The Scorch of Lightning

Chapter 7: the Next User of Black Lightning

Quietly, Naruto walks into the hospital. He asks the receptionist for Darui's room number. After Naruto gets the number, walks to the room, and enters to find a bandaged Darui. Naruto says, "Dull-sensei, I'm sorry."

Darui says, "Dull-sensei...? Nevermind I know the answer to that dull question. Why are you sorry? You did great in our fight. In fact, you did so great, that I'm going to teach you Black Lightning. Remember what I said?"

Naruto nodded. He answers, "If you can beat me, but..."

Darui says, "Now you get it. I may have been hospitalized, but your one of the strongest Kumo-nin in history. I have no doubt about that. You pass the test. As of this moment you are my apprentice, and I am your master."

Meanwhile, Jiraiya is in Mount Myōboku. Jiraiya was revered summoned there by Fukasaku. Fukasaku is a green toad with white hair styled in somewhat of a mohawk, very thick eyebrows and a small goatee. He has been seen wearing two capes: a high-collared one and a simpler version.

Fukasaku is considered very wise and is greatly respected by all who know them well enough. In reality, he constantly bickers with Shima over small things when they should focus on the bigger picture, such as the fact that a battle will cause them to miss dinner.

Mount Myōboku is a rich and beautiful land, whose ultimate authority seems to be the Great Toad Sage. Shima and Fukasaku are both elders and sages, and they seem to have an even higher authority than Gamabunta himself.

Shima is the wife of Fukasaku, and admired as the Mother of the Toad Way. She is considered open-hearted and her personality allows her to see everything with great clarity. Because of this, she is adored by all toads as the "Mother of the Toad Way".

Shima has a green underside with purple marking around her mouth and the back of her body. The top of her head looks as though she is wearing a hair net with hair-rollers underneath, giving her an 'old woman' look. She has been seen wearing two types of capes: a high-collared one and a simpler one.

Gamabunta is the chief toad of Mount Myōboku. The toad is a grumpy, stubborn and highly apathetic toad. He does not like to take orders from anyone, unless the summoner is highly talented and earns his respect. While he is quite confident of his abilities as a fighter, he is well aware of his limitations and perceptive of the power of his enemies.

Gamabunta is one of the largest summons in the series, comparable in size to a Tailed Beast, but his size varies at certain points of the series. At his largest, he towers over an entire forest and his body's size is comparable to Kurama's torso before he was split between Yin and Yang, but at his smallest he was shorter than three-story buildings in Konohagakure. He is coloured a dull, rusty red, but around his eyes and on his lips and chest are brighter red markings. Over his left eye, he received a scar at some point in the past. His tongue, has a series of stud-like piercings on both the upper and lower side. He often wears a large blue happi vest that has the kanji "蝦" (ebi) on the back, and always carries a massive dosu blade at his hip. He also carries a large kiseru pipe which he often smokes.

Gamamaru, who is more commonly known as the Great Toad Sage (大ガマ仙人) is the oldest and most respected toad of all the inhabitants of Mount Myōboku. Because of his age, the other toads affectionately call him Great Honourable Geezer (大じじ様). He is famed for his highly accurate prophecies.

At his great age, Gamamaru seems to constantly smile and tends to have his eyes closed or takes to squinting. He is portrayed and described as being senile, and sometimes out of touch with his present situation, so he does tend to forget things easily and quite quickly. However, when reminded, he is still able to remember things and can easily tell things very precisely. As a sage, he is also very wise, and is quick to stop Shima and Fukasaku from bickering and encourages harmony. It would seem that unlike most other toads, he actually has respect for Jiraiya, and has urged both Shima and Fukasaku to cooperate with him.