As Naruto's plans for the Land of Waves progressed smoothly, Konoha was in complete disarray.
First of all, the Root was disbanded. All Root members were scattered and reassigned to Anbu squads, while Shimura Danzo, the Hokage's advisor, was stripped of his position and left idle at home.
The root cause of this was Danzō's attempt to stage a coup using Root after seeing Hiruzen severely injured and the Anbu suffering heavy losses. After his failure, he was completely removed from power.
Hiruzen was still alive, but his summon, Enma, was gone, cutting his strength by more than half. Additionally, of the dozens of elite Ninja he had taken with him, fewer than ten had survived.
Hiruzen also stepped down from his position as Hokage and ordered a search across the entire Ninja World for Jiraiya and Tsunade.
---
Meanwhile, near a hot spring in the Land of Hot Water, a perverted white-haired figure was sneakily climbing a tall rock formation, a lecherous grin plastered on his face.
"Jiraiya-sama!"
A cold, emotionless voice suddenly rang out, startling Jiraiya so badly that he fell off the rock.
"You bastard!"
Jiraiya immediately turned around, glaring at the person who had scared him. When he saw it was someone wearing an animal mask, his anger subsided slightly.
"Is the old man looking for me?"
The Anbu Ninja nodded and said, "Hokage-sama has requested your return to Konoha."
Jiraiya frowned and asked, "Did something happen in Konoha?"
"Konoha was attacked. Hokage-sama was severely injured, the Anbu suffered heavy casualties, and over half of the village was destroyed."
"Wha-… You're not joking, are you?"
Jiraiya had initially thought it was just another skirmish with some village, but hearing that half of Konoha was gone left him stunned.
The Anbu Ninja nodded again and said, "Hokage-sama has stepped down, and a new Hokage will be elected soon."
"Who did this?" Jiraiya's expression darkened.
"Unknown. Hokage-sama will only disclose the details upon your return."
Hiruzen had hidden the truth of the incident. In his view, as long as the information about the Jinchuriki remained secret, it would still serve as a deterrent, delaying other villages' plans against Konoha.
"Then let's..."
Poof!
Before Jiraiya could finish speaking, his body turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
Only the Anbu Ninja was left standing there, utterly confused.
---
"go now... huh?"
"Wait, where is this?"
Jiraiya had just been talking to the Anbu Ninja when he suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar yet familiar scene.
It was a place filled with the sounds of birds, the fragrance of flowers, and an atmosphere of vibrant life.
"Mount Myoboku?"
Jiraiya quickly noticed the small green toad with white whiskers and eyebrows standing at his feet.
"Fukasaku-sama, what's going on? Why are you calling me now?"
Jiraiya was a little curious. Mount Myoboku rarely summoned him, and he had a feeling it might be related to the recent attack on Konoha.
Fakasaku frowned, then sighed and said, "Should we grab something to eat first? Wife already prepared some food when she heard you were coming."
"Uh..." Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, then said with a righteous expression, "Something serious has happened in Konoha now. I need to get back as soon as possible. Let's just get to the point."
Fakasaku sighed again and said, "In that case, follow me. This is related to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy."
"Prophecy?"
Jiraiya immediately perked up, recalling the prophecy the Great Toad Sage had given him long ago.
"Your disciple will bring great change to the world. Whether this change will bring peace... or destruction, remains to be seen."
He had been searching for the Child of Prophecy ever since, but...
Jiraiya's mood suddenly dipped. He still hadn't found the Child of Prophecy, and the two disciples he had once placed the most hope in were now dead.
But he quickly regained his energy and looked at Fukasaku with curiosity, "Did the Great Toad Sage make a new prophecy?"
Fakasaku nodded, then shook his head, and said, "There should be a new prophecy, but he hasn't said it yet. He just asked me to bring you to him."
"Is that so? Then why have you been sighing so much?"
Fukasaku hesitated before saying, "The Great Toad Sage isn't in the best state. When he woke up today, he seemed... angry."
"Angry? Why? Never mind, let's go see for ourselves."
Jiraiya placed Fukasaku on his shoulder and quickly made his way to the Great Toad Sage's residence.
The two soon arrived at the grand hall where the Great Toad Sage resided. There, they saw a massive orange toad with a string of prayer beads around its neck and a doctoral cap on its head.
The seat it rested on bore the character for 'Sage.'
Beside the Great Toad Sage was another small green toad.
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged a glance, and Shima shook her head after looking at the Great Toad Sage.
The Great Toad Sage had fallen asleep again.
Fukasaku sighed again, already used to this. He jumped onto the platform on the other side of the Great Toad Sage and shouted: "Great Toad Sage-sama! Jiraiya-chan is here!"
The sound echoed through the empty hall, deafeningly loud. It was clear that Chakra had been used to amplify the voice.
Jiraiya's face also showed a look of helplessness. After all, the Great Toad Sage was always like this.
However, it was under this loud shout that Gamamaru's eyelids trembled and slowly opened.
Looking at Jiraiya below, he said, "My apologies. I'm old, and whenever I close my eyes, I tend to fall asleep."
"Oh, by the way, who are you again?"
Even Jiraiya was used to this by now. Every time they met, it was the same.
"Great Toad Sage-sama, I'm Jiraiya."
"Oh, I remember now, it's Jiraiya-chan."
A strange expression suddenly appeared on Gamamaru's face, and he said, "Jiraiya-chan, your task is complete."
"Huh?"
Jiraiya was a little confused, 'What task had I completed? What task did I even have?'
'Could it be the task of finding the Child of Prophecy? But I no longer had any disciples.'
"Great Toad Sage-sama, could you please clarify?"
Since he couldn't figure it out, Jiraiya decided it was better to just ask directly.
Gamamaru's eyes seemed to be lost in memory.
"I have seen a future, and only one future. The Child of Prophecy has made his choice."
"A great fire will sweep across the world. He will drag the entire Ninja World into war. The Five Great Nations will be utterly destroyed, and even the Three Great Holy Lands will struggle to survive."
"This..." Jiraiya's expression turned grim. The destruction of the Five Great Nations and the Three Great Holy Lands was a result he had never imagined.
Even the two toads, Fukasaku and Shima, looked horrified, 'Even the Three Great Holy Lands would be destroyed? But the Holy Lands had existed for centuries, and such a thing had never happened before.'
"Great Toad Sage-sama, the future isn't set in stone. You called me here because you want me to change this future, right?"
Gamamaru spoke slowly, "The Child of Prophecy who will destroy the world is still young. While it may no longer be possible to guide him, there are other ways to stop him."
"Other ways?" Jiraiya's face showed deep thought, but then he suddenly shuddered, his expression turning grim as he looked at Gamamaru, "Great Toad Sage-sama, are you saying that before the Child of Prophecy can grow stronger, we should... eliminate him? "
"There are no other Children of Prophecy in the Ninja World, or rather, I can no longer see any others. Beyond this future, all I see is a fog."
Jiraiya lowered his head in thought for a moment, then asked, "Great Toad Sage-sama, did you see what this person looks like?"
Gamamaru remained silent for a long time, lost in memory once more, before finally saying: "He is a blue-eyed youth who controls the nine Tailed Beasts. He is on an island, sowing the seeds of the world's destruction. If nothing changes, you will see him on the day Konoha is destroyed."
"Tailed Beasts, blue eyes, an island, and the destruction of Konoha..."
These were the key elements of the prophecy, but they only made Jiraiya feel the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.
"I understand. I will do everything in my power to find him and... stop him."
"Then I'll take my leave now."
"Go, Jiraiya-chan, be careful."
After Gamamaru finished speaking, Jiraiya turned into a puff of white smoke and reappeared in front of the waiting Anbu Ninja.
Before the Anbu could say anything, Jiraiya rushed off in the direction of Konoha at full speed.
"Great Toad Sage-sama, did you see anything else?" Fukasaku asked.
Gamamaru glanced at Fukasaku calmly and said, "I saw him standing on the ruins of Mount Myoboku, spouting arrogant words."
"Sage? You're nothing but a beast. You're not even human, yet you dare call yourself a Sage?"