"Move! Move! Move aside!"
Seeing the talisman fly out from inside the shrine, Jiraiya leapt up at once and caught it in his hand.
Back when he first used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to arrive at Mount Myoboku, Gamabunta had still been a little toad.
The two of them had trained together, played together, and fought together on Mount Myoboku.
It could be said that Jiraiya had watched Gamabunta grow up.
Among all the toads of Mount Myoboku, if Jiraiya had to choose the one he was closest to, it would undoubtedly be Gamabunta.
That was why, seeing Gamabunta reduced to this state, Jiraiya was beyond anxious.
Holding the talisman in both hands, Jiraiya carefully walked up to Gamabunta.
After he placed the talisman on Gamabunta's forehead, a dense green light suddenly burst from it.
Immediately afterward, Gamabunta's body, which had already lost all signs of life, regained its vitality.
He opened his eyes and first looked around in slight confusion.
Then Gamabunta asked in bewilderment, "Wasn't I dead?!"
Fukasaku jumped onto Jiraiya's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "The Great Toad Sage used a talisman capable of bringing the dead back to life to save you."
Gamabunta was shocked. "Is the Great Toad Sage all right?"
"He is fine. The Great Toad Sage spoke with His Majesty the Emperor for a long time, and he has now fallen asleep."
"From today onward, we of Mount Myoboku are to obey every command given by His Majesty the Emperor."
After hearing Fukasaku's words, Gamabunta recalled the terrifying pressure he had felt earlier when facing Yuzuru.
Before this emperor of the shinobi world, even the Great Toad Sage could only compromise...
As if seeing through Gamabunta's thoughts, Shima reminded him, "Gamabunta, the Great Toad Sage's intentions are not something we can presume to understand. We only need to obey his orders."
Gamabunta nodded and said nothing more.
No matter what reason the Great Toad Sage had for making this decision, it had to be the choice most beneficial to Mount Myoboku.
No matter how displeased he was, all he needed to do was obey.
After coming to terms with that, Gamabunta said, "Jiraiya, we should be fine now, but the Emperor won't hold you responsible too, will he?"
Hearing Gamabunta's words, Jiraiya smiled.
He patted his own chest. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"Strictly speaking, that guy Yuzuru is still my disciple!"
Although the other party had most likely done it for Nadeshiko Shizuka back then, no matter how one looked at it, he had personally acknowledged Jiraiya as his teacher.
But the moment Jiraiya finished speaking, Fukasaku and Shima froze in place.
They exchanged a glance, then slowly said, "Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage once prophesied that the Child of Prophecy, the one who could bring peace to the shinobi world, would become your disciple."
"Do you think His Majesty the Emperor... could be the Child of Prophecy?"
Jiraiya froze.
He really had never thought of that before...
After all, in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, his teachings would influence the Child of Prophecy's choice.
With a single difference in thought, the Child of Prophecy might change from someone who brought peace to the shinobi world into someone who brought disaster upon it.
And he should not have taught Yuzuru anything.
Unless...
The fact that he had acted as a matchmaker for Yuzuru just happened to make Yuzuru choose the right path?
Although it sounded ridiculous, Jiraiya could not think of a better explanation.
Feeling the gazes of the surrounding toads, Jiraiya deliberately put on a profound expression and said, "That's right. Yuzuru should be the Child of Prophecy spoken of by the Great Toad Sage!"
After hearing this answer, the last traces of resistance the toads of Mount Myoboku felt toward Yuzuru vanished like smoke.
They were willing to serve the Child of Prophecy, someone the Great Toad Sage had recognized long ago!
Even Gamabunta, who had always been unhappy with Yuzuru, completely changed his attitude and took the initiative to remind Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, if you get the chance, apologize to His Majesty the Emperor on my behalf."
Yuzuru had no idea that the toads of Mount Myoboku and Jiraiya had already decided he was the Child of Prophecy.
At this moment, he had already taken the information he had gathered and arrived at Orochimaru's experimental base.
The current experimental base had already expanded to an absurd scale.
Fortunately, when it was first built, he had chosen the Forest of Death. Otherwise, carrying out such a large-scale expansion would have been truly difficult.
"Lord Yuzuru?"
Looking at the handsome white-haired young man before him, Yuzuru was somewhat surprised. "Kimimaro, why are you here?"
"I have been following Lord Orochimaru for a very long time now."
Facing Yuzuru, Kimimaro showed a trace of excitement. His tone was slightly eager as he recounted his experiences over the years.
Back then, after the Kaguya clan had been brought to Konoha by Yuzuru and settled there, Kimimaro had also been sent to the Ninja Academy to study.
Later, with Orochimaru's help, his kekkei genkai disease was cured, and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds until he reached the level of an elite jonin.
In the previous campaigns against foreign enemies, he had also earned the title of "Cold-Boned Kimimaro."
After the shinobi world later settled down, he encountered a peer named Jugo who had lost control of his senses during a patrol mission.
After stopping Jugo's rampage, Kimimaro discovered that once Jugo regained his reason, his personality was unexpectedly gentle.
Gradually, the two became friends.
Later, Kimimaro, who had never liked living together with his clan, simply came straight to Orochimaru's experimental base and usually helped out as an assistant.
After listening to Kimimaro's account, Yuzuru smiled and nodded.
"Kimimaro, the flower I discovered back then has now found the meaning of life."
Kimimaro froze for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Lord Yuzuru, you gave me a new life, cured my kekkei genkai disease, and allowed me to possess the strength I have now. And yet I ran here to do odd jobs..."
"It does not matter," Yuzuru said calmly. "No matter where a flower blooms, it does not affect its original beauty."
"The meaning of the journey called life is not found in what you have done, but in what you have experienced."
"As long as you like it, that is enough."
"Kimimaro, you have not disappointed me."
After hearing Yuzuru's praise, Kimimaro felt his blood surge. For some reason, his eyes reddened uncontrollably.
He straightened his body, then bowed. "I understand, Lord Yuzuru!"
Just then, the door to the operating room opened, and Orochimaru walked out with a tall, muscular blond man.
After seeing Yuzuru, a faint smile appeared on Orochimaru's soft, sinister face.
"Yuzuru-kun, it has been a long time."
"Did you come here this time because you brought me something good again?"
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Yuzuru did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the blond man beside him.
"Orochimaru, who is this guy?"
"Jugo."