag about you, so," he pauses and takes the Popsicle from her slack fingers. "Don't stop being the person who earned all that praise. Be yourself, and cheer up! You're Lord Jiraiya's prize pupil – the man who he acknowledged as being the best," he tells her as he breaks the Popsicle while staring at her. Naruto stares back at him until a small smile forms on her soft lips as she accepts the half of the Popsicle that he handed her.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei," she tells him.

~3~

Shikamaru looks up at the tall gate to the Namekaze-Uzumaki grounds and sighs before he knocks on the door. "Is she out?" He wonders as the maids tend to not answer when their mistress is not here. The door slides open and reveals a Naruto who has tear tracks down her cheeks as she peeks out.

"Shikamaru? What do you want?" Naruto asks him as she steels her facial expressions while looking at him.

"Can I come in at least?" He asks as he wonders if he can get through to her. She lets him in and trudges back to her room way at the back, making Shikamaru more worried that she wouldn't even go to a room to speak to her guests. He hands her the picture of the hidden message on the elder frogs back so that she could look at it. "So? Does it make any sense to you?" He asks as Naruto stares at the message. "Hey! Naruto!" He shouts at her as it seems like she's not really there with him, this startles her enough to stare up at him with wide eyes.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! What was it again?" Naruto asks as she smiles at him.

"Come with me for a minute," he tells her and stands up from her floor.

"Where?" She asks.

"Just get up," he tells her and tugs her up onto her feet.

"Wh-what the hell!?" Naruto shrieks as he just throws her over his shoulder, knowing that the twins have been watched over as they are with his mother.

~3~

He didn't sit her down until they were right in front of Konoha Hospital, and then they were just standing there staring at the massive building. "Ah! There she is," Shika smiles and Naruto stares back in confusion. Kuranai stared back at the two with shock as she stared back at them.

"Eh!? Kuranai-sensei's-" Naruto starts and Shika interrupts.

"Yep," he tells her.

"You are pregnant?" Naruto squeals as she covers her now excitedly blushing cheeks, practically bouncing in her steps. "I miss being at that stage, it was fun and so delicious as Pervy Sage tended to get me everything I craved at that point."

"You might say that now but you were complaining a lot when you were that far along, Naruto," Shika grins at the girl.

"Y-you had a baby, Naruto?" Kuranai says as her face is so full of shock she didn't know what to say. Gathering back her senses she turns her gaze to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, you don't have to come here every day."

"Heh, I'm afraid I do. Asuma made me promise," he tells her making Naruto's eyes widen as they both turn and watch Kuranai walk off towards home. "That kid's gonna be my pupil someday," he tells his friend and she stares at Shika wondering why he decided to be the baby's sensei in the future. "Asuma left him in my care. I know all about Jiraiya-sama," he stopped and stared at her showing her that he will be there for her if she wants him to be. "I lost my teacher too; I know what you're going through. Nothing's gonna happen if you keep hesitating." Naruto pouts as she tries to hold back her tears. "It's time you left that place behind, too."

"What're you talking about?" Naruto asks.

"My teacher taught me a ton of things. Some of it was invaluable; some of it was completely useless. Yours did too, right? Lots of things, countless things. We're on our way there, too, you know?" Shika tells her as they both stared at the path that led away from the hospital.

"On our way where?" Naruto asks and they started walking.

"To their side, the side that leaves behind instead of inherits. It may be troublesome, but it's the way of the world," Shika tells her as he looks at her over his shoulder making her eyes widen. "Pretty soon, you'll be the one treating some kid to ramen, and he'll call you 'Naruto-sensei.' We can't stay kids forever. Not if we wanna be kickass Shinobi like Asuma and Jiraiya-sama." When he says this, Naruto pictures Jiraiya in her mind and smiles. "Now, get a grip, you've got a job to do," Shika says as he holds the picture up at her so she can see it again.

~3~

They ended up going to the Cryptography Unit to try and see if Naruto could figure out what the message's system of encryption is. She stared down at the picture, thinking hard on it. "You haven't said a word this whole time. Anything yet?" Shika asks as he stares at her with impatience brewing inside of him as Naruto hums. "I already tried the Fifth and Kakashi-sensei, and they had nothing. I've got a strong feeling this message was meant for you. Actually, I'm sure of it. There's a connection to you, I just know there is."

"If you think of anything, anything at all, just tell me what to do. Unless it's, 'decode it now' or something," the woman who is the head descriptors assistant says.

"There was one thing when I first saw the picture," Naruto says as she closes her eyes and then turns to look at Shika. "Well, I thought, 'how come everything's a number except that first Katakana character?'"

"Huh?" Shika's eyes widen when she says this.

"Katakana?" The assistant asks.

"Where?! Where do you see that?!" Shika asks as he leans over to stare at the picture again.

"There, see?" She says as her and the assistant leans over, pointing at the first figure on the elder toads back.

"There's no Katakana. That's a 9, right?" Shika asks her.

"I thought so too at first, but I'm sure it's not a 9. It's a Katakana 'ta,'" Naruto tells them.

"Hunnnh, now that you said it, I'm starting to see it like that, too," Shika says as he stares back at her.

'Maybe,' the assistant thought. "Namekaze-Uzumaki-chan, could you tell me why you think this is a 'ta' and not a '9'?" She asks as she adjusts her glasses.

"Well, the old pervert was constantly working on his new book. He was an author too, remember? And since I was the only one who could understand adult books, he made me read all his handwritten drafts," she tells her. "He'd say, 'give me your opinion.' And I'd say, 'this is boring as hell.' Whenever there was a 'ta', I'd get confused because his 'ta's' do look like 9's. So, you know."

"Right, it was just his handwriting," the assistant mused.

"A handwriting quirk, huh," Shika thought as he watched the woman.

"Like this, yes?" The assistant asks as she writes on a paper. "Lord Jiraiya had a habit of writing the first stroke of 'ta' a bit short, and joining the third stroke to the very bottom of the first one. And he also put a slight curve on the second stroke. Making his 'ta' look like a '9.' Frankly, I think this could be the link between Namekaze-Uzumaki-chan and Lord Jiraiya we've been looking for!" She exclaims as she adjusts her glasses.

"Why the hell didn't you say that right away? This could be a huge clue!" Shika complains.

"But what does knowing it's a 'ta' even do for us?" Naruto asks.

"Aah! The book! You just said it!" Shika exclaims after he thought hard on what it could mean.

"Y-yes, Shikamaru! Frankly, I think the clue could be hidden within Lord Jiraiya's book! The numbers must be line numbers, word markers, and pages. Yes, this is definitely leading us down the right path!" The assistant says as she smiles widely.

"Naruto, did you notice anything significant in the book involving the 'ta' character?" Shika asks.

"Uhhh, hmm," Naruto was stumped.

"Hey, what number book was this slated to be?" Shika asks.

"I dunno, four? Maybe five?" Naruto tells him.

"Either way, we need to get all those books and do some research," Shika says with a smile on his face.

"I believe you'll find this volume especially interesting," Kakashi says as he opens the window holding the book up and they saw that 'ta' was in the title.

"Come come tactics," Shika grins. "'Ta'."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaims as she spins around.

"I was curious how things were going, and I ended up over-hearing your conversation," Kakashi says as he is still holding the book up.

"That's…the book he wrote while he was training me," Naruto tells them.

"I never would've noticed if Naruto hadn't said anything. I was right, the message must be for Naruto," Shika smiles.

"The volumes are numbered, if the first character of the code is 'ta', he must have been trying to lead us to the 'tactics' volume," Kakashi says as he looks down at his book.

"If the message is within the book, we'll need to look at pages, count words, and so on. We should try page numbers first! Let's see, the commas are the delimiters, 31, 8, 106, 7, 207, 15, six in all. So the information will be on six pages. Page 31 is first. Let's take a look at it," the assistant tells Kakashi.

"Page 31, eh," Kakashi flips through them and looks back at her. "Here we are, now where do we look?"

"The most common method is to look at the first letter on the page. We also need the word's context, so read the whole sentence out loud, please," she tells him.

"Bwuh? Err, uh…" Kakashi starts sweating when he saw the line they want him to read out loud.

"What's the problem?! Just read it already!" Naruto crabs at him.

"Eeeh-nnnh-" He whimpers out while they write the lines down on a piece of paper. Shikamaru's face is speechless when they finished writing everything down.

"That's all six pages!" The assistant says with a huge smile on her face.

"Well?" Naruto asks.

"If we read the first words in order, we get, 'the real one isn't with them,'" she says.

"The hell does that mean?" Naruto wonders.

"We should get in touch with Fukasaku-sama. If he was there during the fight with Pain, it should mean something to him," Kakashi suggested.

"I'll ask the Fifth to find this Fukasaku guy right away," Shika tells him.

"May I accompany you?" The assistant asks him.

"Yeah, please," he tells her and her face transforms into full on glee.

"Okay! Let's go talk to her right now!" Naruto shouts out.

~3~

Inside of the Hokage's office, both Shika and Naruto along with the assistant and Kakashi were looking over the message with the elder toad. "The…real…one…isn't…with…them?" The toad looks at it and thinks deeply.

"How about it, gramps!? Does it tell you anything?" Naruto asks as she tries to be patient with the toad who keeps reading the words over and over as the Hokage watches him. He pulled up the memories of the fight with Pain, going through every single part inside his brain, racking it trying to recall a clue.

"I don't understand, with only this to go on, it's still too vague," he tells the girl.

"Well then, is there anything else you can think of?" Shika asks him.

"I already told you what I know about Pein, he's the kind of man who'll come back even if he dies, but that's just my speculation. It would be dangerous to go up against Pein in this state of affairs. We have to solve this mystery first," he tells everyone.

"How are our other information sources coming along? The autopsy and interrogation," Kakashi asks.

"It looks like those two will still take some time," Sakura tells him.

"Like how long?" Naruto asks the pink haired woman.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sakura says as she shakes her head.

"What the hell is that!? Is this really the time to be sitting around on our asses!?" Naruto gripes as she now shows her impatience.

"Interrogation aside, the cells and tissue have to be thoroughly analyzed in the autopsy! That will take time no matter what!" Sakura shouts at her.

"It'll be a week at the earliest, I imagine," Lady Tsunade says as she tries to get Naruto to see that she is losing her patience again.

"It takes that long!?" Naruto whines as she hangs her head.

"You don't need to get so disappointed, Lady Namekaze-Uzumaki," the assistant says as she tries to cheer the girl up.

"So, what are we going to do, Fifth?" Shika asks her as he himself is starting to lose his patience.

"Shizune is overseeing the autopsy; it will probably go faster than usual. There's nothing to do but wait, really," Tsunade says.

"I'm gonna go tell them to get a move on!" Naruto growls as she turns and starts walking to the door.

"Hold it, Naruto! I won't forgive you if you get in Shizune's way!" Sakura shouts at her.

"I'm going to get revenge for that Ero-sennin," Naruto says as she is now right in front of the door. "There's no way I'm just gonna wait around here!" She says as she looks at them from the corner of her eye.

"Naruto-chan, the fact that I figured out the code has nothing to do with you," the old toad starts as he stares at the girl.

"What are you talking about!?" She shouts at him.

"Deciphered or not, there's no way you can win against Pein the way you are now," he tells her. "So, come with me," he says and she looks at him with widened eyes. "I'll train you in magic on the strange tree mountain. If you don't mind learning the same way I beat it into Jiraiya-chan.

"And I'll really be able to beat Pein that way!?" Naruto asks as her eyes narrow.

"I don't know, all I know that if you stay as you are now, you're no good," he tells her and turns to the Hokage. "Do you mind, Tsunade?"

"Of course not, Naruto, you'd better work hard," she tells the girl that she thinks of as a granddaughter.

"Training in these arts is harsher than you could ever imagine! Think you can do it?" He asks the girl.

"That Ero-sennin could do it, couldn't he? Then there's no way I can fail either! I'll do it!" Naruto says as she stares back at the toad.

'An apprentice handed down, the child of prophecy?' The toad thought as he smiled at her. "Well said!"

~3~

Sakura, Shikamaru and Tsunade were standing at the entrance to the village to see off Naruto, the twins and the elder toad. "We're headin' out. Say yer goodbyes, Naruto-chan, Fuu-chan and Shina-chan," he says as he looks at the foxes with a wary eye.

"I'll see you guys later. Figure out that code, Shikamaru," Naruto says as the twins' wave at him.

"Don't worry about me," Shika says.

"I'll send word when the autopsy and interrogation have both concluded," Tsunade says as she stares back at the young woman.

"I'll leave y'all a transmission frog. Anythin' happens, you let him know," the toad tells her.

"Of course," she replied.

"Go get 'em, Naruto!" Sakura cheers her friend on.

"Right! Let's roll!" Naruto waves at her with two fingers as her and the foxes turned around with the twins on their backs. She started walking and groans and looks at the elder toad. "So, which way is Myouboku Mountain, now?"

"It'd be about a month on foot. They call it a mountain of mazes, if ya don't know the secret paths, you'll never make it through," he tells her.

"Man, just getting there's that hard?" Naruto says as she hangs her head.

"Naruto-chan, you've already signed the contract with us toads, there ain't no need to put up a fuss," he says as he summons the scroll that holds Jiraiya's name and her father's on it as well.

"Oh! That's th-" Naruto stops what she's going to say as she points at the scroll.

"We'll be off," he tells Tsunade as he releases the scroll.

"Please take good care of them," Tsunade says as she bows to the toad.

"What do you mean, 'don't put up a fu-" Naruto starts then is interrupted as she disappears along with the children who were holding onto her.

"Huh? She disappeared?" Sakura says as her jaw drops.

"Reverse summoning," Tsunade tells her.

"Wow," she says.

"I'm countin' on y'all, too," the old toad says as he disappears as well.

"Okay, let's all redouble our efforts and figure out what Jiraiya wanted to tell us!" Tsunade says as she turns around and starts walking back into town.

"Roger that," Shika says.

"Yes ma'am!" Sakura replied.

'Namekaze-Uzumaki Naruto, the destined child?' Tsunade thought as she looks over her shoulder with a worried frown on her face.

~3~

The small group appeared amongst an area that looks like there's huge leaves and frogs relaxing in them or on them. "What the-" Naruto stops as she stares up at the tall leaves when the elder frog pops up besides her.

"Naruto," a voice said drawing her attention to him. "I summoned you here, Naruto."

"Aaaah ha. So that's what happened," Naruto says, looking down at her hands with a smile on her face. The twins got off of the foxes and ran over to hug Gamakichi.

"Come fill yer stomach before we start our trainin'," the elder says, making the woman stare at him with confused eyes. They are all sitting around a table that holds more things with insects and grubs in them than Naruto has ever seen.

"Eat up, kiddo! Made an extra special dish just for you!" Granny toad says as she winks at the young woman. The twins actually tried the food and shrugged when it didn't taste all that bad to them, so they continued to eat while their mother goes and hurls her stomach up. They decided to go out to the training area.

"You ain't got time to puke, girl, we gotta start yer trainin' straight away," the elder frog tells her as he stares at the twins who were standing there waiting.

"R-right!" Naruto says.

"The first thing I'm gonna teach ya is the difference between regular Ninjutsu and Hermit arts, or 'Senjutsu,'" he tells the young woman as the twins hops up and down.

"Yay!" They both cheered together as they jump.

"Senjutsu?" Naruto asks.

"Yep, instead of usin' internal energy, like ya do for Ninjutsu, Senjutsu uses energy ya absorb from outside sources," the old frog says as Naruto listens.

"Outside? What does that mean?" She asks.

"Hrmm, ya know how Ninjutsu works, Naruto-chan. Ya combine yer internal 'spiritual energy' and 'physical stamina' and mold 'em both into 'Chakra', then use that fer yer techniques," he explains. "With Senjutsu, ya take that internal Chakra and augment it with 'nature's energy,' creatin' a new, much more powerful form 'a Chakra. And all yer Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, even yer hand-to-hand skills'll get a serious power-up. So ya got yer internal spiritual energy, physical stamina, and the power of nature comin' in from the outside. Techniques usin' Chakra made from those three energy sources are called 'Senjutsu.'" He says as he heard Naruto humming.

"It's like ice cream, when they add in mint to a chocolate-vanilla swirl. That makes it even more delicious!" Gamakichi explains to the girl, drawing a chuckle from the twins.

"Don't make things more complicated, Gamakichi!" The old toad shouts at his grandson.

"Aaah! Now I get it!" Naruto exclaims.

"Now she gets it?" The old frog grumbles.

"Heheh, that's how it goes with Naruto," the younger toad tells him.

"So what is this 'nature energy' you're talking about?" The young woman asks.

"It's all around ya, the power of the atmosphere and mother Earth," he told her.

"Atmosphere and Earth," Naruto hums as she rubs her chin.

"The air and the ground," Gamakichi says.

"I know that, Kichi, I was just trying to figure out how this will work," she tells him.

"Enough talk, time ta see it in action," the elder toad says and hops down towards some frog statues. 'That oughtta do it.'

"Rock on, Fukasaku-sama! Look at all the natural energy he's collectin'!" Gamakichi shouts as he cheers the old toad on.

"Huh? Where?" Naruto squints as she still couldn't see it.

"Wh-whoa," the young toad says as he stares at the elder toad who is now trying to lift the statue. The statue lifts up into the air making the woman's jaw drop.

"He picked it up?!" She exclaims.

"How's that, girl? This's what Senjutsu can do, the power of nature in your hands!" The toad says as he holds the statue with just one of his hands that looks like it has veins bursting out. He groans out as he tosses the statue down and it lands with a loud rumble.

"But what'd you do? I didn't see anything, the old hermit frog just made a little seal," Naruto wonders out loud as she tries to figure this out.

"Ahh yes, ya can't sense the ebb and flow of Mother Nature yet, meanin' ya can't draw it inta yerself, either," Fukusaku says as he is now pouring with sweat.

"So what do I do?" Naruto asks as she stares at the panting toad.

"Ya gotta become one with the Earth!" He says as the sweat drips quickly from his head.

"Uhh, how?" She asks.

"You gotta die," Gamakichi says.

"Bwha?" Naruto grunts out. "Die!? I gotta die if I wanna become one with nature?" She squeaked out as she stares up at Gamakichi.

"Did ya say die, Gamakichi? The hell's wrong with you, boy? No more stupid examples from you!" Fukusaku sternly says.

"But…" The young toad says.

"Relax, Naruto-chan. Ain't no need fer ya ta actually die," he reassures her. "Now lemme finish what I was talkin' about. Ya keep yer traps shut 'til I'm done! The way ya make yerself 'one' with the energy of nature, is by learnin' ta sense it and draw its current into yer body. And as ya make it part of yerself, ya become able ta freely control its flow in an' outta yer body. Let's try us a more concrete example, eh?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Naruto nods quickly, impatient to start as the twins giggle at their mother.

"Don't move a muscle," he tells her as he points at her.

"Huh?" Naruto stares at him, confused.

"Ya gotta stop disruptin' the flow of natural energy all around ya. That's the first step ta reachin' harmony with nature," he tells her.

"So, I just stand still? Sounds like a piece of cake to me!" Naruto grins cockily.

"You don't get it, Naruto," Gamakichi says as he stares at his friend.

"Hmph, fer livin' creatures, stayin' still's about the hardest thing ya can do," Fukusaku says as he hops over to the pool that they were near.

"I've trained to jump, run, draw out my Chakra, but not moving sounds kinda…weird. But that's how I'll learn to manipulate natural energy, right?" Naruto asks as she punches her other hand.

"It ain't gonna happen in a few seconds, kiddo. This's real difficult stuff," he tells her as he finally lands right besides it.

"You know we don't have a lot of time. There's gotta be a way to do it really fast!" She says.

"I ain't sayin' there ain't, but…" He stops talking as he noticed that she was staring at something. "This here waterfall's actually the secret toad oil of Myouboku Mountain."

"Toad oils?" She stares up at the waterfall.

"C'mere girl, gimme yer hand," he beckons her and she walks over to him.

"Okay," she rolls her sleeve up a little bit and he dips his finger into the oil before he starts rubbing circles on her wrist. "What's it do?"

"The oil's like a magnet fer nature's energy. It'll help with yer trainin'," he tells her as he continues to rub the oil in.

"Niiiiiice! I think I feel my skin tingling already!" She smiles as she watches.

"Rubbin' the oil on yer body will draw in all kinda power from all around ya. Over time, you'll learn ta feel it in yer skin. And once ya know how ta recognize that feelin', that sensation, eventually you'll be able ta draw in the energy without any oil at all. But there's a risk," he tells her as she starts showing characteristics of a toad, which starts to freak her out. Even more so when she saw her reflection she screams. "If ya ain't learned how ta control nature's power, ya start turnin' into a toad." He forms some seals and summons a stick.

"Heeeeelp!" Naruto panics while the twins jaw drops, wincing when they watched the old toad hit their mother over the head with the stick, making her grunt out. "Ouch! What the he-" She looks at him. "I-I'm back to normal."

"It's all about balance. 'Spiritual energy,' 'physical stamina,' 'nature's power.' Ya can't use Senjutsu without keepin' all three in perfect harmony!" He smiles at her.

"Balance?" She stares at him.

"Ya already know how ta balance yer spirit and physical energy ta make Chakra fer Ninjutsu, but addin' nature's energy into the mix, an' keeping all three balanced? That's damn near impossible," he tells her. "If ya ain't got enough, ya can't use hermit arts. Too much, and that natural energy'll turn ya into a frog. As long as ya don't go too far, I can return ya ta normal. But if ya get overwhelmed by the power of nature, you'll be stuck as a frog fer the rest of yer life," he warns her and she gulps.

"What I meant by 'die' is that if you tried it yourself, you'd probably be toast," Gamakichi tells her.

"Those who become frogs really become one with nature. Those statues there are people who failed this trainin'," Fukusaku says as he uses the stick to point to the statues.

"They were all…" she stops as she stares at them.

"Try ta relax, I'll be with ya. My club here knocks the natural energy outta whoever I hit. I'll give ya a good whack whenever ya start turnin' into a frog!" He smiles at her. "And lemme tell ya, even Jiraiya-chan couldn't fully master this. When he'd generate Chakra for Hermit arts he'd turn into a frog just a little bit, and it was still what I'd call impressive progress." He watches as she stares at him intently, following everything he says. "Ya didn't seem ta be intimidated by anythin' I've said, but I'll ask one last time, whatcha say, girl?"

"My way of the Ninja, is the same as Ero Sennin's!" She says as she punches her fist into her hand, smirking.

"Aaaatta girl!" He grins at her.