"Unless the First Hokage is resurrected..."
Nara Shikaku raised his eyes to look at Jiraiya, took a deep breath and said, "Only someone whose personal power reaches the level of Lord Hashirama can make the five great villages wary and forced to behave!"
The First... God of Ninja... Thousand-Handed Hashirama!
Jiraiya was slightly stunned, listening as Nara Shikaku slowly analyzed, "Since the Warring States period, through the First and Second Great Ninja Wars to now the Third, only when Lord Hashirama founded Konoha and was still alive did the ninja world experience a rare period of peace without war."
"As for what happened after his death..."
Nara Shikaku looked deeply at Jiraiya, saying, "Lord Jiraiya, you should be clearer than I am."
Amegakure's Hanzo the Salamander started expanding!
That battle was also the famous battle where Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru earned the title "Legendary Sannin"!
Jiraiya bitterly smiled, "You're right, but as you said, that was the First, the God of Ninja..."
"You wouldn't naively think anyone could surpass him, would you..."
Nara Shikaku shrugged, "That's my answer, besides this... I can't think of any possibility to end the war..."
The bustling world seeks profit; the chaotic world seeks benefit... The way of shogi lies in strategy, and strategy... Only exists in—
The midst of war and battle!
Nara Shikaku understood shogi well and had played a few games with Jiraiya during leisure to relieve each other's stress, naturally aware... The man in front of him would not fail to understand this logic.
But to speak of whether, in the future, someone could surpass... the First Hokage?
Shikaku could only say that the God of Ninja remains an insurmountable monument in the ninja world!
Unprecedented and unrepeatable,
There is and will only ever be, one!
"Forget it," he asked as if not asking, spoke as if not speaking... Jiraiya waved his hand, returning to his main seat, simply saying, "Tell Hizashi, Akimichi, and Yamanaka to come and discuss matters."
Unexpectedly, just as the man sat down, a voice soaked with a very familiar aura softly drifted to his ears—
[Sage Chakra]!
"Hmm... after a millennium, the Child of Prophecy... has finally... appeared..."
So familiar... this chakra... this voice... 'It's the Great Toad Sage!'
Jiraiya abruptly pushed back his chair, stood up!
The man's face changed unpredictably, part of his face transformed into that of a toad, in an instant, startling Nara Shikaku!
Nara Shikaku, who intended to inform someone, instantly became alert, his right hand subconsciously reaching for the kunai at his waist,
The man turned back at the right moment, locked eyes with Jiraiya whose gaze suddenly sparkled, hearing him say, "Shikaku, you really hit the mark..."
Nara Shikaku: "?"
Opened his mouth, just about to ask, what do you mean?
Yet saw, Jiraiya's mouth tilt slightly upward: "Go call them."
Waving him away...
"Rustle~" The curtain lifted, leaving Jiraiya alone in the command tent, slowly sitting back at the main seat,
The mark-red lines extending from the man's eyelids to his chin, illuminated by the light through window posts, were strikingly vivid. In his contemplation, he murmured to himself: "Child of Prophecy... who will you be?"
Suddenly, faces of young individuals flashed in his mind, including his disciple Namikaze Minato, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina, and various men, women, old and young he met along his journey... As his thoughts spread, they flew far away...
....
"Achoo~ it's definitely little Jiraiya urging me..."
At the Hokage residence, inside the small courtyard study, after a brief moment of shock,
Fukasaku sneezed with a "croak croak~", waved his hand, indicating to Namikaze Minato that he was okay,
The old toad skipped past Roy directly, asking Sarutobi Hiruzen: "With pressure on the front lines, little Jiraiya wants to know when Konoha's reinforcements will arrive specifically?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Namikaze Minato: "Minato, you're fast, prepare tomorrow, move out the day after, first go hold off the Kumogakure ninjas and wait for White Fang's support."
Namikaze Minato smiled and said, "White Fang uncle may not be slower than me."
Namikaze Minato's golden hair draped behind him, he tilted his head to glance at Roy, recalling the day the youth displayed a giant stance, piercing the sensory barrier with a sword, and their coincidental meeting with Sakumo Hatake in the southern forest, the opponent's lightning-like sprint speed... fast enough to rival the youth's [Light Release], who was faster and who was slower remained unknown...
'Konoha's White Fang?' Hearing this name, Fukasaku mused: 'Could he be the... Child of Prophecy?'
Above the Legendary Sannin, Konoha's White Fang! The name Sakumo Hatake is renowned not only in the five great nations but also heard of in Mount Myōboku, even in Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest,
At least, Fukasaku has heard more than once, Jiraiya's high regards for him,
But considering the opponent's age and past achievements, if he truly were... the Great Toad Sage shouldn't have delayed until now to make the prophecy, which means... the opponent isn't the Child of Prophecy,
The true Child of Prophecy should have just appeared, or recently showcased some of his potential...
As Fukasaku pondered alone, suddenly heard a gentle voice saying: "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving,"
Looking up, he saw... it was that inherently evil Uchiha kid,
Fukasaku automatically pushed him to the back of his mind, directly ignoring Roy...
[Impure World Reincarnation] in hand, plus one [Multi Shadow Clone], one [Rashomon], this trip wasn't futile, Roy immediately stopped lingering, glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, not waiting for the old man to nod, just about to leave... was stopped by a hand on his shoulder...
The youth turned his head to look,
Namikaze Minato smiled and leaned over: "Wait, let's go together,"
Namikaze Minato's lake-blue eyes curved into crescents: "Kushina wants to eat the meal prepared by Mikoto today, at noon, let's have a meal together."
About to venture out again, this time to the front lines, who knows how long until he can return, so Namikaze Minato didn't want to disappoint Kushina. As long as she has any request, he would do his utmost to fulfill it.
It's guilt, helplessness, and... making amends to her...
Roy halted his steps, thinking of the relationship between Uzumaki Kushina and his mother, in the original story, during pregnancy, Kushina often visited home as a guest, even agreeing that the unborn children (Sasuke and Naruto) should become friends in the future...
Silently nodded,
After Namikaze Minato and Sarutobi Hiruzen discussed the expedition details,
The youth with long black hair ignored Fukasaku, treating him like air, summoned the [Swamp Space], slowly sinking underground with Namikaze Minato, when he reappeared, he was already out of the courtyard, disappeared...
"Croak—" The old toad's yellow eyes widened, watching the youth flicker in and out through the ground and surface unhindered, exclaimed: 'That kid learned some good [Earth Release]!'
Looking up again, with a flip of his hind legs, he jumped onto Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk: "Sarutobi's boy, when did you get so close to the Uchiha boy?"
As Jiraiya's trusted contract summon, what kind of behavior Sarutobi Hiruzen had, Fukasaku had understood a lot through Jiraiya's perspective... Let alone inviting Uchiha over for a chat, secretly colluding with Danzo and others to suppress Uchiha was praiseworthy!
"Is there anything wrong with that?" Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, taking out his tobacco pipe anew, "Puff~" took a draw: "Uchiha is also part of Konoha, as Hokage, I'm responsible for caring for every Konoha villager..."
Fukasaku: "..."
Suspiciously staring with wide eyes, deeply doubting... whether the Sarutobi Hiruzen before him... was fake!
Sarutobi Hiruzen casually blew a smoke ring, pretending not to see Fukasaku's astonished expression, calmly countering: "Tell me,"
"What did you mean when you said the ninja world is about to change?"
Fukasaku regained his composure, having no intention to hide from Sarutobi Hiruzen, even if he wanted to, considering Jiraiya and Sarutobi's relationship, coupled with his big mouth,
Doubtlessly, if he didn't say anything, Sarutobi Hiruzen would find out eventually, so bluntly said: "The ancestor dream prophesized, delivering a revelation, saying that..."
"The Child of Prophecy has appeared!"
"Puff~" Sarutobi Hiruzen sharply took a draw on his pipe...