Chapter 12: Son of Darkness, the Prophecy of the Toad Immortal

Following the Third Hokage’s orders, all the ninjas of Konoha began to mobilize, conducting a thorough search of the Hidden Leaf Village’s protective barrier.

The Barrier Team, in particular, bore a heavier burden.

This was the second time in three years that a mysterious ninja had silently breached the barrier and infiltrated the village. The fact that the Barrier Team had been as useless as mere ornaments made the Third Hokage extremely angry.

During the Nine-Tails incident three years ago, ordinary villagers and ninjas alike believed it was simply the Nine-Tails running wild.

However, only the upper echelons of Konoha knew it was a meticulously planned attack.

It had resulted in the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, the Third Hokage’s wife, Biwako, and a female medical ninja responsible for the delivery.

And this time, another mysterious ninja had infiltrated, killed the Cloud Village envoy, and attempted to incite a war between the two nations.

To stop the intruder, the two brothers of the Hyuga clan—one of Konoha’s top noble families—had ended up with one seriously injured and the other lightly wounded. Even though the Cloud Village harbored suspicions, the attitude of Konoha’s high command remained incredibly firm.

They insisted that it was a mysterious ninja who had killed the Cloud envoy.

This resolute stance ultimately caused the Cloud Village’s conspiracy to fall through.

On the other side.

Deep within the gloomy Root base, Danzo listened to the report from his subordinate, Aburame Tatsuma, and let out a soft hum.

"It seems quite lively outside, Danzo-sama." Orochimaru pushed open the door to Danzo’s office.

On his way from the secret laboratory to the Root base, he had seen many Konoha ninjas mobilizing, including even Anbu members. Such a large-scale operation made even him, a science fanatic who spent long periods immersed in his lab, feel a bit curious.

Danzo sat in his chair and did not answer Orochimaru directly, merely signaling for Aburame Tatsuma to explain.

Tatsuma understood immediately and said to Orochimaru, "Last night, a mysterious ninja infiltrated the village, killed the Cloud envoy, and dumped the Cloud ninja's corpse in the Hyuga compound..."

A mysterious ninja who could injure the two Hyuga brothers, retreat unscathed despite the pursuit of numerous Hyuga jonin and Root ninjas, and even double back to kill again?

A glimmer of interest flashed in Orochimaru’s golden eyes, and he licked his lips with his long tongue.

'It seems the world outside remains as fascinating as ever.' Orochimaru had once fought alongside the Hyuga brothers and knew their combat prowess well; even if the enemy were a Kage of a village, they could have retreated with ease.

"Enough of that. I came here this time because I hope you can provide more test subjects, Danzo-sama." Orochimaru spread his right hand, directly demanding research funding and materials from Danzo.

Hearing this, Danzo’s single eye furrowed in a frown.

"The test subjects I gave you last time were used up so quickly?" Danzo was somewhat dissatisfied with the speed at which Orochimaru consumed experimental materials.

"After all, there has been progress, so ordinary test subjects can no longer satisfy my needs." Orochimaru brushed back a lock of his long hair, feeling increasingly confident in his research direction.

Although that accidental Wood Style test subject had been snatched up by Danzo, his existence proved that Orochimaru’s research direction was viable.

Thus, Orochimaru was no longer satisfied with ordinary people as test subjects and kept demanding more ninjas from Danzo.

"I will have people send them to you, but don't go too far," Danzo warned gloomily.

The prisoners in Konoha’s prison were no longer enough to satisfy his needs, and over the years, Danzo had also captured quite a few civilian ninjas.

In Danzo’s eyes, for the sake of making Konoha great again, all sacrifices were worth it!

As long as the one being sacrificed wasn't himself.

"Heh heh, then I shall await the good news."

Orochimaru chuckled twice, emitting a meaningful laugh, and vanished into the shadows.

——————

Land of Hot Water, Capital City.

This city, built upon hot springs, had always been a tourist destination in the ninja world. Because the Land of Hot Water was located in the northeast of the continent, bordering the Land of Lightning, Land of Moon, Land of Sound, Land of Fire, Land of Water, and Land of Waves, it enjoyed great economic prosperity.

In a brothel, Jiraiya was surrounded by geishas, chatting about various interesting anecdotes from the ninja world, swallowed by the scent of rouge and powder, immersed in the lap of luxury.

*Poof—*

Suddenly, a puff of smoke dissipated, and a small toad, entirely red and wearing a pair of diving goggles around its neck, appeared in the room.

"Jiraiya!" the small toad shouted, but because the laughter and chatter in the room were too loud, it went unnoticed.

Helpless, the small toad jumped onto Jiraiya’s face.

Jiraiya, who was in the middle of drinking, was startled.

After seeing clearly that it was a toad from Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya’s drunkenness faded a bit, and he hurriedly chased the geishas and courtesans out of the room.

The geishas, who had been flirting with Jiraiya just moments ago, left the room with faces full of resentment.

"Toad Kosuke! Why are you here?" Jiraiya took Toad Kosuke off his face and grabbed the teapot nearby to drink directly from the spout.

"Fukasaku-sama told me to come find you," Toad Kosuke urged Jiraiya.

After downing a large pot of tea, Jiraiya began to perform the Reverse Summoning Technique.

Together with Toad Kosuke, he arrived at Mount Myoboku, one of the three great sage regions.

Amidst a vast expanse of wetlands, toad stone statues stood everywhere, and at the end of the lake, a wooden palace stood tall on high ground.

"Fukasaku-sennin, you were looking for me?" By the time Jiraiya arrived, the two toads, Fukasaku and Shima, had already been waiting in front of the palace for a while.

Compared to the alcohol-reeking, somewhat slovenly Jiraiya, Fukasaku-sennin said with a heavy expression, "The Great Toad Sage said he dreamed of something terrifying."

"Huh? Something terrifying?" Jiraiya’s drunkenness vanished instantly.

It had been a long time since he had heard a prophecy from the Great Toad Sage; he hadn't expected it to be bad news this time.

Jiraiya hurriedly entered the palace with the two toads, Fukasaku and Shima.

Deep inside the palace, a large, entirely orange toad sat soaking in a pot, wearing something resembling a doctoral cap on its head. A string of beads hung around its neck, with one bead marked with the character for 'Oil' being the most conspicuous.

"Great Toad Sage!" Jiraiya knelt on one knee and looked up at the Great Toad Sage.

"Ah, it’s little Jiraiya," the Great Toad Sage slowly opened a slit of his eyes. "Why have you come?"

Hearing the Great Toad Sage’s counter-question, Jiraiya stumbled and fell to the floor.

Fukasaku and Shima jumped to either side of the Great Toad Sage, and Shima cursed directly, "You’re the one who called little Jiraiya here, are you senile?"

"Oh, oh." The Great Toad Sage recalled for a moment and said slowly, "I remember now. I had a dream."

"In the dream, the entire ninja world was gradually shrouded in darkness. All nations and ninja villages, including the Five Great Nations, will be swallowed by the darkness."

!!!

Jiraiya was shocked. Even the previous prophecy of the Child of Prophecy who would bring change to the ninja world had not been this detailed.

"I saw a back in the darkness, one that could not be looked upon directly, completely destroying the entire world!" the Great Toad Sage continued.

"Do you have any more detailed characteristics of him?" Jiraiya’s brows were locked in a frown, though he held little hope.

"Abyss..." the Great Toad Sage said slowly. "When he turned around, I saw only an endless abyss, an abyss that even I felt palpitations from..."

"An abyss, you say?" Jiraiya was lost in thought.

"The Child of Darkness... who will destroy the world?!"

Seeking support, seeking everything!

(End of chapter)