The Great Toad Sage's New Prophecy

Watching Sasuke being escorted home by members of the Military Police, Hui finally pushed open his courtyard gate with a sense of relief.

But immediately, Hui instinctively looked down at his clothes, which bore many traces of battle. There was even a gash torn by something unknown.

His mood plummeted to the bottom of the valley.

His taijutsu was still too poor. Even when he could see the attacks coming, he still ended up in this state.

Hui thought silently, If it weren't for the concept of dimensions Father taught me, Sasuke and I would likely have been in grave danger. Was that masked man really a member of the Uchiha clan? Are there still such people from our clan wandering outside?

However...

Hui looked at his clothes once more, and his heart tightened. He did not want to cause Chuanhe unnecessary worry, even though he felt it was necessary to tell Chuanhe about today's events.

Opening the living room door, Hui tiptoed toward his room.

Through Four-Dimensional Perception, Hui sensed a familiar person approaching at high speed.

Hui's movements froze instantly.

Oh no!

Why at this time...

Chuanhe had just returned from summoning in the small town when he saw Hui standing stiffly and sneaking around in the living room.

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

After learning the full sequence of events, a cold glint flashed in Chuanhe's eyes. The air in the entire room seemed to solidify.

Obito, was it.

Chuanhe had previously agreed with Shisui to resolve everything on the Night of the Clan Massacre, but he had actually wanted to let Obito go—just a little bit, of course.

Because as long as Obito was around, everything they did would have a trail to follow. Chuanhe could face future crises with more composure.

But now...

In Chuanhe's eyes, Obito's future treatment could now be mentioned in the same breath as Danzo.

Hui and Yuki were his reverse scales; anyone who attempted to touch them would face his relentless retaliation.

Recalling Hui's combat process, Chuanhe was actually quite satisfied.

At this age, Chuanhe couldn't even throw a shuriken accurately. How could he demand that Hui perform more perfectly?

"Hui, in the next battle, you still need to pay attention to your companions. After all, only when people are alive is there a future."

"However, the decision you made was already quite good. Even if you had used the Flame Explosion Technique to teleport into his space, he wouldn't have died; you would have only exposed your intelligence."

Hui had been regretting that he should have been more decisive and simply made Sasuke leave.

But upon hearing the latter part, Hui was shocked. What kind of person could remain unscathed when facing the Flame Explosion Technique?

At the time, the situation was too tense, and he had to prioritize saving Sasuke.

If he had been given a few more seconds, Hui might have really done it.

At this moment, Hui thought of a technique.

Izanagi.

This technique, which could turn all damage into a dream, was the ultimate trump card for the Uchiha clan's survival.

So that was it. If that was the case, he truly had no means to keep him there on the spot.

Even if he had used Space Severing, it would have only resulted in exposing his own intelligence.

"Father, who exactly is he? Someone like this shouldn't be an unknown figure, right?"

Chuanhe was silent for a moment before saying:

"He is the culprit behind the Night of the Nine-Tails and Naruto's greatest enemy."

Hui's emotions suddenly spiraled out of control: "What? Damn it, if I had known, I would have at least taught him a lesson!"

Chuanhe patted Hui's head: "There will be opportunities, don't worry."

Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku.

Mount Myoboku was shrouded in a hazy mist, and the air was filled with the fragrant scent of grass and trees, which was refreshing to the spirit.

Jiraiya's figure suddenly appeared on the stone steps of the mountain.

He had originally been holding a camera to gather material at the hot springs, but he looked rather disheveled at the moment.

A few cherry blossom petals still clung to Jiraiya's long white hair, and wine stains that hadn't yet dried marked his collar; it was clear that he had been interrupted from "important work" by a sudden summoning.

Sage Fukasaku sat perched on a moss-covered boulder, his narrowed eyes sizing up Jiraiya.

As a toad, he truly could not understand those strange human customs.

Sage Fukasaku cleared his throat: "Sorry about this, little Jiraiya."

"The Great Toad Sage suddenly said he wanted to see you; it seems he saw something incredible in a prophecy."

Jiraiya's expression shifted abruptly at these words, the awkward look on his face vanishing in an instant.

Could it be that after all these years of searching for the Child of Prophecy, he was finally on the verge of a new lead? His heart began to beat faster of its own accord.

Just then, Sage Shima hopped out from the thicket, carrying a large, steaming bowl in her hands. "Little Jiraiya!"

She chirped happily, "You've come at the perfect time! I just finished making a special full-course insect feast: deep-fried centipede, steamed longhorn beetle larvae..."

Jiraiya's expression collapsed instantly, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he spoke up to interrupt Sage Shima's menu recitation.

Forcing himself to ignore the churning in his stomach, he gave a dry laugh and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, haha... Sage Shima, I'm truly sorry, but today... well... I have an appointment to discuss something important with someone. How about we go see the Great Toad Sage first?"

He surreptitiously wiped the cold sweat from his brow, a terrifying memory of being forced to sample the "delicacies" of Mount Myoboku flashing through his mind.

Those still-wriggling insects, that bizarre texture that would burst on the tongue... just thinking about it made him shudder.

Sage Fukasaku shook his head helplessly. "This is a rare delicacy, but fine. Little Jiraiya, come with me."

The man and the toad traveled together to the dwelling of the Great Toad Sage.

A massive, ancient toad sat upon his enormous chair, looking as though he had fallen fast asleep.

Sage Fukasaku took a deep breath and shouted at the Great Toad Sage, "Old Man, wake up! Little Jiraiya is here."

The toad on the chair remained completely unresponsive.

"Old Man!" Sage Fukasaku raised his voice.

The ancient toad's eyes finally cracked open a sliver.

"Hmm? Jiraiya, is it? Why have you come today?"

Sage Fukasaku turned to Jiraiya and muttered, "I'm afraid the Old Man is getting senile; he's always forgetting things. Little Jiraiya, wait here for a moment."

The ancient toad finally looked as if he had shaken off his sleep, gazing at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, I called you here today because I dreamed of a change in fate."

"The so-called Child of Prophecy no longer exists."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's heart was struck with terror.

No longer exists?

He had spent his entire life searching for the Child of Prophecy; if that were gone, what purpose did his life hold?

Jiraiya hurriedly asked, "Great Toad Sage, has some major catastrophe occurred?"

The toad on the seat looked as if he had fallen asleep again, yet he spoke.

"Jiraiya, I dreamed... that one day in the future, the entire world will be shrouded in a massive shadow. There is a pair of eyes, their color impossible to discern, that seem to be monitoring the entire world from the void."

"That is all I can see. Jiraiya, the fate of the world rests upon you alone."

"Find the root of this change before it is too late."

Having spoken these words, the ancient toad seemed to have exhausted all his strength and fell asleep on his chair once more.

A tempest raged within Jiraiya's heart, and Sage Fukasaku, standing to the side, furrowed his brow.

After seeing Jiraiya off, Sage Fukasaku looked once more at the ancient toad on the seat.

"Old Man, what exactly happened this time?"

The ancient toad's eyes cracked open a sliver again.

"Fukasaku, this time, it should have been a beautiful dream."

"But no matter how beautiful a dream may be, if it is not ours, it holds no meaning..."

After uttering these two sentences, the ancient toad sank back into a deep slumber.

Hearing this, Sage Fukasaku narrowed his eyes.

Back at the hot springs, Jiraiya had lost all interest in leisure.

With a few flashes of movement, he departed the scene.

After pondering the Great Toad Sage's prophecy for a long time, Jiraiya still felt he had no leads.

Eyes? The void? Monitoring?

For some reason, the face of the orange-haired boy from Amegakure suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Those Rinnegan were indeed the eyes of the Sage, but Nagato had clearly... Jiraiya shook his head violently, casting the thought aside.

No, the change mentioned in the prophecy should not lie there.

When Jiraiya returned to the secluded courtyard he had rented, the moonlight had already shifted to the west.

A faint mark had appeared on the window lattice—the unique contact signal of the Konoha Anbu.

He scanned his surroundings vigilantly and retrieved a slip of paper from the crevice of the door frame.

The handwriting of his teacher, Sarutobi, was as vigorous as ever, but the sense of urgency between the lines made Jiraiya's breath hitch.

After reading the note, Jiraiya's brow furrowed deeply.

Could it be that all these changes were centered in Konoha?

"I hope it is not too late," Jiraiya murmured.

Jiraiya packed his luggage and set off toward the direction of Konoha.