Hinata, Stop Pretending

After nodding, Jiraiya walked around the two sages and headed straight into a room not far behind them.

The room was spacious and filled with strange fragrances. Inside sat a toad wearing a Doctoral Hat, prayer beads around its neck, and a large Cat's Eye Gemstone in the center of its necklace bearing the character for oil.

Its appearance alone made it clear that this was a toad far older than any ordinary person could imagine. It was seated cross-legged upon a shrine-like throne bearing the character for sage.

It was the founder of Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage—born over a thousand years ago, once acquainted with the Sage of Six Paths, and capable of foretelling the future.

Jiraiya also knew that this "elder" had perhaps lived for too long, to the point that he now needed to sleep frequently and seemed to suffer from some memory loss.

Thus, after arriving, Jiraiya offered a bow but did not take the initiative to disturb him. He intended to step forward only once the Great Toad Sage called for him.

At that moment, the Great Toad Sage's orange eyes seemed to shift slightly as he spoke. "Is that Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya hurriedly replied, "Yes, Great Toad Sage." He wanted to understand the entire situation. He did not want to go through that unpleasant experience again.

The Great Toad Sage's clouded eyes turned gently, and he said in a somewhat cheerful tone, "Are you Jiraiya? I remember you being a little brat. How did you suddenly grow so big?"

"Great Toad Sage, please tell me the future you foresaw," Jiraiya said. It was not that he meant any disrespect, but he had truly suffered too much here before.

If you spoke a few more words with the Great Toad Sage, he might forget you completely again. Then how were you supposed to learn the prophecy?

The Great Toad Sage did not seem angry. He said, "Listen carefully. In the future, there will be a force that seems capable of directly interfering with the Child of Prophecy's life."

"And this force may make the same choice as the Child of Prophecy. Its leader possesses a pair of brilliant blue eyes."

After saying so much, the Great Toad Sage seemed tired again. His eyes gradually closed, and his breathing made it clear that he had fallen asleep once more.

Jiraiya did not disturb him. He left directly, greeted Fukasaku and Shima, who were guarding the area nearby, and Sage Fukasaku rapidly formed hand seals before shouting, "Reverse Summoning Technique, release!"

Jiraiya vanished. After a while, Sage Shima said, "Fukasaku, the Great Toad Sage always makes his prophecies so ambiguous. Is that really all right?"

Sage Fukasaku sighed. "Sigh, the Great Toad Sage's prophecies could be more precise, and he could reveal more secrets that the humans of the ninja world do not yet know."

"But the relationship between the ninja world and our Three Great Sage Regions has already reached a point where we are neither close nor distant. So, in certain matters, it is best that we do not get too deeply involved."

Sage Shima sighed as well. "I understand all that, but we watched Jiraiya grow up before our eyes, and now we can only watch him look so overwhelmed." Silence followed.

With a puff of smoke, Jiraiya returned to the warm, comfortable hot spring. At this moment, he had lost all interest in gathering material for himself.

Though he usually looked like a lecherous old rogue, carefree and unreliable, when something truly happened, the title of one of the Sannin was not given to him for nothing.

After realizing the gravity of the situation, he had no information whatsoever to confirm who the Child of Prophecy in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy was, nor which mysterious force had emerged that could directly interfere with the Child of Prophecy.

But that did not mean he could simply do nothing because he lacked information. His greatest wish now was to preserve peace in the ninja world, and naturally, he did not want any chaos to arise.

He decided not to linger any longer in this nameless town and instead quicken his pace. Orochimaru and the Child of Prophecy were secondary matters now.

Although Orochimaru seemed obsessed with pursuing Eternal Life, in the end, he had no intention of starting a Ninja World War. Jiraiya had long understood that from when he and Orochimaru had fought side by side.

The Child of Prophecy was frightening, but after all, they were only one person and far too difficult to find. Besides, the Child of Prophecy would be one of his disciples.

Yet his only disciple, Minato Namikaze, had already passed away, leaving him at a complete loss as to where to begin.

That mysterious force capable of interfering with the Child of Prophecy had become Jiraiya's only hope, because as long as it was an organized force, it would surely leave traces in the ninja world.

So, searching for this force was far better than having no place to start, right? And if this force held faith in peace for the ninja world, then it could, to a great extent, influence the Child of Prophecy as well. Perhaps.

At noon, a group of customers arrived outside a barbecue restaurant in Konoha. A chubby little boy in a green vest with orange hair enthusiastically waved his hands.