Just as Orochimaru was raging in his lair, suspecting his neighbors after his home was robbed, an event was quietly unfolding in a transcendent Secret Realm of the Ninja World that ordinary Ninjas could hardly find in a lifetime.
Mount Myōboku.
This was the kingdom of toads, shrouded in mist and clouds, where peculiar plants grew far beyond the scale of the outside world. Giant mushrooms stood like towering trees, and the air was thick with dense natural energy.
In the deepest part of the Secret Realm, within an ancient and massive temple, a giant toad that had existed for untold ages was slowly awakening from a long and chaotic dream.
Its body was massive and bloated; it was the Ancestral Master of Mount Myōboku—the Great Toad Sage.
Its eyes were usually squinted, as if forever immersed in dreams and prophecies. But at this moment, those aged eyelids struggled to lift, and a flicker of unprecedented confusion and... gravity flashed within its murky pupils.
"Mm..."
The Great Toad Sage let out a low murmur, like muffled thunder, startling the two who had been waiting by its side: Fukasaku the Sage and Sage Shima.
"You're awake?" Fukasaku the Sage asked respectfully.
"Was there a new prophecy? About the child of prophecy?" Sage Shima also leaned in with concern.
The Great Toad Sage slowly shook its head, its voice slow and carrying the weathered sense of time's accumulation.
"The child of prophecy... Uzumaki Naruto... his threads of fate are still entwined with the world's transformation and choices... But..."
It paused, seemingly trying to recall and organize the bizarre and fragmented images from its dream.
"But... something... has broken into the web of fate... a... massive variable." Its tone carried uncertainty, which was extremely rare for an ancient Sage renowned for prophetic abilities.
"A variable?" Fukasaku and Shima looked at each other.
"I dreamed of... a vast starry sky covering the originally established trajectory... a pair of pure white eyes looking down upon the turbulent mortal world. Her existence itself is like a giant stone thrown into the river of fate, and the ripples... are spreading, spreading to a distance even I find difficult to see clearly..."
The Great Toad Sage struggled to describe it. Its dreams were usually metaphorical and vague, but this time, the feeling of the "established trajectory being forcibly diverted" was particularly intense.
"White eyes? The Hyuga Clan?" Fukasaku the Sage immediately thought of Konoha's Byakugan bloodline.
"Hyuga... that little girl?" Sage Shima also remembered the daughter of the Hyuga main house in Konoha who had recently become famous, whom Jiraiya mentioned occasionally.
"I heard she defeated Orochimaru and saved the Sarutobi boy?"
"More than that..." The Great Toad Sage's voice grew even lower.
"Her power... does not belong to the Chakra system... She is not within the script of fate... She is... an interloper."
"Not within the script of fate?!" Fukasaku the Sage was pale with shock. What did this mean? It meant that all the prophecies, about the child of prophecy and the future of the Ninja World, could become uncertain because of the appearance of this "interloper"!
"I see... the once clear future is now filled with mist... some key nodes have become blurred... even... some established tragedies are being rewritten, while some unknown calamities may be brewing..." The Great Toad Sage's words made the atmosphere in the temple heavy.
"We must notify little Jiraiya!" Sage Shima decided immediately. "He is the guide for the child of prophecy; he must know about the existence of this variable!"
Fukasaku the Sage nodded solemnly.
"Indeed. Moreover, just notifying little Jiraiya might not be enough. The scope of this variable's influence might exceed our imagination. Old woman, we'll split up. You contact little Jiraiya, and I will try to send a warning to Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest through Senjutsu."
Although the Three Great Holy Lands didn't have much contact and even had a subtle rivalry, they had their own ancient communication channels for major issues concerning the fate of the entire world.
"That old snake at Ryūchi Cave, and the Katsuyu Sage... I hope they can take this seriously." Fukasaku the Sage sighed. The White Snake Sage had a perverse temperament, and the Katsuyu Sage spent most of her time in a state of division and sleep; communicating was not easy.
The Great Toad Sage slowly closed its eyes, seemingly falling back into a half-dreaming state, leaving only a final murmur echoing in the temple: "The spinning wheel of fate has developed static... the scroll of the future has been stained with unknown colors..."
...Meanwhile, Jiraiya, who was at a certain hot spring... ahem, who was collecting materials (you know) in a certain small town, suddenly felt something. A toad abruptly appeared in Jiraiya's arms.
He immediately walked to a secluded spot, and Sage Shima's urgent voice came out at once.
"Little Jiraiya! Something terrible has happened!"
Hearing this, Jiraiya's expression turned stern.
"What happened?"
"The Great Lord just woke up! He made a new prophecy! No, not a prophecy, a warning! A massive variable has appeared in fate! Someone who is not in the script of fate has appeared!"
"A variable? Who?" Jiraiya's brow furrowed.
"The Great Lord dreamed of white eyes. It's very likely your Konoha's Hyuga Hinata!"
"Hinata?!" Jiraiya was shaken. He had interacted with her and knew her strength. Hearing Sage Shima's words now, he instantly felt the gravity of the situation.
"The Great Lord said her existence is rewriting the established trajectory of fate, and the future is full of mist! Little Jiraiya, you must keep a close eye on her! Find out her purpose and the source of her power! This concerns the child of prophecy and the future of the entire Ninja World!" Sage Shima's tone was more serious than ever before.
Jiraiya was silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and replied solemnly.
"I understand. I'll keep a close eye on her. However... based on my brief contact with that child, she seems... uninterested in so-called fate or the future of the Ninja World."
After a serious discussion, Sage Shima left, and Jiraiya muttered to himself.
"Hyuga Hinata... the interloper of fate... rewriting the future, huh..."
He shook his head, casting aside distracting thoughts. Regardless of the future, he needed to finish his current business (and material collection) as soon as possible and return to Konoha.
He still had to continue teaching Naruto... [Triggered Mount Myōboku's warning, disturbed the established trajectory of the river of fate, points gained: 8,000.]
[Current points balance: 34,050.]
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