Naruto: Journey Of The Strongest Teacher - Chapter 48

Dumpling Dynasty

“Damit! Why isn’t it working?” a male voice shouted in frustration.

It was Ishizu who was struggling with his Sage Mode training.

“I don’t want to end up like Jiraiya. I want to master the Sage mode as Naruto did.

Hell, I want to do it while moving and without Shadow Clones.”

Someone put pressure on Ishizu’s shoulder and the latter looked up. It was brother Tau.

“My dear brother, you are to focus on it. You have to clear your mind of everything, but something deep inside you is hindering you.”

Ishizu frowned: “I have nothing that hinders me.”

Tau just shook his head.

“Let us meet with the Sage Po. Maybe he knows what you lack.”

Ishizu followed Tau to meet Po.

At the thrown Po was eating happily his dumpling as he was his favorite human coming.

“Hey Po, I need your help,” shouted Ishizu.

Po didn’t listen as he wanted to take a bite out of the dumping, only to see that it was gone.

“You dare to take my food?” asked Po shocked. In an instant, an invisible force flung away Ishizu as he hit a rock.

‘Man, he is a monster. I only took away his food and in the next second I am crushed into a rock.’

As Po calmed down, he looked at Ishizu.

“You are here because you can’t control the Sage Mode? It is simple.

Your heart is not pure. Something inside of you is preventing you to reach equilibrium.

Maybe think about how your student reached the Sage Mode?”

Ishizu wanted to fight Po, despite knowing he would lose, but took a moment to think what the old panda said.

At first, Naruto couldn’t do it. Only after Jiraiya died, he managed it.

So did he have to lose someone? Impossible. He already lost so many.

No, it was something else. Naruto was mad that Nagato killed his Sensei and wanted revenge. Only when he let go of that hatred could he do it.

So maybe it was that?

“You are suggesting I should let go of my hatred for my uselessness when I was young?”

Po nodded his head: “Maybe? All I know is that deep inside your emotions are conflicted.

You say what you are doing is for the best, but something or someone is thinking differently.

You blame yourself for forgetting about your friends and your sensei.

Your soul is conflicted and it makes your training useless.

Only if you bring peach to your soul, can you reach Sage mode.

That is the reason why you cannot achieve the perfect Sage Mode.”

Ishizu shook his head trying to find something to deny Po’s argument but failed.

“How should I do that? I can’t just accept my failure.

I went to hell and come back to be who I am now. I can’t let it go!

Everything I did was worth it” shouted Ishizu.

Po chucked: “You don’t have to let go. The past can’t be forgotten. You just have to accept it.”

“How?” pleaded Ishizu.

“Come back with your student. I will show you a place here in the Dynasty where you can do that.”

Ishizu nodded and left to take Naruto with him.

Ishizu POV

I was pissed at Po, telling me to accept what I have done. If it was so easy.

If I wasn’t stupid and l.u.s.ted for power, then I could have saved everyone.

Instead… Naruto’s voice interrupted me as he ran to me.

“Ishizu-sensei what are you doing here?” asked Naruto.

I forced a smile as I greeted my student.

“My teacher told me to fetch you so you can see where I train.”

Naruto’s eyes had stars in them. I told him where I was but he never saw the panda realm with his own eyes.

Today was the day and Naruto was excited.

Jiraiya saw me and I explained to him what I wanted to do. He agreed but told us to hurry.

“Let’s go Naruto.”

Back in the Dynasty

Ishizu POV

As both Naruto and I arrived, brother Tau greeted us.

“You made it and it seems you brought your student with you. Greetings, brother. My name is Tau. You can call me brother Tau.”

Naruto greeted Tau, and then we followed him. After some time, we reached a cave.

What was so different about it was that nothing was seen in it? It looked like a black hole. After some point, we saw no light.

“Cool, what is that cave?” asked Naruto.

Tau smiled.

“That, Naruto, is The Cave of Deep D.e.s.i.r.es.

Sage Po told me to bring you here. The cave is mysterious and everyone sees it differently.

Everyone who went inside never talked about what happened, but everyone had a different expression when they came out.

Some never came out. You and your student have to go inside, pass the test, and come out.

If you manage to come back alive, you will be stronger than ever, but if you fail, then you will never come out and will eventually die.”

Both my and Naruto’s expression turned grim.

We both looked at each other and then smiled.

“Whoever is the last to come out will have to take the other for a whole month to Ramen for free,” we both said at the same time. Then we ran into the unknown.

Ishizu POV

As I entered the cave, Naruto was nowhere near me.

I walked like an endless hallway before seeing someone walking to me. I got ready to attack, but it stunned me as I saw who it was.

“So, you finally showed yourself, thief?” the person spoke with a frown.

Before me stood… me? Or someone who looked like me.

“Who are you? Are you the one preventing me from reaching Sage Mode?” I asked.

He laughed.

“Me and preventing you from reaching Sage Mode?

You are just a thief of this body and I will help you see the reality.”

He waved his hand, and a mirror appeared before me. As I looked at it, I saw something that shocked me.

I saw myself, but not me. It was the body I had before I was reincarnated into the Naruto world.

“This is you!

I am Ishizu Sasaki, not you. You are just a thief who got lucky inhabiting my body.

You stole my life from me. I was but a child, abandoned by my family, when your soul came and kicked me here into this deep place of your subconsciousness to make yourself a good home.

But I stayed strong. I found your memories about this world and learned.

I looked through my eyes how you interacted with the world and I found it disgusting.

Using others to help you reach Kaguya.

I waited for a long time to take back what is rightfully mine and finally I can do it.”

I was ready for him to attack me, but he laughed again.

“What do you think you are doing? Do you really think you could even hit me with a single attack?

Even if you know how to fight, you are stuck inside the body of a civilian.

I doubt you have chakra and we are not in the real world. I am in my body and I have your memories.

With that, I will easily kill you and take over your life.

From today the true Ishizu Sasaki will come to life.”

I looked around, trying to find a way to get out.

“Are you thinking about how you could defeat me?” the other Ishizu asked.

I looked at him with a frown.

“No, I don’t think I have a chance to defeat you. Po told me to accept what I had lost, but never have I imagined there to be another soul inside of me.”

The other Ishizu had a smile on his face.

“Oh, so you are just going to accept me as Naruto did with his hatred?

I doubt that it is going to work. I am not a deep hatred for the people of Konoha.

I am the soul of the original Ishizu Sasaki and there is nothing for you to accept.

I will kick your soul out and make myself home.”

What the other Ishizu didn’t notice was that Ishizu came closer and closer during their conversation before he had enough space to grab the other one.

“I will not let you take over this body. Po said that for me to use Sage Mode I have to be free of any problems.

So merging with you and becoming one again will make me a Sage.”

The other Ishizu tried to get away from the thief, but he couldn’t.

“This is not over. If you think this is all that it takes to win against me, then you are wrong.

The cave is not the only thing inside. I have seen it.

You will rot behind the Waterfall.

Such an illusion will not break that easily.”

With that, the two souls merged and everything went dark.

Outside of the cave

“Sage Po, do you think they will handle it?” asked Brother Tau, concerned as he looked into the cave.

Po smiled as he ate his dumplings.

“Both of them will have a hard time going through the problems they get.

The Cave awakens the soul, and our sage in training had a dormant soul in his body who awakened.

Ishizu did the right thing. By merging both souls together, he became whole again.

The first step to being a Sage is done, but he still has to get out.

For the Child of Prophecy, it will be very hard. I don’t believe he will handle it alone.

Naruto-kun will directly arrive at the Waterfall of Endless Happiness.

The cave will find his deep d.e.s.i.r.es and he will experience endless happiness. For a child like him, it is impossible to leave without any help.

They will struggle to get out of there as it was Kaguya-chan who was so generous and helped me create that cave and waterfall after all.

Ishizu-kun survived his encounter with the other soul, but he will most likely not enjoy seeing where he is now.

That is, if he realizes it.

The Cave of Deep D.e.s.i.r.es and the Waterfall of Endless Happiness do what their names imply.

They show deep d.e.s.i.r.es and create endless happiness.

And who doesn’t want to stay inside a world when there are no problems?