A flicker of strange light flashed across Keizumi's otherwise calm eyes. The corner of his mouth curved slightly as he spoke before Izumi, Anko, and Tachibana Jirō: "It seems… Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke have given us a little surprise."
Tachibana Jirō blinked. "Those two brats? What happened to them, meow?"
Izumi looked puzzled. How could Keizumi-senpai know Naruto and Sasuke had suddenly pulled off some kind of surprise? Hadn't he just returned to the village, without even seeing them?
What Izumi didn't know was… just now, a system prompt had flashed before Keizumi's eyes.
[Ding! The [Absolute Justice] followers you nurtured have together slain a "Red Name" villain! Your chakra has increased slightly! Congratulations, you have obtained: the kekkei genkai "Byakugan"!]
[At the same time, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto have also gained a slight chakra increase!]
"Let's go."
As the prompt faded, Keizumi spoke lightly.
"Eh? Senpai, where are we going?" Izumi hurried after him, curiosity brimming.
"The Hyūga Clan compound," Keizumi replied.
...
Mount Myōboku.
After arriving here through the Reverse Summoning Technique, Jiraiya immediately made clear to the toads that he wished to see the Great Toad Sage.
The toads exchanged glances with one another.
Yet before they could respond, they vaguely heard the deep, lingering voice of the Great Toad Sage.
Fukasaku froze, then raised his head to give Jiraiya a long, searching look. His old and raspy voice followed: "Little Jiraiya, the Great Sage wishes for you to come see him."
"Understood!"
Jiraiya nodded in reply, then went alone to meet the Great Toad Sage.
It was an aged toad, its entire body a reddish shade of orange, massive in size, its face etched with wrinkles as deep as ravines. Around its neck hung a strand of prayer beads, the largest bead a pale purple, marked with a bold character: "Oil."
As soon as Jiraiya entered, he caught the rich fragrance of alcohol in the air—for the Great Toad Sage was quite fond of drinking. Beside him lay a sake bottle and a cup.
"Who comes before me?"
The question, spoken with closed eyes, made Jiraiya's mouth twitch.
Clearly, the Great Toad Sage already knew he was coming, yet still asked who he was.
This old trick—he had pulled it many times before. Why he never grew tired of it, Jiraiya could not fathom.
Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya's expression grew serious as he spoke: "Great Toad Sage, in Konohagakure… I believe I have found clues regarding the Child of Prophecy you once spoke of long ago. But these clues were not discovered by me directly—they were told to me by a young shinobi named Uchiha Keizumi."
"He knows of the Child of Prophecy you mentioned, Great Toad Sage. He even knows specifically who that child is! I suspect it may be his Sharingan ability that allows him to possess a prophetic power much like your own."
Jiraiya then shared all the intelligence he had with the Great Toad Sage before him.
The ancient and inscrutable sage, upon hearing this, slowly cracked open his closed eyes.
He looked down at Jiraiya: "This child you speak of… he prophesied the 'Savior'?"
"Yes!"
Jiraiya nodded firmly. "I could tell he was not lying. And, from my initial understanding of him, he is not the kind of person who would ever speak falsehoods."
"How astonishing…" the Great Toad Sage sighed. "Uchiha Keizumi—never once, in all the futures I have dreamed, have I seen such a figure…"
Jiraiya froze.
By reason, Uchiha Keizumi had already stirred immense waves in the shinobi world.
In Jiraiya's eyes, that young man was one of the tide-turners of this era.
One of those who stood at the crest of the storm.
And yet, such an exceptional shinobi had never once appeared in the futures foreseen by the Great Toad Sage?
This left Jiraiya puzzled.
At that moment, the Great Toad Sage suddenly asked: "Since you have already found clues to the Child of Prophecy, why not simply take him as your disciple, teach him to make the right choices, and guide the shinobi world into peace and stability?"
Jiraiya gave a bitter smile.
"Keizumi refuses to tell me who the true Child of Prophecy actually is…"
He repeated, word for word, everything Uchiha Keizumi had once told him.
Not a single detail was omitted, nor did he add any embellishment.
The Great Toad Sage fell into silence.
For a long while.
Then he murmured in thought: "By reason, if such an outstanding young man exists in the shinobi world, it should be impossible for me not to dream of him. The only explanation… is that this child is far too unusual—so unusual that even the fixed fate of the shinobi world cannot capture him."
Jiraiya hesitated, then said: "Great Toad Sage, he claimed that as long as this twisted, diseased shinobi world is restored to normal, then anyone could be the Child of Prophecy who brings true change. Do you think his words hold weight?"
"That child does have a point."
The Great Toad Sage spoke slowly: "But to restore the shinobi world to normal, to bring back peace—without the crucial Savior, how could it be possible?"
Jiraiya grew contemplative.
Even the Great Toad Sage thought there was some truth in Uchiha Keizumi's words?
And yet…
It seemed the Great Toad Sage did not fully agree with Keizumi's view.
The Great Toad Sage believed that without the Savior, peace in the shinobi world would be impossible. Only when the change brought by the Savior established peace could more Saviors be born. He simply chose not to voice his opinion in too much detail.
Uchiha Keizumi, however, believed that even without any so-called Savior, his [Absolute Justice] could bring prosperity and peace to the shinobi world.
"I understand."
Jiraiya nodded solemnly. "We still need to uncover the true identity of the Child of Prophecy. We must raise him into the Savior of the shinobi world. Only then can the world be saved."
He let out a faint breath before continuing: "But the words Uchiha Keizumi spoke were not entirely without value. At the very least, it confirms that he has come into contact with the Child of Prophecy!"
"As long as we start investigating the people Keizumi has crossed paths with, we will eventually find the Savior you foresaw, Great Toad Sage."
The Great Toad Sage calmly closed his eyes again, giving no response.
Understanding the cue, Jiraiya quietly withdrew.
After Jiraiya's departure, the Great Toad Sage slowly opened his eyes once more. He turned his gaze to the translucent sake bottle at his side. Within the liquid, the reflection of his orange eyes wavered faintly.
He muttered to himself: "Though I have never dreamed of him, [Absolute Justice]… it seems I have seen it in my dreams. That kind of justice would drench the shinobi world in blood, casting the entire world beneath the shadow of Absolute Justice."
"But still…"
"I cannot quite tell whether this is a blessing or a curse. To have lived for so many years, and yet still dream of something I cannot understand. No wonder it drove little Jiraiya to rush here in such haste."
"Uchiha Keizumi…"
"He is far from simple!"
…
Meanwhile.
Outside the Hyūga Clan compound.
With a sharp clang, a bloodstained kunai dropped to the ground. Sasuke swallowed hard, stumbling back a few steps.
The sticky warmth of fresh blood on his hand sent goosebumps rippling across his body, his breathing quickened, and his young face was filled with a trace of panic.
Most haunting of all was the sensation of the blade piercing into flesh—echoing again and again in his mind, impossible to forget.
He stared wide-eyed at the corpse sprawled on the ground.
The body bore multiple wounds—two of them fatal.
The first was in the center of the chest, where a kunai had lodged halfway into flesh and heart.
The second was on the back, a bloody gash—Sasuke's strike. His kunai had pierced straight through from behind, shattering the victim's heart.
Sasuke's young face, still pale with panic, carried faint bruises.
But he had no time to care about his own pain—his eyes turned immediately to Naruto, who was pinned beneath the body.
"Dead-last, are you okay?"
Naruto grimaced, shoving the corpse's arm aside and scrambling to his feet.
"How could I possibly be okay, dattebayo?" His injuries were worse than Sasuke's. When he tried to stand, he staggered and collapsed again. A burning pain seared through his abdomen, forcing him to lift his shirt.
On his chest, a bluish palm print had surfaced on the skin.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Naruto clutched his mouth as a fit of coughing shook him—only to notice Sasuke's worried expression suddenly twist into horror.
Startled, Naruto glanced down at his hand. His coughs had brought up a mouthful of blood.
No wonder his body felt so weak…
Was this a light wound, or a heavy one, dattebayo?
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