Kumogakure and Konoha had gone to war.
The day arrived earlier than anyone had anticipated.
Faced with Konoha's proactive declaration of war, the Fourth Raikage was furious beyond measure and was thoroughly scolded by the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning.
But at least this was what he wanted.
Just as Hiruzen had written in the declaration: "If you want war, then we will give you war."
Everyone, including the Raikage, froze for a moment upon reading those words, because no one expected such a statement to come from Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.
'Was this really that weak, indecisive, easily bullied Third Hokage?'
'Had the old man suddenly regained his backbone in his twilight years?'
Because of that single sentence alone, even the war-hungry Fourth Raikage felt a trace of apprehension, let alone the other Kumogakure ninja.
Still, although morale in Kumogakure had somewhat wavered, the hatred left behind by the Third Great Ninja War remained.
The desire on both sides to kill each other was equal.
And the one commanding Konoha's forces was one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya.
At this moment, inside Konoha's encampment on the southern border of the Land of the Moon, Jiraiya stared at the horrifying casualty report in his tent, his brows tightly knotted together.
And this was only a probing attack from both sides.
If the fighting truly escalated, those numbers would double.
"War… this is war. Endless war."
He muttered softly.
In war, the passing of any individual life was merely a grain of dust crushed beneath a wheel.
Originally, Jiraiya had still been traveling the world according to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, searching for the "Child of Prophecy."
Then midway through his journey, he suddenly received a summons from the old man, Konoha was preparing for large-scale military action against Kumogakure.
Jiraiya actually hadn't wanted to return.
After experiencing the endless battles and countless deaths of the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars firsthand, he increasingly understood his own weakness and helplessness.
In his eyes, wars between great nations were utterly meaningless, and yet humanity repeated them endlessly.
Still, Jiraiya knew he could neither stop the old man nor halt the ongoing war and the inevitable wars to come.
If possible, Jiraiya truly did not want to return.
He would rather continue searching for the "Child of Prophecy."
In his opinion, that alone was the only hope for changing the ninja world.
But he couldn't.
Because he had received a third prophecy from the Great Toad Sage.
The Great Toad Sage was the founder of Mount Myōboku,
A "sage" who had lived for at least a thousand years, possessing immeasurable power and terrifying chakra.
And above all else, an extraordinarily accurate prophetic ability.
The first prophecy the Great Toad Sage gave him was that he would become an outstanding ninja, and after becoming independent, he would begin taking disciples.
The second prophecy stated that one of his future disciples would become the person who brought about tremendous change to the ninja world.
Possibly peace, possibly destruction, and that Jiraiya would need to guide and choose their path.
Thus Jiraiya had constantly wandered the world searching for the "Child of Prophecy," trying to guide them toward peace while also writing books during his travels, just as foretold.
But the third prophecy was different.
Because this time, the prophecy did not only involve the so-called Child of Prophecy.
There was also, "The Child of Calamity."
"Wherever they go, disaster and destruction follow like shadows. Peace and order are overturned. The boundary between life and death grows blurred, and in the end only hollow echoes remain in the world."
Recalling those prophetic words filled with ominousness and malice, Jiraiya's eyes darkened as fear and heaviness pressed down upon his heart once more.
If the Child of Prophecy represented "hope" or "upheaval".
Then the Child of Calamity represented only "disaster" and "destruction."
Fortunately, the Great Toad Sage had not described the Child of Calamity's appearance.
Unluckily, he had described the Child of Prophecy.
"Eyes as brilliant as the starry sky… and wearing a Konoha forehead protector?"
Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"According to the Great Toad Sage, he saw the Child of Prophecy standing before everyone, facing the Child of Calamity alone."
It sounded exactly like the savior from some novel or legend.
The range had already been narrowed down to Konoha.
With such distinctive eyes, finding them should be easy, right?
"Ahhh, I really want to go back and search right now!"
Jiraiya frantically scratched his messy hair, but soon exhaled deeply and suppressed his impatience.
The Child of Prophecy likely had not yet matured.
For now, only by ending this meaningless war as quickly as possible could that child be given time to continue growing.
Rustle.
At that moment, the flap of the tent was pulled open.
Jiraiya instinctively raised his head and saw two figures entering.
"Kakashi?"
Recognizing one familiar face, Jiraiya looked surprised.
"Jiraiya-sama, forgive the intrusion."
Hatake Kakashi's tone and attitude remained humble as always, but those dead-fish eyes appeared even gloomier than before.
"Don't blame yourself too much."
Jiraiya clearly knew part of the situation and tried to comfort him.
"No one expected someone would suddenly appear and interfere with our alliance with Hanzo."
Without question, losing every single ninja he brought had dealt a severe blow to Kakashi.
"Thank you, but there's another matter I need your help with."
Kakashi let out a deep sigh, forcefully suppressing the bitterness in his heart before speaking seriously.
"The Third Hokage hopes you can allocate some manpower and accompany me to the Land of Hot Water."
Meanwhile, while the two were speaking, Arata, who had remained silent behind Kakashi the entire time, lifted his head, his eyes flickering as he looked toward Jiraiya.
He had already confirmed that the sudden eight thousand points earlier came from Gamamaru, that old toad, taking notice of him.
The old toad had definitely used that prophetic ability on him already,
And informed Jiraiya of the results.
Because the moment he saw Jiraiya, a notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding. Your lie has been judged as [Deceiving Heaven and Crossing the Sea]. Jiraiya has experienced intense emotional fluctuations and reached the level of [Utterly Convinced]. You have obtained 2000 Reality Points.]
[Remaining Reality Points: 19754]
Looking at Jiraiya, who was still discussing matters with Kakashi, the corner of Arata's eye twitched slightly.
'So many points…'
'The more outrageous the lie, the more points awarded.'
'Just what exactly had that old toad seen in its prophecy?'
'If the prophecy were accurate, it shouldn't have awarded any points at all.'
'What kind of image did the old toad and Jiraiya now have of his future self?'
Just as Arata's mind filled with question marks, Jiraiya suddenly turned his gaze toward him.
"So you're Arata?"
He asked curiously.
"Yes, Jiraiya-senpai."
Arata revealed a gentle and humble smile.
"I'm Arata. Please take care of me."
Jiraiya's gaze swept across his face.
His first impression of the boy's appearance and temperament was quite good.
Still, he said nothing more.
After all, he knew that the phrase "If you want war, then we will give you war" had actually come from this young man.
And Jiraiya didn't like those words.
At the same time, behind Konoha's encampment in the Land of the Moon, within the borders of the Land of Hot Water,
Several figures darted through the forest beneath the cover of night.
If Jiraiya were here and saw the appearance of the one leading them, his expression would surely change drastically.
Straight beige hair braided down to the waist.
A female ninja wearing the forehead protector of Kumogakure.
The one who had silently appeared behind the encampment was none other than Kumogakure's current Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii.