The Prophecy of Gamamaru

Amidst the fearful gazes of all the Konoha shinobi, Kisame soared into the clouds and vanished.

The dozen or so members of the Sarutobi clan released by Kisame all wore the expressions of those who had narrowly escaped death.

"Lord Hokage!" "Clan Head!"

They crowded around Hiruzen Sarutobi, every face glowing with the joy of salvation.

Yet soon, they noticed that the expressions of everyone else present were terribly amiss. Whether it was the Uchiha, the Hyuga, the Ino-Shika-Cho carrying the corpses of their clansmen, or the Aburame clan, all gazed coldly at the members of the Sarutobi clan.

It was as if they were looking at strangers, or even mortal enemies.

The rift between the Sarutobi clan and the other prominent families of Konoha was rapidly widening.

After Kisame departed, Hiruzen slowly withdrew his gaze. Then, his frail body swayed, and he nearly collapsed on the spot.

"Teacher."

Seeing this, Orochimaru and Jiraiya quickly stepped forward from either side to steady him.

"I am fine."

Hiruzen shook off their support, sighed heavily, and walked alone toward the Hokage Building.

At that moment, Elder Shima spoke very solemnly to Jiraiya:

"Little Jiraiya, this Hoshigaki Kisame is far more formidable than we imagined. Satoru was originally spawned by the Box of Ultimate Bliss, a monster that knew only slaughter and destruction. But now it appears that Hoshigaki Kisame has not lost his sanity after becoming Satoru. Not only has he obtained the full power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, but he is also adept at utilizing various methods and schemes. In the past several centuries, we have never witnessed an enemy so powerful and cunning."

"If that monster is allowed to grow unchecked, it will sooner or later bring more warfare and death to this world. By then, who knows how many nations and villages will be destroyed."

Elder Shima echoed with a grave expression.

"Lord Great Toad, Elder Wife, what should we do now?" Jiraiya asked with undeniable anxiety.

Fukasaku glanced at Shima and instructed her:

"Mother, you stay here. I must return to Mount Myoboku immediately to consult the Great Elder and ask him to point the way for us."

As soon as he finished speaking, he formed a hand seal, turned into a puff of white smoke with a "poof," and vanished from Jiraiya's shoulder.

In the distance.

"Is it over just like that? How truly boring."

Seeing Kisame and the Konoha forces reach a truce without descending into the mutual destruction he had envisioned, Obito was profoundly disappointed.

Beside him, Zetsu emerged from the ground at some unknown moment and analyzed:

"Konoha is, after all, the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and its foundation remains terrifying. Although Hoshigaki Kisame is extremely powerful, it is impossible for him to destroy Konoha single-handedly. Still, forcing the Third Hokage to announce his surrender in public is something no one could have anticipated."

"Go and eavesdrop on the details of their negotiation. I am heading back first."

Lacking interest, Obito gave this order to Zetsu, then phased his body and disappeared.

"Given Kisame's style and personality, I wonder what kind of conditions he will propose to Konoha?"

"It is truly something to look forward to."

Both Zetsu's left and right faces—White Zetsu and Black Zetsu—revealed expressions of keen interest, then immediately sank into the earth and slipped away toward Konoha.

The Land of Toads, Mount Myoboku.

Deep within the mountain range, inside a serene and magnificent temple.

The legendary Great Toad Sage, whom Fukasaku called the Great Elder—Gamamaru—resided here. He was the patriarch of Mount Myoboku, having once been sworn brothers with the Sage of Six Paths, yet he possessed an even longer lifespan, having lived for thousands of years down to the present day.

He was a toad whose strength was unfathomable and who had profoundly influenced the destiny of the shinobi world.

Standing nearly twenty meters tall, Gamamaru tilted his massive head, propped his chin with a webbed hand, and sat upon a massive throne inscribed with the kanji for "Sage."

He wore a mortarboard hat on his head, with an exquisite string of prayer beads around his neck, embedded in the center of which was a pale purple cat's eye gemstone carved with the kanji for "Oil," denoting his noble status and profound wisdom.

At that moment, Fukasaku hurried into the temple and said to Gamamaru, "Great Elder, we have failed..."

As the words fell, he realized that Gamamaru before him wore a slightly intoxicated expression and was drowsily dozing off.

This was because a pile of wine bottles and cups several meters high stood to Gamamaru's right, emitting wave after wave of alluring wine aroma.

"Ah, it's Fukasaku, *hiccup*..."

Gamamaru opened his eyes, speaking leisurely while letting out a drunken hiccup.

He loved wine, and coupled with his advanced age, he appeared mostly hazy and half-asleep most of the time.

Fukasaku, feeling helpless, was about to repeat himself when Gamamaru interrupted him.

"I am aware of everything that has happened in Konoha."

Gamamaru raised a webbed foot and pointed at a crystal ball in front of him, which vividly displayed real-time scenes of Konoha Village.

The Telescope Technique.

This was the signature ninjutsu of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. His chakra was sufficient to cover the entire expanse of Konoha Village and maintain public order within it.

That in itself was already remarkable.

Yet Konoha was an entire month's journey away from Mount Myoboku, even at a shinobi's traveling speed.

Though Gamamaru never stepped outside, the unimaginably vast chakra within his body allowed him to effortlessly observe every corner of the shinobi world and know all affairs under heaven.

The might of the Great Toad Sage could thus be glimpsed.

"Then Great Elder, your meaning is..." Fukasaku quickly asked upon hearing this.

"Well, let me see. Recently, you see, I've started having dreams again..."

Gamamaru spoke unhurriedly, picked up a nearby wine bottle, took a large gulp with loud gulps, and fell into a state of contemplation.

Fukasaku pricked up his ears, but after waiting for a long time, he did not receive Gamamaru's instruction. All he heard was—

A round of snoring.

"Hoo~"

The Great Toad Sage had actually fallen asleep right on his throne.

Fukasaku froze for a moment, but rather than rushing, it patiently waited.

For it knew that the Great Elder possessed a miraculous prophetic ability, capable of seeing the future of other people or events within its dreams. Once Gamamaru awoke, it might provide the answer.

Sure enough.

After a short while, Gamamaru slowly woke up, beckoned to Fukasaku, and said:

"Fukasaku, that brat named Hoshigaki Kisame—I have seen his destiny..."

As it recounted the tale in a slow, narrative voice, an expression of astonishment quickly appeared on Fukasaku's face.

Konoha Village.

Half an hour passed swiftly.

The villagers of Konoha had not returned to the surface, remaining hidden within the underground shelters instead.

However, the main thoroughfares of Konoha had already been cleared. Uprooted utility poles and trees had been removed, and the massive craters on the ground had been filled in using Earth Release ninjutsu, stretching all the way from the village gates to the Hokage Building.

In front of the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi had donned his Hokage robe and conical hat once more, standing quietly alongside a throng of Konoha shinobi to await the arrival of Hoshigaki Kisame.

For the defeated side of Konoha, the atmosphere was oppressive. Everyone's spirits had plummeted to rock bottom, and the air felt as though it had frozen solid.

"Hiruzen!"

An angry voice suddenly rang out from not far away, shattering the silence.

It was the Hokage Advisor, Shimura Danzo, leaning on his cane, storming over to demand accountability from Hiruzen.

Accompanying him were the Elder Council members, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. Standing alongside Danzo, they firmly voiced their opposition to Hiruzen's decision to surrender to the enemy.

"Do you have any idea what you have done? Konoha cannot accept such humiliation and defeat!" Danzo immediately adopted an aggressive posture.

"Danzo, if you intended to oppose me, you should have stepped forward half an hour ago. It is too late now," Hiruzen replied coldly.

As the two sides were arguing, Jiraiya's voice suddenly cut in: "Hoshigaki Kisame is here."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent instantly, their gazes turning in unison toward the direction of Ichiraku Avenue.

A tall man with his hands in his pockets and a victor's smile was leisurely walking over from a distance.

It was him, the Fifth Mizukage, Hoshigaki Kisame.

However, just as Kisame was about to reach the Hokage Building.

Danzo narrowed his eyes and covertly made a hand gesture.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

At his command, several Root operatives instantly appeared from different directions, rushing onto the street to encircle Kisame.

"Stop!"

Seeing this, Hiruzen's expression changed abruptly. He immediately turned his head and roared at Danzo, attempting to halt the latter's foolish actions.

Yet it was already too late.

Swish, swish.

Two Root operatives threw out chains, tightly binding Kisame's body. The other two unfurled a massive sealing scroll, taking advantage of Kisame's inability to move to cast a sealing technique upon him.

The coordination of these individuals was as smooth as flowing water, clearly drilled countless times, and completed in the blink of an eye.

"Well done, Sealing Team."

Danzo first praised his subordinates, then looked at Hiruzen, saying in a triumphant tone, "You see that, Hiruzen. Having my Root shinobi step in makes resolving this matter so simple. Do you still intend to surrender to the enemy?"

The moment his words fell.

Swish.

As a piercing sound echoed from overhead, the people of Konoha looked up and saw a massive ball of energy instantly descending from the sky.

Amidst everyone's panicked gazes, the sphere of light, teeming with destructive energy, struck directly at the Hokage Rock located directly behind the Hokage Building.

Boom.

With a tremendous roar that shook the earth, the cliffside standing dozens of meters high, carved with the stone visages of successive Hokage, collapsed abruptly.

Upon the cliff, the facial carvings of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Hiruzen Sarutobi shattered into pieces at that moment, transforming into a torrential mudslide that roared down the mountainside.

Swept along by this mudslide, the Hokage Building bore the brunt of the impact, nearly half buried as massive plumes of dust shot into the heavens.

Simultaneously.

The Hoshigaki Kisame restrained by the Sealing Team turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished with a "poof," revealing that it had merely been a shadow clone.

As for Kisame's true body, still in the form of Satoru, he swooped down from the clouds and arrived above the Hokage Building.

"I knew all along that your surrender was fake. It seems you truly won't shed tears until you see the coffin."

Sneering, Kisame produced a dozen more Konoha captives, executing them on the spot and casting their corpses before the crowd of Konoha villagers and shinobi.

Next, another ball of energy began to brew within his mouth, aimed at launching a new wave of aerial bombardment against Konoha. This time, his intended target was the underground shelter housing Konoha's civilians.

"Konoha will never compromise! We swear to fight the enemy to the death!"

Danzo shouted in a deep voice, putting on a brave display, though his feet instinctively stepped backward.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

Hiruzen's patience finally snapped, and he roared at Danzo. Prompted by his command, Minato Namikaze rushed forward with a group of Anbu operatives, capturing Danzo on the spot.

Having subdued Danzo, Hiruzen immediately turned around and shouted upward to Kisame in the sky:

"Fifth Mizukage! What just happened was an accident. I beg for your forgiveness! Konoha desires peace and is willing to pay any price for it!"

To demonstrate sufficient sincerity to Kisame, he hardened his heart, pointed a finger at Danzo, and ordered Minato: "Kill him!"

"Hiruzen, you dare!"

Danzo's eyes widened in disbelief, never expecting that Hiruzen, who had indulged and tolerated his numerous actions for so long, would actually go this far.

Before his voice could fade, Minato's three-pronged kunai was already pressed against Danzo's neck.

"Wait!"

At that very moment, Kisame's voice descended from the sky.

"Third Hokage, given how sincere you are, I can give Konoha one more chance. As for that fellow named Danzo... do not kill him yet. When we sit at the negotiation table later, I want to see him. I give you ten minutes to prepare."

With these profound words, Kisame soared into the sky and vanished once more from the field of vision of the Konoha crowd.

No sooner had he left than—

Elder Fukasaku returned to Konoha with a joyful expression, bearing good news.

The group hurriedly entered the Hokage Office and closed the door.

Due to the classified nature of the matter, besides Hiruzen, only the Sannin were present in the room.

"Little Jiraiya, surely you haven't forgotten the prophecy the Great Elder made for you back then, have you?"

Fukasaku did not immediately reveal the good news, instead asking Jiraiya a question.

"How could I forget? The Great Elder said that in his dreams, he saw me traveling across nations, writing, and encountering the Child of Prophecy who could change the world. For all these years, I have acted precisely according to the Great Elder's instructions, and I have indeed reaped many rewards."

Jiraiya answered truthfully.

The reward he spoke of referred to Nagato, a child possessing the exact same eyes as the legendary Sage of Six Paths, whom Jiraiya believed to be the Child of Prophecy.

"That's right. Your stumbling into Mount Myoboku back then was actually no accident, for the Great Elder had already foreseen your arrival in its dreams. His lordship said that all destiny is predetermined long in advance."

With these words, Fukasaku displayed unwavering faith in Gamamaru's prophetic ability.

"What kind of future prophecy? It's nothing more than daytime daydreams made by a senile old coot all day long. In my view, it's utterly unreliable."

Elder Shima, however, sang a dissenting tune with a dismissive air, clearly holding quite a few grievances against Gamamaru.

"Mother, how can you show such disrespect to the Great Elder?" Fukasaku grew angry upon hearing this and rebuked Shima.

Seeing that the two toads were on the verge of arguing.

"Both elders, harmony is paramount between husband and wife."

Hiruzen hurriedly stepped in to mediate, steering the conversation back on track.

Seizing the key point, he asked Fukasaku directly: "Elder Fukasaku, is the good news you mentioned because the Great Toad Sage has received a new prophecy?"

"Indeed. The Great Elder saw the death of Hoshigaki Kisame in its dream. In the near future, Kisame will summon a shark to consume himself, thereby committing suicide!"

Fukasaku finally ceased beating around the bush, delivering this earth-shattering piece of news to the assembled company.