Mobilizing shinobi units—Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi knew exactly what that implied.
War?
They both shook their heads and dismissed the thought—for now. The Fourth Great Ninja War might be inevitable one day,
but not yet. Though time had passed since the Third War, no village had truly clawed back to its prewar peak.
Give it two or three years, once the new generation matured—maybe then.
As of now, unless the stakes were colossal, no village would jump the gun.
"Move. Now."
Noting the doubt on their faces, Onoki offered no explanation, only an impatient order.
"Understood, Tsuchikage-sama!"
Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi straightened, answered crisply, and departed.
Only when their silhouettes were gone did Onoki's composed look shift to puzzlement. He muttered to himself:
"What, exactly, has those Kumo bastards so riled?"
With Yuto nudging in the shadows, the entire shinobi world had, without noticing, seen all five great villages take the field.
As for the small villages, Yuto didn't care. Neither did the big five.
On this board called the shinobi world, there were only five players. The rest didn't even have seats at the table.
Even Akatsuki, as it was now, didn't qualify.
Mount Myōboku—
one of the Three Great Sage Lands.
Within a temple-like space in the mountain,
an enormous orange toad sat drowsing on its high, enshrined seat.
This was the founder of Mount Myōboku—the Great Toad Sage.
Whatever its age-worn body, the chakra within it was impossible to ignore.
"How much longer is the Great Toad Sage going to sleep?" Jiraiya asked, helplessly glancing at Fukasaku.
If Fukasaku hadn't said the Sage had an important prophecy, Jiraiya would've bolted.
He'd been mid-chapter in his manuscript when he got yanked here with a Gyaku Kuchiyose (Reverse Summoning).
Fukasaku shot him a glare and kept his mouth shut.
Jiraiya sighed again.
Just as he resigned himself to a long wait, the Great Toad Sage slowly opened its eyes.
"Little Jiraiya. You've come."
The low, warm voice from above snapped Jiraiya to attention. He looked up at once.
"Great Toad Sage—another prophecy? Is it about the Child of Prophecy?" Jiraiya asked, face turning solemn.
The Sage fell quiet for a beat, then spoke slowly:
"I have not seen the Child of Prophecy… but in my sleep I just saw a fragment—Konoha engulfed in war."
"Konoha… in war?"
Shock crossed Jiraiya's face; he froze where he stood.
"Great Toad Sage, then—" Jiraiya began, only to trail off.
The Sage had already drifted back to sleep, and no answer would be coming.
"When will the Great Toad Sage awaken next?" Jiraiya turned to Fukasaku, dead serious.
"I don't know. Could be soon, could be a long time." Fukasaku shook his head, just as helpless.
"I see. Then I've got to head back to Konoha early."
Jiraiya frowned. He took the Sage's visions seriously.
Konoha in flames—however you read it, that was bad.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke, and Jiraiya was gone.
——
A sprawling entertainment hall.
The room was deathly quiet—every eye pinned to a single gaming table.
A blonde beauty with twin ponytails stared at the mountain of chips with a cool face.
Across from her, a middle-aged man sat drenched in cold sweat.
"Reveal!"
At the caller's bark,
both hands lifted their cups.
A heartbeat later, the room exploded into noise.
"She won again!"
"No way! We tried every game—she didn't lose once!"
"She just cleaned out the whole floor. If anyone calls her the 'legendary big sucker' again, I'll kill 'em!!"
Curses and clamor rolled through the crowd.
But not a soul dared lunge for the pile of chips stacked like a little hill.
Not with a couple dozen groaning bodies at the blonde's feet.
"Tsunade-sama, we're rich!"
Shizune's eyes sparkled like stars as she stared at the mountain of chips, practically vibrating with excitement.
Tonton, tucked in her arms, gave two emphatic grunts.
Compared to Shizune's glee, Tsunade's face was oddly flat—her brows even knit with a faint, ugly line.
"Shizune, how many rounds have we won?" Tsunade asked, voice a little… off.
Shizune blinked—she hadn't counted. After a second's thought, she ventured,
"Dozens? Since we walked in, Tsunade-sama… you haven't lost."
Bang!
Before the words were cold, Tsunade shot to her feet and strode for the door.
"Tsunade-sama, the money!"
Shizune squawked, dropping Tonton to the floor as she lunged, scooping the chips into her arms.
Then she bared her teeth at the onlookers and snarled,
"Anyone who even thinks about our winnings—I'll kill you!"
She swapped the chips for cash, stuffed two suitcases full, and sprinted after Tsunade.
——
As for the instigator—Yuto wasn't in Kiri at all. He was strolling down a street in Konoha.
Crowds flowed past. Shops lined both sides. Merchants hauled wares to hawk. Prosperity everywhere.
He had to admit—among the Five Great Villages, Konoha's long-standing wealth was on a level Kiri couldn't yet touch.
Taking in the lively streets, Yuto smiled gently and murmured low enough only he could hear:
"The game's already begun."
Ranmaru stuck close at his side, peeking everywhere with bright curiosity—and stealing glances at the little turtle on Yuto's shoulder, tail flicked up.
Maybe thanks to the Chūnin Shiken (Chūnin Exams), traffic in and out of Konoha was heavy. Yuto and Ranmaru had joined a merchant caravan and slipped inside without much scrutiny at all.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810