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Manji sat on his meditation cushion, fingertips touching his brow as he thought about the trouble of the upcoming birthday banquet.
Suddenly, Gamamaru's frantic voice called out to him.
"Teacher! Teacher!"
Panic filled the call, followed by heavy footsteps. Soon, the hall doors opened and Gamamaru waddled in, walking unsteadily.
"Gamamaru?" Manji lowered his hand and looked up at the old toad rushing toward him. "What happened? Why are you so shaken?"
Manji kept his voice calm, though he was a bit surprised. Gamamaru was usually careful and steady, always calm even in trouble. It had been a long time since Manji had seen him this unsettled.
"TEACHER, I DREAMED IT! I DREAMED..."
Gamamaru stopped in front of him, still breathing hard.
Manji said. "What did you dream? Take your time. Start from the beginning."
As he spoke, Manji looked more closely at Gamamaru, and a thought crossed his mind.
The Gamamaru in front of him no longer had the quickness or sharp mind of his youth. Time had left deep marks. He was still big, but age had worn him down. Even his movements were slow, and his spirit seemed weaker than before.
'Don't tell me Gamamaru is really going to end up senile after all...'
Manji quietly decided he had to find a way to help Gamamaru, slow his aging, and keep him from getting weaker.
He remembered that in the original timeline, by Jiraiya's era, Gamamaru had grown old and confused, his memory unreliable and his mind often wandering.
[Note: There is also an interpretation that Gamamaru was pretending to be forgetful and senile on purpose, mostly to mess with people. The original story even hints at it when Shima complains, "Is this routine really fun every time?" That line makes it clear she knows Gamamaru is putting on an act.]
Manji pushed those thoughts aside and focused on Gamamaru again.
The old toad took a deep breath, calmed himself, and looked up at Manji with a serious expression.
"Teacher, this is serious. Very serious."
"I saw a major upheaval that concerns the entire Shinobi world."
As soon as he heard those words, Manji's calm face changed. His brows drew together, and he felt a stir of worry.
A major upheaval concerning the Shinobi world?
His first thought was the Child of Prophecy. In the original story, that person should have been Naruto.
But things had already changed a lot from the original timeline. After a thousand years of peace, with Manji at the center, Naruto was just one part of the long agreement. There was no reason or chance for him to start a big revolution in the Shinobi world.
Then was it Boruto?
The so-called Child of Humanity?
That didn't fit either. Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was already gone. Even if other Ōtsutsuki showed up later, Manji would handle them himself. It shouldn't change the whole Shinobi world in such a big way.
He thought of many possibilities, but kept his face calm. Looking at Gamamaru with concern, he said, "Don't rush. Tell me everything you saw and heard in the dream. Don't leave anything out."
Gamamaru frowned, trying hard to remember. He still looked shocked as he spoke.
"Teacher, I saw a person whose face I couldn't make out. It was as if his whole body was wrapped in fog. I could not identify him, nor could I tell where he came from.
"But that person held a sword. A black sword. He carried it through the shinobi world, cutting down everything in his path. Wherever he went, slaughter followed. The entire mortal world went through a brutal purge. Blood covered the land, and everywhere I looked, there was ruin.
"But the strange part was... after that disaster, the condition of the shinobi world began to improve."
Manji's calm gaze darkened at once, and his brows drew together.
He didn't question Gamamaru right away. Instead, he quietly looked up.
His gaze settled on the Six Paths Sword hanging from the center of the hall's ceiling.
The sword hung silently, its edge faintly glowing with senjutsu. It was old and heavy, lasting a thousand years without losing its sharpness. Through the incense smoke, it now seemed colder and more dangerous.
"One person, holding a black sword, sweeping through the shinobi world like a one-man army..."
Manji rubbed his chin, still staring at the Six Paths Sword as his thoughts raced.
The figure's appearance was unclear. The only clues were the black sword and the lone acts of violence. That was too vague to identify anyone.
He thought about everyone in the Shinobi world who might fit. After considering a few, only Uchiha Sasuke and Boruto seemed even close.
But Manji dismissed that almost at once.
But neither of them had even been born yet. The Shinobi world was "stable" for now, at least on the surface. There was no place for them to show up.
That line of reasoning ended there.
So who could it be?
How hard to guess...
Manji finally looked away from the Six Paths Sword and turned back to Gamamaru, who still looked tense.
"Gamamaru, did the dream give you any sense of when this would happen? Any clear point in time?"
Gamamaru's prophecies were always right. For something that could affect the whole Shinobi world, the timing was crucial. Manji had to know.
"Teacher, I don't know. There was no clear time marker. It may happen in the distant future, or it may happen now." Gamamaru shook his head.
"I see..." Manji nodded and said nothing more. He turned and started pacing through the hall, his steps slow and quiet.
As he walked, he thought through every possibility, trying to find a clue in Gamamaru's vague story.
To be honest, Manji had already guessed who it was.
That person had the power to take over the Shinobi world, and he had a reason to do it.
"Set this matter aside for now. We'll discuss it later." Manji looked at Gamamaru while he spoke.
"..." Gamamaru's eyes showed confusion, but he nodded right away.
Before leaving, Manji gave him a long look and said, "Gamamaru, your dreams are becoming more impressive."
Gamamaru paused slightly.
Hadn't his dreams always shown things like this?
At that moment, the Tailed Beasts tried to call Manji again.
Manji frowned and declined the connection without a word.
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