CHAPTER 346: CHAPTER 346: THE GREAT TOAD SAGE’S PROPHECY

Playing riddles again, huh?

Orochimaru couldn’t help but mutter inwardly.

Still—

good things are worth waiting for.

They didn’t yet know what the full situation was, but in time, even he would sense the subtle shifts inside the tree. Just as Kyoichi had said, for now the key was to preserve this portion of chakra, preventing the tree from devouring it all.

Kyoichi left behind one of his shadow clones.

At this point, he was seriously short on clones—since Minato had returned, he’d stopped stationing them in the ANBU headquarters entirely, throwing all the work onto Minato instead.

If Minato were willing, Kyoichi would happily hand over the ANBU Captain’s position too. After all, he’d only taken the post in the first place to ensure his policies in Konoha were carried out. Now that the village was running smoothly, the title was little more than an obstacle to his rest.

If not Minato, then Gekkō Hayate would’ve been next in line. Truthfully, Hayate already handled most of the administrative work—unfortunately, his strength was the problem.

A tokubetsu jōnin might be decent among the general ninja population, but within ANBU, that only put him in the middle ranks. For an ANBU Captain, that simply wasn’t enough.

A few days later, the imitation God Tree, cultivated from the First Hokage’s cells, had grown visibly denser.

Although Kyoichi had sealed the Ten-Tails’ chakra and left a clone maintaining the balance between the nine tailed beasts’ chakra, the Ten-Tails’ chakra was still extraordinary.

Its nature alone was unique, and when combined with the Senju cells’ sage chakra, the result was something bizarre and unpredictable.

At first, the tree had simply absorbed chakra and nutrients from its surroundings. But now—it had begun drawing power from the leylines of the earth. Its transformation came from that connection.

Kyoichi could feel the change.

That was the God Tree’s innate nature.

"How’s it looking?" Orochimaru asked.

"Hmm? If you mean the tree, it’s stable now," Kyoichi replied. "It’s no longer growing out of control, but... its potential limit might be an issue."

He glanced up toward the hollowed-out roof of the mountain.

Honestly—

the interior of the mountain had already been carved out extensively. The tree might not expand chaotically anymore, but as long as it absorbed the earth’s energy, it would continue to grow.

"So eventually," Orochimaru mused, "this mountain’s going to collapse?"

"Probably..."

Kyoichi nodded.

A sly grin tugged at Orochimaru’s lips. "Then you’d better think of a good excuse for Tsunade and the Third. That mountain’s connected to the Hokage Rock, remember?"

"’Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die.’"

"You think the old man will let that slide?"

Orochimaru sneered.

Sure, you could always rebuild it—but the Hokage Rock wasn’t just a monument; it was a symbol of Konoha itself. Its meaning couldn’t simply be replaced by a new carving.

Kyoichi rubbed his temples. He really didn’t feel like dealing with that right now.

At least the tree hadn’t reached a dangerous level yet. If things got bad, he could always transplant it somewhere else—say, the Forest of Death.

That place was already full of strange and deadly creatures. Between Orochimaru’s failed sage experiments and now this imitation God Tree, it would truly live up to its name soon enough.

"Still not tempted to test it inside the Gedo Statue?" Orochimaru asked.

Kyoichi shook his head. "We could, but there’s no point."

He reinforced the seals around the tree’s chakra, layering complex markings that only he, Kushina, and a handful of others could undo. It was protection against theft—or worse.

Orochimaru chuckled. "You really aren’t even a little curious?"

"Not in the slightest."

Because he already knew exactly what it was.

---

The Gedo Statue?

It was nothing but the corpse of the Ten-Tails—

the God Tree itself, and the body of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

What was there to test?

Even if he did test it, this little amount of Ten-Tails chakra would barely make a ripple. Kaguya would absorb it all before anything useful came of it.

Not worth the cost.

"Let’s go."

"Your clone?" Orochimaru asked.

"Leaving it here—just in case certain people decide to tamper with things."

Orochimaru twitched a smile. He knew Kyoichi’s "certain people" didn’t mean just him, but also Madara’s remnants—agents who excelled in infiltration. Even with all their precautions, nothing was ever truly secure.

Kyoichi’s main body departed.

The Ten-Tails’ chakra was handled—though whether it was truly "pure" Ten-Tails chakra remained uncertain.

He still had plenty of sage chakra sealed within his Yin Seal, so there was no rush to use it. But someday, he’d need to test it—

and if he really could recreate Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei,

then Black Zetsu’s little schemes would meet a rude awakening.

However—

Just as he stepped out of the research site, Minato came rushing over.

"Kyoichi—"

"What is it?"

"Sensei sent word. He wants us to go to Mount Myōboku together. The Great Toad Sage has awakened... and he wishes to see you."

"Oh?"

Now that was a surprise—

a small one, but a surprise nonetheless.

Kyoichi paused, thinking deeply.

The Great Toad Sage...

That old diviner frog.

Mostly talk, half riddles—but his so-called "prophecies," real or not, had fooled people across generations. He did seem to know pieces of the future, though, and Kyoichi wasn’t afraid of him.

As far as power went, Kyoichi had little to fear from Myōboku now. Worst case, he could always teleport home.

And if it came to it—he could summon the real Katsuyu from Shikkotsu Forest straight into Myōboku to "discuss" things properly.

"...Fine. Let’s go."

"Right."

Minato summoned a toad messenger, and moments later, both of them appeared at Mount Myōboku.

The moment they landed, Kyoichi spotted two small figures waiting for them—

Fukasaku and Shima.

"Honored Sages," Kyoichi greeted with a respectful nod.

"Ahem, no need for that," Fukasaku said warmly. "You’re from Shikkotsu Forest, aren’t ya? This time, the Great Toad Sage foresaw your arrival—that’s why we asked Minato to bring you here."

He was unusually polite—

especially after seeing Kyoichi in person.

From this young man, he could sense traces of Hashirama Senju—

yet, in some ways, Kyoichi might even surpass the First Hokage.

Hashirama’s Sage Body was innate,

but this boy had trained his way to it through the Shikkotsu path—discipline, talent, and patience of the highest order.

Perhaps, as the Great Toad Sage had foretold—

This one was no ordinary man.

Kyoichi, on the other hand, was quietly stunned.

He knew his own origins well enough—he didn’t even belong to this world.

Yet the Great Toad Sage had managed to prophesy his existence?

Now that was impressive.

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