Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 243 Prophecy
In the evening, the setting sun shines obliquely.

The Hokage Rock was bathed in warm colors, smoke rose from the eaves, and streetlights shone brightly one by one, illuminating the ninjas hurrying home and the children chasing and laughing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, with deep wrinkles around his eyes, stood by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing out.

Only those who have experienced war can understand the preciousness of peace. The scenery before him, unchanged for ten years, is the most important achievement of his life, and he will never tire of seeing it.

Boom!
The flimsy office door was kicked open, the doorframe slamming against the wall with a bang, and a tall, burly man strode in:

"Old man, how did you know I was back?"

The man wore a headband with the word "oil" written on it, and his white hair grew all the way to his waist.

With red paint under his eyes, a brown ninja outfit underneath his red outer robe, wooden clogs, ninja protective gear on his hands, and a large scroll hanging behind him, he was none other than Jiraiya, returning from outside the village.

Behind.

Zhuque stood respectfully by the door, bowing slightly as if to greet them.

Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, was a disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and also the mentor of the Fourth Hokage.

Merit, seniority, strength, status... everything was a perfect match. After Orochimaru's defection, the Third Hokage wanted Jiraiya to succeed him as Hokage, but Jiraiya refused under the pretext of hunting down Orochimaru, and from then on, he traveled outside.

Even though he has been traveling abroad for many years, he can return to inherit the position of Hokage at any time as long as the Third Hokage abdicates.

However, there are now some variables.

Suzaku thought of the exceptionally talented Hairi. Jiraiya could naturally inherit the Hokage position now, but if the Third Hokage delayed for another year or two, many things would become uncertain.

Click!

Zhuque dutifully closed the door tightly.

Inside the room, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly turned to look at his disciple.

His tall and strong body looked powerful, but faint lines had appeared on his cheeks. In the blink of an eye, the little pervert had almost become an old lecher.

“You’ve been squatting on the roof of the women’s bathhouse with that broken binoculars every day. I’ve already been informed by ninjas about that.”

"You're not getting any younger, and you still don't know how to control yourself!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was criticizing and educating his unworthy disciple with a serious and righteous expression. If one did not know his true nature, one might actually be deceived by his appearance.

Knowing him well, Jiraiya naturally wasn't buying it, and instead, with a pout, whispered something under his breath:
"I was gathering material for my new book. Old man, tell me the truth, did you see me when you were peeping into the women's bathhouse with your crystal ball?!"

"Cough cough..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, having been called out, quickly coughed lightly, clenching his fist to his lips, then casually changed the subject:
"Are you leaving again after you go back to the village this time?"

"go!"

With his eyes closed and a lewd smile on his face, Jiraiya spread his arms as if to embrace someone:
"My dream is to capture all the beauties in the world. How can I stay in Konoha?"

"What a magnificent dream!"

Casually commenting on his disciple's dreamlike remarks, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his seat, picked up his pipe, and lit it. The flame and smoke rose into the air, somewhat blurring his scarred face, but revealing his eyes, which shone brightly, their sharpness undiminished.

"Enough with the small talk, let's get down to business."

The room suddenly fell silent.

"The wheel of fate is turning, and the landscape of the ninja world will undergo an unprecedented transformation!" Jiraiya said solemnly, his arms outstretched as if to encompass the entire world.

"Whoo~"

Exhaling a puff of murky smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi squinted at Jiraiya, who looked like a charlatan, with a mixture of belief and doubt in his heart.

The toad sage of Mount Myōboku often has strange dreams, and even Jiraiya's accidental entry into Mount Myōboku using reverse psychic abilities was part of his prophecy.

It even predicted:
Jiraiya will take on a disciple in the future, a person who will bring about change to the world, whether it brings peace or destruction...

At first, everyone thought it was the Fourth Generation, but unfortunately...

"Has the Child of Prophecy appeared?"

"do not know."

Jiraiya slowly shook his head, his expression full of confusion: "Five years ago, the sleeping Great Toad Sage suddenly woke up and said that he seemed to see a strange light."

"Light? What light?"

When it comes to mystical prophecies, Hiruzen Sarutobi is also a bit at a loss.

You can't completely believe this stuff, but you can't completely disbelieve it either. At least when Jiraiya entered Mount Myōboku, the predictions made by the other side were very accurate.

"A light that envelops heaven and earth, obscuring even the sun and moon..."

quite a while.

After waiting for a long time without hearing anything further, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up in surprise: "That's it?"

"Uh, yeah."

Jiraiya, the charlatan, felt somewhat embarrassed. The Toad Sage's prophecy was incoherent and seemed more like a dream than a prophecy.

"Since then, the Toad Sage has lost his prophetic abilities. He always says that the future is undergoing dramatic changes that are unpredictable. Until a month ago, he said that the ninja world is about to undergo a transformation, and that the source of everything is Konoha, and that I should return to the village to deal with it."

He stopped pretending to be a charlatan and explained the whole story in just a few words.

"Bah!"

Taking a deep drag on his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts.

A month ago, this point in time was somewhat crucial.

At that time, news of the five nations jointly hosting the Chunin Exams had just arrived. Team 7 returned from the Land of Waves, and he discussed the relevant matters with Hairi. Even Danzo had defected around that time, and he had given Hairi forbidden techniques and the Root organization as a gesture of appeasement.

Danzo and Hairi are unlikely to cause a change in the ninja world; the key issue lies in this unprecedented Super Joint Examination.

"There's probably something fishy going on in the Chunin Exams!"

Jiraiya had been back in the village for a long time, so he naturally knew about the Five Nations Joint Examination.

Normally, only Sunagakure and some small countries participate in the Chunin Exams, but Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Tsuchikakure suddenly interfered, traveling thousands of miles across the ocean to participate. This situation is clearly not quite right.

"Could it be that someone is trying to cause trouble around the time of the five-nation joint exam?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi squinted and guessed, going over the idea in his mind twice, but then shook his head and said, "There are many strong people gathered for the Chunin Exams, and the Five Kage are all present for the third exam. There is absolutely no way anyone would dare to cause trouble here."

"Could it be that Kumogakure has a ulterior motive?" Jiraiya also didn't believe that anyone would be so audacious as to come to Konoha to cause trouble at this time and directly target Kumogakure, the village with the worst character among the Five Great Nations!
"Whoo~"

Smoke kept billowing from his nostrils, and Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly nodded, also sensing that there was something wrong with Kumogakure.

Kirigakure and Tsuchigakure only agreed to participate in the exam after Kumogakure did, and besides, the other side came to Konoha to plunder five years ago... wait a minute!
His gaze suddenly froze at this thought; this timing seemed to correspond to the Toad Sage's prophecy. Could it be that the other party's actions were causing a change in the future?
Could it be that the prophesied child from the Great Toad Sage's dream died during the attack by the Hidden Cloud Village?

But he doesn't remember any overwhelming light.
Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously looked out the window. The sunset painted the sky red, and the dim yellow light shone evenly down. Konoha looked like an old photograph, filled with peace and tranquility.

嗨~
He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. Prophecies were unpredictable, lacking precise time and place. Even if such an overwhelming light truly existed, he couldn't see it...

bass!
A gray light flashed before his eyes, his wrinkled eyelids blinked, and the smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, who was looking out the window, froze.

"That is……"

Jiraiya quickly ran to the windowsill and looked out:

A strange gray light suddenly appeared at the end of the central street, covering the buildings, people, shops, streets... and even the sunset over the mountains, the earth, and the sky!

"Light...light is here!"

Jiraiya's voice trembled slightly, but Hiruzen Sarutobi was unable to criticize his disciple's panic.

The gray light grew increasingly intense, as if a blazing, deathly sun had suddenly risen over Konoha, its endless rays engulfing the Hokage Building. With no time to react and no chance to resist, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi could only watch helplessly as the boundless light devoured everything in Konoha!
The woman's piercing scream echoed through the streets of Konoha, only to be drowned out by the endless clamor.

at the same time.

Naruto is training with Kazama Koshi at the training ground; Guy is running upside down in the street; Sasuke is amidst lightning and thunder in the Uchiha clan compound; Kakashi is engrossed in the latest Icha Icha Paradise model, neglecting to eat or sleep...

Countless Konoha ninjas and civilians looked up abruptly, tightly shielding their bodies with their arms as the gray light engulfed them, but they could not escape the fate of being swallowed by the gray light.

Finally, the strange light enveloping Konoha grew even stronger, engulfing the entire forest and land covering tens of square kilometers around Konoha!

……

The primeval forest surrounding Konoha.

"what is that!"

Wearing a headband that looked like it was drawn on randomly, Karin, with her red hair and red eyes, had trembling pupils. The ninja from Kusagakure who was traveling with her also stared at the sky with their mouths wide open.

A gray orb of light, stretching for countless kilometers, blotted out the sky, resembling a gray sun.

Two female ninjas wearing straw hats, mingling in the crowd, looked up at the deep gray sun, their hearts churning with turmoil.

"That's the direction of Konoha, isn't it...?"

One of the female ninjas, with a narrow, shadowy eye, turned to look at the pale-skinned ninja beside her. Although she already had an answer in her mind, she still wanted to confirm it.

Orochimaru, disguised as a female ninja, couldn't help but glance at the Dark One of the Ninja World beside him: "You're asking me? Didn't you just run out from over there?"

Danzo's single eye unleashed a murderous aura as he glared fiercely at Orochimaru. His hidden Mangekyou Sharingan spun wildly, yet he dared not use Kotoamatsukami. If Orochimaru dared to attack Konoha with just one Kotoamatsukami, wouldn't he unify the world with another?

With a cold snort, Danzo continued to observe the distance, his deep gaze reflecting a dark gray hue, lost in thought.

If Konoha has already been destroyed...

"Hey! Grass Ninja Village, do you know what happened in Konoha?" A cheerful female voice echoed through the forest.

Danzo and the others immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

A blonde female ninja carrying a giant folding fan sat on a tree branch with one leg dangling down. Her blue eyes looked down at the Kusagakure team, and the Sand Ninja headband on her head reflected the light.

"They're from Sunagakure..."

"Pshaw! What's so great about it!"

There was a sudden commotion in the Grass Village group. Although they knew they were inferior to the Five Great Ninja Villages, the young genin still had a lot of inexplicable self-confidence.

Sometimes it's not just the lower-ranking ninjas; many village leaders also look down on the Five Great Ninja Villages, even attempting to unify the ninja world by relying on their legendary treasures.

The people of Kusagakure were somewhat out of touch with reality. To prevent premature exposure, Orochimaru and Danzo, those two cunning old foxes, shielded the crowd in front of them. They were still unaware of the situation in Konoha and decided to prioritize preserving their identities.

As a human-shaped healing device, Karin also sensed that there seemed to be some danger. She looked around and shrank into the crowd. When she saw two female ninjas cowering and hiding behind them, she happily went over to them.

The weak should stick together to survive!
Temari looked down at the Grass Ninja below. The disgruntled voices in the crowd made her frown slightly. It seemed that they were also unaware of the situation in Konoha.

Whizzing……

The sound of wind breaking came from the forest again; the main force of the Sand Village participating in the competition had arrived.

"Temari, what happened?"

A ninja dressed in a black, tight-fitting combat suit, with a tan Jonin chainmail over it, took the lead and jumped to Temari's side.

He had a white cloth wrapped around his head, his left cheek covered with a white cloth, and two red marks painted on his right cheek. He was none other than Maki, the Jonin leading the Sunagakure team.

Behind them, a red-haired, sand-gourd-wearing boy with a "love" mark on his forehead and a murderous aura, along with Kankuro carrying a puppet and sporting a flamboyant face, led the other Sunagakure genin to arrive quickly.

Seeing the aggressive approach of the Sand Village, the Grass Village, which had been somewhat resentful, immediately fell silent.

“They probably don’t know what that gray light is either,” Temari said, pointing to the distant ball of light, her eyes subtly meeting Maki’s.

As someone familiar with the 'Konoha Crush Plan,' she felt extremely uneasy. The idea of ​​releasing the One-Tailed Beast to wreak havoc in Konoha, followed by a large-scale frontal attack with ninja, seemed incredibly rash to her.

But she didn't know the full picture of the plan and assumed her father had other considerations.

But now, something seems to have happened in Konoha, and whether this plan can be successfully implemented is now in doubt. She turned her head to look at Gaara, whose expression was cold, her gaze soft and worried. If the plan could be canceled, her brother wouldn't have to face the danger of Konoha.

Maki looked up at the gray light in the sky and shook his head repeatedly: "We absolutely cannot enter the area of ​​the gray light rashly. We must wait until it dissipates before going to Konoha to see what the situation is. If it is..."

With people from the Hidden Grass Village present, he didn't say what he was going to say next.

He knew better than anyone how hasty the plan to attack Konoha was. If Konoha could be destroyed in this gray light, it would be a great thing for Sunagakure.

The Sand Village ninja stood on a treetop, gazing into the distance, ignoring the Grass Village ninja below. The unnamed leader of the Grass Village Jonin quietly wiped the sweat from his brow.

As ninjas from small villages, their only advantage is their chakra reserves, which meet the standards for Jonin. Their other abilities are inferior to those of ninjas from larger villages.

Don't ask him how he knew.

Eight years ago, he was also a member of the Chunin Exams in Konoha. The spirited and talented young man encountered an unknown Konoha ninja and was instantly defeated and eliminated...

At the time, he thought that person was a hidden genius of Konoha. It wasn't until he saw with his own eyes the ninja who eliminated him being instantly killed by those secret techniques and bloodline clan ninjas that he realized how vast the world was!

The forest fell silent. Dozens of ninjas from different villages looked up, some with worry, others with anticipation, towards Konoha.

(End of this chapter)