In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

The structure inside is similar to the interior of a tower, about seven stories high. The light is dim, and stone statues of the ancestors of the toads from past generations lined the walls.

Fukasaku kept walking, while Jiraiya seemed familiar with the place. Naruto had a lot of questions in his mind but couldn't say them out loud, so he could only follow them silently with his head down.

After passing through a stone gate, they entered a larger tunnel. The ground beneath their feet was made of massive slabs of smooth blue stone.

The moment Naruto stepped inside, he felt a chill.

Tap tap tap…

The sound of their footsteps echoed through the tunnel, making Naruto shiver involuntarily.

" Pervy Sage, how much farther?"

"Not much, just ahead." Jiraiya replied. Noticing Naruto's discomfort, he grinned smugly, "Naruto, do you know how the stone tiles beneath your feet were made?"

"Uh…" Naruto wanted to say that he didn't care.

However, Jiraiya spoke mysteriously, "They were made using Senjutsu. The whole huge bluestone was split open by hand, and it is as smooth as if it was cut with a sword."

"Is it really that crazy?" Naruto asked skeptically, "Are you just trying to trick me into learning Senjutsu?"

"Hehe, well..." Seeing that his intentions were exposed, Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly and said, "How can it be called lying when it comes to Shinobi matters?"

"Jiraiya-chan is right. Learning Senjutsu will benefit you." Fukasaku, who was walking at the front, said without turning his head. "Senjutsu grants power beyond that of ordinary Shinobi, but it also comes with risks."

He stopped and effortlessly pushed open a stone door several hundred times his own size. A faint light filtered through. Inside was a massive underground stone palace, and at the far end, a huge elderly toad was sleeping.

"We've arrived. Let's go meet the Great Toad Sage." Fukasaku said as he stepped aside and walked inside, jumping onto a stone platform.

"Don't worry, the Great Toad Sage is very easy to talk to." Jiraiya stood outside the stone door and patted Naruto's shoulder gently, "Just follow me."

"Alright." Naruto didn't feel much and looked up at the underground palace again.

Compared to the one he had seen on the island of the Uzumaki clan, this underground palace is different. The underground palace in Mount Myoboku had an ancient and majestic feel to it. The dim light came from four massive oil lamps on the walls, fueled by toad oil.

At the end of the hall was a large stone staircase, atop which sat an enormous stone chair. The elderly toad lay there, its massive, wrinkled body slumped, eyes closed, radiating a peaceful and solemn aura.

The ceiling was supported by huge stone pillars, carved with precision that seemed almost supernatural. If someone told Naruto these were shaped by hand using Senjutsu, it would seem rather over-the-top… However, with the temperaments of the toads from Mount Myoboku, it wouldn't be surprising if they had done it that way.

Jiraiya and Naruto stopped at the base of the steps, waiting respectfully.

"Great Toad Sage!" Fukasaku stood on a small stone platform below the steps, calling out to wake the sleeping old toad, "Jiraiya-chan is here with his disciple."

"Hmm? Oh, they've arrived? Who was it again?" The Great Toad Sage opened his eyes.

"Great Toad Sage, it's Jiraiya, and his disciple." Fukasaku repeated, feeling a bit helpless, "You've met him before, it's Jiraiya-chan!"

"Oh! I remember now! Wonderful! Jiraiya-chan hasn't changed a bit. Still hasn't grown taller after all these years?" The Great Toad Sage murmured, looking a little confused.

"And why's your hair blonde now? I could've sworn it was white."

"Great Toad Sage, I'm Jiraiya. Long time no see." Jiraiya laughed heartily, then patted Naruto's shoulder. "This is my disciple, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Jiraiya-chan, oh, why are you old too?" The Great Toad Sage had no airs of a senior figure. His eyes could barely open, squinting as he spoke.

"People naturally age. It's been decades." Jiraiya replied, his tone tinged with nostalgia. In the blink of an eye, half of his life had already passed.

"Oh, and that's your disciple?" The Great Toad Sage asked.

Hearing himself being mentioned, Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous, 'Would this old toad say mention the 'Child of Prophecy' again?'

"Yes, Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya-chan has brought him to learn Senjutsu." Fukasaku confirmed.

"Oh, Senjutsu, huh? Well, go on then." The Great Toad Sage gave Naruto a brief glance through his barely open eyes, then suddenly stopped, as if lost in thought, like someone with dementia.

"Didn't you mention the prophecy about Jiraiya-chan last time?" Fukasaku pressed, "Great Toad Sage, do you still remember?"

"Yes, yes, I remember. But Jiraiya-chan's future has changed. He will continue to travel and eventually settle down in one place." The Great Toad Sage said, still squinting.

"It will be a lively place, full of people."

"Settle down?" Jiraiya's expression turned strange, "Great Toad Sage, that place wouldn't happen to be Konoha, would it?"

Jiraiya had lived a life of freedom and wasn't used to staying in one place for long. So the thought of settling down anywhere, even Konoha, seemed unlikely to him.

"No." The Great Toad Sage replied, then shifted his gaze to Naruto.

"Your fate has changed because of your disciple, Jiraiya-chan. You've taken on a good student. Don't resist the flow of destiny… Change is coming to the Shinobi World."

"Is he the Child of Prophecy?" Fukasaku asked, eager for confirmation.

"No." The Great Toad Sage denied, " He's not the Child of Prophecy. However, I've seen a vision of him in the future of the Shinobi World."

"Then what is he?" Fukasaku was stunned. If Naruto wasn't the Child of Prophecy, then he wondered what was the strange figure he had seen.

The Great Toad Sage's voice grew older and more somber, "The night was torn apart, and the yellow spring water flowed backwards. The dead crawled out from the ground, and there was a sea of blood and dry bones everywhere."

Hearing this, both Jiraiya and Naruto were stunned. Naruto's pupils also dilated slightly, 'He was not talking about the 'Dream Master' Kabuto, was he? Seas of blood and bones were easy to understand. likely a reference to the Fourth Shinobi World War.

'But the part about 'the night was torn apart' was bizarre. Only the Otsutsuki Clan could manage something like that, right? And what was the deal with the 'yellow waters flowing backward'?'

"Is it the end of the world?" Fukasaku asked, deeply concerned.

"I don't know." The Great Toad Sage replied casually, leaving it at that.

Fukasaku was equally shocked, but since the Great Elder had spoken, he no longer had any doubts about Naruto. Even though the towering soul still couldn't be explained, it was good to know that Jiraiya's new disciple wasn't some sort of dangerous anomaly.

Although Mount Myoboku is powerful, when faced with bizarre and unknown forces, they still couldn't be too cautious. Fukasaku's wariness was for the sake of both Mount Myoboku and Jiraiya.

As they exited the stone palace, Fukasaku turned to Jiraiya.

"It's mealtime, let's eat first."

At those words, Jiraiya's face turned pale, and he suddenly felt some indigestion coming on. Naruto's expression also soured, 'Damn it, I'd forgotten about this… the bug feast!'

…

Konoha.

Hinata sank into the bathtub, then slowly floated back up. There's a faint look of frustration crossing her face.

Her skin, smooth as jade, had turned a flushed pink from the hot water. Half of her long hair was wet, trailing into the bathtub. She gazed up at the ceiling light in the bathroom, with the water below her crystal clear.

Time felt like it was passing too slowly. Hinata wanted to grow up quickly, but while her body was developing faster than her peers, her strength improvement was very slow.

She had tried a new approach, focusing entirely on the Byakugan, which had once made her feel so inferior.

Fortunately, it has finally produced some results recently. She wanted to share the news with Naruto, but when it came down to it, she couldn't summon the courage.