"Yo! Aoba, long time no see!"
At this moment, Jiraiya, who was standing inside the Hokage's office, saw Aoba suddenly appear and naturally greeted him with a smile, waving his hand.
The Land of Hot Water was right next to the Land of Fire, not too far from Konoha.
And since it was also the Great Toad Sage's request, he didn't delay and rushed back as quickly as possible.
It was just that even Aoba hadn't expected Jiraiya to return at this time.
A trace of surprise appeared on his face, but he quickly adjusted.
"It has been a while, Jiraiya-sensei. It's rare for you to come back, did something happen?"
Since he had come back so suddenly and even came to see him early in the morning, there was probably something going on.
Maybe it had something to do with those toads.
"Ahaha! There is indeed something…"
Although Jiraiya felt it was just a small matter, now that it came down to it, he felt a bit awkward bringing it up.
"If there's something, just say it, Jiraiya-sensei. Hesitating like that doesn't suit you," Aoba said directly.
"Uh… alright then. Aoba, you should know about Mount Myoboku, one of the three great sacred lands that I have a summoning contract with, right?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya felt it would be better to explain the whole situation clearly.
Although he was a contractor of Mount Myoboku, he was also a member of Konoha.
"Mm!"
Aoba nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.
"It's the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. He wanted me to ask if you have any intention of collecting the tailed beasts."
After asking, Jiraiya added, "Of course, I'm just asking. If it involves village secrets, you don't have to answer."
"The Great Toad Sage?"
'So it really does have something to do with those toads.'
'Collecting tailed beasts?'
'Could it be that they are worried I will gather them, form the Ten-Tails, and release that one inside the moon?'
'Come to think of it, I did indeed promis Black Zetsu back then that as long as he cooperated with research, releasing his mother wouldn't be a problem.'
'Looking at it this way, could it be that something happened in the future?'
Aoba thought for a moment, but didn't answer Jiraiya directly. Instead, he asked curiously, "I've heard that the Great Toad Sage is proficient in prophecy. Since you came to ask this, did it see something related to me?"
Besides asking about the prophecy, he also wanted to see which side Jiraiya stood on.
Jiraiya's response didn't disappoint him and he answered directly.
"The Great Toad Sage did make a new prophecy, and it's very likely related to you. But it didn't tell me what it was. Still, it probably isn't anything bad."
Through the perception of the Kagura Mind's Eye, Aoba knew Jiraiya wasn't lying.
"In that case, this isn't something I can't tell you. Konoha's next plan is to unify the Five Great Nations and establish a single country in the ninja world. If that happens, even though I don't intend to collect the tailed beasts, the nine tailed beasts will still ultimately belong to Konoha."
"What?"
Jiraiya's expression changed slightly. This was far more shocking than the idea of collecting tailed beasts.
He had originally thought peace in the ninja world could last at least another hundred years, but he didn't expect Konoha to be the one to initiate such a move.
"Aoba, if you're going to unify the ninja world, it will inevitably lead to an unprecedented war. In that case, who knows how many people will—"
"Jiraiya-sensei, the Kage of the other four great ninja villages have already agreed to my decision," Aoba said casually.
"Ah…"
Jiraiya was instantly at a loss for words.
'If even the Kage themselves have no objections, then if I, a true believer in the Will of Fire, still object, won't that mean my own stance is crooked?'
That was a label he definitely didn't dare accept.
"Do you have anything else, Jiraiya-sensei?"
Seeing that Jiraiya had fallen silent, Aoba asked again.
It was only because Jiraiya was acting as a messenger for Mount Myoboku this time and hadn't taken the toads' side that he was being this polite.
Jiraiya's expression was somewhat complicated.
If the Five Great Ninja Villages could truly unify, perhaps the future ninja world really could eliminate war.
"Aoba, maybe you really are the Child of Prophecy…"
"Heh!"
Hearing what sounded like praise, Aoba couldn't help but chuckle, "Jiraiya-sensei, are you still searching for that so-called Child of Prophecy who can bring change to the ninja world?"
"Haha… more or less. I don't really have any particular goals anymore, so I just gather material for my writing while looking for him."
Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed freely.
Aoba smiled and shook his head, "In that case, stay in Konoha for a while. Walk around more and take a look at how Konoha has changed recently."
"Hm?"
Jiraiya didn't quite understand, "Do you need my help with something?"
"Not really. I just feel like if you walk around Konoha more, maybe one day you'll discover the real Child of Prophecy. Oh, and while you're at it, you can go give Naruto some guidance too."
"Guide Naruto? I feel like Naruto's already stronger than me now. I don't even know what I could still teach him. Kids these days… each one is more terrifying than the last."
Jiraiya recalled the strength Naruto and Sasuke showed when sparring the last time he came back.
He felt like he was becoming a leftover from the old era.
The version updates were happening way too fast.
Back then, he could still rely on information to act like a mechanics-based fighter, but now everyone was just pure stat monsters. No matter how good your mechanics were, it didn't matter anymore.
Aoba, however, smiled meaningfully, "As an elder, there are still many things you can teach besides strength."
"Huh?"
Jiraiya wasn't quite sure what else he could teach Naruto.
But since Aoba didn't explain further, he simply left.
It had been a while since he last saw the kid anyway, so he might as well go check how he was doing.
"You're not planning to have Lord Jiraiya teach Naruto something improper, are you?"
As soon as Jiraiya left, Shizune, who hadn't spoken the whole time, immediately gave Aoba a strange look.
Based on her understanding of him, that smile earlier definitely wasn't innocent.
"Aren't you worried Naruto might be led astray and Kushina will come after you?"
Aoba blinked, "If he really does get led astray, I think Kushina-nee would come thank me instead."
"..."
Shizune: "But I remember Lord Jiraiya's relationship with Orochimaru used to be pretty complicated."
"Ah, well…"
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