Chapter 477: Filial Inuzuka Kiba's Gift-Giving
"Hey, Kiba, don't get too excited yet. What was that saying again? The bigger it is, the bigger… the bigger…"
Naruto tried to sound cultured, but because his knowledge base was far too limited, he immediately got stuck.
The "the bigger, the bigger…" thing was so embarrassing.
"'With greater power comes greater responsibility?'"
Kiba tentatively helped fill in the blank. He felt like he had seen that line in some novel before.
"Yeah, that's it!"
Naruto's eyes lit up, and he nodded quickly.
"Kiba, the shinobi world is about to face enemies that can only be defeated with senjutsu and taijutsu. I've been entrusted by Pervy-sage to find a way to spread Sage Mode. You're the first one."
"As the first person to master Sage Mode through me, you also need to take on responsibility. Help me spread Sage Mode so everyone can have the power to protect themselves…"
Naruto patted Kiba on the shoulder, just like Jiraiya had patted his shoulder earlier. Even his tone was exactly the same.
Just as Naruto was about to carry out his "evil plan", a voice suddenly came from outside the crowd.
"Make way, make way."
Sage Shima hopped and squeezed her way through the crowd. When she saw only Naruto there, she froze for a moment.
"Where's Jiraiya boy?"
"Pervy-sage went to Amegakure. Granny Shima, what brings you here?"
Naruto replied.
"Amegakure? Left that urgently?"
Shima Sage scratched her backside and muttered to herself. Then she stopped caring about it.
"If Jiraiya boy isn't here, I'll just tell you."
"Naruto, Jiraiya came to Mount Myoboku just now to ask the Great Toad Sage for a prophecy about you. But the Great Toad Sage's prophecies are extremely rare—Jiraiya couldn't get one and only left with a yellowed piece of paper."
"Not long after Jiraiya left, the Great Toad Sage woke up again and made a prophecy about you."
"A prophecy about me? What is it?"
Naruto immediately became tense.
"The Great Toad Sage said that in the future, Naruto, you will encounter an enemy comparable to the Sage of Six Paths. In order to protect your comrades, you will share your power with others."
"That's all. I've delivered the prophecy. You can interpret it yourself. I should head back now."
With that, Shima Sage hopped away.
"..."
If this prophecy had appeared in the original story, it would likely refer to Naruto facing the Ten-Tails and Obito in his Six Paths form, and giving the chakra of the Nine-Tails to the shinobi alliance.
But right now, Naruto didn't think in that direction at all, because there was something else that fit this prophecy even better.
To oppose the Ōtsutsuki, he would spread Sage Mode, his own shortcut to Sage Mode, to everyone!
Earlier, Naruto had been beaten up by Tsunade and her three disciples. Even though Tsunade and the others didn't initially understand his goal, his enthusiasm had inevitably cooled a bit.
But now, with this prophecy, Naruto's motivation instantly returned in full force.
"Kiba, did you hear that? Did you hear that?!"
Naruto turned around, grabbed Kiba's shoulders with both hands, and shook him.
"I-I heard it."
Kiba looked a little dazed.
Of course he knew how high the status of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, one of the Three Holy Lands, was.
And what a prophecy from the Great Toad Sage meant.
But honestly, the Great Toad Sage's prophecies were basically pure nonsense, with extremely poor accuracy.
For example, the most classic one: the prophecy given to Jiraiya said his disciple would bring either peace or destruction to the shinobi world.
Then it was confirmed that Naruto was the Child of Prophecy who would end the chaos and bring peace, resulting in fifteen years of peace.
If counted from the time Naruto became Hokage, it was even more absurd, only a few years.
He ended a chaos that had lasted thousands of years, only to bring fifteen years of peace. That was basically the level of the Second Qin Emperor, barely a flash in the pan.
Setting aside issues like Naruto restricting development and such, it wasn't really Naruto's fault anyway, he was an outsider from beyond the world.
Of course, some people would stubbornly defend the Great Toad Sage, saying the "Jiraiya" in the prophecy referred to Kashin Koji, and the disciple was Boruto.
They even claimed the prophecy about Naruto fighting a boy with powerful ocular abilities wasn't Sasuke, but Kawaki.
And after fighting Kawaki, he got sealed in Daikokuten (Great Black Heaven).
If you kept forcing interpretations like that, it would never end.
From the track record of the Great Toad Sage, its prophecies were basically "seeing a slip of heaven's script."
It could only see an outcome, not the process, and not even how long the outcome would last.
That's why it could predict Naruto bringing peace, but not that this peace would never truly last long.
Fifteen years of peace, what level was that?
Senju Hashirama ended the Warring States era and established the shinobi villages, and peace lasted twelve years.
During the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's reign, if you only count continuous peaceful periods and ignore small-scale conflicts, there were even spans of twenty years and eight years of peace.
By that logic, Sarutobi Hiruzen would be the real Child of Prophecy.
Was the Great Toad Sage biased because Hiruzen used monkey summons… or rather, Enma? So it refused to grant him the title?
In any case, in Amegakure under Shiromo's influence, everyone, including Jiraiya's former disciples Nagato and Konan, dismissed the Great Toad Sage's prophecies entirely.
But Konoha was different.
Inuzuka Kiba's emotions were even more intense than Naruto's.
He felt he had been entrusted with the great mission of reviving the Inuzuka Clan. He would make the Inuzuka Clan great again!
"Kiba, I'm going to spread Sage Mode across the entire shinobi world. The task is difficult. Thank you for helping me share the burden. Your mission starts with spreading it from the people around you. I believe in you."
Naruto continued.
"People around me? How do I do that?"
Kiba, who hadn't been caught in any Infinite Tsukuyomi, was already imagining himself commanding the masses. Hearing Naruto's words, he quickly asked.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere and explain on the way."
Naruto draped an arm around Kiba's shoulders, and with a big leap, they landed on a rooftop before heading off in a certain direction.
"That's it? The demon fox and the dog demon aren't even fighting?"
The bloodthirsty villagers of Konoha felt disappointed and dispersed.
Tsunade and the others didn't leave immediately. They stayed behind, and once the villagers had scattered, they prepared to leave as well.
But at that moment, Naruto and Kiba came back again.
Kiba's expression was a mix of confusion, shock, fear, and anticipation.
A full cocktail of emotions.
"Go, Kiba. Don't be afraid. This is for the sake of the shinobi world!"
Naruto pushed Kiba from behind.
Kiba, carrying a bag of newly bought "gifts", walked up to his mother and older sister. Without saying a word, he forced himself to steel his nerves and presented the gifts.
"Mom, Sis, these are for you. I hope you can use them to master Sage Mode and help me make the Inuzuka Clan great again."
Kiba said through gritted teeth.
He had to explain.
If he explained, there was still a sliver of hope.
If he didn't, then the Naruto who had just been kicked flying out of the Hokage building would likely become his fate.
(End of this chapter)