Mount Myoboku.
A fertile land hidden in a remote corner of the shinobi world. Even for a shinobi, it was said to take a full month of travel from Konoha Village to reach it.
The climate here was warm and humid, filled with giant plants and insects. More importantly, it was one of the few places in the shinobi world where natural energy gathered in abundance.
That was the real reason the toad clan had chosen to settle here.
As white smoke rose, Jiraiya's figure appeared atop a small hill. Before he could even react, a loud, complaining voice came from above.
"You bastard Jiraiya! Why did it take you so long to respond to the summon? I've been waiting here for half a day already."
Jiraiya looked up. Bathed in sunlight, a massive figure leaned down toward him. The enormous body made Jiraiya on the ground look like a tiny ant.
"Yo, Gamabunta, old brother. I didn't know it was you using the reverse summon. If I had, I would've answered much sooner."
Jiraiya was completely at ease. With a few leaps, he ran up Gamabunta's front leg and onto his head.
"What's the rush to call me here? I'm in the middle of fighting Sand right now. I don't have time to stay long."
Gamabunta flicked his head in annoyance. When he realized he couldn't shake Jiraiya off, he gave up.
"Why are you fighting Sand again? Didn't you already have a ceasefire for a while?"
He clearly remembered that Konoha had badly beaten Sand before. He had even personally joined in a few of those key battles.
Jiraiya shook his head. He had finally made it to Mount Myoboku. He wanted to relax a little and didn't feel like talking about this.
Gamabunta didn't push. Since he had already completed most of his task by calling Jiraiya here, he adjusted his posture and leaped straight into the air, rising over a hundred meters high.
Even with the fierce wind rushing past, it didn't stop him from speaking. "The old man and old lady are the ones who wanted to see you. I wouldn't have bothered calling you over for no reason. I'd rather go play with Minato."
Jiraiya stood steadily on top of Gamabunta's head, completely unfazed by the sudden leap. This was clearly their usual way of interacting.
But when he heard that the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, were looking for him, his eyebrows furrowed. It seemed something serious was happening.
After a series of leaps covering several kilometers, the closer they got to the center of the sacred land, the larger the plants became.
Even someone as insensitive to natural energy as Jiraiya could clearly sense how dense it was in the air.
"We're here. My job's done. Jiraiya, you can head up by yourself. I'm not going with you!"
There was clear joy in Gamabunta's voice, like he couldn't wait to get rid of the burden that was Jiraiya.
Jiraiya wasn't having it. The two of them were supposed to be good brothers. Now this brother was in such a hurry to ditch him? There had to be something going on.
He had already started to step down, but immediately stopped and turned to stare into Gamabunta's eyes—which were bigger than Jiraiya himself.
"Little brother, something's off with you. Are you hiding something from your big brother? We're good brothers. We share the good and the bad together."
Gamabunta froze for a long moment under the barrage of questions. When he came back to his senses, he saw that Jiraiya was still standing on the tip of his nose, pointing at him and rambling on.
That was the last straw. As if remembering some unbearable past, Gamabunta's anger exploded. He started shaking his head wildly.
"You bastard! You still have the nerve to say that? Every time you go to the izakaya to pick up girls, when have you ever brought me along? 'Share the good together'? You only ever share the bad with me!"
Shaking his head wasn't enough. He raised both front claws and started slapping his own face in frustration.
Jiraiya couldn't stay on anymore. He quickly used Body Flicker to dodge Gamabunta's slaps and jumped down from his body.
But after all that, he had picked up on something. He looked at Gamabunta with a sleazy grin. "Yo, little brother, are you going to see a girl? Want your big brother to teach you some tricks?"
Now that Jiraiya had left his body, Gamabunta stopped moving. Hearing Jiraiya offer to teach him "experience," Gamabunta gave him a thoroughly disdainful look.
"You?"
That look was pure contempt, mockery, and utter disregard from the bottom of his heart.
"You're a lifelong single dog. Worry about yourself first!"
With that, he ignored Jiraiya completely and leaped away into the distance.
Left behind was Jiraiya, who had completely turned to stone.
Single—dog—
Those three words hit Jiraiya like three heavy bombs, leaving him charred on the outside and raw on the inside.
He stood there in a daze for a long time, unable to recover.
Not only had he been looked down on by a toad, but more importantly, Gamabunta's words "single dog" had struck right at Jiraiya's sore spot, leaving him in agony.
Walking with unsteady steps, Jiraiya made his way up the mountain in a daze. Even the scenery he usually found fascinating held no appeal for him right now.
He walked aimlessly for who knows how long before he finally reached the residence of the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima.
"Oh, it's little Jiraiya. You came at the perfect time. This pot of green caterpillar mushroom soup is almost ready. Come have some!"
When Shima saw Jiraiya climbing up the mountain, she greeted him warmly and urged him to come sit down.
That single greeting snapped Jiraiya out of it. The fear of being dominated by all kinds of bugs instantly overpowered his resentment about being called a single dog.
Jiraiya waved his hands frantically. His head shook like a rattle drum, and his entire body swayed wildly. His mouth answered before his brain could even catch up.
"No thanks, no thanks! There's a big battle going on at the front lines. I only came because I had a moment to spare. Is there something urgent? Once it's done, I need to head back."
"Is that so? That's really a shame."
Shima put down the ladle in her hand and hopped over to stand in front of Jiraiya. She looked up and stared straight into his eyes.
"The Great Toad Sage asked for you to come. It seems to be about the prophecy."
At that moment, Fukasaku, who had been absent earlier, returned from a distance. He was carrying a huge bamboo basket on his back, filled with all kinds of colorful, wriggling bugs.
"Ah, little Jiraiya, you finally made it! If you'd been any later, the old master might have fallen asleep again."
When Jiraiya saw the basket full of bugs, his stomach started churning violently. Hearing that the Great Toad Sage might fall asleep again, he quickly seized the opportunity.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go see the Great Toad Sage right now. We can't afford to delay important matters."
With that, he took the initiative to remove the bamboo basket from Fukasaku's back, placed the sage on his shoulder, and turned to head toward the Great Toad Sage's location.
"You two—why are you in such a hurry? The soup's almost ready!"
Shima looked at the two leaving, then turned back to the bubbling soup. The green caterpillars occasionally rising to the surface made her lick her lips. In the end, she put down the ladle and hopped after them.
She leaped onto Jiraiya's other shoulder and couldn't resist smacking him on the head with her wide front claw.
"Little Jiraiya, that's not very nice of you. You made me waste an entire pot of soup."
Jiraiya didn't resist. He just grinned and let Shima hit him, secretly pleased. It didn't hurt anyway. He could consider it penance for the wasted soup.
After walking for over ten minutes, the three of them finally arrived in front of a grand and imposing hall.
Even though it wasn't his first time seeing it, Jiraiya still felt deeply awed by the sheer size of the hall. There was simply no comparison. The grand mansions and ancient castles of the daimyo looked like piles of shit in front of this place.
Once they arrived, Fukasaku and Shima jumped down from Jiraiya's shoulders. The two toads led the way, guiding Jiraiya into the hall.
They passed through the vast main hall and entered the innermost room. Several campfires burning along the walls didn't make the space brighter. Instead, they made it feel even darker and gloomier.
Inside the room, on a massive stone throne, sat an enormous, ancient-looking toad. His body was huge but extremely aged, slumped heavily in the seat.
His eyes were half-closed, as if he were dozing… or perhaps he was actually asleep.
Fukasaku hopped over to the Great Toad Sage and began trying to wake him from his light doze.
"Great Toad Sage—"
His voice started small, but when there was still no response after a long time, it gradually grew louder. Even so, it was only slightly louder than normal speaking volume.
Jiraiya, standing behind them, felt awkward just listening. He was wondering whether he should step forward to help when Shima, who had been a few steps behind, couldn't take it anymore.
She pulled Fukasaku aside and complained, "Move! How are you supposed to wake anyone like that?"
At the same time, she took a deep breath, opened her frog mouth wide, and roared, "Great Toad Sage, wake up!"
The massive sound formed a shockwave that rolled straight toward the Great Toad Sage.
This time, the Great Toad Sage finally slowly opened his eyes into thin slits and looked at the one who had woken him.
"Oh, it's Shima. What do you need?"
The Great Toad Sage spoke very slowly, as if every word took great effort.
"Old master, I brought little Jiraiya. Didn't you have something to discuss with him?"
Shima kept her voice loud, afraid the Great Toad Sage might not hear her.
There was a long silence. Just when everyone thought the Great Toad Sage had fallen asleep again, he finally spoke.
"Shima… what do you need?"
Jiraiya and the two toads all nearly collapsed. Shima even directly called him an old fool. Fortunately, Fukasaku was quick. He covered his wife's mouth and pulled her behind him.
This time it was Fukasaku who stepped forward. "Old master, I brought the little Jiraiya you were looking for."
"Oh, little Jiraiya. Where is he? Why can't I see him?"
Jiraiya quickly stepped forward until he was right in front of the Great Toad Sage's eyelids. He was genuinely afraid that if he waited even a moment longer, the Great Toad Sage would fall asleep again.
"Great Toad Sage, I'm right here!"
The Great Toad Sage stared for a long time but didn't say anything. Jiraiya could only wait patiently, comforting himself that this was normal for someone of advanced age.
After another long silence in the hall, the Great Toad Sage finally spoke again.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Jiraiya's forehead. So you didn't even recognize me.
"Great Toad Sage, it's me—Jiraiya!"
"Oh—" Another long sigh. The Great Toad Sage seemed to have finally found his bearings. "Little Jiraiya. The prophecy has changed."
Jiraiya immediately perked up. Even Fukasaku and Shima beside him straightened their bodies.
"I saw a battle that would destroy heaven and earth. The old order has already collapsed. A new order is breaking through the soil. Everywhere is blood and fire. And the one who caused all of this is laughing wildly at the peak of all living beings!"
After the prophecy was finished, the hall fell into silence. Everyone was digesting the meaning of the words.
"How can this be? Great Toad Sage, does the Child of Prophecy still exist? Will he still save the world?"
The massive toad slowly shook his head. "I don't know. But the Child of Prophecy does still exist. What role he will play in all of this… I cannot see."
"Then who is this person who will change the shinobi world? What are his characteristics? Is he our enemy?" Jiraiya desperately wanted more concrete information.
"I don't know. The prophecy is too vague. I only saw some scattered images—"
Jiraiya wanted to keep asking, but Fukasaku raised a hand to stop him.
"The Great Toad Sage has fallen asleep again. He can't hear you anymore."
Only then did Jiraiya notice that bubbles had started forming at the tip of the Great Toad Sage's nose. He had clearly fallen back into sleep.
"Little Jiraiya, let's go. When the old master wakes up again, I'll ask him more for you."
Fukasaku was very understanding. He knew what Jiraiya wanted to know and took the initiative to handle it.
"Thank you so much, Fukasaku!" Jiraiya sincerely expressed his gratitude. This information was too important. It concerned the safety of Konoha and the entire shinobi world. He couldn't afford to be careless.
The three of them left the hall and followed the path back to the small hut from earlier.
Shima was the first to hop over and check on her pot of green caterpillar mushroom soup. She kept muttering, "What a waste. Such a waste!"
Along the way, Jiraiya had already sorted out his thoughts. First of all, the prophecy only revealed that there would be a great war in the future. It didn't give any substantial details beyond that.
As for the old and new orders, no one knew which was good and which was bad.
And that figure laughing wildly at the peak of all living beings was the same. While someone who looked like that was usually a villain, the prophecy didn't make it explicit. So anything was possible.
Once Jiraiya understood this, he felt a bit relieved. With his worries eased, he remembered the difficult situation he was currently facing.
The headache immediately returned. And when he thought about the even more brutal battles that would come in the future, the pain only grew worse.
But Jiraiya wasn't the type to be defeated by difficulties. He quickly gathered himself. When Shima brought over a bowl of the now-cold green caterpillar mushroom soup, he awkwardly canceled the summoning and returned to the southern front camp.
"That little Jiraiya. Next time he comes, I'm going to give him a proper scolding. I had just brought out the fresh soup and he ran off."
Shima was still grumbling as she looked at the soup in her hands. She poured it straight into her mouth in two big gulps and swallowed it down.
"Mmm, it tastes really good!"
Southern Front, Konoha Camp.
After returning, Jiraiya didn't go straight to the main command tent. His shadow clone was still holding the fort there, so there shouldn't be any problems for the time being.
He wandered through the camp. The fighting over the past two days had been far too intense. He hadn't had time to properly check on everyone's condition.
The more he walked, the heavier his heart sank.
The massive casualties had severely damaged morale. Unlike Sand, who was fighting to defend their homeland, the Konoha shinobi in this battle had no such conviction.
As a result, the moment they faced any setback, their morale dropped again and again.
But that wasn't the most serious problem. Jiraiya had never expected that the medical camp—which he had never needed to worry about before—would now be having issues.