Chapter 68: Rumors of an Omen

How can one person learn Sage Art and become a transcendent sage?

First, he must overcome human restlessness and calm himself, merging with nature. Only then can he sense the presence of natural energy.

This kind of mental cultivation clearly requires time to develop. It's impossible to achieve overnight.

The most typical example is Jiraiya.

Despite his naturally lively personality, it took him nearly ten years off and on to reach this stage.

How about Heiyan?

From the age of four when he first produced chakra, to awakening his Sage Transformation at fourteen.

That makes it exactly ten years.

To avoid being drained to death by the Six Tomoe necklace, he spent over ten hours each day in meditation, refining chakra.

In those over three thousand six hundred painful days and nights, with a skeletal frame, he endured unimaginable despair. Yet through sheer determination and perseverance, he silently persisted without uttering a single word.

This life experience was both torment and training. It gave Heiyan a special ability:

The ability to instantly calm himself anytime and anywhere.

From this perspective, Heiyan had unknowingly spent ten years preparing for Sage Art cultivation.

Secondly, the person cultivating Sage Art must have abundant chakra within their body.

And Heiyan perfectly fit this description.

Currently, among all ninja in the world of shinobi, regarding chakra reserves, Heiyan may not be the strongest, but he's definitely in the top three.

Taking everything into account, Heiyan completely satisfied the conditions necessary for Sage Art cultivation.

He was the perfect candidate.

No one was better suited to master Sage Art.

Therefore, Gamabunta was stunned.

"A massive amount of natural energy is converging on that brat, and there are no signs of going out of control at all. Could it be...he really is an unprecedented genius?"

It gazed at Heiyan in astonishment, muttering to itself.

However...

"Even so, it's still useless," Gamabunta shook its head.

According to Great Elder's order, Heiyan could stay on Mount Myoboku for at most ten days. Learning Sage Art in such a short period was simply a fantasy.

Furthermore, Heiyan didn't even have a teacher, relying entirely on self-exploration.

With limited time and no guidance, it was extremely difficult.

This kid won't accomplish anything, no matter how hard he tries.

Thinking thus, Gamabunta sat down heavily, placed its tanto aside, and leisurely dozed off.

Who knows how much time passed.

The sun set and night fell.

The night sky above Mount Myoboku was unlike the shinobi world's — it was purple and possessed a mysterious beauty.

After sitting quietly for several hours, Heiyan finally opened his eyes and stood up.

Since this was his first cultivation attempt, he'd been cautious, spending much time slowly familiarizing himself with natural energy without rushing for quick results.

Now, he could appropriately speed things up.

"That's it for the day?" 

Not far away, Gamabunta yawned.

As expected, based on Gamabunta's experience, even if given a whole month, it would be impossible for Heiyan to succeed—let alone ten days.

But suddenly, one of Heiyan's actions caused Gamabunta to leap up from where he stood.

He took off all his clothes, leaving only his shorts on. Then, under Gamabunta's stunned gaze, he lightly jumped and landed right beneath the center of the waterfall.

Splash!

A continuous flow of frog oil poured down onto Heiyan, soaking him from head to toe without pause.

Gamabunta rushed to the edge of the waterfall, eyes wide open, staring fixedly at Heiyan.

This was reckless beyond belief.

That kid must've been out of his mind.

Yet Heiyan wasn't crazy at all.

On the contrary, he remained extremely calm, already having carefully formulated a complete and detailed training plan in his mind, with a clear objective.

His goal was to master [Sage Art] within seven to ten days.

This was no idle fantasy.

After all, in the original Naruto world, Naruto had learned [Sage Art] in about half a month.

Compared to Naruto, Heiyan surpassed him not just in mental discipline but also chakra reserves—there was no reason he should progress slower than Naruto.

Gurgle gurgle~

Heiyan could feel waves upon waves of natural energy rushing into his body.

...

Leaf Village.

Hokage Office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking while listening to Danzo's update. He frowned, sensing something off about Danzo recently, but unable to find solid evidence against him.

Knock knock knock!

Suddenly, there was knocking on the door. The door opened and Jiraiya strode in hurriedly.

"Back already? Did everything go smoothly?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile. Before he could finish, he noticed Jiraiya's unusually grim expression.

"Master..." Jiraiya hesitated as if wanting to say something.

"What happened?"

Hiruzen immediately dropped his smile, sensing an ominous feeling rising inside him.

Jiraiya looked heavy-hearted and slowly relayed Gamamaru's prophecy with a somber tone.

"What?! Heiyan will die within a year?!"

Startled, Hiruzen immediately rose from his chair, shocked beyond measure—so much so that he failed to hold onto his pipe properly, letting it drop onto the floor.

Never had he imagined Jiraiya would bring back such devastating news.

As Hokage, he naturally knew that the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku had lived over a thousand years and predicted many major events without ever being wrong.

After a long pause,

"How could this happen..."

Hiruzen muttered softly, collapsing back onto his chair.

He held great hopes for Heiyan—perhaps even more than for his own three disciples.

Of his three apprentices: Jiraiya was lecherous and lacked seriousness; Tsunade was addicted to gambling; Orochimaru was overly gloomy. Each had flaws in personality.

Unlike Heiyan—who possessed firm resolve, a calm demeanor, and no bad habits at all.

At only fourteen years old, his potential was immense. With proper cultivation, he surely would have become an outstanding Hokage.

And now, everything had changed overnight.

"Where is Heiyan now?"

Hiruzen regained his senses and asked.

"He's still at Mount Myoboku, perhaps... learning Sage Arts." Jiraiya answered, unsure of Heiyan's current whereabouts.

"When Heiyan returns, bring him to the Hokage office immediately."

After a long pause, Hiruzen gave Jiraiya his orders. Then he specifically added, "Also, this matter is classified as top secret and absolutely must not be spread. Do you understand?"

His last sentence was directed simultaneously to both Jiraiya and Danzo.

"Yes."

"Hiruzen, I understand."

They both nodded in turn.

"If there's nothing else, you may leave first."

Hiruzen waved his hand wearily, clearly wishing for some time alone.

Thus, Danzo and Jiraiya left.

Outside the Hokage office.

"The prophecy of Heiyan's death—truly great news indeed."

Danzo mused inwardly, an involuntary smirk curving his lips upward as satisfaction surged within him.

After all, it had been many years since he'd last seen Hiruzen so deeply shaken.

So indeed, Hiruzen planned to cultivate that brat as his successor? Preparing to pass the Hokage position to Heiyan?

Heh.

There was no way Danzo would ever allow such a thing to happen.

Konoha's Fourth Hokage could only be him—and no one else.

Thinking thus, a wave of darkness rose from Danzo's chest. He already had a plan.

He would completely destroy Heiyan.

In the following days, a shocking rumor suddenly spread through Konoha's ninja community.

Heiyan, Konoha's Number One Prodigy and its youngest Jonin, had traveled to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Art—only to be prophesied to die by the Great Toad Sage, with a lifespan of no more than a year.

Even worse, the rumor said Heiyan wouldn't just die—he'd drag everyone around him down with him. Anyone who got too close was doomed.

Such sensational rumors naturally originated from Danzo's orders. Moreover, he exaggerated details and smeared Heiyan as an ill-omened person—

One cursed with the shadow of death—dooming all who crossed his path, even Konoha itself.

Initially, most people didn't believe such bizarre rumors.

But soon enough came news directly from the Hokage office—the Third Hokage was furious and punished Danzo, Hiruzen's advisor to the Hokage (a powerful political role).

Insiders whispered that Danzo's crime was leaking top secrets—secrets tied directly to Heiyan...

Thus, the death prophecy rumor was effectively confirmed.

Then, like a stone dropped into calm waters, ripples expanded infinitely.

Within Konoha's ninja community, it instantly exploded in discussion.

Very quickly, the rumor that Heiyan was an ill-fated person spread like wildfire, passing from the ninja circles into the civilian population.

Eventually, across the entire Leaf Village—in izakayas (traditional drinking houses), casinos, bathhouses, Ninja Academies, hospitals—everywhere people gathered, someone was discussing this very topic.

Furthermore, as spies and intelligence agents got involved, the rumor even reached other ninja villages.

And not only did it spread farther and farther—it grew increasingly distorted along the way.

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