Chapter 353: The Child of Prophecy
"Who are you?"
"Why are you in Tsunade's house?"
"Don't tell me…"
Jiraiya's face instantly turned pale, his heart sinking into despair. He thought of one terrible possibility—Tsunade had found another man.
"No, wait… wasn't I already dead?"
Jiraiya's expression suddenly shifted. He remembered—he had died in battle against his disciple. So what was going on now?
He raised his hand and looked at it, sensing his body. He immediately realized he was in the state of Impure World Reincarnation.
"Who are you?"
Jiraiya tensed, adjusting his stance slightly, ready to fight at any moment.
Li Yao ignored his defensive posture and casually walked past him.
Seeing Li Yao's guard down, Jiraiya didn't hesitate and moved to strike him.
But his body froze as soon as he moved. He couldn't attack the summoner who held his contract.
Li Yao sat on the sofa in the living room and glanced up at Jiraiya.
Automatically, Jiraiya moved in front of him and stood there, his expression serious, mind racing for a way to escape this situation.
Whoever summoned him obviously did so for a reason—to make him fight.
And since this was Tsunade's house, meaning they were in Konoha, and since the man clearly wasn't from Konoha, that could only mean—he was Konoha's enemy.
"Damn it!"
Jiraiya mentally cursed himself. If only he'd studied the Impure World Reincarnation technique back then.
He'd known it was dangerous.
But he'd never had interest in such a forbidden jutsu that disrespected the dead, so he never learned it.
Now that regret meant nothing.
"I'm really curious—how did you come up with such a troublesome code?"
Li Yao held up a paper on which he had written the decoded phrase Jiraiya had left behind: "Real—Yuzu —Intent—No—Chair."
"Where did you get that?!"
Jiraiya's face changed dramatically. His secret code had not only been deciphered—it had fallen into the hands of someone who was likely an enemy.
Now Jiraiya was even more concerned with who this man really was.
"Who exactly are you?"
"Are you friend or foe to Konoha?"
Li Yao leaned back and chuckled, "Most likely a foe."
Just as I thought, Jiraiya muttered inwardly. The man's attitude already showed he had no affection for Konoha—he was indeed an enemy.
But why could such an enemy act so at ease in Tsunade's home, as if it were his own?
Jiraiya couldn't figure it out.
"Answer my question."
Li Yao asked again, this time invoking the binding power of the Impure World Reincarnation contract.
"I…"
Jiraiya intended to say, "I won't tell you anything," but what came out of his mouth shocked even him:
"I believe Naruto is the Child of Prophecy. If it's him, he'll definitely be able to decipher the code I left behind and lead the shinobi world to peace!"
This man's Impure World Reincarnation was far more terrifying than Orochimaru's. Not only was his movement controlled, even his thoughts were influenced—forcing him to speak what was truly in his heart.
It was terrifying!
Jiraiya couldn't hide his shock.
Who was this man?
How could he possess such a frightening version of Impure World Reincarnation?
Wasn't this a forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage?
Only Orochimaru in Konoha could use it, and even he was considered extreme for doing so—why could this man also use it?
Jiraiya stared at Li Yao, overwhelmed with questions.
"So that's how it is."
Li Yao curled his lips and finally understood why Jiraiya left behind such a troublesome code.
In short, his so-called belief in Naruto as the Child of Prophecy was actually more like a test.
Jiraiya had devoted his life to finding the Child of Prophecy.
But the Great Toad Sage had only told him that one of his students would bring great change to the shinobi world—and that he, the teacher, would need to guide that person toward true peace. The Sage never said who the student was.
That left Jiraiya in constant doubt about who it might be.
When he saw the Rinnegan in Nagato's eyes, he was convinced Nagato was the Child of Prophecy and did his best to guide him.
But he failed to stick with that conviction.
Later, when he met Minato, he was again stunned by Minato's talent—especially his warm and radiant personality, which influenced everyone around him. Jiraiya thought, if a Child of Prophecy truly existed, it had to be someone like Minato.
So he took Minato as a student and earnestly passed on his ideals of peace.
But after hearing of Nagato's death, and later Minato's, Jiraiya realized he still hadn't found the Child of Prophecy.
Many years later, he met Naruto—a boy who had grown up ostracized, insulted, and alone. Yet Naruto still held onto the dream of becoming Hokage, still remained sunny and cheerful.
Jiraiya felt the desire to take on a disciple once more.
And this time, he was convinced that Naruto was the Child of Prophecy.
Because of this belief, he left behind a message that required two layers of decryption to finally decode.
He believed Naruto would succeed.
Because Naruto was the Child of Prophecy.
Heh… Li Yao sneered. That code wasn't even cracked by Naruto. It was deduced from memories extracted from the Six Paths' bodies—that the real body wasn't among them.
"Well then, let's see if Naruto really is the Child of Prophecy."
Li Yao smiled at Jiraiya, then opened a dimensional pocket and sealed Jiraiya inside.
"Go. Take a look at Konoha while you still can—before it's too late."
Summoning Jutsu—hm?
The moment Jiraiya regained control over his body, he immediately attempted a summoning.
If he could summon Gamabunta or one of the elder toads, whatever this man planned for Konoha would be exposed.
Jiraiya wanted to warn the village.
But sadly, the dimensional pocket was a special space—jutsu couldn't be used within it. And Jiraiya couldn't open it from the inside either.
So the Summoning Jutsu failed.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya reacted quickly. Realizing he couldn't use jutsu, he rushed at Li Yao, hoping to take him out with a single deadly blow.
"What the—?!"
Jiraiya was stunned as he passed straight through Li Yao's body and the wall, ending up outside the house. Turning back, he reached into the wall and passed through it again.
At this moment, Jiraiya felt like a ghost—he appeared to be in the same world, but in truth, he was in another dimension, unable to affect the material world.
"Tsunade!"
Though he didn't yet understand what was happening, he decided to find Tsunade first and figure it out from there. Jiraiya turned and ran toward the Hokage building.
At the same time, he glanced at the ground beneath his feet.
It was strange. He could clearly feel solid ground under him, yet there were no footprints left behind.
If he pressed harder, his whole body would sink into the earth.
"An alternate dimension?"
"Or has my body become something like a spirit?"
Jiraiya's eyes showed deep thought, but he had no answer.
(END CHAPTER)
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