Chapter 227: Why Can't Naruto Be the Child of Prophecy?
Hokage's Office
The office, normally spacious and quiet, felt distinctly crowded today.
Beyond the Flying Thunder God trio — Genma, Raidō, and Iwashi — the room also held Mei Terumi, Kakashi, Guy, Sasuke, Kushina, Hayate, and Asuma. A gathering of Konoha's finest.
Every face was grim, fixed on the young Hokage before them.
"Akatsuki's Immortal Duo has invaded our Land of Fire, destroyed the Fire Temple, and slaughtered a substantial number of nobles."
"Kakuzu, in particular, attempted to assassinate the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, decades ago. Hashirama showed him mercy then, letting him walk free."
"That mercy went unrewarded. Instead of gratitude, Kakuzu repaid it with atrocities against Konoha three years ago — and has now escalated even further."
The Hokage's expression remained calm as she continued.
"Maruboshi Kosuke — a veteran Konoha shinobi who served through the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage, and now into my own generation. Four Hokage across a lifetime of dedicated service."
"He gave his life today, standing alone as rearguard, holding off a formidable enemy through sheer force of will."
"If this debt goes unanswered, what does that say about Konoha's honor?"
Kakashi watched the pink-haired girl at the head of the room speaking calmly, and noted something.
She'd mentioned Kakuzu slaughtering nobles only once, in passing. The bulk of her focus — her genuine anger — centered entirely on avenging Kosuke.
In other words: compared to those high-ranking nobles, what actually mattered to Sakura was this old man who'd devoted his entire life to Konoha.
Naturally perceptive, Kakashi had, in this moment, gotten a clear read on exactly where Sakura stood regarding the nobility.
"Genma. Raidō. Iwashi!"
Sakura called out sharply.
"Here!"
The three stepped forward instantly.
"Use the Flying Thunder God Formation. Move immediately to every border checkpoint in the Land of Fire and issue an emergency lockdown order."
"Especially toward the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers. Order the two thousand troops stationed nearby to deploy in full — I want them ready in case Kakuzu or Hidan attempts to force their way through."
"And the Land of Grass — coordinate with their border garrisons for an immediate joint lockdown as well."
"Not a single fly gets through."
"I want these two men boxed in and trapped inside the Land of Fire."
"Move out. Now."
Her tone was even, but utterly non-negotiable.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The three men's faces tightened. Every single border checkpoint...
That was an enormous undertaking.
But even so, not one of them voiced the slightest complaint.
"Mei. Kakashi. Asuma. Hayate. Sasuke."
"Each of you will lead a shinobi battalion. Attach three Hyūga clan members to each battalion, using their sensory range as the search perimeter for a comprehensive sweep."
"The instant any Hyūga detects the enemy, converge immediately, all forces."
"Yes, ma'am!"
All five felt a chill of gravity settle over them as they accepted the order.
A standard shinobi battalion numbered twenty-four. And the term "shinobi battalion" itself was practically reserved for wartime use — even the weakest fighter among those twenty-four would be chūnin at minimum.
It was clear now: Kakuzu and Hidan had earned a permanent spot on Sakura's kill list.
"Guy. Kushina."
"The two of you will lead an ANBU battalion. Sweep the route from the Fire Temple to the Land of Rain border."
"If you find the enemy, kill on sight."
"Yes, ma'am."
Watching everyone accept their assignments, Sakura spoke one final time, and for the first time, something coldly merciless surfaced in her eyes.
"Three days. In three days, I want to see these two men's heads on my desk."
"Everyone — move out. NOW."
As her final word fell, the previously crowded office emptied entirely, leaving only Sakura standing alone.
She surveyed the now-vacant room, calm and unhurried, before finally speaking.
"You've been standing outside the door this whole time. Enjoying the wait?"
At her words, a figure pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Sakura..."
Jiraiya regarded the icy expression on the girl before him, his own face complicated.
"What, still thinking about your Child of Prophecy?"
At his visible hesitation, Sakura's already-cold expression turned even less forgiving.
"I feel like..."
Jiraiya opened his mouth, then hesitated, unsure how to continue.
Because it was exactly what Sakura suspected.
He still wanted to meet with Nagato.
He didn't know who this "Pain" figure truly was. But he knew one thing for certain — Nagato was the sole possessor of the Rinnegan, and no one on earth could steal that power from its bearer.
Which meant Pain must be Nagato.
If he could convince Nagato to stand down, Akatsuki would cease to be Konoha's enemy.
Kosuke wouldn't have had to die for nothing.
"Jiraiya. Let go of this childish, delusional fantasy."
"If the Child of Prophecy could really fix everything single-handedly, that only makes everyone else look like they're wasting their time."
Sakura regarded the man before her, a flash of genuine impatience crossing her eyes.
"Sakura, you don't understand. This is the Great Toad Sage's prophecy."
Jiraiya looked at the girl before him earnestly, attempting to explain himself.
"The Great Toad Sage once told me — after the war ends, I'll become a novelist and travel the world. During my travels, I'll encounter a Child of Prophecy capable of reshaping the entire shinobi world, and I'll take him as my student."
"This Child of Prophecy will bring peace to the shinobi world."
Sakura looked at the man who'd helped her countless times before and forced down her rising irritation, suppressing the anger building inside her.
"Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't achieve that. And you think your Child of Prophecy can?"
"Yes."
Jiraiya answered firmly.
Sakura found herself genuinely speechless.
If this man weren't otherwise so genuinely reliable outside this one specific delusion, she'd have thrown him bodily out of the office by now.
Genuinely exhausting.
"..."
"You said you met the Child of Prophecy while traveling the world, writing novels — is that right?"
Sakura's expression shifted slightly, eyes narrowing.
"That's right."
Jiraiya looked mildly surprised.
Wasn't Sakura completely dismissive of this whole thing? Why bring it up now?
"But you encountered that Rinnegan bearer during wartime. At that point, you hadn't started writing novels yet, and you certainly hadn't been traveling the world."
Sakura's voice rose slightly, fixed on Jiraiya.
???
!!!
Jiraiya froze at this.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy had specified that he'd encounter the Child of Prophecy while traveling the world and writing novels.
But he'd met Nagato during the Second Great Ninja War — and had, in fact, stayed in the Land of Rain because of that same prophecy, teaching Nagato for three years during the war itself.
But...
But how could this be?
How is this possible?
The Rinnegan's bearer... wasn't the Child of Prophecy?
If the Rinnegan holder wasn't the Child of Prophecy — then who could possibly be?
Jiraiya had never once considered this possibility.
To him, the bearer of the Rinnegan HAD to be the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad Sage had spoken of.
If even the Rinnegan wasn't sufficient qualification — then who WAS qualified?
Traveling the world, writing novels, and taking him as a student...
Nagato... he only met two of the three conditions.
Writing novels. Taking a student.
But at that time, he hadn't been traveling the world at all.
Whether Sakura actually knew when he'd started writing novels — Jiraiya no longer had the mental bandwidth to consider that detail.
All he knew was that his mind was in absolute chaos right now.
Was the Child of Prophecy I've believed in this whole time... fake?
Did I misidentify him?
How could this BE?
This can't be true!
This is IMPOSSIBLE!
This is ABSOLUTELY impossible!
If even the Rinnegan bearer wasn't the Child of Prophecy — then who else could it possibly be?
Naruto?
That idiot kid?
Jiraiya's mind churned with internal conflict.
He'd sooner believe Sakura herself was the Child of Prophecy than accept that Naruto was.
Wait.
Hold on!
Sakura!
He'd just returned from traveling the world, and he was currently writing novels. If he took her as his student RIGHT NOW—
Wouldn't that make Sakura the Child of Prophecy?!
Sakura's intelligence, her boldness, her strength, her unshakeable resolve — all of it already proven by the Hokage seat she now occupied.
If he followed the Great Toad Sage's prophecy to the letter and simply took Sakura as his student right now — then Sakura would be the Child of Prophecy!
At this thought, Jiraiya's mouth opened.
"Sakura."
Jiraiya's eyes had gone slightly unfocused, fixed on the Fifth Hokage before him.
"What."
"Would you consider becoming my student?"
???
###!
Sakura looked at the man before her, genuinely wanting to hit him.
"Go ask the old man's staff whether it's willing."
If Hiruzen ever found out someone was trying to poach his most beloved, most cherished, most doted-upon final student — he'd probably beat the culprit half to death with the Adamantine Staff, even with one foot in the grave.
Even accounting for the fact that Jiraiya was also technically his student.
For anyone else, that would only earn a savage beating, a couple of kicks, a mouthful of spit, and getting thrown out.
"But — but if Nagato isn't the Child of Prophecy, then who else COULD it be?"
"It can't possibly be that Naruto kid, right..."
Jiraiya, at this point, looked genuinely helpless — like an abandoned child.
"Why not Naruto?"
Sakura shot back.
"Naruto, he..."
Jiraiya had to admit — sure, Naruto was reckless and impulsive, but he also possessed genuine resolve and a natural magnetism that drew people to trust him without quite understanding why.
But—
That kid's just like his father — hopelessly ruled by his heart!
Just like Minato Namikaze had once been.
Before meeting Nagato, Jiraiya had genuinely believed Minato was the Child of Prophecy.
But Minato had died.
Died on the night of the Nine-Tails, at the hands of his own student, Obito.
Jiraiya was completely convinced — if Sakura ever found herself on death's door, and saving her required Naruto's own life, even if the odds of success were only one in a hundred, that idiot kid wouldn't hesitate for a single second to agree.
How could a lovesick, hopeless failure like that possibly be the Child of Prophecy?!
"Enough. Stop obsessing over your Child of Prophecy nonsense. If you've got nothing better to do, I have an assignment for you."
Sakura regarded Jiraiya with visible impatience — her tolerance nearly exhausted.
"What assignment?"
Jiraiya asked instinctively.
"Here. Take a look at this."
Sakura pulled a wanted-poster-like document from her desk drawer and placed it in front of him.
It bore a portrait, and the portrait belonged to none other than the Fifth Hokage herself — Sakura.
Bounty amount: one billion ryō!
Double it, and it'd match Hashirama Senju's own historic bounty of two billion.
This figure came straight from the underworld's black market.
As history's only female Kage, and the sole individual to have felled three Kage in a single conflict, the black market had, in a way, granted Sakura remarkable respect.
Currently, it stood as the highest bounty in the entire shinobi world.
Even Tobirama's bounty, back in his day, had only reached seven hundred million ryō.
"This is... the black market."
Still preoccupied with the collapse of his Child of Prophecy theory, Jiraiya was somewhat distracted. But having traveled the world and encountered countless things, he recognized exactly what this was.
As one of the legendary Sannin, he himself had been listed on the black market with a bounty of one hundred million.
He'd actually felt a certain pride about it once — being worth over a hundred million ryō, technically.
"Correct."
A cold smile crossed Sakura's lips.
"Something dared to put a bounty on MY head."
"Where exactly did they find the nerve for that."
"Absolutely audacious."
"Take a squad of shinobi. Within a month, I don't want a single trace of black market activity left standing anywhere in the Land of Fire."
Jiraiya glanced at the wanted poster bearing Sakura's likeness, then back at Sakura herself, sounding thoroughly unenthusiastic.
"Can I skip this one?"
"What do you think?"
Sakura shot him a displeased look.
"Sigh..."
Jiraiya seemed to have lost all motivation for anything at this point, utterly indifferent to whatever was placed in front of him.
"Jiraiya!"
Watching him wallow like this, Sakura finally lost her patience entirely.
"If you keep moping around like this, I'm sending the old man to deal with you!"
"And furthermore!"
Her emerald eyes flashed with something distinctly threatening.
"You'd BEST not force my hand!"
At this, Jiraiya snapped back to attention instantly.
"Understood! Mission accepted!"
"Within half a month, I'll leave that black market without a single soul standing!"
No joke — three years ago, this pinky had already dominated an entire field of the shinobi world's finest. Let alone now.
Jiraiya had personally witnessed her handle Naruto's repeated rampages, the Nine-Tails' terrifying fury, out on Turtle Island.
He didn't know exactly how strong Sakura currently was, but he was fairly confident she could crush him without much effort.
"Get OUT of here already!"
Sakura, thoroughly done with him, waved a dismissive hand.
Jiraiya had no interest in lingering either and left without another moment's hesitation.
Watching the office empty out once more, Sakura leaned back in her chair, exhausted.
Her expression remained uncertain.
The mastermind behind the black market — no need to even guess.
The nobility.
Every notable, named power in the shinobi world had been listed there. Especially Sakura.
An ordinary shinobi — with no kekkei genkai, a commoner by birth — commanding a billion-ryō bounty?
Even Tobirama, direct heir to the Senju bloodline, had only reached seven hundred million.
Clearly, Sakura installing the Daimyo and relocating the capital to Konoha had trampled a great many people's interests, and this astronomical bounty was the direct consequence.
And most importantly...
In this world, who besides the nobility even HAD that kind of money?
Even the Five Great Villages combined wouldn't casually put up five hundred million, let alone more.
It didn't take much thought to identify who was really behind this.
Sakura spun the pen in her hand, a distinctly malicious smile touching her lips.
The Akatsuki, huh...
This time, they've actually done me a favor.
Shame about old Kosuke, though...
☆☆☆
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