Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 185
🕑 Added 2025-02-07 20:09:32 +0000 UTCTo completely overturn Masashi's not-so-great first impression of Mount Myōboku, Fukasaku went all out.
After teaching him senjutsu and introducing the barrier space, Fukasaku summoned a large group of toads to make an appearance.
The scene was practically turning into a grand toad parade of Mount Myōboku.
And there was only one goal—to show that these toads were all responsible, home-friendly creatures. Did any of them look like troublemakers?
Mount Myōboku had always taken world peace as its mission—it was the absolute good guy faction!
Fukasaku had already heard from the messenger toad that when Masashi passed through the portal, he actually wore a gas mask.
In all the years since Mount Myōboku was founded, no one had ever done such a thing.
People who didn't know better might think the place was some kind of demonic lair.
The group of toads Fukasaku summoned were just as shocked.
Perhaps because they were still young, they had never seen a contractor master senjutsu this quickly before.
Masashi picked up the techniques of Mount Myōboku's toads in no time.
Even his Sage Mode was fully polished—it didn't look like he had just learned it that day.
A quick hand seal, a dozen seconds of charging, and boom—activated.
Only thing was, that big, colorful face of his felt a bit out of place.
By the end, Fukasaku's expression was stiff, the toads were exhausted, and only Masashi looked completely refreshed.
What the hell? How did this guy have so much stamina?
That was what all the toads were thinking.
Regardless, this contractor was undeniably strong.
At the very least, he physically outclassed the other two contractors from Konoha.
"How do you feel, Masashi?" Fukasaku felt that the time was about right and decided not to summon any more toads for introductions.
The latest generation of Mount Myōboku's toads were all here.
It was tradition—each generation of toads would correspond to a contractor, ensuring that every contractor had a fully functional toad team.
"It's great, truly worthy of Mount Myōboku's reputation." Masashi spoke sincerely.
The toads were genuinely useful.
Traveling would be much easier from now on.
He had already planned it out—if he needed to charge in aggressively, the giant snakes were perfect, slithering unpredictably in combat.
But for trickier, strategic situations, the toads were much more convenient.
"I won't take up any more of your time today. Matatabi is still waiting outside, gathering dust. I'll be heading back now—thank you for your hospitality." Seeing that the toads looked exhausted, Masashi decided to be considerate. Plus, he didn't want to stay too long and risk the Two-Tails getting grumpy.
"Alright, I'll see you off." Fukasaku was pleased—Masashi was finally behaving like a proper guest of Mount Myōboku.
This was how it should be. The reputation for hospitality had to be upheld.
Saying that, Fukasaku began casting the spell to open the portal.
"Next time you visit, it'll be much easier. Just have the messenger toad notify us, and we'll use Reverse Summoning—huh? Masashi, what are you doing?"
Fukasaku turned his head and almost choked.
He saw Masashi habitually take out his gas mask.
The other toads were also stunned.
What was with this new contractor? He was already absurdly strong—why was he still being so cautious?
Being stared at by dozens of toad eyes, even Masashi couldn't help but blush slightly.
"I was just checking if this thing was broken, you know? You get it, Fukasaku-sama. When traveling, carrying a gas mask is just common sense…"
No, I don't get it!
"Isn't this a bit… excessive? Mount Myōboku is very safe."
Could he have some awareness? Given the beings that resided around Mount Myōboku, any creature foolish enough to provoke Masashi had to have a death wish.
"It's just a habit from rough living conditions in the past. I don't feel comfortable unless I carry extra gear." Masashi quickly put the gas mask away.
Now wasn't the time to take it out.
Damn habits—muscle memory had kicked in.
"Fukasaku-sama, please send my regards to the Great Toad Sage. Thank you for your guidance today. If you have the chance, please visit the Uchiha clan."
"I will, I will." Fukasaku was relieved to see that the mask was finally put away. In high spirits, he nodded. "Travel safely."
"Understood, no need to see me off—too polite." Masashi nodded and stepped into the mist.
Soon, his figure disappeared into the fog, which gradually dissipated.
This meant Masashi had returned to the Maze Mountain, and the portal had fully closed.
Only then did the toads breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"Fukasaku-sama," one of the younger toads hesitantly asked their elder, "this contractor didn't seem to like Mount Myōboku at first. Why were you so accommodating?"
Mount Myōboku wasn't that big, and in such a short time, all the toads had already heard about Masashi's "knocking" incident.
A guy that terrifying—wasn't it enough to just be polite to him?
Previous contractors had never been like this.
The other two from Konoha were very friendly toward the toads—they looked like genuinely good people.
"This is what I wanted to talk to you about." Fukasaku's expression became serious. "Ninjas are warriors born for battle. You cannot judge them by appearances alone. Both Jiraiya and Minato were also feared warriors in the outside world."
"But… this one looks really scary…" the messenger toad muttered. "Everyone thinks he's terrifying."
"Looking fierce doesn't mean he's a bad person. When Masashi met the Great Toad Sage, he was still respectful. He's a proud individual. Considering how rude we were today, it's normal for him to be upset."
Fukasaku sighed.
The Great Toad Sage had protected Mount Myōboku well. Since past contractors all had friendly faces, the younger generation had been spoiled.
"Remember—you must not judge others by their appearance. Konoha is Mount Myōboku's important ally. Any ninja from there should be treated with proper courtesy."
The toads nodded in understanding.
"As long as you learn from this, it's fine. Making mistakes isn't the problem—as long as you correct them." He nodded in satisfaction. "And don't worry—Masashi is from the Uchiha clan. They may be stubborn, but they have soft hearts. As long as you treat him with sincerity, he'll be a trustworthy partner."
The toads suddenly understood and eagerly patted their chests, declaring themselves to be the most honest toads in Mount Myōboku.
Fukasaku smiled, but a thought crept into his mind.
Should Mount Myōboku start raising another batch?
This one might be too gullible and get tricked when they go out into the world.
---
In the depths of Maze Mountain, a figure emerged from the mist, wearing a gas mask.
Masashi ended up putting it on after all.
With all this gear on him, it would have been a waste not to use it—it made him itch to do so.
He couldn't wear it in front of the toads, but putting it on in between should be fine, right?
As soon as he stepped out of the fog, he smoothly removed the gas mask and stored it in a scroll.
Night had fallen over the Maze Mountain.
This wasn't the same place he had entered before.
Masashi activated his chakra perception, and immediately, he sensed a massive presence to the west.
The chakra of a tailed beast was so overwhelmingly "bright" within his sensory range that it practically drowned out all other chakra signatures.
Like searching for light in the dark, only for an Olympic torch to suddenly flare up—making all the tiny sparks of light around it seem nonexistent.
Following this powerful sensation, he headed west.
The scenery gradually became more familiar—after all, it had all been burned to the ground, making it easy to recognize.
Finally, his view opened up.
On the charred, barren land, Matatabi was lazily… sprawled out.
No, not just lazily—it was asleep.
Its two front paws curled against its chest, its face radiated pure bliss.
However, as soon as Masashi stepped into its alert range, Matatabi's ears perked up, and it flipped over, rising to its feet.
Upon recognizing the approaching figure as Masashi, it relaxed.
Then it lay back down again, looking reluctant to move.
"Matatabi, it's time to go home," Masashi walked up and said, reaching out to scratch its chin.
But he was too small—Matatabi barely felt anything.
The beast simply reopened its eyes, gazing at him with mild dissatisfaction.
"Don't tell me you've grown attached to this place? Well, if you really like it, I could talk to Mount Myōboku. Maybe they'd agree."
Yeah, as if.
Otherwise, why didn't Kushina give birth at Mount Myōboku?
Matatabi shook its body and stood up again.
"No way," it said.
Konoha's forests were way more interesting.
"Alright then, let's head back to the Konoha Forest."
Perfect timing—he had just learned a new technique.
Masashi first formed a summoning seal and pressed his hand to the ground.
With a loud puff, a cloud of smoke appeared and then dispersed, revealing a small, bewildered messenger toad.
"Lord Masashi?"
The toad could keenly sense a pair of eyes staring at it from behind.
Oh no, a tailed beast is watching me!
"What's your name again?" Masashi suddenly realized he didn't know.
"Daijiro…"
"Oh, Daijiro! Do you have other messenger toads stationed in Konoha?"
"Yes… Masashi, do you want to use the Summoning Jutsu to return to Konoha?"
"Smart guy. Help me get in touch with them."
Masashi gave the toad named Daijiro a thumbs-up, then remembered the Suna ninja from earlier. He created a shadow clone, instructing it to teleport over with Flying Thunder God to notify them.
Recruiting people could wait for another time—Matatabi needed to be sent back as soon as possible.
After all, as long as the Chunin Exams continued, he'd have plenty of chances to poach talent from Suna.
"Masashi, the connection is established," Daijiro reported. "Shall we initiate Reverse Summoning now?"
"Not yet," Masashi replied.
After a while, his shadow clone's message arrived.
Masashi leaped onto Matatabi's head, pressing his hand against the beast to connect their chakras.
"Alright, Daijiro, tell them to find a spacious area—not in the village."
"Understood!"
Daijiro was full of confidence, though it still didn't dare look back.
A moment later, he announced, "Masashi, everything is ready. The summoning point is set in Konoha Forest. Alright, let them summon us."
"Yes!"
The next moment, the scenery around them seemed to shatter and blur—then instantly reform.
It was the familiar environment of Konoha Forest.
Above them, the night sky shone with stars and moonlight, casting a peaceful glow over the woods—if you ignored the fallen trees around them.
A toad nodded at Masashi before disappearing with a puff.
Human Summoning Jutsu could break the limits of space, allowing creatures or objects to be summoned from anywhere. However, summons could also "bind" themselves to a location and return naturally once their summoning status ended.
This was a technique humans did not possess.
But through the toads of Mount Myōboku, Masashi could make himself the summoned target—this was one form of Reverse Summoning.
Back in Konoha Forest, Matatabi's mood visibly lifted. Masashi could feel its excitement.
So, he leaped onto a nearby tree.
"Matatabi, thanks for today," he waved.
The Two-Tails raised its head high with pride, looking immensely pleased with itself.
Masashi found it amusing.
Not wanting to disturb Matatabi's joyful return to the forest, he teleported back to the village with Flying Thunder God.
The moment he arrived, a group of ANBU rushed toward him.
"Masashi-sama, the Hokage needs you urgently!"
"Whoa, slow down. No matter how urgent, a few seconds won't make a difference," Masashi said, watching them sprint like they were headed to war. "Can you tell me what it's about?"
"Oh, it's about the treaty with Kumo. The Hokage wants to confirm some terms with you."
"Phew! You scared me for a second." Masashi patted the ANBU's shoulder. "Look at you all panicked. Don't worry, I'll head there now. By the way… can I use Flying Thunder God to get to the Hokage's office?"
"Yes, the sooner, the better."
"Got it." Masashi flashed an "OK" sign and teleported away.
This time, he appeared right in front of the Hokage's office and walked in.
At this hour, the administration hall was empty.
Anyone still inside was either an overworked staff member or an ANBU.
As he jogged upstairs, the staff pretended not to see him—despite the no running signs on the walls.
On the second floor, he reached the Hokage's office. The guards at the door opened it for him without hesitation.
"Thanks," Masashi said, stepping inside.
Oh? The Tobirama Squad is here too.
Hiruzen was puffing on his pipe with a smile.
Koharu looked exhausted, while Homura was as serious as ever.
Torifu, his arm in a sling, looked surprisingly harmless.
If Masashi hadn't seen him smack around the Kumo ninjas like a baseball before, he might have believed it.
Seeing him enter, Fugaku smiled.
"You're back, Masashi."
Masashi nodded, then smirked.
"Fugaku-sama, why aren't you home this late?"
"This is important. How could I go home?" He handed over a document. "We've all read it. You take a look—you're the best at this kind of thing."
Fugaku didn't catch the hidden jab.
