"Great Toad Sage! Lord Hokage! I'm here!"
Jiraiya pushed open the temple doors and stepped inside.
The pressure inside the hall struck him immediately. It was not aimed at him, but it still pressed against his face and shoulders like a solid wall. Jiraiya stopped near the entrance and quickly took in the scene.
Jie stood in the middle of the temple, facing Gamamaru.
Fukasaku and Shima were off to the side. Fukasaku was clearly injured, his breathing uneven as he forced himself to stay upright, while Shima stayed close beside him, tense and silent.
Jiraiya's mood sank.
Before coming here, he had already seen Gamabunta lying injured outside. Gamaken was not much better. After hearing from the smaller toads that Jie had beaten them both, Jiraiya had nearly cursed on the spot.
He knew Jie had come to Mount Myōboku because of the prophecy from five years ago. He just had not expected Jie to settle the matter by beating his way in.
Fortunately, Gamabunta was injured but alive. As long as no one had died, things had not completely passed the point of no return.
After learning that Fukasaku and Shima had brought Jie to the Great Toad Sage's temple, Jiraiya rushed over at once.
One side was Mount Myōboku, the place that had fought beside him for years. The other was Jie, the current Hokage. If those two sides truly fought, even Jiraiya would not know where to stand.
At least, for now, no one had attacked.
With the doors open, some of the pressure trapped inside the temple spilled outward. Fukasaku's breathing eased slightly, though his face remained pale.
Gamamaru looked at Jiraiya, then back at Jie.
The standoff had already served its purpose. Continuing it now would only make the silence look forced.
"I remember now."
His voice was calm, almost casual.
"A long time ago, I saw a few fragments of the future in a dream. From those fragments, I gave a prophecy."
He looked down at Jie.
"But the future changes. A prophecy is only a prophecy."
Jie's expression did not change.
Five years ago, Jiraiya had brought him that prophecy from Mount Myōboku. In it, Jie had become the one who would ignite war across the ninja world.
Jie had never feared the prophecy itself. The future was not fixed. What happened next depended on his own choices, not on a few vague words spoken by an old toad.
What he disliked was the way Mount Myōboku hid behind those prophecies.
They watched the ninja world from above, gave warnings when it suited them, guided people when it benefited them, and called it concern.
Now that Jiraiya was here, that was even better. The man had trusted Mount Myōboku for most of his life. He could stand here and hear exactly what kind of "guidance" those prophecies really were.
Jie looked up at Gamamaru.
"Only a prophecy?"
His tone remained calm, but the words made the temple grow quiet.
"You call it advice, but Mount Myōboku has been reaching into the ninja world for a long time. A group of toads interfering in human affairs... don't you think your hand stretches too far?"
Gamamaru laughed softly.
"Interfering? I am only an old toad who sometimes sees fragments in his sleep. If I offer a few words out of concern, how does that become interference?"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"And human affairs?"
Jie caught the meaning at once.
Even now, Gamamaru was trying to blur the line. He wanted to make the prophecy sound harmless, make Mount Myōboku sound detached, and make Jie's accusation seem unreasonable.
Jie had no patience for that.
"Then I'll say it clearly."
He looked straight at the giant toad on the stone seat.
"Great Toad Sage. Gamamaru. A toad who has lived from the era of the Sage of Six Paths until now."
Jiraiya turned toward Gamamaru. Fukasaku and Shima were much calmer; they clearly knew at least part of this already. Gamamaru himself said nothing, but his silence was enough.
Jie continued.
"Back then, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura fought the Ten-Tails. During that period, Mount Myōboku played a role. Afterward, it became one of the three great sage lands of the summoning beasts."
He looked up at Gamamaru with a faint smile.
"So far, I'm not wrong, am I?"
Gamamaru did not answer.
Jie did not mind. To an outsider, everything he had said so far only made Mount Myōboku sound more respectable. Ancient history. The Sage of Six Paths. A battle against the Ten-Tails. A sacred land that once helped prevent disaster.
If the story ended there, Mount Myōboku would only look better.
But that was not why Jie had brought it up.
"The world only knows the clean version," Jie said. "They know Mount Myōboku helped during the sealing of the Ten-Tails. They know the Great Toad Sage once guided Hagoromo."
His voice cooled.
"But they do not know that from the very beginning, all of it was a conspiracy arranged by you, Gamamaru."
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