If an outsider traveled to the Hidden Leaf Village, he or she wouldn't be able to tell of the catastrophe that hit the village two years ago which caused so much property damage and took many lives since the reconstruction efforts were already finished and the survivors had quit mourning the loss of their loved ones while continuing with their lives, though that didn't mean that the village's inhabitants were more accepting of me and Naruto because people would often scatter with murmurs whenever I would take Naruto on a walk through the village and Jiraiya would accompany me during his once a month visits.
While nobody was stupid enough to risk the wrath of the toad sage by speaking their opinions of the blond toddler and me out loud, they sure as hell wasn't showing sympathy either and Jiraiya was less than pleased when I informed him of the knowledge I had learned of how he was seen as our jailer rather than being my friend and Naruto's godfather, but we had to admit that it wasn't stupid or illogical to think about so we would sometimes spend time discussing ways on how to make the population of the village stop being afraid of me and the kid.
As for Naruto, taking care of him became an even harder task once the little boy learned how to walk and despite his short chubby legs, the kid was insanely fast while always running from one room to another and never taking breaks so I tried to keep him at bay with a baby fence but he somehow ends up escaping, then I discovered that the only way to make him stay still for a prolonged amount of time was to play with him in my dog form like I always do and I always end up utterly exhausted after an hour or so while that's if I don't come home from a mission very tired.
Despite this, there was always somebody willing to play with Naruto since the kid had a talent for lighting up the mood of anyone who would spend more than a few minutes with him and the times in which Jiraiya and I were present at the same time were always the most fun and pleasant while we would be the only ones in which Naruto is the first to fall asleep first.
Speaking of that, today was going to be one of those days while I was heading home after returning to the village and reporting to the Hokage while I had a smile on my face since Jiraiya was visiting today and he had decided to look after Naruto while I was gone, so it was going to be nice relaxing for the day with family.
I took a moment to think about that since I originally wasn't sure about Jiraiya because he was a "Super Pervert" as he liked to call himself and it didn't give me a very good impression of the man, but imagine my surprise when he showed how much of a genius he was in the art of sealing and my view of him improved while he showed none of his perverted tendencies around Naruto, which he explained that he was still a man with standards and how his old teammate Tsunade would make him wish he was dead if he so much as tried to corrupt Naruto and she was to ever find out about it since Naruto had a slight connection to her family, though I made sure to remind him that Tsunade wouldn't be the only one he had to worry about if I ever caught him trying to be a bad influence to Naruto and Jiraiya paled at that.
Either way, I pushed those thoughts aside as the house came into view and I was happy to spend a fun afternoon with Naruto and Jiraiya while I entered the house and removed my sandals before placing them next to the door.
"Hey, I'm home!" I announced while putting my keys and wallet on the table next to the door until I headed into the living room to see the dog Anbu playing with Naruto while Jiraiya was nearby.
"That's good since we were waiting for you," Jiraiya responded as I noticed two small familiar toads alongside him, one who was green with gray bushy eyebrows and a goatee of the same color while the other was greenish-yellow with a bulbous purple head and thick purple lips.
"I believe I already introduced you to Fukasaku and Shima, the two great sage toads," Jiraiya continued and the two elderly toads smiled warmly when they saw me.
"Hello, it's good to see you again, dear boy," Fukasaku greeted.
"Indeed, we're always happy to see that you're doing well," Shima added and I lowered my head into a respectful bow.
"Lord Fukasaku, Lady Shima, it's nice to see you both again so might I ask the reason for your visit?" I inquired curiously as I raised my head.
"The great toad sage had requested to see both you and Jiraiya-boy so, now that you have finally arrived, we must head to Mt. Myoboku immediately," Shima explained and Fukasaku nodded in agreement.
"We'll travel there via reverse summoning," Fukasaku added and I was puzzled by that.
"Um, sorry if I sound rude but I don't have a toad summoning contract so how are you going to bring me there?" I asked in confusion and Fukasaku smiled assuringly.
"Not to worry, we have a solution to that so let me see your hand," Fukasaku instructed and I walked over to him before I reached out, then the male toad placed his hand over mine and closed his eyes until his hand started glowing blue.
"Sage Art: Seal of the Toads," Fukasaku muttered before I felt my palm tingling and the elderly toad was finished as he took his hand away, then I saw the kanji for oil engraved on my palm as I studied it with a look of interest.
"That's a special seal that will allow you to be reverse summoned by the toads and let you summon any toad you want, though bear in mind that it will only last a day before it fades and it will be more than enough for our current endeavor," Fukasaku explained and Shima cleared her throat.
"Okay, let us be off then," Shima said as she and her husband appeared to focus and I felt a familiar sensation of being transported somewhere.
In just a second, Jiraiya and I were no longer inside the living room and found ourselves in the middle of what appeared to be Mt. Myoboku before I was rendered astonished at my new surroundings and marveled at the natural beauty of the toads' home for the first time.
All around us were giant plants and mushrooms and beautiful flowers that I have never seen before, nor knew that they existed while multiple rivers and streams flowed through the mountain, then I noticed the many toad statues scattered around the place and couldn't help but find the place oddly familiar until it took a second for me to realize what Jiraiya's inspiration was to decorate Naruto's bedroom two years ago.
"So, what do you think of our home, dear?" Shima asked me and I pondered the best way to answer her until I looked at the female toad.
"It's...incredible and you can almost just feel the energy around us while it is simply overwhelming...so much life that's untouched by humanity and there's nothing like this anymore where I originally lived because of the deforestation and pollution that occurred throughout history," I answered solemnly, feeling guilty that the humans in my version of earth were responsible for so much destruction and disregard for life since we first evolved.
"I see, and would you say it's better than where you originally lived?" Shima inquired and Fukasaku sent her a reproached glance.
"Ma, don't ask him such a thing and can't you see that you're putting him in a predicament?!" Fukasaku exclaimed angrily and his wife glared at him with a tick-mark.
"Oh can it, Pa, since it's not every day that we invite a non-toad summoner to our place that often, and I just want to compare!" Shima retorted irritably, the argument causing me and Jiraiya to sweatdrop as I cleared my throat uncomfortably.
"Um, better or worse isn't exactly words that I'd use to compare both places since where I used to live still has nice forests and mountains, so I guess that the word I'd use would be...different," I responded awkwardly, hoping that my answer wouldn't offend the two elderly toads since this was the first time that I've seen this place and I didn't want to be rude.
"So, you said that the great toad sage wanted to see us?" Jiraiya cut in, apparently wanting for us to get back to our current business and Fukasaku blinked at that.
"Oh, you're right so let us not make Lord Gamamaru wait any longer," Fukasaku said as he led the way and Shima made a face at that.
"Like that senile old geezer won't forget that he wanted to speak with the kids in the first place!" Shima scoffed while we continued moving through the forest and Fukasaku hopped up onto Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Jiraiya-boy, since you're here, have you thought that it might be a good chance to complete your senjutsu training?" Fukasaku inquired, causing me to wonder what senjutsu is as Jiraiya tensed slightly.
"Eh...maybe another time since I'm kinda busy right now," Jiraiya replied uneasily and Fukasaku sighed in exasperation.
"Always with that same excuse," Fukasaku grumbled before Jiraiya shot him an offended look.
"Hey, I'm helping a teenager take care of a baby right now so cut me some slack!" Jiraiya exclaimed defensively and Fukasaku sent him an unamused expression.
"Were you helping a teenager take care of a baby during the past ten years as well?" Fukasaku remarked as Jiraiya glared at him for the smartass comment.
"I don't need it because I've already mastered senjutsu," Jiraiya said before Fukasaku scoffed while also looking unimpressed.
"Then you and I have a very different idea on what 'mastering' senjutsu means because you need both Ma and me to enter and maintain sage mode, plus your control of nature chakra has plenty of room for improvement," Fukasaku lectured and Jiraiya grimaced until he sighed.
"Listen, I will finish my training, okay? I need to focus on helping Seth take care of Naruto first and foremost," Jiraiya reassured and Fukasaku hummed at that before he nodded with a look of understanding.
"I understand, Jiraiya-boy, but try not to delay it for much longer because the difference between an incomplete and complete sage mode could mean the difference between life and death," Fukasaku stated, something I couldn't help but see the logic in that while we continued walking.
After a short trip, we arrived at where Gamamaru was at and stood in front of him as he was sitting on a shallow pool and I gazed at the large red toad in front of me since, judging by the number of wrinkles, warts, and near-closed eyes, it was obvious that he was very old but I had no idea how old he was and decided not to ask since it would be rude.
"Lord Gamamaru, Jiraiya-boy and Seth Mercer are here just as you requested," Fukasaku announced, then Jiraiya and I bowed as the large elderly toad gazed at us.
"Honorable sage," Jiraiya and I both said respectfully before we waited to see what he wanted to say.
"Ahhh, I see...good, there is much we need to discuss," Gamamaru told us, each word coming out of his mouth at a rather slow pace.
Jiraiya and I waited expectantly about what Gamamaru wanted to tell us and we waited for a few minutes, but the elderly toad didn't say anything else and I was starting to feel confused and a little awkward as Fukasaku cleared his throat.
"Lord Gamamaru?" Fukasaku asked in confusion until the large elderly toad before us let out a loud snore and I started sweatdropping with Jiraiya doing the same thing.
'Wait, did he seriously just fall asleep?!' I thought in disbelief as I started twitching.
"Wake up, you old geezer!" Shima screeched suddenly, startling the rest of us and waking Gamamaru before the elderly toad blinked wearily.
"Is it lunchtime already?" Gamamaru questioned, appearing disoriented as he looked around slowly.
"Lord Gamamaru, you wanted to talk with Jiraiya-boy and Seth, remember?" Fukasaku reminded the elderly toad in an attempt to get to the reason why we were here and Gamamaru let out a noise of realization.
"Of course...listen up, young ones, because there is a turbulent future ahead for both of you and the little tadpole under your care," Gamamaru said, and hearing that greatly concerned me while I tensed up at the potential knowledge that Naruto was going to be in danger.
"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but you're telling us that something terrible will happen to Naruto with Jiraiya and I being right in the middle of it?" I inquired uneasily and the elderly toad turned his attention to me.
"Young Naruto will have a hard road ahead of him while doing great things...and meeting terrible enemies so you will need to protect him from those enemies as long as he can't take care of himself," Gamamaru explained and I narrowed my eyes in thought at that.
"We will, great sage," Jiraiya stated in determination while I nodded as well.
"I have seen...war, tragedy, death, strange metal birds that unleash fire from above, carriages that move on their own with men and woman dressed in garbs unlike anything of this world while some of them have outfits that blend into the environment and hold weapons that unleash devastation, and behind the horrors that will be unleashed onto the world with those strangers fighting alongside the shinobi world against them...a one-eyed demon and another thought to have passed on from this world.
Be aware of them because the one-eyed demon will go after you and young Naruto, Seth Mercer, so you must protect him at all cost while remaining on your guard...that is all I have to say to the rest of you but there is one thing that Seth must hear in private," Gamamaru told us and the others were confused at first, but they respected the elderly toad's wishes by leaving me alone with the wise elder.
"Excuse me, Lord Gamamaru, but why do you wish to speak to me in private?" I asked with a puzzled look.
"Because this is something that only you must hear so listen carefully...you will go down a hard journey that will have you face the horror that had made you into the creature you are now and you will be faced with a choice, a choice that will change you forever and only you can make the choice that will either bring you on the path to letting go of the horrors that still torment you or push you down a path of darkness that will cause you to do commit the unthinkable, so you must choose wisely once you reach that time.
One more thing, you will discover love in the most unexpected of individuals and you will discover that one day so return to your home and meditate on my words," Gamamaru told me before he fell asleep once again, then I left the area and met up with the others while I was lost in thought at what I had learned.
"What did he tell you, Seth?" Jiraiya asked and I frowned thoughtfully.
"What he told me is something only I had to hear, so I need to think about what I have learned when we arrive home," I replied before Fukasaku appeared to ponder what I said.
"If what he told you in private is something only you had to hear, then it is something only you must know so we must respect his wishes and take you home," Fukasaku stated before he and Shima teleported me and Jiraiya back to my living room, where I was very concerned when could see Naruto crying his eyes out while the Anbu was appearing more than uncomfortable, judging from his body language as he tried to console the poor kid.
"What's going on here? Naruto, why are you crying?" Jiraiya questioned in concern as he frowned, just as Naruto turned to look at us after hearing his voice before he started beaming and ran over to hug us.
"You back!" Naruto exclaimed joyfully as I picked him up and held the kid against my chest before sending a questioning look at the Anbu operative.
"Dog, what happened?" I asked and the Anbu stiffened up at my accusing stare.
"He saw you two disappearing in a cloud of smoke and thought that you were gone for good, so I've been trying to explain to him that you would be back soon but he didn't believe me," Dog explained, making feel like I was an idiot as I let out a sigh.
"Oh geez, of course he thought that since we left without even saying a word to him," I groaned as I looked down at Naruto and added, "I'm sorry kiddo, we didn't mean to scare you like that so I promise that uncle Jiraiya and I won't ever do that again, okay?"
"Okay!" Naruto cheered as he wrapped his little arms around my neck.
"Alright, enough of that so who's up for game night?" Jiraiya declared and the rest of us, except Dog, cheered as the Anbu operative left the house.
After a fun and lively game night, Naruto had been taken to bed before he was sound asleep until Jiraiya and I were in the living room sharing a bottle of sake while chatting about what we had learned from Gamamaru.
"So, you and Naruto are in danger from a one-eyed demon and does that mean that we should be aware of any one-eyed people we run into? Losing eyes is quite common in our line of work so my first choice would be Danzo, the leader of ROOT," Jiraiya said and I frowned as I thought about the person in question, not trusting Danzo at all since the man would always make my skin crawl whenever we would encounter each other as I always report to the Hokage about my mission successes.
"I see what you mean and the only person with one eye that I know of is Kakashi so maybe he was talking about him," I commented thoughtfully and Jiraiya frowned as he drank from his cup of sake.
"Kakashi has two eyes, even if he only uses one most of the time and he's a nice kid so he wouldn't hurt Naruto because he used to be Minato's student, after all," Jiraiya stated before I sent him a look.
"And let's not forget that he's a huge fan of your books," I pointed out as Jiraiya flinched at that.
"And a huge fan of my books, yes, but I'm not defending him because of that, kid," Jiraiya told me and I smirked at him.
"I know, I was just screwing with you and I mean to sound rude, but couldn't Gamamaru have been more specific about this one-eyed demon? Some hints might've been useful besides this person lacking an eye," I said unamusingly and Jiraiya sighed while I drank from my cup of sake.
"Listen, Gamamaru doesn't have the context of the visions he gets so all he can do is interpret them to the best of his ability," Jiraiya stated but I was still thinking about what Gamamaru told me in private.
"Well, that vision of his has gotten me more than a little unsettled since he told us that Naruto and I were in danger, but didn't specify about what kind of danger and while I am perfectly capable of defending myself, Naruto isn't and we can't protect him from everything since it's not like we can lock him in his room or something," I pointed out and Jiraiya smiled.
"Even if you did, he'll find a way out since he always does from what you told me...but then again, that's nothing new since his parents, especially Minato, made a lot of enemies that would love to get revenge through Naruto and he already has another bullseye on his back due to being one of the two Ninetails Jinchurikis," Jiraiya told me, which caused me to nod.
"Which is even worse," I agreed as Jiraiya frowned thoughtfully.
"Still, what also worries me was the part of war breaking out with strange metal planes appearing, carriages that move without the assistance of horses, and strangers dressed in odd clothes while some were wielding weapons that unleash devastation so is something going to happen in the future that'll cause war to break out and have those odd strangers assist us?" Jiraiya wondered while I knew who those people and what those carriages and metal birds are.
"I don't know, but hearing him say that war will break out in the future is a great cause for concern since we are still recovering from the Ninetails attack and I'm not sure that the village will survive because of it," I admitted uneasily before Jiraiya patted my shoulder.
"Well, I'm sure we'll be ready once the time comes so try not to worry about it too much," Jiraiya reassured before I realized something.
"Hey, that man who was responsible for unleashing the Ninetails onto the village two years ago...Minato did say that he was wearing a mask so what if that mask had only one eyehole?" I theorized and Jiraiya perked up.
"It's possible, and he was after the Ninetails so chances are he might be the one-eyed demon we need to be aware of, though I haven't been able to find him so he definitely covered his tracks but my spy network hasn't let me down yet so chances are I will find him eventually," Jiraiya said as we stood up from our seats.
"Either way, I'll be on the lookout in the event he comes back here to try and come after me and Naruto while you continue your investigation, so I'm going to bed to sleep on what we've learned," I told him and Jiraiya nodded.
"Will do, so stay safe," Jiraiya said as we shook hands, then Jiraiya packed up his things and left the house before I found myself laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling after I had changed into a tank top and boxers.
I couldn't stop thinking about what Gamamaru said to me and I was troubled by it since it sounded like elements from my world would be sent to this one while a war is occurring sometime in the future but the things I had learned while he spoke to me in private had got me lost in thought since it appeared that I would have to face the monster that raped me and changed me into what I am now, but the part about me finding love in the most unexpected of people had gotten me confused just as I felt a familiar pull and suddenly found myself in my mindscape as I stood before the large gate with the fox staring back at me with an unreadable look.
"I thought that you didn't want me to be here so why did you bring me into my mindscape?" I questioned, but the fox was silent and kept gazing at me inquisitively as I started feeling uncomfortable until he let out a rumble.
"I'd rather you weren't here but what that toad said intrigued me since I had heard rumors over the years that his visions tend to come true," the fox told me with narrowed eyes and I let out a hum while I started stroking my chin.
"So, there's going to be a war in the future and people will die during that time...but the part about the one-eyed demon is a cause for concern since it sounds like this person is going to target me and Naruto for some reason," I muttered thoughtfully and the fox scoffed.
"Why don't you use that monkey brain of yours and think about the reason why this person is hunting you and the little brat specifically or is that too hard for a brainless ape like you?" the fox told me condescendingly, though I ignored the insult to my intelligence as I pondered as to why this person was going to be after me and Naruto when he could hunt anyone else until the answer came to me and my eyes widened in realization.
"It's you...the reason why this person will be after me and Naruto is because of you and your yang half that's sealed in us," I said with a look of shock and the fox chuckled, though it wasn't a nice laugh.
"Well, at least you aren't as stupid as you look but you are correct, this 'demon' will be after you and the little brat because of my power that lurks inside you both so how unlucky, am I right?" the fox mocked and I glared at him unamusingly for the smartass comment.
"Either way, it sounds like things are gonna go to hell in the future and there's no telling when this person will start coming after us, but one thing I want to ask is that if the man who extracted you out of Kushina and controlled you had a mask with a single eyehole," I told the fox, then he started scowling in displeasure as he glared at nothing in particular.
"Hard to forget being ripped out of my previous container and getting mind-raped a second time without my consent, but that man's orange-spiraled mask did have a single eyehole so where are you going with this?" the fox questioned as he leered down at me.
"So, my theory was correct and it sounds like he's going to attempt to capture you again while also being responsible for starting a war sometime in the future with someone who is thought to be dead, though I can't think of anyone who is supposed to be dead and what did Gamamaru mean when he said that I would find love in the most unexpected of individuals?" I wondered and the fox just smiled sadistically while he rested his head on his humanoid arms.
"I personally couldn't give a damn about you and love? Talk about bullshit because who would love a creature like you? Even if you found someone, just getting intimate with them will cause you to kill them by accident so it looks like you will always be alone," the fox told me cruelly before I was ejected from my mindscape and just stared up at the ceiling.
What he said stung, but he had a point since I'm a walking biohazard that could kill or assimilate someone by accident if I wasn't careful so what Gamamaru said didn't make any sense at all but I had to trust what he told me in private as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
A/N Damn, talk about harsh but Kurama had a point since Seth could kill someone if he wasn't careful so even though the cranky fox isn't as enraged as what was seen in the last chapter, he's still cold to Seth so it'll be a while until he warms up to him.
Anyway, what did you think of the vision Gamamaru spoke of to the others publicly and to Seth in private since it sounds like Seth will go through a lot in the future but, as for the vision of elements from our world being sent to the shinobi world, that will be explained when the fourth shinobi war kicks off and the only hint I'll give you is that it involves the vortex that transported Seth to the shinobi world so I can't wait to see your theories on how it'll happen.
So, let me know what you think and stay tuned.