"So in that case, it's probably something like a chameleon," Shima said.
"I've already set up a sensory barrier, just in case," Jiraiya replied.
Shima had clearly run out of patience. She didn't even try to hold back anymore. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's use biological detection and force it to reveal itself all at once."
"Hey now, don't get so worked up, kid. You'll end up with more wrinkles," Fukasaku said, trying to calm his wife's temper. Then he added, more thoughtfully, "But if you went to the trouble of summoning us, why is this guy so set on fighting you specifically, Jiraiya?"
"He's… a former student of mine."
At that answer, both Fukasaku and Shima suddenly recalled something from the past—something involving the Great Toad Sage and Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, the Great Lord had a dream about you. Just like you said, it's a prophecy. Listen carefully."
Fukasaku had called him over back then, his tone unusually serious.
Aside from Tsunade and Namikaze Minato, everyone present was hearing this for the first time—that deep within Mount Myoboku lived an ancient toad known as the Great Toad Sage, a being capable of foreseeing the future.
"Well then, I'll tell you what I saw," the Great Toad Sage had said lazily in the dream. "In my vision, I only know that you—perverted as you are—will grow into an outstanding shinobi. And you'll take on a disciple who can stand on their own. That disciple… will one day bring about a tremendous change to the shinobi world. That's what I saw."
"A change?" The younger Jiraiya hadn't quite understood, confusion written all over his face.
"A change that will bring either unprecedented peace… or utter destruction. One of the two."
Only then did everyone realize there had been such a prophecy all along.
"At first, I thought it was Minato. But it wasn't him. Then I thought it might be Nagato… but that wasn't right either. So… is it Naruto?" Jiraiya let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
He had spent his entire life searching for that child of destiny, only to raise two disciples who had both left massive marks on the shinobi world.
Nagato in particular had nearly driven Konoha to the brink of destruction. According to Kaede Kitahara's diary, he might even have been one of the key figures behind the Fourth Great Ninja War.
If Uzumaki Naruto hadn't appeared later—and if Kaede Kitahara hadn't identified him as the true savior—Jiraiya might have believed the child of prophecy was Nagato.
After all, the Great Toad Sage had never said whether the change would be good… or catastrophic.
And Nagato undeniably had the power to plunge the entire world into chaos.
Aside from Naruto, there was likely no one else capable of stopping him.
"No wonder that guy left the village so early," Tsunade muttered, realization dawning. "Always going on about some 'child of destiny,' talking about finding someone who could change the world, and scribbling all those weird books…"
Now it all made sense.
Back then, after Orochimaru became a missing-nin, Jiraiya had left Konoha under the pretense of tracking him down. But even before that, he had been constantly away, disappearing for long stretches of time.
She hadn't understood it at the time. Now, everything clicked into place.
"So that's how it was… No wonder Sensei had such high hopes for Naruto," Minato thought.
Even his own son's name had been taken from the protagonist of one of Jiraiya's novels.
But is there still time…?
Minato's thoughts turned darker. He didn't know how old Nagato was now—or whether there was still a chance to save him.
If it came down to it, he could even eliminate him in advance.
Despite his warm, sunlit demeanor, Minato was a flawless shinobi. Once he made a decision, almost nothing could shake him.
If killing Nagato early could prevent disaster, he wouldn't hesitate.
The image of the Deva Path annihilating Konoha in a single move still lingered vividly in his mind.
Even now, it sent a chill down his spine.
That catastrophe lay in the future—but its root existed in the present.
If they could find Nagato now, they could try to bring him back to Konoha. And if that failed… then elimination would have to be considered.
Just look at what the Akatsuki had become under his leadership. They recruited rogue shinobi indiscriminately, every single member an S-rank missing-nin from their respective villages.
How could Minato not be wary of someone like that?
"So the child of prophecy really is Naruto…" Hatake Kakashi murmured, a strange expression crossing his face.
Two saviors among his students—and even the next generation of the Legendary Sannin emerging from them.
The last time a teacher had produced an entire group of Kage Level disciples… that had been the Third Hokage.
"Naruto…" Uchiha Itachi whispered under his breath.
Like everyone else, he had come to the same conclusion. Combining what they had seen with Kaede Kitahara's revelations, it was clear that the one who would truly change the shinobi world wasn't the godlike Nagato of the present—
—but Uzumaki Naruto, the future Seventh Hokage.
That realization solidified something in Itachi's mind.
Entrusting Sasuke to Naruto… might actually work.
Uchiha Sasuke's expression, however, was far more conflicted. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reconcile the Naruto he knew with that future Hokage.
They felt like two completely different people—one calm, steady, and reliable… the other loud, reckless, and practically bouncing off the walls.
"The child from the prophecy?" Shima asked. "Then why are you fighting him?"
"Because it looks like he didn't grow in the right direction," Jiraiya said grimly. "And I heard he had already died, so I assumed he wasn't the one."
There was a trace of regret in his voice. Nagato had not walked the path he should have.
At that moment, Shima made her move, instantly marking the chameleon's position. In the next breath, Fukasaku unleashed a Water Release, slicing it clean in half. The summoning was forcibly undone, blood splattering across the ground.
The hidden Animal Path was finally exposed.
Those ripple-patterned eyes were unmistakable.
Jiraiya's expression hardened even further. The moment the Great Toad Sage had spoken of—the moment he would have to make a decision—had arrived.
But what he hadn't expected was for the Animal Path to immediately perform another summoning.
The Human Path and the Preta Path appeared beside it.
Blond hair.
Rippled eyes.
Three pairs of Rinnegan.
"You're the one who will bring destruction to this world. Stopping you here… that's my duty as your teacher."
Jiraiya's voice carried a quiet resolve.
But the instant he noticed that the newly summoned figures also possessed the Rinnegan, his mind went blank.
He had been about to strike a dramatic pose, clearly gearing up for one of his signature entrances—but the two sages cut him off before he could.
"That idiot… still pulling the same stunt," Tsunade groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead.
After all these years, not a thing had changed.
The others stared at the dignified Sage Mode Jiraiya… and then at his antics, their expressions turning blank with disbelief.
The contrast was almost painful.
At that moment, the Human Path made the first move, lunging forward—only to be kicked away by Jiraiya, who had been ready for it.
In the next instant, Jiraiya and the two sages unleashed a combined senjutsu attack.
"Senjutsu—Goemon!"
A raging tide of oil, wind, and fire surged forward, swallowing everything in its path.
Then the Preta Path smiled.
And the entire attack… vanished.
The inferno that should have incinerated anything in its way was absorbed completely, leaving nothing behind.
The sudden turn of events stunned both Jiraiya and the two sages.
With no other option, Jiraiya shifted to close combat to probe their abilities. He kicked off his wooden sandals, his hands becoming more toad-like, and launched himself forward like a coiled spring.
At the same time, he formed a massive Rasengan.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
The enormous sphere of chakra crashed down, enough to obliterate an entire building in an instant.
And yet—
before everyone's eyes, the Preta Path absorbed it just as easily.
Only then did they finally understand what had happened earlier.
It hadn't disappeared.
It had been absorbed.
"So he can absorb ninjutsu… Is that why—"
Jiraiya was forced into a tough fight. Even when he tried to attack the Human Path from behind, it blocked him effortlessly.
Confusion flickered through his mind.
That should have been a blind spot. Did they have some kind of vision ability?
But he clearly remembered asking Nagato about the Rinnegan back when it first awakened. It didn't grant any kind of x-ray vision.
And yet, no matter how he attacked from behind, they reacted as if they could see everything.
Something was off.
They didn't communicate.
There were no signals.
No preparatory movements.
And still, they dodged every single attack.
"Even if all three of them are sensory-type shinobi, they shouldn't be able to respond perfectly to attacks they haven't seen," Jiraiya thought, his expression tightening. "Hair Needle Senbon is the widest-range technique I have. The only way to defend against it is with something like a shield… but he made that call without even looking."
His eyes narrowed.
"These aren't ordinary clones."
The more he observed, the stranger their reactions felt.
And then, Fukasaku voiced a far more terrifying possibility.