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The more Tsunade thought about it, the angrier she grew. They had brought their con right to Konoha's doorstep. Did they think this was some marketplace?
Jiraiya frowned and was about to argue.
Orochimaru spoke before he could. "Jiraiya, Tsunade is right."
"Even if destiny really exists, it's unreliable and impossible to grasp."
"Anyone who single-mindedly chases destiny will only end up being led around by the nose."
"I've never believed destiny is set in stone. It's always changing."
"Any casual decision we make right now might send the entire future down a different path."
"That Great Toad Sage might really be able to glimpse the future-"
"But in my opinion, what he sees is only one possible future. You can't treat it as something guaranteed to happen."
"In fact, from the very second he sees that future, destiny might already have veered off its original course."
"After all, before he told you, you didn't even know about it. You wouldn't have gone looking for some child of destiny."
"From the moment you heard the prophecy, everything you did began quietly rewriting that foretold future. Wouldn't you agree?"
Jiraiya froze.
He had to admit that Orochimaru's last few remarks made sense.
I already know about this supposed future, and I'm actively searching for it, trying to change it-doesn't that mean I'm interfering with destiny's original course myself?
But Mount Myoboku and the Great Toad Sage had never mentioned any of this to him, much less warned him.
Instead, they had kept urging him to find that child of destiny and guide the Ninja World toward peace.
It sounds like a good thing, but is this really the right direction?
Jiraiya's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Something inside him finally began to give.
He began to question Mount Myoboku and