The Great Toad Sage's words echoed beside Jiraiya's ears like the toll of an ancient bell.
For Jiraiya, who was only six years old, he had yet to experience the brutality of war or truly understand the weight of life.
Thus, words about fate and choices were still merely vague concepts to him.
However, Jiraiya did not completely disregard those words.
On the contrary, he listened attentively. Though he could not fully understand them, he could still sense their importance and deeper meaning.
He knew that the Great Toad Sage's words were telling him that he possessed some kind of special power.
His choices and actions might affect the fates of others.
And for someone his age, "Child of Prophecy" was undoubtedly an incredibly cool term.
It represented a mysterious power, a power capable of influencing the world.
Though he still did not understand what it truly meant, he could feel that he seemed to have been entrusted with some important mission.
So, although those words remained somewhat vague to him, he still chose to commit them to memory.
He believed that as he grew older and gained more experience, he would gradually come to understand their true meaning.
Meanwhile, after saying those words, the Great Toad Sage also felt a trace of doubt arise within him.
He felt that Jiraiya seemed to have arrived at Mount Myoboku too early this time.
Yes, this time, the Great Toad Sage's prophetic ability was not without basis.
As a sage, he possessed powerful precognitive abilities and could occasionally see, in his dreams, events experienced by versions of himself in other worlds.
Those other worlds existed at different points in time from his own, allowing him to learn of certain crucial events shared across worlds.
He had foreseen that Jiraiya would inevitably arrive