Chapter 326: Prophecy and Guidance
Dana floated in the air, overlooking Mount Myoboku.
Gigantic colorful mushrooms, wildly growing plants, and mysterious mounds resembling termite nests.
Honestly, it might be too weird for humans, but for toads, it was just right.
Not to mention the bizarre toads themselves.
According to the Katsuyu Sage and White Snake Sage, individuals like them, born with the ability to cultivate natural energy, could usually give rise to an extraordinary clan. That was how Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave came to be.
He hadn't thought about it before, but after coming to Mount Myoboku, Dana suddenly worried.
Ryuchi Cave was full of snakes, at least they looked like snakes. But what the hell was Mount Myoboku?!
Would his own descendants be as weird as these toads? The thought was terrifying.
He couldn't accept his descendants looking like gourds...
Or scrolls... No one could accept that.
Why did the toads of Mount Myoboku grow so freely?
Soon, Dana arrived deep within Mount Myoboku. Inside a massive toad-style building, he saw the Great Toad Sage lying sprawled out on his back.
And beside him stood Minato Namikaze.
The Great Toad Sage's tongue lolled out of his mouth, looking like he'd been dead for three days.
Shima-sennin gave Dana a deep look, then woke the Great Toad Sage again.
"Ah... accidentally fell asleep... Who is the visitor?"
Shima complained, "Great Toad Sage! Playing this game again? Didn't you ask Fukasaku to bring him?"
Dana waved his hand. "It doesn't matter. Standing before you is the Elder of Kumogakure, Prince Thunder of the Land of Lightning, Supreme Emperor of the Land of Fire, Inspector of Konohagakure...
"Future Consul of the Cloud-Thunder Federation...
"Joint Contractor of Shikkotsu Forest and Ryuchi Cave...
"One-in-ten-million Natural Energy Cultivator, Slayer of the Asura, Purple Moon Demon...
"One of the Four Heroes of Mount Tenmoku, Liberator of the Caged Bird, Brightest New Star of the Ninja World—Yotsuki Dana!"
Shima: "..."
Fukasaku: "..."
Great Toad Sage: "..."
Minato: "..."
Human or not, everyone fell silent.
After the super-long self-introduction, Yotsuki Dana smiled and asked:
"So, Great Toad Sage, did you foresee this opening speech?"
The Great Toad Sage opened his eyes, a rare occurrence, and said slowly, "Prophecy is not foresight, but appears in the form of dreams."
Dana stared calmly at the Great Toad Sage. He could see that the Sage's eyes weren't as senile as his appearance suggested; they were full of wisdom.
A pair of basketball-sized eyes seemed to want to see through Yotsuki Dana.
"So, what did you dream about this time to summon Minato here? Or what do you plan to have Minato do for you? As the Konoha Inspector, I have the right to know."
"I did not dream of anything... but hope destiny can return to the right track."
Dana looked directly at Minato. "Minato-kun, what did he say to you?"
Compared to the baffling Mount Myoboku, Minato probably trusted Yotsuki Dana more. At least they were in the same system now.
"He told me to find a boy with purple eyes, who can bring back my guide."
Dana thought for a moment and quickly figured out the connection.
"I see."
Then Dana turned to the giant senile toad and said in a deep voice, "Then, Great Toad Sage, why are you lying?"
Fukasaku: "What?! What are you saying!"
Shima: "How could the Great Toad Sage lie!"
Dana said, "You said you didn't dream of anything, but hoped destiny would return to the right track. That sentence... is a lie!"
The Great Toad Sage was silent for a long time. "So that's it... It seems what nature bestowed upon you is the ability to discern lies... my kin..."
Shima and Fukasaku looked at each other, confused why the Great Toad Sage would call a human "kin."
Minato looked at Dana in shock.
He has toad blood?!
The Great Toad Sage said, "I did dream of some things. But what prophecy reveals is often symbolic. It cannot reveal every detail of the future, only glimpses of one or two important nodes. To push destiny in the direction of the prophecy requires much effort."
Dana analyzed the Great Toad Sage's words. This time, he didn't detect the scent of a lie.
"You still haven't said what you dreamed of..."
The Great Toad Sage said, "Prophecy cannot be told directly; it can only be guided. But Yotsuki Dana, I am not your enemy. I am merely using my way to help this ninja world."
Dana tilted his head. "Although I expected you to talk in riddles, I have to say, it's still somewhat annoying."
Fukasaku and Shima said simultaneously, "Do not disrespect the Great Toad Sage!"
Dana didn't look at the two small toads. "Let me be blunt. Since you say prophecy requires interpretation, that means there's a possibility of misinterpretation. Moreover, you are unwilling to reveal the content yet want to influence the ninja world..."
"The ninja world you understand is actually the human world. I don't know why a toad cares so much about human affairs, but the human world probably doesn't need a toad's guidance yet. We'll figure it out ourselves... and we're doing pretty well so far."
Dana naturally knew the content of the Great Toad Sage's so-called prophecy.
It was nothing more than "A blue-eyed boy laughing and calling the names of nine beasts,""Jiraiya's disciple will be the Child of Prophecy, who will bring great change to the ninja world—unprecedented peace or total destruction," and so on.
Speaking of prophecy, Dana had known these since he was born, and probably in more detail and accuracy than the Great Toad Sage.
He even knew who the Child of Prophecy's first kiss would be with, the true names of the nine Tailed Beasts, Black Zetsu's thousand-year plan to save his mother, and the Sage of Six Paths' lingering spirit.
Maybe he was the greatest prophet in the ninja world.
But so what? Was he supposed to carefully protect the timeline from childhood, waiting to be saved by a brat in the future?
Or call it "not changing the plot to keep the advantage of foresight," be a bystander, and act as if his existence didn't matter?
Did he relive a life just to watch anime?
Having things he wanted to do but not doing them, changes he wanted to make but not making them, people he wanted to protect but not protecting them—that would be wasting a second life.
Both were prophets, but Yotsuki Dana and the Great Toad Sage handled things completely differently.
He wasn't worried about whether a blue-eyed boy would have a happy reunion with Tailed Beasts in the future. If Tailed Beasts could understand humans, they would coexist peacefully; if not, they would be tools. Simple as that.
Technology progresses, and humanity progresses. As long as humans move forward, these things will eventually be solved.
What could truly destroy the ninja world was stagnation and standing still.
He didn't care if Naruto's master was Jiraiya. If no one taught him, Dana wouldn't mind taking a disciple.
He didn't think he would teach poorly.
He didn't even care much about the so-called Child of Prophecy. At worst, it was just Kaguya Otsutsuki's business; there were plenty of ways to deal with it.
In fact, after so many years in the ninja world, what helped him more wasn't foreknowledge of the plot, but the perspective from his past life.
From the moment he was born, he hadn't cared much about the so-called plot.
"Great Toad Sage, if you have suggestions, you can state them directly. If you have cooperation, we can discuss it together. But if you position yourself as a prophet... I can only say humans will strive on their own; it's not a toad's turn to guide us..."
After this near-total denial, the Great Toad Sage stared at Dana silently for a long time. Dana stared back fearlessly with a smile.
After a long while, Yotsuki Dana said, "Like I said, humans will figure it out themselves. Minato Namikaze isn't Jiraiya either; I believe he won't be easily ordered around by you. Also, next time you have intel on the ninja world to share, remember to go through official channels. Find me, or find Kumogakure."
"If we find you trying to secretly contact important human figures like today again, it might look bad on your face."
Saying this, Dana patted Minato's shoulder. Minato understood immediately.
Before leaving, Dana added, "By the way, I just made a temporary decision. If a certain blue-eyed boy still appears... then I will be his teacher. I wonder if you will dream of this change tonight?"
With that, the two vanished from Mount Myoboku.
Fukasaku and Shima exclaimed:
"That guy is so rude!"
"To look down on the Great Toad Sage like that!"
The Great Toad Sage, however, closed his massive eyes again, returning to his drowsy state, tongue lolling out like he'd been dead for three days.
"Prophecy is not foresight. You cannot tell the person in the prophecy directly, or they will fall into a cycle of fate... You can only guide... direct..."
"And the ways of guidance... are varied... yes... varied..."
The Great Toad Sage recalled the dream revelation he received.
Countless blurred figures stood atop a cyan giant. Amidst violent thunder and dense clouds, they looked down indifferently. Golden light swam through the air. Everyone seemed to be waiting for a gluttonous feast that had not yet begun.
"Everyone who knows the name... name... what name exactly... I need to sleep again quickly, see if I can revisit that dream..."