Chapter 262: The Future That Gamabunta Foretold
Night
The Uchiha compound
Silence.
Silence, heavy as death.
The black-haired boy stared at the girl before him, saying nothing at all.
If a glare alone could kill, Sasuke would already have been struck dead by Hikaru's glower a hundred times over by now.
"So — the Hokage sent you here?"
Sasuke's voice came out stiff, a little hoarse.
"Yes. This was Lord Hokage's instruction."
Nao Itsutsura knelt properly before Sasuke, holding out a document bearing the Hokage's official seal with both hands.
Watching this girl's every movement — impeccably deferential, without the slightest hint of overstepping — Sasuke's mouth twitched, his whole body radiating discomfort.
Even so, he took the document, opened it, and found a line of familiar, sharp handwriting waiting for him.
Sakura's handwriting. No mistaking it.
I, Sakura Haruno, Fifth Hokage of Konoha —
My word is gold. What I say, I do.
Three years ago, I promised you twenty wives. I haven't forgotten.
This is the first. Nineteen to go.
Sasuke, sign for receipt.
At the very bottom, the Hokage's official seal stamped the whole thing official.
The contents left Sasuke staring blankly, an unbroken line of dark exasperation across his face — and Hikaru, leaning in to read over his shoulder, went absolutely incandescent with fury.
"That absolute BASTARD. I'm going to go settle this with her right now!"
With that, she started stomping toward the door to put her shoes on — then paused, shooting Sasuke a suspicious glance, before eyeing the perfectly demure Nao warily.
If I leave right now, is this vicious little Uchiha brat going to...
No! Absolutely not!
Wait — it's the middle of the night. Pinky's probably asleep by now.
I'll deal with this tomorrow!
—
Sakura couldn't be bothered worrying about whether the Uchiha compound might end up torched by a certain Uchiha great-grandma's Amaterasu tonight. Right now, she was preparing to head off to Mount Myōboku with Jiraiya.
A beautiful woman?
Please. Just another pretty skull under skin, in the end.
My resolve is iron. Unbreakable.
No external influence can shake my will.
At the thought, the corner of Sakura's mouth curled upward slightly.
I'd love to see Hikaru stomping around in a rage over this.
That'll be genuinely entertaining.
"What are you smiling about?"
Jiraiya, in the middle of preparing the reverse summoning technique, eyed Sakura suspiciously, watching her look like she was about to burst out laughing.
"Nothing. Just thought of something amusing."
Sakura coughed twice, suppressing her urge to enjoy the coming chaos, and waved a hand.
"All right. Let's head out, then."
Jiraiya, seeing this, didn't press further, forming the seals for the reverse summoning technique. In a puff of white smoke, both he and Sakura vanished from the spot instantly.
—
Mount Myōboku
Amid a sudden puff of white smoke, Sakura and Jiraiya materialized in an open clearing.
Right now, Konoha sat deep in night — but Mount Myōboku, oddly, was bright as day, making Sakura's eyes narrow slightly.
A special barrier? Or is this place not even located within the shinobi world proper?
"Ribbit~"
"Ribbit~"
"Ribbit~"
The moment they set foot on Mount Myōboku, an unrelenting chorus of toad croaks filled the air.
That pulled Sakura's attention back to the present.
"This is Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sacred Realms. Pretty impressive, huh?"
Jiraiya gestured proudly at the surrounding foliage — plants that dwarfed anything found back in the shinobi world.
"Eh. It's fine. Doesn't hold a candle to the Slug Sage."
Sakura shot Jiraiya's pride down without a shred of guilt.
An entire clan of toads, plus two toad sages and one Great Toad Sage combined, and they'd still barely measure up to a single Slug Sage.
Ryūchi Cave was no different. A whole nest of great serpents, three snake princesses, and one White Snake Sage, and together they might approach the Slug Sage's level.
The Slug Sage alone carried the weight of an entire sacred realm's reputation, single-handedly.
As far as Sakura was concerned — below the Six Paths themselves... er...
Below Hashirama Senju, the Slug Sage reigned unmatched.
It was purely the Slug Sage's own mellow, easygoing temperament that kept her from bothering to travel around much.
And besides, no one currently alive had the capacity to summon the Slug Sage's full, entire form anyway.
At that thought, Sakura found herself musing — if she ever ended up facing Pain or Madara Uchiha directly, should she try going all-out for once?
Test whether, by draining her chakra completely, she could actually summon the Slug Sage's full form.
After all, the Slug Sage could replenish her chakra reserves right back afterward anyway.
"The Slug Sage certainly is impressive, but Mount Myōboku's reputation isn't hollow either."
A displeased voice cut through Sakura's train of thought.
A small, wizened old toad, sporting a beard.
Fukasaku.
Sakura studied him with a thoughtful, appraising look.
Several centuries' worth of toad-hide.
Potent medicine, that.
Fukasaku's brow furrowed slightly at the pink-haired girl before him.
He'd assumed the young girl he'd briefly crossed paths with once on the Land of Frost battlefield, now grown into a reasonably agreeable Hokage, would be easier to deal with — but her attitude toward Mount Myōboku left him faintly unsettled.
And that particular way she kept looking at him — like he was some kind of... object?
"Elder Fukasaku."
Compared to Sakura, Jiraiya at least showed the old toad proper respect.
"Sakura, go on and greet the sage."
Jiraiya tugged at Sakura's sleeve.
"Oh. Hello there."
For Jiraiya's and Naruto's sake, Sakura wasn't about to hurl insults at these lively, hopping toad-hides.
"...Never mind. Follow me, both of you."
"The Great Toad Sage is waiting."
Fukasaku fell silent for a beat, then hopped off ahead, leading them both forward.
Along the way, Sakura spotted no shortage of toads.
Including the so-called Three Delinquents of Mount Myōboku, led by Gamabunta.
Now those are some genuinely substantial hides.
As a medical ninja by trade, Sakura's gaze instinctively lingered on the sheer bulk of their bodies.
Then again, compared to Mount Myōboku, the residents of Ryūchi Cave were genuinely a full-body pharmacy — snake gallbladders, shed skins, venom, bones, blood, oil...
Even snake meat carried tonic properties.
And it tasted good, too.
Sakura had never once been picky about what she'd eat, except for chameleon plant root.
If I ever visit Ryūchi Cave, surely, as the sitting Hokage, the White Snake Sage would send along one of the snake princesses to... simmer for me — no wait, to receive me properly.
And that Orochi thing tried to bite me once, didn't it?
Surely he owes me a snake princess as compensation for that.
That alone would be enough to feed all of Konoha for three days straight...
Sakura's thoughts, as usual, wandered off entirely on their own.
The two of them, plus their toad guide, arrived before an enormous palace, where Fukasaku finally came to a halt.
"I won't be going in myself. Little Jiraiya, you take the Hokage in from here."
Fukasaku said.
"Understood."
Jiraiya answered respectfully.
As the two of them stepped forward into the palace, the first thing to catch the eye was an enormous old toad seated directly ahead, wearing an academic mortarboard.
That ancient toad's entire body was wrinkled skin, and he wore an expression halfway between waking and dozing off entirely.
"Sage."
The moment he saw the toad, Jiraiya immediately dropped to one knee, voice reverent.
"You are... who, exactly?"
The Great Toad Sage, watching the two enter the hall, forced himself through the fog of drowsiness to speak.
"I'm Jiraiya."
Jiraiya, thoroughly accustomed to the Great Toad Sage's forgetfulness by now, tugged at Sakura's sleeve as well, signaling for her to kneel alongside him.
Sakura simply glanced at Jiraiya, entirely unmoved.
Kneel before a toad?
Please.
Only reason I haven't turned him into hide already is you two.
"Oh, oh, oh — it's... little Jiraiya."
"I remember now. You went looking for that pink-haired one..."
Hearing Jiraiya's words, the Great Toad Sage finally recalled the errand he'd sent him on earlier.
"This is my village's own Fifth Hokage."
"She carries the same pink hair as the figure from your dream, Sage."
Jiraiya gestured toward the unmoved Sakura, addressing the Great Toad Sage.
Arms crossed, Sakura regarded the Great Toad Sage calmly.
"Is that so?"
The Great Toad Sage studied the pink-haired girl standing in his hall, his clouded eyes narrowing.
"You're the successor of Shikkotsu Forest?"
The Great Toad Sage identified Sakura's true significance the moment he opened his mouth.
To him, this whole "Hokage" business hardly mattered.
Being Shikkotsu Forest's successor mattered a great deal more.
"Yes."
Jiraiya answered on Sakura's behalf.
"No wonder, no wonder..."
The Great Toad Sage swayed his enormous head, an expression of faint confusion crossing his features.
"I saw, in my dream, a young girl standing before all humanity."
"Facing the future. Ruin at her back."
"Walking upon ruins, countless people fallen at her feet — hating her."
"But countless others, too, singing her praises. Loving her."
"Her every word, her every action — capable of shaping the entire world."
The Great Toad Sage had already fully confirmed that the figure standing before him now was the same one from his dream.
"Standing in a position of power naturally invites both hatred and love."
"That's simply the nature of things."
Sakura answered, calm.
"No, no, no. It's not the same."
The Great Toad Sage rejected her answer outright.
"You face the future. Ruin stands at your back."
"If even the smallest error creeps into your choices, it could bring about the destruction of the entire shinobi world."
Watching the Great Toad Sage sway his head back and forth as he spoke, Sakura privately found the whole display faintly comical.
"So?"
Sakura, hearing this, had already formed some guesses of her own.
"You need someone to guide you."
The Great Toad Sage's words drew an odd, faint smile from Sakura.
This old toad — he's really going there, huh...
"Guide me? Who?"
"Me."
"And who exactly are you?"
"I am who I am. Gamabunta."
The Great Toad Sage, it turned out, had a name of his own.
"If that's the whole point of this visit, I think I'll be going now."
A hint of cold crept into Sakura's eyes.
A thousand years ago, it had been this very toad who'd talked Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki into turning against his own mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Sakura would readily admit that leaving Kaguya unchecked probably meant the Earth's days were numbered eventually.
That was, in fact, exactly why Sakura had been willing to come to Mount Myōboku in the first place — willing to actually converse with this toad.
But this particular approach left her deeply uneasy.
A mother and son turned into bitter enemies — and this Gamabunta bore no small share of the blame for that outcome.
Before, Sakura had been content to simply overlook it.
But now that he'd started turning his attention squarely onto her, that changed things. And that genuinely annoyed her.
"Seems the future truly is unpredictable, after all."
Gamabunta didn't seem particularly bothered by Sakura's attitude.
Whether that was out of deference to her status as Hokage, or to the Slug Sage's own standing, was unclear.
"Stop tossing around the word 'future' so casually. Future is my little sister."
With that parting shot, and a puff of white smoke, Sakura vanished from the spot entirely, leaving Jiraiya standing there, somewhat awkwardly, facing the Great Toad Sage alone.
"Sa-sage, please don't take offense. Sakura's just always been like this, don't mind her..."
Jiraiya scrambled to smooth things over on Sakura's behalf, at a loss.
But the Great Toad Sage seemed to have drifted into thought instead, addressing Jiraiya:
"That Hokage — does she have a younger sister?"
Gamabunta's question left Jiraiya momentarily confused, but he nodded anyway.
"Sakura's got a little sister, yeah. Her name's Mirai Haruno. Looks a lot like Sakura, actually — same pink..."
Partway through the sentence, something clicked for Jiraiya, and he glanced back at Gamabunta, uncertain.
"You mean...?"
Gamabunta gave a slow nod.
"If that Mirai also carries pink hair — bring her here sometime, so I can have a look at her."
Gamabunta's request left Jiraiya visibly hesitant.
After all, Mirai was only three years old. Wasn't it a little too soon to expose a child that young to something like this?
And besides — Mirai was still just a small child. Jiraiya's instincts pushed toward protecting her, almost reflexively.
"A problem?"
"No... no, no problem."
Jiraiya answered, gritting his teeth slightly.
If it's just letting little Mirai meet the Great Toad Sage once, that should be fine... right?
—
Returning from Mount Myōboku, Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that the entire trip had been a complete waste of time.
What was I even thinking, going out of my way to visit a bunch of overgrown toad hides?
At the thought, she glanced out the window at the night sky and decided it was time to head home.
It had been several days since she'd last been back — and according to her mother, her little sister had apparently been mentioning her constantly, nonstop.
At the thought, Sakura couldn't help a small smile.
Putting the whole aggravating Mount Myōboku business behind her, Sakura left the Hokage Building.
Under Sakura's stewardship, Konoha had grown considerably more prosperous compared to three years ago — and with the Daimyo now residing here in Konoha and money no object, infrastructure improvements had also come along rapidly.
Along the way, she picked up a bag of dragon fruit — Mirai's favorite, though personally Sakura thought the stuff barely had any flavor beyond a faint hint of sweetness.
The Haruno house
"I'm home."
Sakura pushed open the front door, sat down in the entryway, and slipped off her shoes.
"Big sis!"
A flurry of hurried footsteps followed, and a small pink shape came flying straight into Sakura's arms.
"You're getting so big already, and you're still clinging to me like this?"
Sakura scooped Mirai up, laughing softly as she gave her little nose a gentle pinch.
"Mirai's going to stay by big sis's side forever!"
The small pink-haired girl nuzzled against Sakura's cheek, positively glowing with contentment.
"Hm?"
"Mirai's gotten heavier, hasn't she?"
"Put on a little weight these past few days?"
Sakura hefted Mirai in her arms, then headed toward the living room, dragon fruit bag in hand.
"Big sis is the WORST!"
Mirai's cheeks flushed slightly — apparently, no matter how young, every girl had strong feelings about her weight.
"Weren't you just saying you'd stay by my side forever, and now I'm suddenly the worst?"
"That really hurts my feelings~~~"
Sakura found Mirai's flustered, reddened face utterly adorable.
"I'll stay by the worst big sister's side. Forever."
Mirai wracked her brain for a comeback.
"You two, stop playing around and come eat!"
Mebuki's voice called from the living room.
"Coming!"
Sakura, still holding Mirai, was about to head toward the dining room when, quite suddenly, she noticed her own hair brushing against Mirai's slightly overlong strands.
Mirai's the same shade as me. Sakura pink.
(End of chapter)
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