"I can't explain the specifics. You should come with me to see the Great Toad Sage."
"Because all these prophecies are related to you, and they've somehow implicated Mount Myōboku as well."
"Implicated Mount Myōboku?!" Jiraiya exclaimed in surprise.
Even a sacred land of the Sages was getting involved. It seemed these prophecies might not be good news!
No, it should be that something bad was definitely going to happen with these several prophecies!
Otherwise, Fukasaku wouldn't have reverse-summoned him so urgently without even a notification!
Following Fukasaku through some treehouses and mushroom houses.
Jiraiya quickly arrived at the Sage Hall of Mount Myōboku.
The space here was vast and dark, as if the lights couldn't be turned on and candles couldn't be lit.
It was only illuminated by a few faint lights spaced far apart.
"Boss, you really should change things up and brighten this place a bit. It's so gloomy, not at all like a Sage's abode."
Muttering softly, Jiraiya was led by Fukasaku to the center of the hall.
In the center, there was a house-sized chair, carved with the character for 'Sage'.
On the chair sat a giant old toad, wearing a black academic cap, his face covered in wrinkles and bumps, his cloudy, lifeless eyes squinted, his expression grim, and sweat dripping down his face.
On either side in front of this giant seat were two smaller seats with cushions.
On the right small seat was Shima Sage, the 'big sister' Jiraiya had asked about earlier, with pink warty bumps on her head.
Seeing Jiraiya arrive, Shima Sage's slightly sharp voice rang out.
"Kid, you're finally here! We've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and replied with a laugh: "Hahaha, my apologies, my apologies! But I rushed here as fast as I could, didn't I!"
"Big sister, after all this time, you're still so impatient and can't sit still."
After exchanging greetings, Jiraiya looked at the Great Toad Sage on the giant seat with a puzzled expression.
"This is…"
He remembered the Great Toad Sage always appearing wise and uninhibited.
This was the first time he had seen him looking so exhausted, sweating, and weak!
"Sigh, it must be that the Great Toad Sage has started dreaming again."
Fukasaku shook his head and sighed, then leaped onto his small seat on the left.
Shima Sage on the other side added: "Originally, the Great Toad Sage hadn't dreamed for a long time, until about three months ago."
"Since he had his first dream then, they've become more and more frequent, until the last few days, he's been dreaming almost every time he falls asleep…"
"Something like this happened?"
The explanation from the two toads made Jiraiya realize the seriousness of the problem, and his brows furrowed together.
The conversation between the two toads and one human soon startled the Great Toad Sage, who was slumped on the large chair.
Seeing the Great Toad Sage's squinted, cloudy eyes, which had been feigning sleep, slightly open and show a glimmer of light.
Jiraiya immediately knelt on one knee respectfully towards the Great Toad Sage.
"Did you call me here because there's a new prophecy?"
Following the sound and seeing Jiraiya kneeling below, the Great Toad Sage's sweaty and haggard appearance improved significantly.
"You've come, you've come, you've finally come! I can finally tell…"
Unlike his usual voice, which, though not booming, was full of vigor.
The Great Toad Sage's current voice was very sharp and thin.
It was like the low murmur of an old man on his last legs, squeezed from the deepest part of his throat.
"Tell you… uh… who are you again?"
Jiraiya: "…"
He used to think the Great Toad Sage's bad memory was an act.
Now it was confirmed, he was just suffering from damn senile dementia!
"Great Toad Sage, it's Jiraiya, Jiraiya!"
"And I'm Fukasaku, please don't ask again!"
Fukasaku was also a bit helpless; ever since the Great Toad Sage started dreaming frequently, his memory had gotten even worse.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, I remember now. I didn't expect that little toad from back then to have grown into a human!"
Jiraiya: "…"
"You senile old fool, that's enough!"
Shima Sage covered her face, looking like she wanted to hit a toad.
"Ohoho, just kidding, just kidding~"
The Great Toad Sage chuckled strangely and straightened his body, then his expression became serious.
"I saw it again in my dream this time. I saw you, who are useless except for being a Perverted Sage, with black rods pierced through you, accompanied by extreme weeping, smiling as you fell beneath a Chakra Rasengan."
"What?!" A single stone stirred a thousand ripples; the two toads and one human present all exclaimed in shock.
Shima Sage even questioned, "You senile old fool, didn't you say before that the blond, blue-eyed boy who playfully called out to the Nine-Tailed Beasts turned into a blond, red-eyed Nine-Tailed Beast incarnation, and finally unleashed a terrifying catastrophe, from which Mount Myōboku would not be spared?"
No sooner had Shima Sage finished speaking than Fukasaku shouted even louder.
"My dear, the Great Toad Sage clearly told me that the blond, red-eyed boy, accompanied by a blond, blue-eyed girl, brought a completely new and unknown change to the Ninja World, and also caused all three Sage sacred lands to no longer remain hidden!"
The information revealed by the two toads made Jiraiya's mind a tangled mess.
But the Great Toad Sage didn't give him time to think, waving his hand and tossing a scroll in front of Jiraiya.
"My dreams are chaotic. Since three months ago, the future is no longer fixed; it seems to be changing at every moment."
"So you don't need to worry, but you must be careful with any decision you make."
"This is a forbidden jutsu of Mount Myōboku concerning the soul. Take it."
"You…" Jiraiya still wanted to ask something.
But the Great Toad Sage clearly didn't want to say more. After dropping his last words, he closed his eyes again.
"Your choice will affect the final outcome, little Jiraiya, remember to be cautious!"
... Chapter 180 Naruto, whose wealth is coveted by Tsunade
Bang!
A puff of smoke dispersed.
Jiraiya, returning to Konoha from Mount Myōboku, clutching the forbidden jutsu scroll given by Mount Myōboku, landed steadily on the ground.
"'Accompanied by extreme weeping, smiling as you fell beneath a Chakra Rasengan.' Does that mean I will die?"
"Also, the blond, red-eyed boy who appeared in several prophecies, could it be Feng Xu…"
Thinking about these prophecies that couldn't be connected at all, Jiraiya felt a throbbing headache.
He wasn't afraid of death; he was just afraid that his death wouldn't be the right one, leading to things turning out for the worst.
After all, according to the Great Toad Sage's words, the future could change at any moment.
It was no longer fixed and predictable like before.
Perhaps any subtle choice could lead to multiple different outcomes.
"However, according to Nidaime(2nd)-sama's plan, those outcomes shouldn't occur. Could it be that some unknown reason caused it to fail?"
Jiraiya clenched the scroll in his hand, as if he understood something.
"Or perhaps the Great Toad Sage has placed the power of choice in my hands, letting me make the decision."
"Is it sealing, or separation, or… annihilation?!"
Without reason, Jiraiya felt a chill down his spine, and cold sweat broke out incessantly.
It seemed that behind every choice lay mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and endless calamities.
It made him feel breathless, and he gasped for air through his mouth and nose.
Unfortunately, Jiraiya would never know until he died.
The original Ninja World was all a script arranged by the Six Paths Sage.
Everyone was a pawn he had designed long ago, with a predetermined destiny.
This was to prevent Kaguya from being unsealed and to expose Black Zetsu, who was secretly causing trouble, eliminating future threats forever.
Therefore, the Great Toad Sage, also known as Gamamaru, could see a fixed future, and it hadn't changed for a long time.
But all this predetermined fate became full of variables because of a soul not belonging to this world, a chess piece that jumped off the board, three months ago.
That is, Feng Xu's arrival with the system brought about these changes.
In other words, the final outcome depended on Feng Xu's thoughts.
And for people like Jiraiya, who could get close to Feng Xu, choices could indeed influence the outcome to a certain extent.
Such as whether he himself would actually die or not.
"Perverted Sage!"
Suddenly, Naruto's loud shout echoed from a distance.
But this cry inexplicably carried a hint of grievance, and excitement, as if he had seen his backing.
Jiraiya looked in the direction of Naruto's voice.
He saw Tsunade looking refreshed and content, and Naruto, dusty and disheveled, with a large bump on his head.
After Tsunade led Naruto away from the crowded street, she gave him a good scolding.
Of course, she wasn't using the opportunity to hit him to vent her frustration.
Instead, it was to check Naruto's strength and his control over the Nine-Tailed Chakra.
However, the results were clearly not bad.
Although Naruto's strength and control were both lacking.
But his vibrant and unyielding demeanor made her feel very close to him.
It also brought some comfort to her suppressed grief over Hashirama's failure to return.
Unfortunately, she still didn't get to see that alter ego, Feng Xu.
According to the intelligence, Feng Xu was supposed to enjoy coming out to fight.
"Jiraiya, it seems your business is done. Let's get started quickly."
"You teach Naruto how to train, then go deal with the political affairs. I'll be in charge of supervising Naruto afterward!"
Tsunade, who had approached with Naruto, stretched her wrists and joints.
Her slightly flushed face showed an expectant look.
She seemed to think that something fun would happen later.
Naruto, on the other hand, looked resistant, scurrying behind Jiraiya.
"Perverted Sage, I don't want to!"
"That old hag is a violent maniac; she only hits people's heads. She'll definitely make me stupid!"
"If I really need supervision, just let my big brother supervise me. With him around, I definitely won't slack off!"
After saying that, Naruto even stuck out his tongue and pulled down his eyelids at Tsunade, making provocative faces.
"Big brother?"
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then asked with a bad premonition.