Chapter Seventy-Six: The Prophecy of Mount Myouboku

Master Jiraiya, is it really appropriate for me to be here? They must have something important to discuss with you. Maybe I should just go back and continue my training." Minato Namikaze asked in a low, uncertain voice. He had only just signed the summoning contract, and now he’d been called to the legendary Mount Myoboku. The excitement and nervousness in his heart warred with each other.

Jiraiya grinned, dismissing his concern. "What’s the harm? You’re now a contractor of Mount Myoboku, and besides, you’re my student. It’s good for you to get to know the toads ahead of time."

Then, leaning in, Jiraiya whispered conspiratorially, "If you get on their good side, they’ll be a huge help to you in future battles!"

Minato recalled the sight of the giant toad he’d just met and nodded earnestly. "I understand, Master Jiraiya. I’ll do my best."

Jiraiya patted Minato on the shoulder with satisfaction. The more time he spent with this pupil, the more impressed he became—courteous, diligent, talented, and with a clear sense of purpose. The old man had truly recommended an outstanding disciple.

Soon, they reached the depths of Mount Myoboku, where the natural energy was thick in the air and toad oil trickled endlessly down from the mountaintop. This was the abode of the Great Toad Sage—a place Jiraiya had visited only once before; today marked his second summons.

Upon seeing Jiraiya, Fukasaku greeted him. "Little Jiraiya, you’ve arrived. And who’s that with you?"

"This is my disciple, Fukasaku-sama. He just signed the contract with Mount Myoboku, and with his talent, I think he’s even more suited to that special training than I am..."

Jiraiya laughed heartily, pride evident in his tone. Though their time together had been brief, he could already tell that Minato’s potential surpassed his own.

Fukasaku nodded. "Since he’s also a contractor, let him listen in. The Great Toad Sage’s prophecies are rare indeed."

Shima, standing nearby, retorted irritably, "Prophecy? That’s just old frog rambling in his sleep."

"How can you speak of the Great Toad Sage that way, old woman?"

"That senile old frog dragged me here in the middle of cooking, just because he wanted to talk about his dreams..."

Their bickering roused the Great Toad Sage from his slumber.

"Enough, enough, stop your squabbling..."

As the Great Toad Sage awoke, Fukasaku and Shima quieted down, waiting for the prophecy to be spoken. After a moment of silent contemplation, the Great Toad Sage stirred and addressed Jiraiya, "You two over there, do you have some business with me?"

Shima huffed, raising her voice, "Senile old frog, wasn’t it you who summoned little Jiraiya here?"

"Oh, was it little Jiraiya? Yes, yes, now I remember... So, which one of you is little Jiraiya?"

After delivering a prophecy, the Great Toad Sage would often lapse into confusion—a habit well known in Mount Myoboku. Shima, in particular, never put much stock in his prophecies, convinced he was nothing more than a sleepy old codger.

"About the latest prophecy, little Jiraiya... The fate of the ninja world has opened a breach. Whether the world continues as it should, with you guiding the Child of Destiny to reform the ninja world, or veers onto another path that leads to the end of the shinobi era... all depends on what happens next."

The end of the ninja world? Would that mean destruction?

Jiraiya, alarmed, pressed for details. "Great Sage, can you be more specific? What exactly is this breach?"

"Hmm..."

The Great Toad Sage fell silent, struggling to recall the visions from his prophecy. Having lived for centuries, his memory was not as sharp as it once was, and even with effort, he could only grasp scattered fragments.

"I believe it’s a person... He stands as the opposite extreme to the Child of Destiny. In any case, you must find him. If he’s left unchecked, not even the Child of Destiny can save the ninja world, little Jiraiya..."

Jiraiya felt both anxious and helpless at the words. The description was so vague—whether it was the Child of Destiny or this other person—how could he possibly search for them?

"Someone who doesn't belong in the ninja world... That’s probably the one you need to find, little Jiraiya."

With that, exhaustion overcame the Great Toad Sage, and he drifted back into sleep.

With little useful information gained, Jiraiya and Minato left Mount Myoboku, a heavy weight settling over them. The Child of Destiny was yet to be found, Konoha was facing war, and now this grim warning from the Great Toad Sage.

Back in Konoha, Minato, seeing Jiraiya’s troubled mood, thought of his own worries for Kushina the previous day and offered comfort, "Master Jiraiya, I’m also a contractor of Mount Myoboku. Let me help with this as well."

Jiraiya brightened a little and laughed, "Alright, but first, you need to get stronger. With your current strength, you wouldn’t be much help."

"I understand, Master Jiraiya. I’ll do my best," Minato replied, his tone resolute—not just for Jiraiya’s sake, but for the one he cared for as well.

...

Tsunade relayed Carn’s message to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others. Upon hearing that the price had doubled, Hiruzen nearly crushed his pipe in anger.

"Tsunade, this price..."

"Don’t look at me, old man. Carn is adamant, and he said you all know exactly what you did. I’m the only one who’s in the dark, and now I’m caught in the middle!" Tsunade retorted, clearly displeased. She was tired of being squeezed from both sides—her role was to manage the Konoha Hospital, not act as logistics officer.

With these words, she left the Hokage’s office. After she departed, Hiruzen summoned Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.

Once they were assembled, Hiruzen relayed Tsunade’s message.

Bang!

Koharu slammed the table in anger. "Double the price? That man is out of his mind! The current price is already high—how are we supposed to afford twice as much?"

Homura frowned deeply. "Didn’t we work well together before? There’s no reason for such a sudden increase. Hiruzen, Danzo, what did you do?"

Koharu was in charge of finances, Homura of logistics. Military supplies had already kept them busy enough lately, and now the medical supply chain was in crisis. There was no time to find a new supplier; their previous partners had been out of business for two years, and the most critical medicines were now only available through Carn.

As for simpler supplies like bandages, Homura had heard that Carn’s company had bought out most competitors within the Land of Fire. Trying to bypass him would require searching among the smaller nations, which would take time they didn’t have—and there was no guarantee those merchants even had what they needed.

Facing Homura’s questioning, Hiruzen and Danzo fell silent. It had been Root’s doing, with Hiruzen’s tacit approval. They simply hadn’t expected it to fail.

"An outside merchant dares threaten us? Hiruzen, let Root deal with him," Koharu suggested darkly. Her meaning was clear—force the formula for the medicine out of him. The Konoha Hospital had tried to crack it before, but to no avail, and Tsunade was too busy to attempt it herself.

Danzo replied in a low voice, "That won’t be easy. Root already made the attempt. He seems to possess some kind of space-time ninjutsu—unless we can trap him with a specialized barrier..."

As disciples of the Second Hokage, they all understood how troublesome space-time techniques could be. If not for the cover of their retreat and the power of the Gold and Silver Brothers’ treasures, even the Second Hokage would have survived.

Two elite Root squads had already tried their best. Normally, they could overpower most Jonin, but against space-time jutsu, numbers were meaningless. Poisoning or genjutsu? Equally pointless.

"Poison and illusions won’t work either," Hiruzen added. Both he and Danzo knew how resilient Nawaki had become after being injected with the Desolation Virus—virtually immune to genjutsu, immune to poison, able to fully regenerate lost limbs within a minute. Unless killed instantly, the new virus left them helpless.

And Carn wielded that mysterious space-time ninjutsu as well!

Hearing this, Homura felt a headache coming on. The responsibility was shifted to his side, but there was nothing he could do.

He glanced at Koharu and said, "There’s simply not enough time to find a new merchant. If we could scrape the money together..."

"Absolutely not. Not unless Hiruzen secures more war funding from the daimyo," Koharu cut him off. Konoha’s income was limited—if they spent it all on medical supplies, there’d be nothing left for compensation payments. She threw the problem back at Hiruzen.

After a few puffs on his pipe and a long silence, Hiruzen finally spoke. "I’ll ask Tsunade to negotiate again. If all else fails, buy a portion for emergency reserves. Homura, do what you can to find alternative sources in the meantime."

"I understand, Hiruzen," Homura agreed, though he knew it was futile. Carn’s company would soon monopolize the entire Land of Fire’s medical market, and if he decided to bundle sales, there’d be no way to buy only what they needed.

"Hiruzen, give me the Barrier Corps for a while," Danzo demanded, a ruthless resolve in his eyes. It wasn’t just for Konoha—he wanted his hand and eye restored; he needed his strength back.

After witnessing Nawaki’s abilities, Danzo’s desire for the Desolation Virus serum reached a fever pitch. The capacity to heal any wound, plus Wood Release—if he could obtain such power, the seat of the Fourth Hokage...

Hiruzen’s gaze sharpened. "Danzo, you mean..."

"Yes, exactly that. The barrier developed by Lord Tobirama to counter space-time ninjutsu. It’s not perfect yet, but if the Barrier Corps and Sealing Corps work together, we might have a chance..."

After a period of silence, Hiruzen finally agreed. "Very well. The Sealing Corps and Barrier Corps are yours, for now."

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