At the same time, on Mount Myoboku.
The Great Toad Sage, who had been sleeping in his grand palace, suddenly opened his eyes as if awakened by something.
Two small green toads beside him immediately lifted their heads.
"Fukasaku, quickly summon Jiraiya," said the smiling Great Toad Sage without any hint of embarrassment.
Already used to this, Shima silently pulled out the Summoning Contract and pressed her palms onto the last name written there.
With a "poof" sound, Jiraiya—who had originally been traveling through the Land of Earth searching for Team One—landed flat on his butt onto the temple floor.
He saw the two small toads before him and immediately realized exactly where he was.
"Uh, I really hate to say this," after hesitating multiple times, he finally blurted out, "but why does it always happen when I'm busy?"
"Because the situation is urgent."
"That's right. Honey, you're absolutely correct."
Fukasaku and Shima from Mount Myoboku had both jumped in on Jiraiya, making his already sour mood even worse.
He just couldn't grasp why a mere shinobi war counted as an emergency for Mount Myoboku.
"Oh, it's little Jiraiya," greeted the Great Toad Sage, closing his eyes again almost instantly.
"..."
The three, long accustomed to such behavior, didn't find anything strange about it.
As one of the leaders of Mount Myoboku who coexisted with the Sage of Six Paths, having lived several thousand years made him nothing short of an old demon; thus, his heavy sleeping habits and occasional senility were perfectly normal.
"Hulu... Hulu..."
In the midst of snoring sounds, Fukasaku briefly explained to Jiraiya why they summoned him to Mount Myoboku.
"In other words," Jiraiya muttered, scowling as he pieced it together, "let me get this straight—the Great Sage must have had another prophecy again, right?"
"Puff!" The Great Toad Sage opened two narrow slits of his eyes wide, staring at him absentmindedly.
"You're here too, little Jiraiya." Looking somewhat dazed, he seemed to have forgotten something.
Jiraiya pursed his lips tightly, eager to make another sarcastic remark.
"Oh right," exclaimed the Great Toad Sage, as if suddenly remembering something, turning his head sideways while trying hard to recall his earlier dream.
"Sigh..." x2
Both Fukasaku and Shima simultaneously raised their tiny hands to cover their faces.
From experience, recalling a single dream could take at least an entire night.
After all, this was a millennia-old demon; even young Jiraiya had no choice but to show some understanding.
"You're finally here, little Jiraiya."
Just as he was about to sit down and rest, those words made him jump back to his feet.
Humans being like parrots wasn't surprising, but he never thought even a few-thousand-year-old demon would be one too.
Still drowsy-looking, the Great Toad Sage said, "I just had a dream."
"A dream concerning the future of the ninja world."
Instantly, one man and two toads turned dreadfully serious.
Impatient, Jiraiya asked directly, "Didn't you already prophesize the future previously?"
"Yes, but the future has changed."
Shock grew even deeper across Fukasaku and Shima's faces.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy had never been wrong for thousands of years—how could it possibly be altered now?
Jiraiya, somewhat awestruck yet confused, couldn't wrap his head around what it meant for the future to be changed.
Before he could ask again, the Great Toad Sage calmly began explaining the prophecy: "The future I just saw in my dream was one where the shinobi world is destroyed by someone."
"!!!" x3
The man and two toads were completely stunned.
"And Jiraiya, your future disciple, will join under that person's command."
Swallowing hard, Jiraiya finally understood why he had been summoned to Mount Myoboku.
As if reading his thoughts, the Great Toad Sage continued with the next part of the prophecy: "In the future, the entire shinobi world will become a single nation; all hidden villages will cease to exist."
"W-what?!" Staggering backward, Jiraiya struggled to accept this terrifying vision of the future.
A single nation, with all ninja villages gone.
That really was a horrifying future.
At least for someone like Jiraiya—a ninja—it sounded like a nightmare.
"While it may be a bad future for ninjas, it will be a good future for ordinary people, free from the ravages of war."
After adding this final sentence, the Great Toad Sage closed his eyes once more.
All this information slammed into Jiraiya's head at once.
"All of them joined?" He recalled a key detail mentioned earlier, his expression suddenly turning uneasy.
Originally, it was supposed to be his own student who would either bring peace or destruction to the shinobi world.
Now, according to this altered prophecy, it seemed as though someone even stronger than the Child of the Prophecy had appeared in the shinobi world.
Lost in heavy thoughts, Jiraiya was abruptly sent back via reverse summoning by Shima.
"Boom!!!" Landing flat on his butt, he lifted his head and looked around.
Under the pitch-black night sky, hills and ridges were barely visible in the darkness.
At that moment, Jiraiya realized an important truth—Mount Myoboku's method of calling someone really sucked.
He was summoned on the back of a giant toad. Shouldn't he ride one back too?
Meanwhile, within a dream, the Great Toad Sage was conversing with someone else.
"Gamamaru, does he, like us, belong to those outsiders of this planet?"
"No, he doesn't originate from any place within this world. Even my prophecies cannot accurately foresee his future."
"The prophecy will change again."
"O Sage Hagoromo Otsutsuki, this time—I cannot help you."
The Great Toad Sage, still dreaming, suddenly wore an expression unlike any before.
"He who controls the nine tailed beasts to destroy the shinobi world shall ultimately recreate the world using the God Tree."
"Devastation and rebirth." Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of Six Paths, fell into deep thought.
"Oh right, Hagoromo Otsutsuki," the Great Toad Sage reverted to his usual drowsy self, "you will soon meet him."
Deep in thought, the Sage of Six Paths nodded slightly before exiting the dream.
He already understood what his old friend had meant.
Whoever could manipulate all nine tailed beasts to destroy the shinobi world must wield either Asura's power or Indra's might.
To recreate the world with the God Tree, he would need the power of both sides.
Therefore, the final decision rested in the hands of Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
Whether to destroy the Ninja Arts—a legacy cultivated over countless years—and recreate a new world, or to return to the correct future path, was ultimately his choice to make.
On a moonless night at the border of the Land of Earth, Nawaki, carrying Nayou on his back all the way, squinted against two intense beams of light.
Before he could even get ready for a fight, he heard a familiar voice.
"Nawaki!"
Then, a figure appeared before him.
Silhouetted against the light, he could just make out a woman with long, pale golden hair.
"Big sister!" Overcome with emotion, Nawaki tightly embraced Tsunade.
The scene of the siblings reuniting was indeed very touching.
The moment would've been perfect—if it weren't for poor Nayou getting flattened underneath them.
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