CHAPTER 251: CHAPTER 251: JIRAIYA, YOU’RE THE CHILD OF PROPHECY!

Jiraiya might’ve been unreliable most of the time, but when it came to right and wrong—especially the big picture—he was surprisingly clear-headed. He wouldn’t bend the rules for personal reasons.

If it had been Orochimaru...

Well, that would be a different story.

So—

If it had been Orochimaru making this request, Kyoichi would have most likely said "no."

Jiraiya chatted with Hiruko for a while. Kyoichi didn’t eavesdrop, but when Jiraiya came out wearing a complicated, pensive expression, it was obvious they hadn’t reached any sort of agreement.

"Kyoichi, I owe you my thanks."

Jiraiya bowed deeply as he emerged.

Kyoichi blinked, caught off guard.

"What’s this about?"

"Sigh... to be honest, seeing Hiruko just now—it felt like watching Orochimaru take one step after another into darkness, following in Danzo’s shadow."

Jiraiya let out a sigh, his face a tangle of emotions.

"Orochimaru was never a good person. If it meant achieving his goals, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do. In some ways... he and Hiruko aren’t all that different."

"You know Orochimaru pretty well, huh?" Kyoichi chuckled.

The original Jiraiya didn’t understand Orochimaru this well. In the anime, his feelings toward Orochimaru seemed stuck in their "teammate" days.

People change.

Especially—

When someone like Orochimaru was already rotten at the core, and Danzo kept feeding him things from the shadows? No way he was resisting temptation.

Jiraiya gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"I haven’t had many successes in this life... Understanding Orochimaru came way too late. Same with Sage Mode. If not for you, I probably would’ve stayed stuck at my old level forever."

"Uh..." Kyoichi was a little thrown by the sudden melancholic turn.

But—

Jiraiya mastering Sage Mode wasn’t all that surprising.

He already had a strong foundation; he just wasn’t in sync enough with nature energy. Combine that with some of the Shikkotsu Forest’s secret techniques, and sure—he could go further.

Which was a good thing, right?

"You know how I formed my contract with Mount Myōboku, right?"

Jiraiya figured Tsunade must have told Kyoichi, so he didn’t wait for an answer before continuing on his own.

"Back then, I stumbled into Mount Myōboku by accident. The Great Toad Sage told me it was fate—I was destined to come there."

"Fate? What kind of talk is that?" Kyoichi had a hunch where this was going.

To be honest, he didn’t care much for the whole "prophecy frog" thing, but he wasn’t quite sure where Jiraiya stood, so—

He waited to hear more.

"He said it was my destiny to be guided to Mount Myōboku, to bond with the toads, and one day meet the Child of Prophecy who would save the shinobi world... and I’d become their master, helping them fulfill that destiny."

At first, Jiraiya had spoken with pride. But by the end, his confidence clearly faltered.

He used to believe the Child of Prophecy was Nagato. But ever since Kyoichi laid out his theories, that certainty had been shaken.

These days...

He wasn’t even sure the "Child of Prophecy" was real.

"Sigh. I thought it was Nagato... but now, I’m starting to doubt that."

"Then why don’t you tell me everything the Great Toad Sage said—start to finish? Maybe I’ll have a different take."

Kyoichi paused, giving Jiraiya a chance to respond.

Jiraiya hesitated.

Should he go into detail?

After a moment’s thought, he nodded.

"If it’s you... maybe you will see something different."

And with that, Jiraiya recounted the whole story—his accidental arrival, the prophecy, everything.

Even Tsunade and Orochimaru didn’t know these details.

Kyoichi, hearing it all, couldn’t help but sigh.

Man... that old toad could’ve made a killing as a fortune teller.

Too bad this world doesn’t have that profession—he’d be out of business fast.

"First off—let me ask: Do you want the Child of Prophecy to exist?"

"What do you mean?"

Jiraiya looked puzzled.

Want him to exist?

Of course he did. Otherwise, what was the point of everything he’d worked for?

"If you want him to exist, then he does. And if he doesn’t—then make one. ’Destiny’ is just another word. The past might be fixed, but the future? That’s entirely in your hands."

Jiraiya froze.

"The past is fixed, but the future is mine?"

That...

He didn’t quite understand it.

"So you’re saying... the Child of Prophecy depends on me?"

"Exactly. ’Destiny’—what a neat little word. You used the Summoning Jutsu and got lost in spacetime, right? If Mount Myōboku knew a bit of spacetime ninjutsu, they could’ve set a summoning coordinate and pulled you in. You didn’t land there because of fate—it was programming."

"Uh..." Jiraiya wanted to argue, but the more he thought about it... he couldn’t.

Mount Myōboku did have that kind of technique.

The toads could even reverse-summon contractors. If they sensed him and had the coordinates, dragging him in wasn’t hard at all.

"So what are you trying to say?"

"Maybe ’fate’ is fake. But if you treat every student like they could be the Child of Prophecy, how do you know one of them won’t become the one to save the world?"

"Wait... you can do that?"

Jiraiya’s eyes widened. His whole worldview was wobbling.

He didn’t want to agree with this logic—

But he couldn’t find any holes in it either.

"If you train each student with all your heart—pass on your beliefs, your ideals, your vision of peace—does it really matter who the Child of Prophecy is?"

Kyoichi shrugged.

"You thought it was Nagato, but maybe it’s Yahiko. Or maybe... it’s Minato. Or even Minato’s kid."

"Pfft—Minato’s kid? You’ve got some imagination. They’ve just been laying low at home, and now you’re talking about kids?"

Jiraiya had been deep in thought—serious, even. But when Kyoichi brought up "Minato’s kid," he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

That was way out there.

Kyoichi just smiled silently.

The truth is usually the last thing people believe.

Jiraiya laughed for a while, then rubbed his face and forced himself to calm down. He straightened up and said solemnly:

"But you’re right. If I teach every student with everything I’ve got, it doesn’t matter if they’re the Child of Prophecy or not."

"And if one of your students really does change the ninja world... then you were the real Child of Prophecy all along."

"The Great Toad Sage only told you the beginning and the end—it was you who guided the journey."

Kyoichi curled his lip.

These old spiritual types are the worst.

"Listening to you... makes me feel like I got conned. Hahaha..."

"Whether you did or not doesn’t really matter. Without Mount Myōboku, you wouldn’t be the Jiraiya you are today. So really, you didn’t lose anything—you gained a lot."

Kyoichi was always blunt.

Whatever Mount Myōboku’s motives were, they’d genuinely helped Jiraiya.

Ninjutsu, Sage Techniques, philosophies of peace—they’d all come from the toads.

In a way, Mount Myōboku was Jiraiya’s real teacher.

"Your take on this stuff... sounds crazy at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. And yeah... I really do believe in peace."

Jiraiya let out a long sigh, his expression now free of doubt.

Kyoichi glanced at him and added:

"Just remember—peace isn’t easy. If your whole plan is ’everyone just be nice,’ then sorry, but you’re dreaming."

"That’s just the ideal. Peace is the goal. To reach it, you need different tools and strategies. That said... I still think a world where everyone gets along is a beautiful thing."

Jiraiya gave a small cough—clearly not too confident in that last line.

Kyoichi didn’t bother arguing.

That kind of peace?

Please.

What, you’re gonna rely on Naruto and Sasuke’s power to pull that off?

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