On a peak in the Land of Earth, a wooden house stood near the edge of a cliff.
Inside, a fire burned quietly. A pot of soup simmered over it, and the smell quickly spread through the small house.
Jiraiya sat cross-legged by the fire, staring at the pot. Beside him, Naruto stared even harder, his stomach growling at just the right time.
Jiraiya laughed and looked across the fire at Shinichi. "I didn't expect this from you. You can even cook?"
He glanced around the clean wooden house, then tapped the smooth wall with his knuckles.
"Wood Release really is convenient. Wherever you go, you can build yourself a proper place to stay. No sleeping outside, no broken inns."
Shinichi only adjusted the firewood beneath the pot. The flames rose a little, lighting his face.
Naruto finally could not hold back anymore. He leaned toward the pot, eyes fixed on the meat. "Hey, Shinichi, is it ready yet? I'm starving."
"Ever since I left the village with Pervy Sage, we've been rushing around every day. All we ate were soldier pills. Those things taste awful."
Shinichi stirred the pot with a wooden spoon one last time.
"It's ready."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
He grabbed a bowl, scooped himself a full serving, and started eating before the meat had even cooled. It was so hot that he kept sucking in air between bites, but he still refused to slow down.
Jiraiya watched him and snorted... "Slow down. No one is fighting you for it."
He served himself a bowl too. After taking a sip of soup, the smile on his face faded a little, and his gaze returned to Shinichi.
"I knew you were strong. Suppressing Shukaku, forcing Orochimaru back... no ordinary kid could do things like that."
He paused.
"But forcing Onoki to kneel is something else."
Naruto slowed down while chewing. He looked at Jiraiya, then at Shinichi, confused. "Pervy Sage, what are you talking about? Didn't we come here to help Shinichi? What happened?"
Jiraiya waved him off. "Eat first. I'll explain later."
Naruto blinked, then went back to eating. Whatever happened, hot food came first.
Shinichi finished his soup and set the bowl down. "Iwagakure has already lowered its head. That means the first step is done."
Jiraiya's expression shifted slightly.
Shinichi looked at him and continued, "Now it is time to fulfill the promise I made to my teacher."
Jiraiya naturally understood what promise Shinichi meant.
"So your next target is Kumogakure?"
Shinichi nodded.
Jiraiya was not surprised. Konoha's higher-ups already knew why Shinichi had left the village. After Iwagakure, the remaining targets were no longer difficult to guess: Kumogakure and Kirigakure.
Shinichi did not continue. His gaze moved to Naruto, who was still stuffing his mouth like he had not eaten in days.
"Before Kumogakure," Shinichi said, "Naruto has to start."
Jiraiya's hand paused.
He understood what Shinichi meant.
"Now?" Jiraiya asked, his voice lower than before. "Isn't that too early?"
Shinichi did not answer in front of Naruto. He stood up, walked to the door, and pushed it open. Cold wind rushed into the house, making the fire flicker.
He looked back at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's expression turned serious. He set down his bowl and followed him outside.
Naruto looked up with his mouth full.
"Eh?"
But seeing the look on their faces, he swallowed the question back down. In the end, he could only stare at the closed door for a moment before lowering his head and going back to the food.
Outside, the wind was much colder. The firelight disappeared behind them, leaving only pale moonlight over the cliffs and the dark outline of the mountains in the distance.
Shinichi walked to the edge and looked out for a moment before speaking. "There's no need to rush Kumogakure. After Iwagakure, no hidden village will move recklessly for a while."
Jiraiya said nothing.
He could not argue with that.
Shinichi turned slightly. "But Naruto is different. He can't wait."
Jiraiya's brows tightened as the Great Toad Sage's prophecy came back to him. "Did you learn something more specific?"
Shinichi nodded.
"Three years."
Jiraiya's expression changed. "Three years?"
"At most," Shinichi said. "In three years, the one mentioned in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy will descend. That is when the real crisis begins."
Jiraiya wanted to ask more, but Shinichi continued before he could.
"That's why Naruto has to grow faster. He needs to start learning how to draw on the Nine-Tails' power. If he keeps going at his current pace, he won't be able to keep up."
Jiraiya's expression turned heavier.
Naruto was still young. His foundation was unstable, and his chakra control was rough. Letting him touch the Nine-Tails' power too early could easily go wrong.
But Jiraiya also understood Shinichi's point. Ordinary training would not be enough for the enemy they were preparing for.
Shinichi glanced back toward the wooden house.
"Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Whether he wants it or not, that power is part of him. If he never learns to use it, he won't be able to stand on the battlefield when the real crisis comes."
Jiraiya's brows tightened, but he did not refute him. After a long silence, he asked, "How far do you want him to go?"
"At the very least, he needs to communicate with the Nine-Tails," Shinichi said. "After that, he needs to borrow its chakra without losing himself."
"That's easier said than done."
"I know." Shinichi's gaze remained steady. "That is why he has to start now."
The night wind swept past them, and for a while, neither of them spoke.
Jiraiya looked at Shinichi and suddenly realized that the boy was already looking far beyond the Five Great Nations.
Jiraiya slowly exhaled. "So the real enemy is not the other villages."
"No."
Shinichi looked up at the dark sky. "The crisis of the Ninja World was never truly about the wars between the Five Great Nations."
His voice was calm, but Jiraiya still felt a chill run through him.
"It is the one the prophecy called a God from beyond the stars."
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