Tsunade's Residence.
"Lady Tsunade?"
Hokage Tsunade suddenly came back to her senses, with Shizune standing beside her, calling her name.
"What are you looking at?"
Hokage Tsunade turned to look at Shizune, then pointed out the window. "The sky outside..."
Hearing this, Shizune glanced out the window, then retracted her gaze in confusion. "What's wrong with the outside?"
Tsunade was momentarily stunned.
She stared at the massive shadow that enveloped the entire sky.
"Shizune, you... can't see it?"
"See what?"
That shadow—Tsunade couldn't tell what it was—but it was so enormous that her field of vision couldn't contain it entirely; she could only glimpse a portion of it.
A deep sense of unease gripped her heart.
She immediately called for both Tsunade and Hokage Shizune to come over as well, yet their reactions were the same as Shizune's.
"There's nothing there."
"What did you see?"
"..."
For a moment, Hokage Tsunade was at a loss for words.
The anxiety within her grew stronger.
She rushed out of the house and onto the streets, only to find that the pedestrians were going about their daily lives as if nothing were amiss.
It seemed that, aside from her, not a single person had noticed the anomaly in the sky.
How could this be…?
A thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately dashed toward the direction of the palace.
She stopped on top of a building just before the palace gates.
From there, Hokage Tsunade saw a dark curtain descending from the massive shadow in the sky, draping over the entire front hall of the palace.
To outsiders, everything appeared normal.
Yet to Hokage Tsunade, the scene radiated an overwhelming sense of danger—so much so that she dared not approach any closer.
.................
Front Hall of the Palace.
Makoto sat up from the sofa and glanced at Unohana beside him, asking out of nowhere, "You're not leaving yet?"
Unohana was briefly stunned—she had just arrived.
"Your Majesty… don't you need me to report on the work in the Soul Society?"
"..."
Makoto ignored her and instead walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing outside with a thoughtful expression.
"It's gone…"
He turned his head toward Kaguya and asked, "Did you notice it?"
Kaguya frowned in confusion. "Notice what?"
Unohana was also unsure what Makoto was doing.
She had come from the Soul Society specifically to report work matters to the emperor.
Thanks to Konoha's assistance, the reconstruction of the Soul Society was progressing smoothly.
She tried to speak again. "Your Majesty?"
However, Makoto's expression darkened slightly.
He raised a hand and held it in midair—a common gesture when he used his spatial abilities.
Yet this time, he did not open any spatial rift.
Not because he couldn't, but because he had suddenly sensed a disturbance in time.
He stood silently by the window, staring at Kaguya and Unohana without a word.
After a brief moment, Unohana's entire figure flickered for an instant, and then, as if something had changed, she suddenly bowed and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I am here to report on the work in the Soul Society."
Even Kaguya was momentarily stunned.
She looked down at her legs in confusion, then turned to Makoto, her gaze filled with astonishment.
Aside from herself, Makoto had never encountered another person who could manipulate the power of time.
"No need to report. You may leave," Makoto said to Unohana.
"…Understood."
Though she had no idea what was happening, Unohana obediently bowed to Makoto before turning and leaving the room.
Makoto's gaze then shifted toward the teacup on the table.
Under his watch, the cup suddenly shattered into pieces.
Not long after, Unohana's figure suddenly reappeared in the room out of thin air, and the shattered teacup on the table was restored to its original state.
It wasn't their personal time that was in disarray, but rather the time within this space itself—someone was trying to trap him here!
...............
Mount Myoboku.
Jiraiya's figure suddenly appeared there, holding a sake cup in his hand, his face flushed red.
"Come on, let's keep going…" he mumbled drunkenly.
Fukasaku, who had used Reverse Summoning to bring Jiraiya here, sighed helplessly and smacked him hard on the head.
"Wake up, little Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya rubbed his aching head, looking around in confusion.
Fukasaku opened his mouth and spat out a stream of water, splashing it onto Jiraiya.
The sudden dousing sobered him up considerably.
"Why am I here?"
"The Great Lord is looking for you—something big has happened!" Fukasaku said sternly.
Hearing that the Great Toad Sage was involved, Jiraiya immediately sobered up further.
He followed Fukasaku to the Great Toad Sage's dwelling, where he saw the massive, ancient toad seated on a stone throne within the grand hall.
The moment Jiraiya stepped into the hall, he sensed that something was off—everything felt as if it were frozen in time, yet he could still move freely.
"Great Lord, Jiraiya is here," Fukasaku announced.
The Great Toad Sage slowly opened its cloudy eyes and gazed down at Jiraiya, who knelt below.
"Jiraiya…" Its voice was old and slow, but unlike before, it now carried a hint of weakness.
"Go and save the world."
Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat. "What did you just say!?"
The Great Toad Sage continued slowly, "The future has been severed. The one who toys with time… is now trapped in a time cage. The omniscient and omnipotent god has arrived."
Jiraiya was utterly confused. "Great Sage, can you explain more clearly?"
The Great Toad Sage's eyes gradually became sharp and lucid.
In a flash, Jiraiya and Fukasaku saw a sudden shift—before them, the massive old toad had transformed into a much younger toad, now similar in size to Fukasaku.
From its mouth came three overlapping voices—one old, one middle-aged, and one young: "I am dying."
Fukasaku's expression changed drastically. "Great Lord, you…"
The Great Toad Sage transformed once again, now taking the form of a robust, giant toad.
Yet, its voice remained the same as before.
"Time is consuming me… Our original god has been corrupted and will soon bring about the destruction of the world."
Jiraiya, still in a daze, asked, "What should I do?"
"The Emperor of Living world is trapped in time, just like me. You must save him—only he can defeat the god that seeks to end the world."
The Emperor… Hyuga Makoto?
Jiraiya froze on the spot.
Fate truly worked in mysterious ways.
The very person with whom he had a deep-seated grudge—Hyuga Makoto—was now someone he had to rescue.
His emotions toward Makoto were complicated.
He felt that he should hate him, for it was Makoto who personally killed Minato.
Yet, when he recalled everything that had happened in the past, what filled his heart more than hatred… was guilt.
Jiraiya stood in stunned silence for a long while before finally asking, "Great Sage, what exactly should I do?"
"Find those who have been manipulated by time…"
With great effort, the Great Toad Sage raised a hand.
Before Jiraiya, a swirling black vortex of chaos slowly emerged.
A spatial rift—its destination unknown.
The moment the Great Toad Sage opened this rift, its body fell completely silent.
Fukasaku, recalling the Sage's earlier words about its impending death, immediately leaped forward in alarm.
"Great Lord!"
A sorrowful cry echoed through the grand hall.
Jiraiya, however, was utterly lost in confusion.
He hadn't fully grasped everything the Great Toad Sage had said—only that he needed to find someone… and then rescue Hyuga Makoto.
But what had happened to Makoto…?
Fukasaku quickly recovered from his grief and approached Jiraiya. "Little Jiraiya, are you ready to set out?"
Jiraiya remained silent for a while.
It wasn't that he resisted this mission—he simply didn't know how to proceed.
The path ahead was shrouded in uncertainty.
Who were the ones manipulated by time?
The Great Toad Sage had given him prophecies before, but none had ever truly come to pass.
Would this time be any different?
"Little Jiraiya?" Fukasaku called out again.
Jiraiya took a deep breath, then stepped into the spatial rift.
He had experienced space travel before, but this felt different from Reverse Summoning or the Flying Thunder God Technique.
This time, he could feel a force pulling him forward, guiding him through a strange, mystical space.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself beneath a bright, cloudless sky.
This wasn't Mount Myoboku, but it looked familiar.
After some investigation, Jiraiya realized he wasn't far from Konoha.
Recalling the Great Toad Sage's final words, he decided that his best course of action was to return to Konoha first—to see what had become of Emperor Hyuga Makoto.
But the moment he arrived at Konoha's gates, he realized something was wrong!
The entrance looked completely different from his memory—its scale was much smaller than it should be.
The towering Statue of the Heavenly Justice, which once stood outside the village, was nowhere to be seen.
But what shocked him the most was what he saw from the village gates—the Hokage Monument.
It wasn't the Hokage Monument he remembered.
The Solarity Tower that should have been standing there was gone.
Instead, there were seven enormous stone faces carved into the mountain!
The first three were the First, Second, and Third Hokage, as expected.
The fourth face, however, belonged to his disciple—Namikaze Minato!
The fifth was Tsunade, and the sixth seemed to be Hatake Kakashi!
As for the seventh, it was a completely unfamiliar face—someone Jiraiya didn't recognize at all.
Jiraiya stood at Konoha's gate, completely stunned.
What was this place?
Was this really Konoha?
"Hey, if you want to enter Konoha, come register first."
The gate guard called out to him.
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before walking over.
"Excuse me... does Konoha still have a Hokage?"
The gate guard gave him a strange look. "What do you mean? The Seventh Hokage is in the village, of course."
The Seventh Hokage...
Jiraiya glanced once more at the seventh stone face carved into the Hokage Monument.
"The Seventh Hokage... what is the name?"
The Konoha ninja at the gate looked at him as if he were an alien.
Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. "I've been living alone deep in the mountains. I'm not very up-to-date with the outside world."
The gate guard studied him for a moment before replying, "The Seventh Hokage is Uzumaki Naruto—he's the hero who saved the entire world!"
Uzumaki... Naruto...?
Jiraiya's expression instantly became complicated.
If it was the Naruto he knew, shouldn't his name be Hyuga Naruto?
Wait! If the Fourth Hokage on the monument was Minato, then what about Hyuga Makoto...?
—
An hour later.
Jiraiya walked through the streets of Konoha, deep in thought.
Suddenly, he sensed someone following him.
Without revealing his suspicion, he casually led his pursuer through the winding streets.
Eventually, he turned into a deserted alleyway, then used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly block the person's exit.
"Why are you following me?"
The stranger showed no fear.
Instead, they turned around and sneered.
"Who are you? Why are you disguising yourself as Lord Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya was taken aback. "You... know me?"
But the person's expression darkened, and without another word, they suddenly lunged forward—throwing a punch straight at Jiraiya's face!
After exchanging a few quick blows, Jiraiya realized that although the young man before him was still young, his strength was far above that of an ordinary Jonin.
The young man also recognized that Jiraiya was no easy opponent.
Without hesitation, he opened his right palm, chakra rapidly converging in his hand.
In an instant, a blue, high-density sphere of chakra formed—Rasengan!
Jiraiya froze upon seeing it, his emotions becoming increasingly complicated.
He raised his own hand, and before the other's incredulous eyes, he formed an identical Rasengan.
"You…!" The young man's eyes widened in shock.
"How do you know Rasengan?!"
Both of them spoke at almost the exact same time, voicing the same question.
A brief silence fell between them before Jiraiya asked, "What's your name?"
The young man hesitated for a moment, still eyeing Jiraiya's Rasengan, before finally responding, "Sarutobi Konohamaru."
Jiraiya was surprised. "Then... Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage…?"
"He was my grandfather."
Jiraiya dispersed his Rasengan, about to ask more, but Konohamaru interrupted him with a sharp demand, "Who the hell are you, really?!"
His expression was serious, his gaze filled with undiminished wariness. "What exactly... are you?!"
Jiraiya let out a small chuckle.
Instead of answering immediately, he turned his head and gazed toward the Hokage Monument, carefully observing the faces carved into it.
Then, all of a sudden—he began to dance in place, his wooden clogs tapping rhythmically against the ground with crisp, clear sounds.
"The Toad Sage is merely a title I use to deceive the world! In truth, I am the one and only, the widely renowned, the white-haired prodigy among the Legendary Three Sannin! The Toad's Grand Envoy—Jiraiya-sama!"
Konohamaru: "..."
For some reason, he had a feeling—this man in front of him might actually be the real Jiraiya…
Jiraiya smirked confidently. "Since you're the grandson of the Third, you should know my name, shouldn't you?"
Konohamaru fell silent for a long moment.
Then, finally, he spoke. "You're supposed to have been dead... for over ten years."
Jiraiya froze.
This world… seemed to have many differences from the one Jiraiya originally came from.
First and foremost, the timeline itself was different.
If the Seventh Hokage was really that Naruto, then this world's events must have taken place many years after his own time.
He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking. "You might not believe this, but... I'm not from this world."
Konohamaru stared at him, dumbfounded. "You... what do you mean?"
Jiraiya replied, "I come from another world. I came here... to find someone."
Konohamaru studied the white-haired man before him.
His appearance was exactly like the Jiraiya he had seen in old photos—perhaps even a little younger.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he said, "Come with me."
He decided to take this man to meet the Seventh Hokage.
He wasn't sure how Naruto would react upon seeing him.
.................
On their way to the Hokage's office, Jiraiya suddenly asked, "Who taught you the Rasengan?"
"Naru— I mean, the Seventh Hokage." Konohamaru answered.
Uzumaki... Naruto, huh…
Jiraiya's expression turned thoughtful. "Then, who taught the Seventh Hokage the Rasengan?"
Konohamaru turned to glance at him before replying slowly, "The Seventh Hokage's teacher… was Lord Jiraiya."
Jiraiya felt a sudden tension rising in his chest.
After a brief pause, he asked, "The Seventh Hokage's parents… who were they?"
Upon hearing Konohamaru's answer, Jiraiya suddenly felt his heart relax.
He gazed toward the Fourth Hokage's stone face in the distance, then suddenly broke into a wide grin.
"The Fourth... was a great Hokage, wasn't he?"
"Of course!" Konohamaru answered without hesitation.
"I see… that's good, then."
A few minutes later, inside the Hokage's office.
The moment Jiraiya laid eyes on the short-haired, yellow man before him, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind—the prophecy that the Great Toad Sage had once spoken to him.
He… would have a disciple in the future!
A disciple who would break the world's nightmare.
And now, considering the purpose of his journey, Jiraiya was already certain—
The person standing before him was exactly the one he had been searching for!
--------------
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