A while later, the Great Toad Sage woke up. He blinked groggily, as if he'd lost his memory, and looked around in confusion. When he spotted the people below, he was about to recite his usual greeting—
"Great Toad Sage, no time for jokes. Something big has happened..."
Sage Fukasaku knew exactly what the elder sage wanted to say—probably another one of his playful lines like "Who goes there?"—but this clearly wasn't the time.
The Great Toad Sage chuckled a few times, then spoke at his usual unhurried pace: "What's going on? You seem unusually worked up."
"Please take a look at this manga."
Fukasaku quickly stepped forward and held out the manga volume before the Great Toad Sage.
Though the book seemed quite small for someone his size, it didn't matter—despite his age, his eyes were still sharp enough to read the text and see the illustrations clearly.
As Sage Fukasaku flipped through each page, the Great Toad Sage remained silent, watching everything unfold with a calm, unshaken expression.
Once the pages were flipped through, Sage Fukasaku took a deep breath and spoke. "Lord, what do you think we should do now? First, the prophecy has already been leaked. Second, according to Jiraiya's report, Madara Uchiha may still be alive—and he now possesses the Rinnegan."
"Oh, that certainly is some serious news. Ha ha!"
Whether from fatigue or old age, even his laughter dragged slightly. Though his words acknowledged the severity, not a single trace of worry appeared on his face.
If not for the mention of Madara, he might not have said anything at all.
The Great Toad Sage fell silent for quite some time before slowly continuing, "Didn't I already make myself clear when I summoned that boy last time?"
"Huh?"
Fukasaku was puzzled by the remark and immediately found himself confused.
"The future has already been altered. What I saw back then might no longer apply—I never claimed those visions would come true. If something isn't destined to happen, can it really be called a prophecy? Let it leak then."
Leaning back in his chair, the Great Toad Sage appeared completely unfazed.
He had never officially declared any of these dream visions as prophecies. They were merely glimpses of possibilities, things that might come to pass—or might not. The term "prophecy" itself was nothing more than an assumption made by Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima.
Still, Fukasaku's interpretation wasn't entirely incorrect. After all, compared to the unknown, grasping onto known truths was always more valuable.
From that perspective, eliminating variables to ensure a favorable outcome might actually be beneficial.
However, the Great Toad Sage held a different view. After a pause, he resumed speaking in his usual leisurely tone: "The future has already been altered. If we wished to correct it, intervention should've occurred the moment my dreams first went astray. But how can you be certain the path you fix will lead toward salvation?"
"This..."
Taken aback at first, Sage Fukasaku gradually began to understand.
"I met that boy before. He carries the aura of the Six Paths' bloodline—truly immense potential. Even if he isn't the Child of the Prophecy, proper cultivation could grant him the strength to oppose Madara. Under such circumstances, chasing after uncertain possibilities becomes unnecessary."
The Great Toad Sage continued explaining.
A wave of shame washed over Sage Fukasaku.
He realized he'd misunderstood the Great Toad Sage all along—but at least Akaba's power turned out to be more than enough.
Yet moments later, a new thought struck him.
Does the Six Paths' aura within this child suggest an ancestral connection between the Sakuma clan and Hagoromo's bloodline?
Sage Fukasaku was stunned. He looked up at the Great Toad Sage beside him.
"Haha…"
The Great Toad Sage softly chuckled, then instantly fell asleep without giving him another glance.
When wisdom is rare, it's wise to play dumb!
Sage Fukasaku closed the manga and finally figured out what the Great Toad Sage meant.
A ruined prophecy naturally no longer counted for anything.
If Akaba had released this information, he must've been ready to face off against Madara Uchiha and other potential enemies. Mount Myoboku had no need to interfere.
"Old man, how is it going?"
"The Great Toad said Akaba could be another Child of the Prophecy. Furthermore, the ancestors of the Sakuma clan likely possessed Hagoromo's bloodline, which explains their tremendous spiritual energy."
Sage Fukasaku spouted nonsense freely.
Sage Shima was momentarily stunned. The Sakuma clan having a connection with the Sage of Six Paths was an extremely shocking secret.
However, upon closer thought, there were indeed some similarities—Ido, powerful spiritual energy, Kekkei Genkai—reminiscent of the Uchiha, although only slightly so.
"If that's the case, isn't Akaba really possibly Indra's descendant? Then what should we do next?"
Confused, Sage Shima couldn't think clearly and couldn't come up with a plan.
After pondering for a moment, Sage Fukasaku replied, "I'll go pay Konoha a visit."
Madara's abilities and talents matched Indra's—if not gone beyond. No matter what, he was Mount Myoboku's top priority. Everything else—including the truth behind Akaba's Hagoromo bloodline—was insignificant.
Konoha manga shop.
Akaba finished today's manga chapter and was about to head out for a bit of lazy-time relaxation. After updating the chapter today, many people came asking questions about Sage Mode and Sage Arts.
As for Jiraiya's death, everyone treated it purely as part of the story plot—entertainment; nothing more.
Actually, the real Jiraiya was living comfortably overseas with absolutely no danger or need for anyone to worry on his behalf.
Yet, what was coming next would be another major episode.
The bittersweet conflict between Itachi and Sasuke.
Currently, Sasuke didn't possess the Mangekyo Sharingan yet, and in terms of strength, he definitely couldn't rival Itachi. However, Itachi's severe illness had significantly deteriorated his physical condition.
He only had the strength for one last fight.
More accurately, it wasn't so much that Sasuke found Itachi—it was that Itachi waited until Sasuke arrived, deliberately allowing Sasuke to discover his trail. Before meeting Sasuke, Itachi even visited Naruto first, setting up a crucial move.
This section would be quite challenging to draw.
"Well, at least I'm piggybacking off of giants."
Akaba stood up and stretched lazily.
Stepping out from the manga shop, he originally planned to grab something to eat at his place before heading back home for a nap. But just after sitting down, a toad hopped over and sat itself down right in front of him.
Since Jiraiya wasn't around, Sage Fukasaku had come himself.
Nowadays in Konoha, people had become accustomed to seeing toads walking around, so nobody gave them a second glance anymore. Still, some passersby noticed this toad seemed rather old and different from the usual ones.
Those who had read the manga recognized him instantly.
This was Sage Fukasaku!
"Lord Fukasaku… um, would you like something to drink?"
Akaba appeared slightly surprised but quickly understood the situation. He turned the menu toward Fukasaku, letting the sage choose whatever he wanted.
Fukasaku casually ordered a glass of juice.
Before the juice arrived, he squatted down and said, "Akaba, today Great Toad Sage received a new prophecy."
"Oh?"
Akaba lifted his eyes. This opening surprised him.
"He said you might be the new Child of the Prophecy, and that you could carry the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. I suspect it leans toward Indra's lineage, possibly related to the Sakuma clan."
Sage Fukasaku spoke in a hushed tone.
But his words shocked Akaba greatly. The Sakuma clan definitely didn't have Indra's bloodline—that was a descendant bloodline of Indra which he had worked extremely hard to obtain.
"There's no need to be so shocked. Great Toad Sage, who once accompanied the Sage of Six Paths, would never make such a mistake. You definitely possess a bloodline from the Sage's lineage, but it's deeply hidden and rather diluted."
Sage Fukasaku explained.
"Is that so? I had absolutely no idea. Our clan history never mentioned anything like this."
Akaba murmured.
Well then, they've made up everything already. So that meant when he visited Mount Myoboku last time and confronted Great Toad Sage directly, his subtle aura had been detected.
But Great Toad Sage's attitude mirrored Danzo's—whatever benefited the Ninja World, he'd turn a blind eye and pretend not to know.
That was the underlying implication in what Fukasaku said.
After all, Akaba knew that Great Toad Sage wouldn't help fabricate lies, but at most just pretend not to know.
What a convenient arrangement!
"Cough, back then when Indra left, nobody knew exactly what happened afterward. Asura's line favored the Sage's body, while your clan has strong spiritual power, so it should belong to Indra's branch."
Sage Fukasaku continued quietly.
Indeed, as long as one possessed sufficient strength, people would conveniently ignore certain details.
Sometimes it's good to turn a blind eye now and then.
However, the implication was clear—the issues within the bloodline were trivial; Mount Myoboku would take full responsibility, but Akaba would still have to confront the matter regarding Madara.
At least now, the identity of being the "Child of the Prophecy" was something he couldn't shake off.
Akaba took a deep breath and said in pretended shock: "Great Toad Sage says I'm the Child of the Prophecy, which is too kind of him. But please rest assured, Madara has always been Konoha's enemy. Whether for Konoha or the entire Ninja World, I will defeat him!"
"Good then. If there's nothing else, I should return first. There's plenty to handle back at Mount Myoboku."
Sage Fukasaku stood up, then thought for a moment before taking a big sip from the cup of juice.
Delicious!
So he sat down again, finished his drink, and hopped away happily.
Thinking it over, Akaba rose and headed toward the Uchiha clan residence.
Now that Mount Myoboku had his back, he naturally wanted to lean on their name for support, and besides, he needed to discuss the topic of Kaleidoscope Sharingan and Eternal Kaleidoscope Sharingan with Motonami Uchiha.
If it came down to a fight to the death with Madara, there'd be no time to fret over where the Sharingan or Rinnegan came from. He'd use whatever kept him alive.
Now that Mount Myoboku publicly took this stance, he could easily use their name as cover.
Thus, if he "accidentally" possessed the Sharingan later on, the Uchiha wouldn't be too upset, avoiding the awkwardness between Kakashi and the Uchiha clan.
Recently, Motonami Uchiha had been quite busy and rarely stayed within the clan compound. If Akaba wanted to see him, he should head straight to the Military Police headquarters.
Akaba had extensive connections within the Military Police and quickly got in touch with Motonami Uchiha.
Motonami Uchiha knew Akaba quite well.
He never dropped by without a purpose. If he showed up, something was definitely going on—and it was usually a big deal.
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