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As he followed Fukasaku at high speed toward the center of Mount Myōboku, Akio kept his sensory abilities active.
"There are chakra signatures... thirty, maybe forty?" A few of them were faint and unclear, leaving Akio unsure.
"Mount Myōboku is like a small hidden village. There are both ninja toads and civilian toads."
Upon reaching the summit, a palace appeared before Akio. The strong chakra he had sensed was coming from within it.
Akio examined the structure, his expression turning strange. "Fukasaku-sennin, why is the palace designed like this? It's eating itself?"
Even the palace in Mount Myōboku was shaped like a toad. The entrance was a toad's mouth, which Akio found difficult to accept.
"How do you know my name is Fukasaku?"
The old toad's question made Akio freeze.
"Uh, didn't you say it before?"
"From start to finish, I've only said one sentence to you. I never mentioned my name."
Akio chuckled awkwardly. "Who knows? Maybe you did. Or maybe I dreamed it or something..."
Fukasaku's expression turned odd. "You even know about the Great Elder's abilities?"
Akio paused, about to change the subject, when another elderly toad—Shima—arrived with Jiraiya in tow.
"You old hag, what are you doing here too?" Jiraiya's expression was exaggerated. "What the heck is this place?"
Akio sighed. "This is the afterlife. My time was up. I didn't expect someone as young as you to be dragged here by the toad reapers..."
Jiraiya was horrified. "I used Reverse Summoning Technique! How could I end up in the afterlife? I, the great Jiraiya, have no intention of dying young…"
Then he paused, his expression twitching. "You old hag, you're messing with me, aren't you? There's no way the reapers are toads."
He looked around. "And they're old male and female toads at that."
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged glances. "Both of you, the Great Elder awaits. Come inside!"
"'Both of you'...?" Akio's expression froze. Nearly a hundred years old, and they were still calling him a kid. But looking at these two eight-hundred-year-old toads, he decided to let it slide.
Akio entered the toad palace with a face full of distaste. Jiraiya, on the other hand, didn't mind the toads and remained calm.
Inside the palace, Akio finally saw the Great Toad Sage—an embodiment of pure senjutsu chakra—reclining on a massive vine chair, eyes closed as if in deep sleep.
Unlike the curious Jiraiya, who looked around like a child, Akio wasn't interested in the surroundings. His heart was filled with tension.
He wasn't worried about the Great Toad Sage attacking him—despite the immense difference in chakra levels, victory in battle wasn't guaranteed. What truly worried him was whether his presence had altered the sage's prophecies.
In his previous life, though the Great Toad Sage appeared only a few times, every prophecy he made came true—especially the one about the Child of Prophecy.
"Young one, you've finally come."
At some point, the Great Toad Sage had opened his eyes and was staring directly at Jiraiya.
Startled, Jiraiya wiped sweat from his brow and muttered, "So he's alive..." Akio cringed on his behalf.
Clearly, the Great Toad Sage ignored Jiraiya's rudeness and spoke slowly, "Hundreds of years ago, I had the only prophecy concerning myself. It said that you would come to Mount Myōboku and form a contract with our toad clan."
"A contract?" Jiraiya blinked. "Old hag! You really were messing with me. This place isn't the afterlife at all!"
Akio was taken aback and couldn't help but laugh. After all that dramatic belief, it turned out Jiraiya had only half bought into it.
"Fukasaku, bring the contract scroll."
"Yes, Great Elder."
"Hey, I haven't agreed to anything yet—" Jiraiya began, but Akio used his gravity ability to clamp his mouth shut.
Akio smiled. "Great Toad Sage, he agrees." Jiraiya could only mumble helplessly.
At last, the Great Toad Sage turned his gaze to Akio, pondering for a moment.
"And who are you?"
Akio's face darkened. What was going on? You summoned me here, and now you've forgotten who I am? You really are senile…
Jiraiya twitched uncontrollably beside him. Alarmed, Akio quickly released the gravity pressure.
"Huff... huff... Are you trying to kill me, you freak?" Jiraiya gasped.
Akio chuckled awkwardly, having been distracted by the old sage's memory lapse and almost suffocating Jiraiya.
The Great Toad Sage continued to ponder, until Shima gently reminded him, "Great Elder, this is Uzumaki Akio. You summoned him."
"Uzumaki Akio…" the sage repeated, then nodded. "Now I remember."
Akio smiled. "Any prophecies about me? What kind are they? Am I the tragic ender of fates or a reliable old mentor?"
"In my dream, you fight a young man with eyes like those of Hagoromo. The battle brings disaster and destruction."
Akio's smile froze. "A young man with the Rinnegan? A battle? Disaster and destruction?"
"Impossible…"
His heart sank. The only one with the Rinnegan should be Madara. Did that mean Madara would successfully be resurrected—and his opponent would be Akio himself?
"Why me? What about Naruto and Sasuke? Don't tell me I changed the plot so much it erased them…"
Depressed, Akio suddenly paused. "Wait... Jiraiya still ended up here. The Child of Prophecy..."
Just as he was about to ask, the Great Toad Sage continued on his own:
"I didn't foresee the outcome of the battle, but I saw that while you fight, other fierce battles rage elsewhere."
"There's more than one opponent?" Akio frowned. "Who else? Obito?"
"No. Unless something unexpected happens, it won't be him."
"Great Toad Sage, did you see who my opponent is?" Akio hesitated, then asked.
"Could it be Nagato... or even Sasuke?" he muttered to himself.
"I didn't see his face clearly," the sage shook his head. "But I did see that he had black hair."
Akio tensed. "Not Nagato."
"And his hair was tied into side buns."
That detail made Akio's face change drastically.
"Side buns? Who the hell...?" His mind raced through potential candidates, but none fit.
"Rinnegan... not Madara, not Sasuke…" Akio was deeply confused. "I've changed the plot too much. Something unknown is about to happen."
Meanwhile, Fukasaku had brought the contract scroll. Jiraiya no longer resisted—he could tell from Akio's demeanor that this was a powerful summoning clan.
Signing the contract only earned Akio 10 Witness Points, but he had no time to care.
"Who is it... someone who'll fight me in the future… and it'll be an even match?" Akio fell into deep thought.
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