Outside the main gates of Konoha Village, Jiraiya was striding purposefully towards the village entrance.
Swoosh~
Just as Jiraiya approached the gate area, a figure flickered and materialized before him. It was an ANBU Black Ops ninja.
Jiraiya wasn't surprised by the ANBU ninja's appearance.
"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Hokage requests your presence," the ANBU ninja said respectfully, their voice muffled by their mask.
"The old man's in such a hurry?" Hearing this, a look of mild surprise crossed Jiraiya's face, and he muttered under his breath. Jiraiya had always known that news of his return to the village couldn't possibly escape the Third Hokage, but such an urgent and immediate summons still caught him slightly off guard.
"Alright, let's go." Jiraiya nodded and, with a flicker, vanished alongside the ANBU ninja.
A short while later, atop the Hokage Tower.
"Old Man." Arriving with the ANBU ninja escort, Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage, who was standing quietly on the rooftop overlooking the village, and greeted him with his usual casual familiarity.
"Jiraiya, you're finally back," the Third Hokage turned his head, a warm smile gracing his aged features as he looked at his former student.
Jiraiya returned the informal address. "Old Man, why were you in such a hurry to see me? Is something up?"
The Third Hokage didn't immediately answer Jiraiya's question. Instead, his gaze sharpened slightly as he asked, "Jiraiya, what brings you back to the village this time?"
Hearing the Third Hokage's pointed question, Jiraiya's usual jovial expression turned serious. He thought for a moment, then replied, "I came back to confirm the Great Toad Sage's prophecy."
"The Great Toad Sage's prophecy?" The Third Hokage's brow furrowed deeply. To be perfectly honest, the Third Hokage didn't really believe in this whole matter of the "Child of Prophecy" that the Great Toad Sage so often spoke of. If a savior could truly be identified solely through a prophecy, then what meaning would people's hard work and individual efforts truly hold? For this very reason, his beloved student Jiraiya had already spent the better part of his life wandering the world, tirelessly searching for this so-called Child of Prophecy.
If not for the extremely special and revered status of the Three Great Sage Regions within the ninja world, and the undeniable fact that Jiraiya also acted as a valuable Konoha spy during his extensive travels, gathering crucial intelligence, the Third Hokage would probably have marched up to Mount Myoboku to have some stern words long ago. Now that Jiraiya had returned and immediately brought up this matter again, the Third Hokage felt a familiar sense of weariness wash over him.
"Master," Jiraiya said, his expression solemn, "the Great Toad Sage's prophecy this time has already indicated a specific target—a ninja from our own Konoha."
"From Konoha?" Hearing this, the Third Hokage finally showed a spark of genuine interest, his attention piqued.
"Yes! Right here in Konoha!" Jiraiya affirmed. "According to what the Great Toad Sage saw in his dream, the savior of the ninja world wears our Konoha forehead protector, and he defeated the enemy by unleashing a very terrifying ninjutsu."
"What kind of ninjutsu?" The Third Hokage's heart stirred upon hearing this, and the vivid image of Tatsuya using the Heaven and Earth Giant technique involuntarily flashed through his mind.
"It was a blue giant," Jiraiya stated.
"A blue giant!" Hearing these words, the Third Hokage's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. Although he had already harbored certain suspicions about this in his heart, hearing Jiraiya's personal confirmation from the Sage himself still left him somewhat shocked. On one hand, he was shocked that the Great Toad Sage could actually foresee such a specific and detailed scene in a mere dream. On the other hand, he was shocked by the almost unbelievable implication: that Tatsuya Akimichi was actually the Child of Prophecy.
Seeing the Third Hokage's reaction, Jiraiya immediately pressed, his voice urgent, "Old Man, do you know who this person is?"
The Third Hokage nodded slowly, his voice grave as he replied, "Mm. You haven't been in the village for this past period, so you wouldn't know about recent events. If you were to ask anyone randomly in the village about a 'blue giant,' they might even be able to tell you the answer." Then, the Third Hokage proceeded to recount to Jiraiya the incident where Tatsuya had used the Heaven and Earth Giant technique outside the village.
"It was actually him!" After listening to the Third Hokage's detailed account, Jiraiya slowly uttered, his voice filled with a mixture of surprise and dawning understanding.
Tatsuya Akimichi! Jiraiya was somewhat familiar with this prodigious genius who had recently risen to prominence in Konoha Village over the past few years. Some of Tatsuya's remarkable deeds and accomplishments had long since spread widely throughout the ninja world, becoming tales whispered in awe. It could be said, without exaggeration, that Tatsuya was Konoha Village's most famous and celebrated genius since the legendary Minato Namikaze. Compared to him, even other exceptional talents like Shisui Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Might Guy paled considerably in terms of recent renown and displayed power.
Just as Jiraiya was processing this surprising revelation, the Third Hokage spoke again, his voice thoughtful. "Jiraiya, didn't you say before that in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, you were the one who would guide this Child of Prophecy's growth and development? But his growth so far seems to have had nothing at all to do with you!"
After his initial brief moment of shock had passed, the Third Hokage immediately thought of this glaring discrepancy. Tatsuya Akimichi's path of growth, his training, and his experiences clearly hadn't intersected much, if at all, with Jiraiya's. If anything, Hiruzen mused, Orochimaru had likely had more direct influence on Tatsuya Akimichi's development than Jiraiya had.
Hearing the Third Hokage raise this pointed question, the expression on Jiraiya's face froze for a moment. Jiraiya was also well aware that the Third Hokage had always been deeply skeptical about his pronouncements regarding prophecies. Jiraiya shifted uncomfortably and said, somewhat awkwardly, "Er! Well, the Great Toad Sage said that this means… the prophecy has been altered."
The Third Hokage: "..." If prophecies could be so easily altered by people or circumstance, then what was the damned point of their existence at all!
Seeing his master's unimpressed silence, Jiraiya quickly changed the subject. "So, Old Man, why were you in such a hurry to find me? What's the urgent matter?"
Hearing Jiraiya ask this, the Third Hokage's expression turned serious once more. "Jiraiya, you must have already heard the news about the battle between Akatsuki and the Divine Court on the Moon, right?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Mm! I've heard about it. In fact, I sensed the disturbances at the time it happened too."
The Third Hokage said gravely, "Indeed! Many people in the village also detected it that time. For those incredible ocular power and chakra fluctuations to be perceptible to us from such a vast distance… their terrifying scale is hard to truly imagine. In the past, I fear we have all greatly underestimated these two organizations, Akatsuki and the Divine Court."
Jiraiya also replied with some gravity in his tone, "That is indeed true. If the situation at that time was really those two organizations fighting with such power, then it truly represents a monumental threat to the entire ninja world." The unspoken implication behind Jiraiya's words was that he still harbored some professional, ingrained doubts about what had actually transpired on the Moon. As a traditional ninja standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world, Jiraiya found it truly difficult to conceive that such terrifying, landscape-altering power could be unleashed by mere ninja, no matter how skilled.
The Third Hokage shook his head. "We have already dispatched teams to investigate this matter thoroughly. At the bottom of that underground hot spring where Akatsuki and the Divine Court both reportedly went, there were indeed clear traces of some kind of sophisticated passage having existed. Moreover, the ancient legend about the Moon and its inhabitants has always circulated, albeit obscurely, in the ninja world. It's highly improbable for all these disparate things to be mere coincidences. We must make preparations in advance, and assume the worst."
Hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent for a moment, then asked, his voice now devoid of its earlier casualness, "Then, Old Man, what do you plan to do?"
The Third Hokage stated, "I have already sent official messages to Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, inviting them to convene an emergency Five Kage Summit. The purpose is for the Five Great Shinobi Villages to jointly discuss and formulate a strategy on how to deal with the threats posed by Akatsuki and the Divine Court."
"Convene a Five Kage Summit!" Jiraiya was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then he frowned, his skepticism evident. "Will they truly be able to put aside their deep-seated prejudices and historical grievances to work together?"
The Third Hokage also frowned deeply, the lines on his face deepening with worry. "Regardless of the difficulties, I have to try! The emergence of these two powerful and unpredictable organizations, Akatsuki and the Divine Court, has already irrevocably shattered the delicate balance of power in the ninja world. Especially Akatsuki, which, according to the reports, just severely damaged the Divine Court in that battle on the Moon—with their demonstrated strength, no single village can possibly hope to contend with them alone. We absolutely cannot allow this dangerous organization to continue growing stronger and bolder!"