"Oho, little Jiraiya—calling you to Mount Myoboku this late, I didn't interrupt you flirting with some girl, did I?"
Mount Myoboku.
Shima Sage lowered her hands and stared at the dazed Jiraiya appearing out of the smoke, asking with her usual bluntness.
"Uh… no, I wasn't—" Jiraiya coughed twice, dodging instinctively. "Ahem. Let's not talk about that. Shima Sage, is something urgent happening? You actually used Reverse Summoning to pull me over."
"Mm. Nothing huge," Shima Sage said, hopping straight onto his shoulder. Then her face twisted as the smell hit her. "The Great Toad Sage had another vague dream. He thinks you should hear the new content sooner."
She narrowed her eyes and immediately began scolding.
"Little Jiraiya, I don't care what lifestyle you choose, but drinking yourself stupid late at night like this? You'll age faster than the Great Toad Sage, that old fool. You haven't even married—do you really want to end up a nasty old man nobody likes?"
"Shima Sage…" Jiraiya pleaded, hands raised. "Today was just… frustrating. Let me off the hook for a moment, alright?"
Shima Sage sighed, finally easing off.
Jiraiya followed the familiar paths he'd walked countless times, until he arrived at the temple where the Great Toad Sage resided—the ancient being who had existed since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
"Great Toad Sage," Jiraiya said, kneeling with solemnity. "Do you have a new prophecy for me?"
"…Who… is it?" the Great Toad Sage asked, lowering the bottle in his hand with a hiccup.
"It's little Jiraiya, you half-asleep, reality-and-dreams-mixed-up old idiot!" Shima Sage snapped. "Stop playing dumb in front of people every time! You just woke up and told me to fetch him—now hurry up and say what you need to say!"
"Ohoho… Shima, you're as impatient as ever…"
The Great Toad Sage, orange-bodied and vast, slowly opened his yellow eyes—eyes that had watched the world for far too long.
He smiled gently at Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya… you've already met the child chosen by the White Snake… haven't you?"
Jiraiya stiffened.
"Setting aside bias and position," the Great Toad Sage continued, "compared to the two Children of Prophecy you once found… don't you think he looks more like someone who could completely change this shinobi world?"
"You really opened with a question I can't answer cleanly," Jiraiya sighed, settling cross-legged before the Sage's seat.
"Nagato and Minato are outstanding shinobi. They're gentle with comrades. They have empathy. Their talent makes even geniuses dim in their shadow."
"If they were to change the shinobi world… I believe the day of true understanding would come, eventually."
His gaze dropped to his own hands.
"But Kaguya Ren is different."
The sting of earlier words rose up again.
"That boy… sometimes I don't even feel like he's a shinobi. He thinks like something else—something strange."
He drew a slow breath.
"Compared to Nagato—still refining the ideals he shares with Yahiko—and Minato—who's witnessed tragedy but hasn't found the way to change it yet… Kaguya Ren is the youngest. His life experience should be the shallowest."
"And yet his convictions are more mature. More firm."
Jiraiya's voice went quieter.
"If he really is the Child of Prophecy you mean… then I'm afraid the world he builds might not have a place for shinobi at all."
"That," the Great Toad Sage said, taking another sip, "is something even I cannot foresee."
Jiraiya's eyes sharpened.
"Then… why summon me here tonight?"
"Don't rush, Jiraiya."
The Great Toad Sage smiled kindly.
"I cannot see the future wrapped in the fog that clings to Kaguya Ren. But I did see another future—under another possibility."
"Another possibility…" Jiraiya repeated, frowning. "What does that mean?"
The Great Toad Sage's eyes narrowed again, his state slipping half into dream.
His voice became distant—like wind passing through cracks.
"A maiden of the Byakugan shall arrive beside a hero who knows past and future."
"They will bring the possibility to make the future clear—to anchor it."
"But where that possibility will be guided, by the powers already present… is entirely unknown."
Then the Great Toad Sage returned to himself, looking at Jiraiya with warmth.
"Wait… and carry hope in your heart, Jiraiya."
"Soon, you will meet this new possibility. Meet them. Speak with them. Walk beside them."
"I hope you find your answer—one you won't regret."
The world around Jiraiya warped again.
When he blinked back to awareness, he was already back where he had been before.
The seat across from him was empty.
Kaguya Ren was gone—leaving only a few coins on the table to cover the drink.
Jiraiya closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
"Fogged and chaotic destiny… a hero who knows past and future… a possibility that anchors the future…"
He groaned quietly.
"Why do you always tell these vague, cryptic prophecies to an idiot like me? Even my mood for drinking is ruined."
He left his own payment and stumbled out toward the lodging the Land of Iron had prepared for Konoha's three.
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