Fire Rages in Konoha (2)

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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[Jiraiya's POV]

"I am sorry, can you repeat that once again, Great Toad Sage?"

"You have failed your student, Jiraiya-kun."

"But I haven't taken any student yet…"

I gulped dryly as I looked at the Great Toad Sage. My palms were sweaty and my body trembled in trepidation. Recalling the words he had said to me years ago, a person flashed across my mind: Naruto, the one I should have taken as a student.

"One day, you will have a blue-eyed student who has the power to unify or destroy the world and your action will determine which path he takes."

Minato had died. Nagato had too. No one with blue eyes had a potential as great as Naruto's. Our relationship was not necessarily sour, but I admittedly had a small chance to take him as my disciple. The kid had surpassed me in Fūinjutsu and he was learning Ninjutsu at a mind-boggling pace. On top of that, he was being mentored by Sensei.

Ah, is that why!? Sensei, you are disrupting the world's balance!

I bit my thumb and wondered if I should immediately go back and force Naruto to become my student. The kid was a bit extreme, but he wouldn't become a villain, would he?

"But the future is a blurry one…"

"…. What do you mean by that, Great Toad Sage?"

"A young man with a pair of red eyes will look down upon the world and bend it to his will with a mere hand movement. But this is curious… no one suffers under his tyranny."

"Huh? How is that?"

"However, his opposition shall face nightmares. Your actions will determine whether you would stand behind or before him."

"Which is one better?"

The Great Toad Sage opened his eyes and looked at me. My throat became dry thanks to the suspense.

"I don't know. Ha-Ha-Ha."

I face-faulted as he rubbed his head in embarrassment. Annoyed I might be, I couldn't blame him. He was already old, after all. He had his moments of clarity, but he was out of touch with reality most of the time. Nonetheless, his prophecy was not something that could be treated lightly. His prophecy had never been wrong.

"Ah, I almost forgot, Jiraiya-kun. There is another red-eyed young man who can keep the other red-eyed young man in check. But it depends on how you nurture him."

"Can you give me other details other than them having red eyes?"

"Oh, one of them has… I forgot."

I face-faulted for the second time in the last five minutes. I kept my mouth shut, though, opting to cover myself wryly. I didn't trust my mouth given my current emotion. I would likely curse the Great Toad Sage and it wouldn't be fair to him. Of course, I was also afraid that Ma and Pa would beat me up for my insolence.

So, the question is, where the hell should I look for a red-eyed young man?

That reminded me that I hadn't asked anything about Naruto's fate.

"Then, what about the student I had failed, Great Toad Sage? How is he in the future?"

"He is no more."

"What!?"

I waited, but the Great Toad Sage didn't elaborate. Without wasting any more time, I went back to Konoha. Our relationship might not be the best, but Naruto was still my Godson. It was shameless of me to call myself his Godfather after what I had done, but I didn't want him to die young.

By the time I knew it, I was already opening the window to the Hokage's office. No one was surprised, but Sensei gave me the sting eye. I calmed down my heart and looked at the people in the room other than Sensei. To my relief, Naruto was standing beside Tsunade. However, my body froze when I saw his eyes.

"A fragile kid without any means to protect himself possesses this Dōjutsu. Time will eventually reveal his gift and only disaster will await him. I traded my eyes with him. Until he is strong enough, I will keep his eyes."

My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I would have believed him if I hadn't heard the Great Toad Sage's prophecy.

"Ah, here is the photo I took with him. His time with Raiga messed up him slightly, but he's a good kid."

A purple-haired boy with a pair of blue eyes that reminded me of Minato's smiled as he stood before Naruto who had his hand on the boy's head. Naruto was telling the truth, but I had a feeling he was hiding something.

"His decisiveness reminds me of Itachi-kun, but the way he thinks resembles Orochimaru a lot," was what Sensei said during our discussion after Naruto and Tsunade were dismissed.

"What should I do, Sensei?"

"The future is not yet set, Jiraiya. The Great Toad Sage didn't even say that the future would be a bad one. The young man who looks down upon the world might be just the most powerful leader this world has ever had. Naruto might become the greatest Hokage in the entire history."

"If that is the case, why would I either stand behind or before him?"

Sensei hummed. "That is tricky, indeed. It might mean that Naruto-kun would either become our Hokage or the common enemy number one. It could also mean your path would deviate in the future."

"Please, don't joke like that, Sensei."

Sensei laughed and I chuckled. Silence enveloped us soon after.

"Well, I don't know. But why are we focused solely on Naruto-kun here?"

Then, I realized that the red eyes could also be a pair of Sharingan. I decided to monitor their behavior. Naruto was as secretive as ever. Compared to him, Sasuke was an open book. My investigation was concluded soon after and I got the result.

"He killed them all…"

It was inconclusive.

***

[Sarutobi Hiruzen's POV]

I am too old for this shit.

That became my favorite phrase for the last two months. I sighed for the umpteenth time. I felt older with each sigh I heaved. Looking at the young man before me, my eyes trembled in fear. Yet another youth I was about to ruin. I wondered if it was the best decision.

"We can kill two birds with one stone that way… or a hawk and a snake, I should say," the young man chuckled darkly.

My head turned to the brightest man I had under my wings. "What do you think, Commander Shikaku?"

"That is a solid plan, but that entirely hinges on the assumption that Naruto can take Danzō down. What if he fails?" Shikaku expressed.

"I won't. That is why we are going to plan it," Naruto-kun responded. "But even if I failed, we could chase Danzō out of Konoha. It is still a win."

"What will you do with your promise to Orochimaru, then?" I asked.

"Regardless of the result, I would still infiltrate Orochimaru's base." Naruto-kun developed a frown. "He said something about my parent. I want to know what he has in store for me."

The only fate awaited him given our plan was being a Nukenin. If it succeeded, he would become the most sought-after Nukenin. If it failed, he would also become the most sought-after Nukenin because of his importance to Konoha. The former painted him in a bad light, but the latter painted him in a good light.

I bit my lip, thinking about the proper word to say to the young man to discourage him. I had always been a coward. I let Minato die at the sealing of Kyūbi. I had doomed Itachi to a life of exile. I could not let another bright prospect ruin his life because of my cowardice.

"Naruto-kun…"

My mind found the right thing to say.

"At the end of this journey, I swear on my life that you will be regarded as a hero."

But in the end, I didn't discourage the young man. My cowardice had won again. For the greater good, I convinced myself. When the moment came, I could only watch as the young man singlehandedly took care of the problem corroding our village. When it ended, everyone gathered around him in horror.

Bodies littered the ground. The stench of blood and burnt flesh was thick in the air. The young man who caused it patted the young Sasuke-kun's head and gazed at everyone with his red eyes. They lingered a little longer on Tsunade. In a flash, he disappeared from the place. The witnesses of the horror would register this as the Anbu Great Annihilation.

"Hokage-sama, please, reconsider this. He has done us a favor!"

However, the true members of Anbu who had been legally declared dead knew the truth.

"There is no reason to fake our deaths. We can still clear Naruto-taichō's name. Danzō and his Root are cancer to our village. That is an achievement; not a sin!"

I would also like to do the same thing, but it would disrupt our plan.

"Tsunade, put a 110,000,000 Ryo bounty on Namikaze Naruto. Declare him as an SS-Rank Nukenin."

Tsunade looked at me in resentment but followed my suggestion eventually. I would take that resentment. That was the least I could do. For all the things I had done, I didn't get enough hatred.