Chapter 114: Child of Prophecy and Child of Destruction

Chapter 114: Child of Prophecy and Child of Destruction

In the magnificent main hall, an enormous, aged toad with a doctoral cap on its head and a string of prayer beads around its neck lay on the

throne of worship.

This was the patriarch of Mount Myōboku, Gamamaru, who had lived for over a thousand years since Kaguya's era, revered as the Great Toad Sage, possessing the ability of accurate prophecy.

However, at this moment, its eyes were tightly shut, looking as if it were feigning sleep.

And another green toad, with purple hair and lips, squatted quietly on a stone platform to the Great Toad Sage's right.

It was precisely Shima, one of the Two Great Sage Toads of Mount Myōboku.

Fukasaku, squatting on Jiraiya's shoulder, exchanged a glance with Shima.

Seeing her almost imperceptibly shake her head, Fukasaku couldn't help frowning.

He then leaped onto the stone platform to the Great Toad Sage's left, his expression solemn as he put his hands together and said: "Great Lord Elder, little Jiraiya has arrived."

"..."

However, facing Fukasaku's call, the Great Toad Sage's eyes remained tightly shut, showing no reaction.

Jiraiya stood below the stone platform it was worshipped upon, looking up at this massive old toad.

If not for seeing its heaving chest, Jiraiya would even suspect this old toad, with one foot already in the coffin, had already passed away peacefully.

"Hmph!"

Shima, somewhat helplessly, took a deep breath, then used Sage Art chakra to amplify her voice.

"Great Lord Elder! Little Jiraiya is here!!"

The corner of Jiraiya's mouth couldn't help twitching. Immediately, he saw the Great Toad Sage's eyelids move.

He was just about to respectfully offer greetings.

But just then.

"Cough! Cough cough..."

The Great Toad Sage's eyelids trembled lightly, but then it unexpectedly coughed up a mouthful of blood, its aura also visibly weakening.

As the blood, radiating a thick natural energy, splattered in the main hall, Jiraiya and the Two Great Sage Toads were all momentarily stunned.

"Great Lord Elder!!"

Fukasaku and Shima snapped back to reality, their expressions becoming exceptionally horrified. They couldn't help but cry out in alarm, wanting to quickly jump forward and check.

But the Great Toad Sage reached out a hand to stop them, simultaneously wiping the blood from the corner of its mouth.

"Don't rush, it's nothing serious."

Its voice was very steady and serene, without a trace of panic.

It gave the impression that no matter what happened, it was all within its expectations.

And this aura, as deep and vast as the sky, also infected the two toads and one human present.

Seeing Fukasaku and Shima's emotions stabilize, only then did the Great Toad Sage slowly look down at Jiraiya below.

"My apologies. I'm old, and my body isn't what it used to be."

"Oh, right... Who were you again?"

Hearing the first half, Jiraiya, looking puzzled, was about to ask something, but hearing the latter half, he instantly swallowed his words.

Fukasaku and Shima, who were originally somewhat worried, couldn't help but show awkward and helpless expressions upon hearing this.

Fukasaku explained in a low voice from the side: "Great Lord Elder, this is little Jiraiya. You asked me to bring him here."

"Oh, I remember now. So it's little Jiraiya."

The Great Toad Sage said this, but no fluctuation could be seen on its face.

However, after this exchange, the two toads and one human present had calmed down considerably.

"Great Toad Sage, did you call me here this time regarding the Child of Prophecy?"

Jiraiya bowed slightly with a respectful attitude, completely unlike his usual flippant self.

Only something like the Child of Prophecy would warrant the Great Toad Sage summoning him personally so late.

After all, the Child of Prophecy concerned the future fate of the ninja world.

"What was it now..."

The Great Toad Sage seemed to be recalling something. After pausing for a moment, it slowly said: "I just dreamt of some very strange future fragments..."

Hmm? Strange future fragments?

Whether Fukasaku, Shima, or Jiraiya, all couldn't help but be stunned upon hearing this.

What kind of future could make the Great Toad Sage, who had lived for over a thousand years, use the word "strange" to describe it?

One must know, even the Child of Prophecy only had two possible outcomes in the Great Toad Sage's words:

Push for reform in the ninja world, bringing war, or leading to peace.

As long as Jiraiya found the Child of Prophecy and provided education and guidance, the possibility of the ninja world moving towards peace would be greater.

And even for a war-torn ninja world, the Great Toad Sage hadn't used such a baffling adjective as "strange."

Jiraiya frowned deeply, somewhat eagerly pressing: "Then... what exactly was it like?"

"What was it like..."

The Great Toad Sage pondered for a moment, then spoke in a slightly low tone: "Righteous qi is weak, evil qi flourishes; resentful qi is rampant, baleful qi is strong. The world is in turmoil, flames of war ignite everywhere."

A pile of negative terms came from the Great Toad Sage's mouth. Jiraiya couldn't help but be stunned upon hearing them.

Before he could react,

The Great Toad Sage's tone remained unchanged as it continued in an aged, weak voice: "A crimson light, like blood, will envelop the entire ninja world. It will bring cruel death and the flames of war."

"Peace and order will both be overturned. Ninja will completely disappear from the ninja world."

Death and flames of war?!

Ninja will disappear?!

Peace and order overturned?!

"Th-this... how is this possible?!"

As soon as the Great Toad Sage said this, even Fukasaku and Shima, who deeply believed in its prophecies, showed expressions of disbelief.

Jiraiya, even more so, subconsciously blurted out a rebuttal.

Because this prophecy was simply too terrifying.

This time it wasn't just war, but ninja completely disappearing!

Meaning, all ninja, including those from Konoha, would completely vanish from the ninja world.

Jiraiya, who had always steadfastly protected the Will of Fire and Konoha, simply couldn't tolerate such a thing happening!

"If ninja disappear, then wouldn't the ninja world be destroyed?"

Shima snapped back to reality, muttering in a low voice: "Is the Great Lord Elder getting senile? Why does this prophecy feel so baffling?"

Fukasaku quickly said upon hearing this: "Old girl, what are you saying?"

"It's true!"

Shima said somewhat indignantly: "No matter what, this prophecy is too outrageous. I suspect the Great Lord Elder mistook a nightmare for the future."

Previously, the Great Lord Elder's prophecies were at most like riddles, but this time the prophecy was extremely obscure.

What righteous qi weak, evil qi flourishes, resentful qi rampant, baleful qi strong...

And crimson light enveloping the ninja world, death and flames of war, ninja disappearing...

It could be said, there probably wasn't a more tragic future than this, right?

Although Fukasaku somewhat resented his wife's disrespect towards the Great Lord Elder, he still glanced sheepishly at the Great Lord Elder.

Clearly, he also somewhat suspected if the Great Toad Sage had really made a mistake.

Completely unimaginable!

How could ninja completely disappear?

Since the founding of Ninshū a thousand years ago, ninja had existed.

As long as there were still people in the ninja world who could refine chakra, then even if the Child of Prophecy became a Child of Destruction, ninja could absolutely not completely disappear.

Unless the ninja world itself was destroyed.

But the Three Great Sage Regions and certain other existences would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

Fukasaku was confident that no one could completely destroy the ninja world if they worked together.

Even if that terrifying Rabbit Goddess reappeared, it would be almost impossible to achieve this.

However, facing the two toads' doubts, the Great Toad Sage merely smiled, shifting its gaze to Jiraiya below.

At this moment, Jiraiya already showed signs of being completely flustered.

"This... this kind of future..."

If possible, he also wouldn't dare believe such an outrageous prophecy.

But the one who spoke the prophecy was the Great Toad Sage.

Although the Great Toad Sage was very forgetful and seemed like a senile old toad,

It not only possessed powerful Sage Art, lived for over a thousand years, but had also repeatedly proven its mysterious ability to accurately predict the future with facts.

A true immortal wouldn't be much more than this.

So Jiraiya always held a sense of awe and conviction towards the Great Toad Sage.

Just as Jiraiya's mind was in chaos, unsure what to do,

The Great Toad Sage spoke gently: "Little Jiraiya, don't rush. The future is not set in stone. As long as we find the source..."

Source?

"Yes! The source!"

Jiraiya reacted, an eager look on his face as he urgently inquired: "Then what is the source? Could it be the Child of Prophecy?"

After all, this prophecy had already implicated Konoha and the entire ninja world; it was already a great effort for him to maintain his composure.

"This time, I dreamt of two separate future fragments."

The Great Toad Sage said unhurriedly: "One is about the Child of Prophecy, and the other is about what I call the Child of Destruction."

"Child of Prophecy... there are two now."

Two Children of Prophecy?!

Jiraiya immediately perked up upon hearing this: "There's another Child of Prophecy? Doesn't that mean there's another force we can strive to win over?!"

The Great Toad Sage had said long ago.

The Child of Prophecy might bring hope, or might bring turmoil.

But as long as they received education and guidance, they could become a force standing on their side.

"Don't be happy too soon."

The Great Toad Sage continued: "I saw that when you directly face the two Children of Prophecy, you will show a look of horror."

"It's a look of horrified disbelief. Presumably, you have some connection with both Children of Prophecy, but neither of them is within your scope of consideration."

As soon as these words were spoken, Fukasaku and Shima both froze, then simultaneously glanced at Jiraiya with strange expressions.

"Hiss... both Children of Prophecy were excluded by me?"

Jiraiya froze upon hearing this. Reacting, he scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.

Is he that unreliable?

Logically, it shouldn't be.

The Child of Prophecy must be an attention-grabbing existence.

Without a proper reason, he couldn't possibly exclude them rashly.

"The vision of one of the Children of Prophecy is very clear."

The Great Toad Sage continued: "I saw him facing off against the Child of Destruction. A great chasm separates them, and many figures stand behind both."

"Among those standing behind the Child of Prophecy, besides you, little Jiraiya, I also saw a masked figure."

Jiraiya's eyes flickered, firmly committing this useful information to memory.

Since he could stand behind this Child of Prophecy,

Then it meant, if no accidents occurred midway, this Child of Prophecy would definitely be someone on their side.

"Little Jiraiya."

Fukasaku stroked his beard, thoughtfully reminding: "Since this Child of Prophecy and the Child of Destruction are separated by a great chasm, does that mean there's some kind of oppositional relationship between them?"

Oppositional relationship?

A trace of joy flashed in Jiraiya's eyes upon hearing this.

If that's really the case, then it couldn't be better!

"At least this Child of Prophecy won't stand on the same side as the Child of Destruction!"

However, just as his spirits began to lift somewhat,

"Hmm. I seem to recall some more details."

The Great Toad Sage suddenly remembered something, saying with a dawning realization: "That Child of Prophecy... seemed to have three heads?"

"...What the heck?"

Whether Fukasaku, Shima, or Jiraiya, all couldn't help but stare wide-eyed upon hearing this.

Three heads?

Jiraiya instinctively imagined a three-headed person, then couldn't help but shiver, quickly shaking his head to dispel the terrifying image.

His originally beautiful filter for the Child of Prophecy was instantly shattered.

"Great Lord Elder, are you sure this is a Child of Prophecy, and not some evil demon?"

Shima beside him also couldn't help complaining: "We're not asking the Child of Prophecy to be extremely good-looking, but at least they should look like a person, right?!"

"I'm not too clear either. But the reason I urgently called Jiraiya over was because of the other Child of Prophecy."

The Great Toad Sage shook its head, then explained: "I saw the other Child of Prophecy standing on the edge of a cliff at this very moment, a bottomless abyss beneath his feet."

"And a hand reached out from the abyss, trying to pull him down."

Standing on the edge of a bottomless abyss?

A hand from the abyss trying to pull him down?

"Sounds like this Child of Prophecy is indeed in a very dangerous situation!"

Jiraiya snapped back to reality, frowning deeply: "He might be in some kind of difficult predicament, and someone harbors ill intentions towards him?"

However, what would happen if he fell into the abyss?

Would this Child of Prophecy die?

Or perhaps...

"If the Child of Prophecy falls into the abyss, perhaps he too will become a Child of Destruction?"

Thinking this, Jiraiya's heart suddenly sank.

He looked up at the Great Toad Sage: "Are there any other clues? It would be great if there was a more specific location!"

The Great Toad Sage pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "He should still be wearing your Konoha forehead protector."

Konoha's forehead protector!?

Jiraiya's face first showed shock, then a hint more joy.

"You should have said so earlier! Isn't this much easier to find now!"

The Child of Prophecy he had been searching for for years was actually in Konoha!

But... why hadn't he noticed at all?

Could it be that the Child of Prophecy only began to emerge during the time he was away from Konoha?

Jiraiya snapped back to reality, turned to leave Mount Myōboku, wanting to hurry back to Konoha to find the Child of Prophecy.

"Wait a moment, little Jiraiya."

Fukasaku beside him quickly stopped him: "The Great Lord Elder said there's still a prophecy about the Child of Destruction. Don't you want to know?"

Jiraiya quickly halted his steps upon hearing this, obediently standing back.

"Did you see any characteristics of the Child of Destruction?"

His eyes stared intently at the Great Toad Sage.

Fukasaku and Shima beside him also watched it with curiosity.

However, facing the gazes of the two toads and one human, the Great Toad Sage, without hesitation, stated cleanly and decisively:

"I did not see."

"Huh?"

"But I heard."

(End of Chapter)

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