The establishment of the Medical Department, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's forceful promotion, was completed with unprecedented speed.
Tsunade was full of energy, practically moving her entire home into the newly built Medical Department building.
Orochimaru was also filled with enthusiasm for this opportunity that allowed him to openly dissect... ah, no, to study the human body.
The entire village of Konoha was immersed in a fervent atmosphere of construction.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also enjoyed a few days of leisure.
However, the good times did not last long.
On this day, Team Sarutobi was in an ancient forest in the southern part of the Land of Fire, carrying out an A-rank exploration mission.
The mission was to investigate a newly discovered ancient ruin.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken this mission mainly to let his three students see the world, and incidentally, to see if there were any unexpected gains.
As it turned out, the unexpected did indeed arrive.
"Sensei! Tsunade! Come and see! There's a really weird scroll here!"
Jiraiya's boisterous voice came from deep within the ruins.
Tsunade and Orochimaru exchanged a look, both a little helpless. This dead-last was always so unreliable.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, showed no reaction, merely following them at a leisurely pace.
On the central altar of the ruins, there was indeed an ancient scroll.
The scroll was made of some unknown animal hide, and a highly complex summoning formation was drawn on it in what looked like fresh blood.
"Don't touch it!" Orochimaru saw the danger of the object at a glance and immediately shouted to stop him.
However, it was too late.
Jiraiya's curiosity had clearly triumphed over his reason.
He reached out his finger and poked the center of the formation.
"Hey, nothing's happening..."
Before his words had even faded, the entire scroll suddenly erupted in a blinding white light.
It wasn't the light of a forward summoning jutsu, but a reverse, pulling force.
"Ah—!"
With a miserable scream, Jiraiya vanished into thin air.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade cried out in alarm, wanting to rush over, but was held back by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Sensei!"
"Don't panic." Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was unusually calm, as if he had expected this all along.
Of course, he wasn't panicking.
Because the moment Jiraiya's mischievous hand had poked that scroll, his simulator had already spoiled the future for him completely.
[Detecting key figure Jiraiya triggering a special opportunity...]
[Simulation Scenario: Jiraiya is reverse-summoned to Mount Myoboku.]
[Scene 1: Jiraiya falls into the middle of a group of giant toads and is almost eaten as a snack.]
[Scene 2: He meets the toad boss, Gamabunta, and by a strange twist of fate, stays on Mount Myoboku to train.]
[Scene 3: He is brought before the Great Toad Sage and hears the famous prophecy about the "Child of the Prophecy"—"Your student will bring an unprecedented stability to the ninja world, or an unprecedented destruction..."]
[Scene 4: Several years later, Jiraiya returns to Konoha with the toad summoning contract and a sense of mission as the "Child of the Prophecy," having grown into a powerhouse in his own right.]
After seeing this simulation, Sarutobi Hiruzen had only one thought in his mind.
"This is a good thing!"
This was practically a pie falling from the sky.
That idiot Jiraiya had gone off to further his studies on his own, and he was even learning something as advanced as Sage Art.
When he returned, he would have a top-tier combatant for free.
As for that "Child of the Prophecy" business...
Sarutobi Hiruzen pursed his lips.
A prophecy?
In front of my Future Simulator, that thing is a joke.
However, this was a good opportunity.
He looked down at an amulet he wore on his hand. He had given one to each of his three students, and each had a trace of his chakra beacon on it, allowing him to sense their location and status at any time.
Now, he could feel that the beacon belonging to Jiraiya was in an extremely distant and unique space.
"Let's go. We'll head back to the village first," Sarutobi Hiruzen said to the worried-looking Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"But Sensei, Jiraiya..." Tsunade said anxiously.
"Don't worry, he's fine," Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was full of confidence. "He's just... gone to a place he was supposed to go, to meet some creatures he was supposed to meet."
"He'll be back on his own in a while."
Tsunade and Orochimaru were skeptical, but seeing their teacher so certain, they didn't say anything more.
...
Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku.
Jiraiya's experience was almost identical to what was seen in the simulator.
When he was brought before the Great Toad Sage, the giant toad, who had lived for over a thousand years, slowly opened its wise eyes.
"Oh... so you've finally come..."
The Great Toad Sage's voice seemed to come from a distant ancient time.
"I have seen... a prophecy..."
"Your student... will become a revolutionary... he will guide the ninja world... to unprecedented stability... or... unprecedented destruction..."
"Your choice... will decide the future of the world..."
Jiraiya was completely bewildered.
Student? I don't even have a girlfriend, where would I get a student?
Is this old toad senile from sleeping too much?
However, at the same time the Great Toad Sage uttered the prophecy, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's Hokage office far away in Konoha, the simulator panel in his mind lit up in sync.
[Detecting world-class key information: The Great Toad Sage's Prophecy.]
[Transcribing information...]
[...Your student... revolutionary... stability or destruction...]
Although the information was a bit vague and incomplete, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already grasped the core content.
He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk.
This prophecy, in the original story, ran through almost the entire plotline, affecting the destinies of countless people.
But now...
"Sorry, I've changed the script," Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
A single prophecy wants to decide the future of Konoha?
One month later.
Jiraiya returned.
He was wearing a brand-new set of clothes, wooden clogs on his feet, and a giant scroll on his back. A triumphant smile was plastered on his face as he burst into the Hokage's office upon his return.
"Sensei! I'm back! Hahaha! You'll never guess what I've been through this past month!"
He proudly spread the Mount Myoboku summoning contract on the floor.
"I was chosen by the legendary Mount Myoboku! I even met the Great Toad Sage! He said I was some... uh, the teacher of the Child of Destiny! And he gave me a prophecy about the future of the world!"
He gestured wildly, spit flying, fully expecting to see a shocked expression on his teacher's face.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen merely looked up from his documents and gave him a faint glance.
"Oh, you're back."
"That's it?" Jiraiya's smile froze on his face. "Sensei, this is Mount Myoboku! Sage Art! A prophecy!"
"Mm, not bad," Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, his tone as flat as if he were commenting on the weather.
"It seems you've finally found your own ninja way."
He stood up, walked over to Jiraiya, and patted his shoulder.
"But, there's one thing you need to remember, Jiraiya."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze suddenly became profound.
"Prophecies are made by the paths people walk, they are not set in stone."
"Your choice is indeed important, but what's more important is what the person who gives you the choice wants you to choose."
Jiraiya was stunned.
He felt there was a hidden meaning in his teacher's words, but with his current brain, he couldn't fully comprehend their depth.
His somewhat inflated ego, however, inexplicably calmed down at these words.
Seeing Jiraiya's bewildered look, Sarutobi Hiruzen said no more.
He knew he had planted a seed of doubt in Jiraiya's heart.
That was enough.
A child of prophecy who harbored doubts about fate was a controllable child of prophecy.
"Alright, go report to Tsunade and Orochimaru that you're safe. They were worried sick about you," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a wave of his hand, as if shooing away a fly.
"Oh... okay."
Jiraiya walked out of the office in a daze, feeling as if his grand adventure was... completely insignificant in his teacher's eyes.