bigabreads Chapter 13 The Prophecy of the Child
Chapter 13 The Prophecy of the Child
Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's strong leadership, the medical department was established at an unprecedented speed.
Tsunade was full of energy and practically moved her entire family into the newly built medical department building.
Orochimaru was also filled with enthusiasm for this opportunity that would allow him to openly dissect... no, to study the human body.
The entire Hidden Leaf Village was immersed in a bustling atmosphere of construction.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was happy to have a few days of peace and quiet.
However, the good times did not last long.
On this day, the Sarutobi Squad was carrying out an A-rank exploration mission in an ancient forest in the southern part of the Land of Fire.
The mission involves investigating a newly discovered ancient site.
Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted this mission mainly to broaden the horizons of his three disciples and, incidentally, to see if there were any unexpected gains.
As it turned out, the unexpected really happened.
"Teacher! Tsunade! Come quick! There's a really strange scroll here!"
Jiraiya's loud and boisterous voice came from deep within the ruins.
Tsunade and Orochimaru exchanged a helpless glance. This loser was always so unreliable.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't react much, he just slowly followed.
Sure enough, an ancient scroll was placed on the central altar of the ruins.
The scroll was made of some kind of unknown animal hide, on which an extremely complex psychic array was drawn in blood.
"Don't touch it!" Orochimaru immediately recognized the danger of this thing and called out to stop it.
However, it was too late.
Jiraiya's curiosity clearly overcame his reason.
He stretched out his finger and poked the center of the magic circle.
"Hey, not much reaction at all..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire reel suddenly burst into a blinding white light.
That wasn't the light of positive psychic magic, but rather a reverse, pulling force.
"ah--!"
With a scream, Jiraiya vanished from the spot.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise, trying to rush over, but was pulled back by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"teacher!"
"Don't panic." Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was unusually calm, as if he had expected this scene.
Of course he wasn't flustered.
Because just as Jiraiya impulsively clicked on that scroll, his simulator had already completely spoiled the future for him.
[Key figure Jiraiya has been detected, triggering a special opportunity...]
[Simulated Scenario: Jiraiya is summoned to Mount Myōboku in reverse.]
[Scene 1: Jiraiya falls into a group of giant toads and is almost eaten as a snack.]
[Scene 2: He met Gamabunta, the toad boss, and ended up staying at Mount Myōboku to train.]
[Scene 3: He was brought before the Great Toad Sage and heard the famous prophecy about the "Child of Prophecy"—"Your disciple will bring unprecedented peace or unprecedented destruction to the ninja world..."]
[Scene 4: Jiraiya, carrying the summoning contract with the toad and the sense of mission as the "Child of Prophecy," returns to Konoha and grows into a powerful figure capable of standing alone.]
After watching the simulation, Hiruzen Sarutobi had only one thought in his mind.
"That's great!"
It was pie in the sky.
Jiraiya, that idiot, went off to study, and he even learned such advanced stuff as Sage Mode.
When he returns, I'll gain a top-tier combatant for free.
As for that so-called prophetic child...
Hiruzen Sarutobi curled his lip.
prophecy?
Compared to my future simulator, that thing is nothing.
However, this is a good opportunity.
He looked down at the amulet he was wearing on his hand. It was a gift he had given to his three disciples, and each amulet contained a trace of his chakra beacon, allowing him to sense their location and condition at any time.
Now, he could sense that the beacon belonging to Jiraiya was in an extremely distant and unique space.
"Let's go back to the village first," Hiruzen Sarutobi said to Tsunade and Orochimaru, who both looked worried.
"But teacher, Jiraiya..." Tsunade said anxiously.
"Don't worry, he's fine." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was full of confidence. "He just... went to a place he was meant to go and saw some creatures he was meant to see."
"He'll come back on his own after a while."
Tsunade and Orochimaru were skeptical, but seeing their teacher's certainty, they didn't say anything more.
……
Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku.
Jiraiya's experience was almost exactly the same as what was seen in the simulator.
When he was brought before the Great Toad Immortal, this giant toad, who had lived for over a thousand years, slowly opened its wise eyes.
"Oh...it's finally here..."
The voice of the Great Toad Sage seemed to come from a distant ancient time.
"I saw... a prophecy..."
"Your disciple... will become a reformer... He will guide the ninja world... toward unprecedented stability... or... unprecedented destruction..."
"Your choice... will determine the future of the world..."
Jiraiya was completely stunned.
Disciples? I don't even have a girlfriend, where would I get disciples?
Is this old toad still half asleep?
However, at the very moment the Great Toad Sage uttered his prophecy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, far away in the Hokage's office in Konoha, also lit up the simulator panel in his mind.
[World-class critical information detected: The prophecy of the Great Toad Sage.]
[Information transcription in progress...]
[...Your disciple...the reformer...stability or destruction...]
Although the information was somewhat vague and incomplete, Hiruzen Sarutobi had fully grasped the core content.
He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
This prophecy, in the original work, runs through almost the entire storyline and affects the fate of countless people.
but now……
"Sorry, I've changed the script." Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled.
A single prophecy can decide the future of Konoha?
A month later.
Jiraiya is back.
He was wearing brand-new clothes and wooden clogs, with a huge scroll on his back and a smug smile on his face. As soon as he returned, he rushed into the Hokage's office.
"Teacher! I'm back! Hahaha! You'd never guess what I've been through in the past month!"
He spread the spirit communication contract from Mount Myōboku on the ground as if presenting a treasure.
"I was chosen by the legendary Mount Myōboku, and I even met the Great Toad Sage. He said I was... uh, the teacher of the chosen one! He also gave me a prophecy concerning the future of the world!"
He gestured wildly, spitting as he spoke, expecting to see the teacher's shocked expression.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi merely looked up from his documents and gave him a brief, indifferent glance.
"Oh, you're back."
"That's it?" Jiraiya's smile froze on his face. "Master, this is Mount Myōboku! Sage Mode! Prophecy!"
"Hmm, not bad." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his tone as flat as if he were just saying the weather was nice today.
"It seems you've finally found your way as a ninja."
He stood up, walked over to Jiraiya, and patted him on the shoulder.
"However, there's something you should remember, Jiraiya."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze suddenly became profound.
"Prophecy is something that people create, not something predetermined."
"Your choice is indeed important, but even more important is what the person who made you choose wants you to choose."
Jiraiya was stunned.
He sensed a hidden meaning in his teacher's words, but with his current level of understanding, he couldn't fully grasp their deeper implications.
His somewhat smug heart inexplicably calmed down upon hearing those words.
Seeing Jiraiya's bewildered expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't say anything more.
He knew that he had planted a seed of doubt in Jiraiya's heart.
This is enough.
A prophetic child who doubts destiny is a controllable prophetic child.
"Alright, go tell Tsunade and Orochimaru you're safe. They've been worried sick about you." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly.
"Oh... okay."
Jiraiya walked out of the office in a daze, feeling that his strange encounter was... insignificant in the teacher's eyes.