Chapter 117

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"Summoning Jutsu!"

Fukasaku, the diminutive sage toad, pressed his palm on a large scroll. In the center of the scroll were two 'human' characters, surrounded by many sealing runes.

Then, with a 'bang', a puff of smoke appeared.

Two figures suddenly appeared in mid-air and then crashed to the ground.

Minato got up from the ground, and upon seeing the surroundings of Mount Myōboku, he finally relaxed. Then, with a look of relief, he said to Jiraiya next to him, "Jiraiya-sensei, fortunately, you sent the message in time, or we would have been done for."

Breaking into the enemy's main camp, facing over a thousand Sand ninjas with the sky full of shurikens, kunai, and explosive tags nearly added them to the Memorial Stone in Konoha.

"It's a pity we didn't kill the One-Tail Jinchuriki. But how did the Sand ninja detect our plan?"

Jiraiya sighed, thinking they might never have such a smooth opportunity again. The infiltration had gone incredibly smoothly, almost too good to believe.

"It might not be that they detected our plan, but rather that the Sand ninja protect the One-Tail Jinchuriki very well."

Minato also felt it was a pity, saying, "They probably prepared a backup tent for the One-Tail from the start. Those Sand ninjas knew it was a decoy; only the Sand ninja upper echelon knew where the One-Tail Jinchuriki really was."

Jiraiya frowned, "It seems assassination isn't realistic anymore, we'll have to find an opportunity on the battlefield."

No one else had their level of infiltration skill.

"Let's head back then, Jiraiya-sensei, ah, and Fukasaku-sama, thank you for your help this time."

Minato quickly thanked the sage toad nearby. If not for Fukasaku-sama, they might have been caught by the furious Sand ninja even after escaping using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Little Jiraiya, don't rush to go back, the Great Elder has something to discuss with you regarding a prophecy, and Little Minato, you should listen too since you are also a contractor of Mount Myōboku."

Fukasaku told the two, a privilege not granted to ordinary contractors, but these two were mentioned in the Great Elder's prophecies. Although the Great Elder did not yet recognize Little Minato, Little Jiraiya said Minato might be the savior, so he was included.

"A prophecy from the Great Toad Sage? Let's see what it is about; it might concern the entire ninja world."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya stood up and said to Minato, "Let's go, Minato. You haven't met the Great Toad Sage yet, right? He has truly seen the Sage of the Six Paths and has lived for over a thousand years."

"Met the Sage of the Six Paths."

Minato swallowed hard, the legendary figure inspiring awe, and then obediently followed.

Although he was a contractor of Mount Myōboku, he had only recently earned Gamabunta's recognition, allowing him to stand on Gamabunta's head during combat. He hadn't visited the true Mount Myōboku many times. 

After a long walk, Fukasaku led Jiraiya and Minato to the Great Toad Sage.

"Great Elder, Great Elder!"

It took several calls from Fukasaku to wake the Great Toad Sage.

"It's Fukasaku, what do you need?"

Knowing the Great Toad Sage often forgot things, Fukasaku reminded him, "You asked me to call Little Jiraiya; he's here now, so please speak with him."

"Little Jiraiya?"

The Great Toad Sage slowly repeated the name, and Jiraiya stepped forward, ready to listen.

"Who is Little Jiraiya?"

Fukasaku facepalmed, then shouted, "Didn't you dream about the prophecy and ask for Little Jiraiya?"

"Oh, Little Jiraiya, eh? Which of you is Little Jiraiya?"

After introducing himself a few times, Jiraiya finally helped the Great Toad Sage remember him and introduced his disciple Minato.

"This prophecy is about a crisis at Mount Myōboku. Although it's hard to believe, I truly saw the destruction of Mount Myōboku in my dream, and it's coming soon." 

Upon hearing this, Fukasaku was the first to react, "Great Elder, how could Mount Myōboku possibly be destroyed? Are you sure you didn't remember it wrong?"

The Great Toad Sage shook his head, "The dream was too vivid; I remember it clearly."

Jiraiya quickly asked, "Great Toad Sage, who destroys Mount Myōboku? Even the Five Great Ninja Villages shouldn't be able to find Mount Myōboku, right?"

He held a special affection for Mount Myōboku, even considering it more his home than Konoha at times.

In Konoha, Jiraiya was always the underdog compared to his genius teammates, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Despite the Third Hokage's efforts, the disparity in their skills became increasingly apparent.

It was a chance visit to Mount Myōboku and meeting Gamabunta that led to Jiraiya learning Sage Mode, allowing him to narrow the gap with his teammates. 

After mastering Sage Mode, Jiraiya often identified himself as a Toad Sage, occasionally wearing a forehead protector marked with the kanji for "oil," representing the Toad Oil of Mount Myōboku.

For Jiraiya, who caught up to his peers thanks to Mount Myōboku, this place held a dear spot in his heart.

"Uh, it seems to be Ryūchi Cave. So many great snakes, and those three Snake Princesses of Ryuchi Cave. Eventually, under the guidance of a Ryūchi Cave contractor, Mount Myōboku was utterly destroyed."

Fukasaku asked, "Ryūchi Cave? Didn't you say the White Snake Sage is connected to the earth and can't move?"

Before he could finish, Fukasaku thought of a possibility that the White Snake Sage didn't come, yet Mount Myōboku was destroyed.

"Why would it be Ryūchi Cave? The contract holder of Ryūchi Cave is Orochimaru; he wouldn't do such a thing."

Minato reminded from the side, "Jiraiya-sensei, there seems to be another contract holder of Ryūchi Cave."

Jiraiya clapped his hands, "Right, there's also Yoichi, but he doesn't seem like someone who would destroy Mount Myōboku. Great Toad Sage, any other clues?"

"Uh, the other thing is that you, Little Jiraiya, were there at the end, standing with us as Mount Myōboku was destroyed."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya was stunned into silence, then suddenly laughed, "True to the style of the white-haired Toad Sage, indeed like my decision."

"Great Toad Sage, what about me? I'm also a contractor of Mount Myōboku."

Minato raised his hand, curious about his role in the prophecy, probably standing next to Master Jiraiya.

"Who are you?"

After the Great Toad Sage remembered Minato again, he continued, "The prophecy didn't mention you, Little Minato."

The atmosphere suddenly grew quiet, then Minato, not wanting to give up, said, "That can't be right, Jiraiya-sensei is here, how could I not be?"

Jiraiya patted Minato's shoulder, "Isn't that a good thing? Maybe you were delayed by something."

"But Great Toad Sage and Fukasaku-sama, I will thoroughly investigate this matter. Now, both contract holders of Ryūchi Cave are ninjas from Konoha."

Fukasaku spoke with a heavy tone, "Don't push yourself, Little Jiraiya."

So far, the Great Toad Sage's prophecies had never been wrong, so Fukasaku felt the fate of Mount Myōboku might truly be sealed.

"Fukasaku-sama, don't worry, I will definitely prevent this from happening!"

Jiraiya spoke with resolve. Mount Myōboku was like his second home; he would never stand by and watch such an event unfold.

Jiraiya wanted to ask more about Ryūchi Cave's contract holder, but before he could, the Great Toad Sage had already fallen asleep.

With no choice, Jiraiya bid farewell to Fukasaku-sama and returned to Kikyō Castle with Minato.

"Sorry, Shikaku, we failed. Although we infiltrated, the Sand ninja hid the One-Tail's Jinchuriki. What Minato found was a decoy."

Jiraiya recounted the mission to Shikaku upon meeting him.

It was a near success.

Shikaku felt it was unfortunate, but he comforted, "Master Jiraiya, it's good that you and Minato returned safely. This mission was very risky to begin with. Fortunately, there was some gain at the Unra Iron Mine."

The operation at the Unra Iron Mine involved only a giant toad and ten Leaf ninja using Shadow Clone and Transformation Techniques, creating the illusion of a large Leaf ninja force raiding the mine, scaring the Sand ninja into retreat.

The plan was well-executed, the only pity being that they didn't find the real One-Tail's Jinchuriki.

"We'll wait for the village's messages then. The Sand ninja might launch a counterattack next," said Shikaku.

----------------------------

In the Land of Lightning, near the border with the Land of Hot Water.

A battle had just concluded in a stone forest. Yoichi sat recovering his chakra, with a body lying in front of him, his recent victory.

The Cloud ninja had some skill, lasting ten minutes under his attack. Although he didn't know his name, he met his requirements for the Impure World Resurrection.

While Daiki and the others chased two more Cloud ninja, Yoichi cut a piece of flesh from the body, preserving it for later.

After Mina made a breakthrough with the Hashirama cells for sacrificial rituals, he began to create Impure World Resurrection forces.

He had now collected flesh from three Cloud ninja jōnin.

Not long after, Inuzuka Daiki and the others returned, bringing a captive.

"Captain, this was a big catch. These three Cloud ninja were messengers for their village. They tried to destroy a scroll when we caught them, but Kira stopped them," Daiki said with a smile, an unexpected gain from a routine ambush.

"Cloud ninja are tough, it's up to you now, Captain."

Genjutsu was also a form of interrogation, and their squad had the Sharingan, which represented genjutsu.

Yoichi approached the captured Cloud ninja, twisted his face toward him, and quickly spun his three tomoe Sharingan, ensnaring the ninja in a genjutsu.

The success of a genjutsu interrogation depended on whether the victim had a talent to resist such techniques; if they did, they could endure it for a long time.

But this Cloud ninja was facing Yoichi, whose genjutsu could control even the Nine-Tails for ten minutes. The ninja's willpower was laughable in comparison.

After falling under the genjutsu, his eyes clouded over, and now every move was under Yoichi's chakra control.

"What's the method to open this secret transmission?"

"Cow, Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Hare."

The controlled Cloud ninja quickly disclosed the method to unlock the secret scroll, and Kira used this sequence to break the scroll's seal.

"Captain."

The scroll was handed to Yoichi, who opened it to read its contents.

It was brief, just one sentence: "Ensure Yugito safely reaches the camp."

Daiki, puzzled, asked, "Yugito? Who is she, do we have such a person in Cloud ninja?"

"Could she be a noble from the Land of Lightning? After all, they used the word 'protect', so her power must be low."

Kira speculated, but Daiki quickly countered, "Why would a noble from the Land of Lightning come to the frontline? They are all a bunch of life-preservers."

"No need to guess, she's the Two-Tails Jinchuriki!"

Yoichi interrupted the two, then continued, "She's probably only about ten years old, might have just become the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Cloud ninja probably want to assemble two Jinchuriki to directly confront our main camp in a decisive battle."

"That's harsh!"

Daiki's jaw dropped in shock, then he hurriedly said, "Captain, we need to get back quickly and report this to Sakumo-sama."

"Go back for what?"

Yoichi pointed to the name on the transmission scroll, "Since we know the Two-Tails Jinchuriki is coming, let's wait for her here."

This...

Daiki and the others felt their captain was growing bolder; not only exceeding the range of tasks set by Sakumo but also venturing far into the Land of Lightning's rear.

They had listened to their captain before, but now they were planning to intercept the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.

Kira spoke up, "Captain, we've killed them, they definitely didn't receive the message. Although there might still be a way for the Two-Tails Jinchuriki to head to the frontline, with these three Cloud ninja not returning, they'll definitely realize the information was intercepted."

At that time, either the route would be changed, or there would be many protectors around the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, making it very dangerous.

"It's indeed dangerous. Under those circumstances, I can't guarantee your safety."

Yoichi began, and Daiki and Kira initially nodded, thinking their captain had heeded their advice.

But then they realized something was off about his words.

Uchiha Yoichi continued, "So you go back and report this intelligence to Sakumo-san. I'll stay here a few more days. If there's an opportunity, I'll act; if not, I'll return to camp."

"Don't worry about me, I definitely won't die!"

(End of Chapter)