Traveling through three generations: Making Konoha great again!

Chapter 113 The Prophet Hiruzen Sarutobi

"Okay, teacher—"

Jiraiya quickly stood up, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi's serious expression, and swallowed hard.

"Which matter should we talk about first, teacher—" Jiraiya asked timidly.

"Let's talk about your apprentice and the suspected Rinnegan first."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand: "We'll talk about the prophecy later."

"Around the end of the Second Shinobi World War, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and I met some children."

"They and what we're asking for food are orphans from Amegakure, whose parents were killed by ninjas—"

Jiraiya steadied himself and slowly said, "They've been following us, wanting food and to learn ninjutsu to protect themselves—"

"You know, orphans are so pitiful. If no one takes care of the orphans left behind after the war, their fate will be miserable. So I told Tsunade and Orochimaru to go and stay with them for a while."

"Although we didn't start the Second Shinobi World War, it was still—"

Jiraiya paused, his face ashen: "I still feel somewhat saddened to see the pitiful state of these three children."

Orochimaru frowned. "I remember now, are they those three brats I was supposed to kill?"

"It's them."

Jiraiya nodded and sighed, "I stayed in Amegakure for three years and taught them ninjutsu. Among them was a red-haired boy named Nagato, who possessed the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan."

"Not only that, his eyes are extremely similar to the legendary Rinnegan, and his talent is also quite good. He can learn ninjutsu and taijutsu very quickly, but actually—"

"Actually, it's not that special. Overall, Nagato's talent is not as good as Orochimaru's, nor as good as Minato's."

"As you know, there are all sorts of people in the ninja world, and while ripple eyes are rare, they do exist—"

"I couldn't be sure if it was the Rinnegan. Considering the prophecy of the Toad Sage, I left those children and returned to the village."

"I think if Nagato really is the child of prophecy, then he should be able to make a name for himself."

"But when I went to look for them again later, I found out that Nagato and the others were dead."

"I haven't reported this to you yet—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi squinted: "So why are you bringing it up again now? Aren't they all dead—"

"Teacher, this brings us to the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage."

Jiraiya said in a deep voice, "The Great Toad Sage had an extremely long dream that completely overturned the previous prophecy of the 'Child of Prophecy'."

"This time, the Great Toad Sage saw a large tree that was half withered and half thriving—"

"Nourished by the firelight, it grew rapidly into a towering tree—"

"And within this giant tree, a giant ape was gestating, its body ablaze with astonishing flames, the light of which seemed capable of igniting the entire world—"

Hiruko had a question mark above his head. Did Mount Myoboku also understand business?

This sounds so similar, combining the Will of Fire with the allusions of the Third Hokage—

"After this scene, the Great Toad Sage saw multiple visions."

"Sometimes it was the giant apes that tore open the thick tree trunks and poured their sap onto the earth, bringing peace—"

"Sometimes it was the giant apes that ignited the war, turning the whole world into scorched earth."

"And regardless of which one it was, he was always followed by ninjas with different hair colors and fanatical expressions—"

"The Great Toad Sage said that he saw the Rinnegan on the battlefield, sometimes as an opponent of the giant ape, and sometimes as a companion of the giant ape, and he couldn't tell the difference."

As Jiraiya spoke, he carefully observed Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression and cautiously said, "The Great Toad Sage said that this Great Ape will be the incarnation of my guide, and it is instructing me to find this prophesied master, to train diligently, and to prepare for the changes that are about to occur in the world."

Orochimaru laughed, his smile laced with sarcasm.

"Although I don't know exactly what kind of person the Toad Sage is—"

"Towering trees, flames, giant apes, fanatical ninjas—"

"Don't you think that layering these elements together is practically the same as making an explicit statement?"

"If this kind of prophecy refers to the Hokage in Konoha, and the person who started it hadn't been arrested by Danzo that day, I would have impeached him for negligence!"

Hiruko nodded in deep agreement: "Then I will impeach the Nippon Sakai!"

Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh.

A joke has been circulating in Konoha recently.

It is said that the Uchiha clan was drinking in a tavern and telling jokes about Naruto.

Everyone laughed when the jokes about the first and second generations were told, but when the third generation was mentioned after a few drinks, the laughter stopped. However, Hizashi's laughter could be heard coming from the ceiling.

"Orochimaru, you're overthinking it."

"The Great Toad Sage probably doesn't know much about Konoha and our teacher, so I won't talk to them about these things—"

Jiraiya said with a troubled expression, "So, when I think about what the Great Toad Sage said about ninjas with the Rinnegan existing on the battlefield, I wonder if it's possible that Nagato is still alive?"

"Or rather, it was my choice at the time that led to Nagato's death and caused the world to go astray."

"Please enlighten me, teacher!"

Jiraiya bowed deeply.

"Don't overthink it, Jiraiya."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly said, "As far as the world is concerned, your extra wave of your hand won't necessarily cause a hurricane on the next coast; most likely, it will have no effect at all."

Jiraiya was taken aback.

"The Great Toad Immortal—"

"Its prophecy should have some reference value; it's probably some kind of technique."

"But the fact that the predictions have brought about huge changes shows that the so-called future is not predetermined, but is affected by various factors in real time."

"Its predictions may be things that might happen in the future, but they are also one of countless possibilities that arise from current factors."

"Just like the giant ape it prophesied, it is both the destroyer of the world and the savior of humanity."

"For example, the next Hokage of Konoha might very well be you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly said, "But it could also be Orochimaru or Danzo—"

"Or perhaps it's some Konoha ninja we never expected, like Minato, who might actually become the Fourth Hokage in some future."

Orochimaru nodded slightly.

He suddenly started thinking.

If the teacher hadn't dreamt of the second-generation leader and hardened his heart to implement sweeping reforms in the village—

If the master and disciple don't reconcile—

There might actually be a slight chance that he won't become Hokage!

Minato Namikaze, who possesses the Flying Thunder God Technique, does seem to have some competitive advantage.

However, Orochimaru has already overlooked this future.

"As for the fact that you took on disciples without telling me—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled: "There are some things you dare not say, right? I'll say them for you—"

"First, the village's ambiguous attitude towards the Uzumaki orphans in the past was seen by many as a scandal of the higher-ups, and the fact that Nagato's Uzumaki clan bloodline is a descendant of Amegakure is too sensitive."

"Secondly, Danzo's methods were rather reckless back then. You're worried that if my grand-disciple named Nagato came to Konoha, even if he didn't possess the Rinnegan, given his Uzumaki bloodline and status as an outsider, he wouldn't receive good treatment—"

"Third, the people of Konoha were somewhat demoralized at that time. Although you loved Konoha, you couldn't see any possibility of the village achieving peace, so you were immersed in the hope brought by the 'Child of Prophecy'—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the dumbfounded Jiraiya and shook his head: "Was everything I said correct?"

Jiraiya broke out in a cold sweat.

These statements are all true, but they are said too bluntly, which makes them particularly unpleasant to hear.

In summary, Konoha had begun to decay, and this Hokage's disciple subconsciously distrusted the Hokage, which led him to do these things.

"Essentially, it's still because of some problems I've had in the past as Hokage."

"I failed to gain the trust of the village's ninjas, failed to establish clear rules and regulations, and even my own apprentices began to question me."

Jiraiya's problem, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, is a legacy of a crisis of trust.

There's no point in focusing on dealing with it, since he wasn't the one in charge of Konoha before.

The important thing is to take this opportunity to clean up this mess and improve the subsequent rules and regulations so that Jiraiya, this confused kid, will completely return to Konoha.

"Teacher, you can't say that! This—this is my own problem!" Jiraiya's face turned red with anxiety.

He saw that the teacher had made Konoha more and more prosperous.

So subconsciously, Jiraiya felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been playing a grand game in the past, but he just hadn't understood it.

A surge of shame welled up in his heart—

"Whether those eyes are the Rinnegan or not, what's done is done."

"There's no point in dwelling on regrets; let's do our best to do what we can right now—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Hiruko: "Hiruko, write this down. Then send it to the administration department to form a written system, and inform all committee members so that they can implement it step by step, from the Jonin in charge to all levels of ninja."

"Understood, Lord Third Generation!" Hiruko skillfully picked up a pen and paper.

Hiruzen Sarutobi mainly made two points.

The first is a supplementary regulation to the code of conduct for Konoha ninjas.

Any Konoha ninja who establishes a private relationship with a ninja from another village must report to the administration department immediately, stating the motives of both parties and the origin of the relationship.

Those who register in advance will receive a safety net from the village's system.

Those who conceal or fail to report will be deemed to be deliberately evading supervision and will be held doubly accountable.

Second, the "Regulations for Reporting Information on Rare Resources in Konoha".

Any information regarding rare resources such as eye techniques, secret techniques, or bloodline limits must be reported to the intelligence department for filing immediately, regardless of whether the target is alive or can be used by Konoha. It must not be delayed due to personal judgment.

If a village is requisitioned, the reporting ninja will be compensated with an equivalent amount of money or ninjutsu.

In the past, these two regulations, especially the second one, would likely have generated a lot of opposition.

Because ninjas were poor in the past, rare resources were considered their spoils of war.

Even if they were told that they would receive compensation after handing it over, the ninjas lacked confidence that the village would actually pay it.

However, in Konoha, where the ninja protection framework has been initially established, these problems no longer exist.

Further regulations governing the behavior of Konoha ninjas are essentially based on the administrative logic of "equal rights and responsibilities," which Hiruzen Sarutobi only needs to issue.

If any members of the Konoha committee have any opinions, they can certainly raise them.

But it's highly unlikely.

"Laws do not apply retroactively."

"Let bygones be bygones, but if you repeat the same mistakes, Jiraiya will be punished."

"I'll make an example of you—" Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a grin, "Don't think I'm joking, teacher. I don't want to clean house."

Jiraiya shuddered and waved his hands frantically, "Master, I'll go and file a report right away. I'll report all the women I drank with in Tanabata Street!"

Orochimaru chuckled: "I haven't asked you yet, Jiraiya. So, how are you going to deal with the Toad Sage's prophecy? Before, you were searching the world for disciples; now, are you going to be searching the world for a teacher?"

"I've never heard of a Hokage's disciple going to study under a second teacher—"

"Why don't you sever your master-disciple relationship with your teacher first?"

Orochimaru seems to be putting down Jiraiya.

In reality, it was a warning to this dim-witted toad not to do anything stupid.

"What did you say, you stinky snake?"

Jiraiya glared fiercely at Orochimaru and shouted, "Don't you understand yet? Our teacher is a prophet! I've already found it, why are you still looking?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared blankly at Jiraiya, then suddenly punched him on the head: "Still clinging to your prophecy? Let's get down to business!"

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