Mount Myōboku.
"Little Jiraiya, you've finally arrived," Fukasaku said anxiously.
"My apologies, Great Toad Sages," Jiraiya replied with a helpless sigh, his face tinged with embarrassment. "Konoha's recent wars have been too intense. I haven't had the time to come and receive the Great Toad Sage's teachings."
Although finding and nurturing the Child of Prophecy to bring peace to the ninja world was Jiraiya's lifelong dream, Konoha was equally important to him.
During the recent crises in Konoha, he had no choice but to set aside matters related to the Child of Prophecy. He even failed to respond to the Great Toad Sage's personal summons. Fukasaku, understanding the situation, did not blame him.
Turning toward the grand hall, Fukasaku hopped ahead and called out, "Come on, little Jiraiya, follow me quickly."
"The Great Elder has been waiting for quite some time."
Jiraiya dared not delay and hurriedly followed Fukasaku into the hall. As always, the Great Toad Sage sat in a water basin, wearing his scholarly hat.
But unlike his usual calm, drowsy demeanor, Jiraiya could immediately sense an unusual tension emanating from him.
The Great Toad Sage, anxious? Jiraiya felt a heavy weight settle in his heart.
"Ah, little Jiraiya, you've finally come," the Great Toad Sage said, his eyes half-closed. This time, he didn't even need Fukasaku to wake him from his usual slumber.
"Yes, Great Toad Sage."
"Due to the war, I couldn't make time to come and receive your teachings. Please forgive me," Jiraiya said, kneeling on one knee in apology.
"War..." The Great Toad Sage sighed deeply.
Just as Fukasaku and Jiraiya thought he had dozed off again, the Great Toad Sage's voice continued.
"Fate has been twisted to a dangerously unstable degree. Little Jiraiya, if fate cannot be restored to its proper course, this world may face something far more terrifying than war."
It was clear that the Great Toad Sage was unusually serious this time—he wasn't even nodding off as he spoke.
"Twisted fate?" Such topics always left people feeling bewildered, and Jiraiya was no exception.
Predetermined fate, twisted fate—what exactly was the true course of fate?
The Great Toad Sage didn't elaborate further. Instead, he shifted the conversation to another topic. "Little Jiraiya, to restore fate to its proper course, you must accelerate the training of the Child of Prophecy."
"But I haven't even found the Child of Prophecy yet," Jiraiya replied, puzzled.
"Haven't you already found him? Haven't you already acknowledged it in your heart? Why continue to hesitate?" the Great Toad Sage countered.
A small golden-haired figure flashed through Jiraiya's mind.
"So it really is Naruto," Jiraiya murmured to himself.
"I understand, Great Toad Sage. After I return, I will accelerate Naruto's training," he promised.
"No, that won't be enough. The Child of Prophecy no longer has enough time to grow."
"Then what should I do?" Jiraiya asked anxiously.
The Great Toad Sage removed the necklace with the kanji for "oil" from around his neck and held it out to Jiraiya.
"I've worn this necklace for over a thousand years. It contains an extremely dense concentration of natural energy, as well as a power capable of influencing Ashura. Take it," the Great Toad Sage said.
Jiraiya reached out to accept it. The necklace, seemingly imbued with its own will, shrank to the size of a regular necklace. Jiraiya put it on and instantly felt it radiating natural energy, nourishing his body.
If he wished, he could now enter Sage Mode instantly, with enhanced power and at least double the duration.
While he was thrilled, he couldn't help but wonder about the Great Toad Sage's last words. What did he mean by a power capable of influencing Ashura?
Who—or what—was Ashura?
"Go now," the Great Toad Sage said, closing his eyes wearily.
Seeing this, Jiraiya didn't dare linger and respectfully exited the hall.
Fukasaku didn't follow Jiraiya but instead looked worriedly at the Great Toad Sage. He knew more than Jiraiya did and understood that revealing fate so directly would undoubtedly invite severe backlash.
"Great Elder?" he called softly, testing the waters.
The Great Toad Sage leaned weakly against the back of his basin, looking more frail than ever. "Notify Ryūchi Cave."
"Have the White Snake Sage fulfill the agreement regarding Indra's training ahead of schedule."
Sound Village.
Deidara arrived with Kakuzu and Hidan. By now, he no longer needed Kimimaro to guide him; he easily found Orochimaru in the underground lab, engrossed in his research.
"Yo! Orochimaru!"
"Deidara, what do you want this time?" Orochimaru asked without even glancing at the trio, his attention fully on the surgery he was performing.
"Well, there are three things this time."
"Deidara, I'm not your subordinate. You ask for too much," Orochimaru said, clearly annoyed.
"Orochimaru, that's ungrateful of you."
"I've paid for every request. We owe each other nothing. In fact, if you think about it, your current achievements borrow heavily from my ideas."
"By that logic, you've profited," Deidara retorted, clearly displeased.
"Fair enough," Orochimaru said, licking his lips.
"So, what is it this time?"
"First, I'd like you to study this new type of clay for me," Deidara said, handing Orochimaru a piece of clay.
After his recent battles with Obito and the A-B duo, Deidara had leveled up three times. He had invested one skill point into the fourth tier of Material Science, unlocking a new type of clay.
Durable Clay (Requires 300 Research Points): Not only does it inherit all the advantages of Advanced Clay, but it also retains the lightning resistance of Lightning-Resistant Clay. Additionally, one unit of this clay can now produce twice as many clay creations as before.
With Durable Clay, Deidara no longer needed to carry two types of clay, and his consumption rate was reduced to one-third. This allowed him to create significantly more clay creatures during a single battle.
There were two other skill points. One was intended for unlocking Form Optimization Level 2, which required Sasori's Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets. Since this was one of Sasori's prized possessions, Deidara needed to carefully plan how to acquire it.
The other point was earmarked for unlocking Explosion Mastery Level 3, which required the sacrifice of Nine-Tails chakra.
This led to Deidara's second request: having Orochimaru use Edo Tensei to summon Minato Namikaze. This way, they could capture a portion of the Nine-Tails chakra and simultaneously unlock the skill point.
Why not? It was a win-win situation.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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