Chapter 179 Jiraiya returns to the village: In the future, you are the child of destiny!

“Ding ding ding ding!!”

Naruto, who was sleeping in the bedroom with transparent snot bubbles rising and falling with his snoring, was awakened by the shrill sound of the alarm clock.

"Oh no! It's nine o'clock. I'm going to be late for school!"

Six-year-old Naruto still lacks initiative when it comes to going to school!
He picked up a piece of clothing at random, without even having time to wipe the saliva off his face, and ran downstairs while putting on his clothes.

Namikaze Mirai was sitting at the top of the dining table, enjoying her breakfast leisurely.

"Uncle, why didn't you call me?"

Namikaze Mirai took a sip of coffee calmly and said, "You have to learn to wake up on your own sometimes."

"Uncle, I won't have breakfast!"

He picked up the schoolbag on the sofa, put it on his back, and ran out the door without even taking the time to tidy up his messy blonde hair.

A figure appeared in front of him, stuffed something into his arms, and a soft electronic female voice sounded.

"Please bring some to eat on the way. It's not a good habit to go to school hungry."

"Thank you! Number 18!"

Holding the sandwich handed to him by Eighteen in his mouth, Naruto waved at Eighteen, pushed open the door and ran out.

The weather outside is very good and the morning sun is very warm.

After two years of development, Konoha has become the largest city in the ninja world, with dark and wide asphalt roads, rows of metal street lamps on both sides, and tall buildings everywhere.

The name "village" has not been mentioned for a long time.

It is often given more modern names such as the Capital of the Fire Nation and the City of Leaves!
Naruto, who was about to be late, had no intention of appreciating Konoha's construction. He bit the sandwich handed to him by Eighteen and rushed along.

"No, we're going to be late!"

A blue electric current burst out from under his feet, and Naruto's speed increased dramatically, like a locomotive sprinting on the asphalt road, causing a gust of wind and waves.

Current push!

Naruto has gained a lot in the past two years. Under the training of Namikaze Mirai, his strength has greatly increased compared to two years ago.

The outline of Konoha School soon appeared in Naruto's sight. He sprinted and jumped off the ground, flying over the closed gate in a light parabola.

The gatekeeper Chunin was about to curse, but when he saw Naruto's face clearly, he quickly swallowed his words.

What a close call! If I offend Naruto and provoke Namikaze Mirai, it will be more trouble than it’s worth!
"Let's start today's roll call."

In the classroom, Iruka was holding the attendance book and starting to call the roll before class.

"Hinata Hinata."

"arrive."

Hinata's voice sounded timidly.

"Haruno Sakura."

"To!"

"Sasuke Uchiha……"

The students whose names were called responded one after another, and no one was absent.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The class was silent and no one responded.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Iruka called again, louder and louder.

Still no response.

He shook his head and prepared to write the word "late" on the roll call list.

"arrive!!!"

A piercing sound like the whistling of a train suddenly came from far away, and a cloud of dust rolled up at the entrance of the classroom, attracting everyone's attention.

Naruto's figure appeared from the rising dust, holding the door frame with one hand and holding a sandwich with the other, panting with sweat dripping down his forehead.

Iruka chuckled and shook his head.

Check the box for Naruto in the roll call.

As the fifth generation's nephew, I do have some privileges such as being late.

Naruto sat down in his seat, feeling tired as he listened to the sound of reading. He looked out the window while eating a sandwich, his thoughts drifting outside.

……

At the gate of Konoha, a middle-aged man with spiky white hair and bright red paint on both sides of his cheeks looked up at the "village" he had never seen before, and was frozen in place like paraffin.

"Uncle, do you need help?"

The Hyuga ninja guarding the gate of Konoha noticed the other party's predicament and stepped forward to ask.

The middle-aged man swallowed and said with some uncertainty.

"Excuse me, is this Konoha..."

"Of course this is Konoha!"

The Hyuga ninja guarding the gate looked at the other party with surprise. Is there still anyone who doesn't know Konoha?
Could this guy be a country bumpkin who popped up from some unknown little place?
The middle-aged man scratched his head: "This doesn't look like my village. My village is not this big."

"what?!"

"I remember that the gate of Konoha used to be made of wood, the walls were not this high, and there were not so many buildings. I always feel like I've come to the wrong place!
Wooden door?

That was so long ago.

The Hyuga ninja was surprised that Konoha had undergone earth-shaking changes since Namikaze Mirai came to power.

and many more!

Looking at the middle-aged man's confused and somewhat honest appearance.

A long-forgotten name popped up in his mind, and the surprise on his face disappeared, replaced by an expression of shock mixed with excitement.

"Are you, Master Jiraiya?"

"Oh, I didn't expect that someone would remember my name after all this time."

Jiraiya scratched his head, looking awkward.

"It's really you, Master Jiraiya, you're back in the village!"

After not seeing this legendary Sannin for many years, the Hyuga Ninja was so excited that he couldn't express himself in words.

If Jiraiya was just one of the three ninjas, he wouldn't be so excited.

The key point is that in addition to being one of the three ninjas, Jiraiya also has another identity that makes countless people envy him, he is the teacher of Namikaze's future brother Minato Namikaze!

In other words, he is related to the Fifth Hokage!

It’s definitely a relationship!
Without paying attention to the exaggerated and fanatical gaze of the Hyuga ninja, Jiraiya looked up at the buildings in Konoha Village, and his cognition was greatly shocked.

He has been wandering in the ninja world for many years, following the vague prophecies of the Great Toad Sage and pursuing the child of destiny. This is the first time he has returned to Konoha.

Although I had heard various rumors about Konoha on the road and had a rough guess about its current development, it was only when I really returned to Konoha and saw the scene with my own eyes.

Jiraiya felt a shock of cognitive collapse.

Is this really Konoha?
"You don't know yet! Konoha's current development is all due to the efforts of the Fifth Hokage. The villagers call the Fifth Hokage the new God of Ninja..."

Listening to the Hyuga ninja's worshipful voice, Jiraiya recalled the appearance of Minato and his brother.

I felt dazed, as if I had returned to many years ago when I first met the two brothers.

……

Konoha Tavern.

In the quiet private room, Tsunade poured a full glass of wine into the cup in front of her and drank it down in one gulp. Not feeling satisfied, she held the jar and tilted her head back to swallow.

"It's still as fierce as ever!"

Jiraiya swallowed as he watched the scene.

After not seeing her for many years, Tsunade seems to have not changed at all.

His sight moved uncontrollably downwards and rested on the pair of huge, round balls. The fabric of their clothes was soaked by the dripping wine, making it translucent, which made Jiraiya even more agitated.

boom!
Tsunade put the jar of wine on the table, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she narrowed her eyes and said.

"Jiraiya, where are you looking?"

"It's been a while since we last met. I missed you so much!"

Jiraiya came over with a sly look on his face, opened his arms and made a hug gesture. "Tsunade, I haven't seen you for so many years, let me hug you, ah!"

Jiraiya's expression was distorted by the severe pain in his head, and a big bright red bump appeared on his head, emitting hot steam.

Tsunade clapped her hands: "Nothing has changed in all these years. A dog will always eat shit."

He looked towards the entrance of the tavern, his brows slightly furrowed.

"What is Orochimaru doing? Why hasn't he come yet?"

It was agreed that this would be a dinner among the three of them, but Orochimaru was late again.

Once he comes across a research he likes, he will completely forget about time. It turns out that his promises cannot be trusted.

As Tsunade was complaining in her heart, a familiar, magnetic and slightly hoarse voice was heard, causing her to turn her head in surprise.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Orochimaru sat in the empty seat opposite Tsunade, his light golden vertical pupils revealing an apologetic smile.

"Orochimaru, it's rare for you to be punctual for once."

Tsunade seemed surprised, but also seemed sarcastic.

“People change all the time.”

Orochimaru said hoarsely.

Yes, people change.

Tsunade suddenly felt deeply moved. People will always change if everyone remains unchanged.

The three of them will never get together again after parting ways, and sit at the same table and chat and laugh like they did more than a decade ago.

"To celebrate the reunion of the three of us, let's drink this!"

Tsunade picked up the wine glass in front of her and drank it all in one gulp very heroically.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru smiled at each other and drank the wine in front of them.

The friendship between the three people seemed to be dissolved in the wine, evaporating into the air with the alcohol and filling the entire tavern.

After meeting again after many years, they talked about the past, their ideals, and life. The world is made up of different lines, and their lines have been parallel for a long time and finally intersected.

"By the way, Jiraiya, why did you suddenly come back at this time? Did you find the child of destiny?"

After a long conversation, Orochimaru asked about the confusion in his heart.

Jiraiya, who had been away from the village for many years and devoted all his life ideals to finding the child of destiny, chose to return to the village at this time.

Could it be that the child of destiny has been found?

What surprised Orochimaru was that after he asked this question, Jiraiya suddenly fell silent, and the air in the private room fell into deathly silence in an instant.

Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

Amid the two people's surprised expressions, Jiraiya sighed in a complicated voice.

"Destiny's Child is gone."

"What!?"

A chorus of exclamations rang out from the room.

The child of destiny is the one that the great toad sage of Mount Myōboku has been pursuing!

How could the child of destiny that Jiraiya had spent half his life searching for, and the best years of his life, just disappear out of nowhere? ? ?

"it is true……"

Jiraiya looked bitter.

He still remembered his shock and disbelief when he was suddenly called to Myoboku Mountain by the Great Toad Sage not long ago and told that the child of destiny had disappeared and there was no need to look for him.

That was an emotion a hundred times more shocking than Tsunade and Orochimaru were feeling right now.

It was as if the whole world collapsed and fell into a dark cave where no light could be seen.

"The Child of Destiny... is gone?"

"Yes, little Jiraiya, I know it's hard for you to believe, but this is the result I have predicted many times."

"In fact, the Child of Destiny has disappeared for two and a half years, but I was not sure at that time. After having the same prophetic dream many times, I finally confirmed this result."

The turbid eyes of the Great Toad Sage slowly moved down and stayed on Jiraiya with an indescribable emotion.

"Besides that, the future ninja world has also undergone tremendous changes. I cannot predict whether this change is good or bad, but what is certain is that the child of destiny will disappear in this change."

"Little Jiraiya, you can give up the search. Anyway, the child of destiny has disappeared."

At the wine table, Tsunade and Orochimaru fell silent at the same time after listening to Jiraiya's description.

This news is too explosive!

Behind each of them are two holy places, Ryuchi Cave and Wet Bone Forest. Among the three holy places, only Myoboku Mountain has been pursuing the so-called child of prophecy.

As representatives of the holy land, they were all very clear about the Great Toad Immortal's predictive ability.

That's what made the news Jiraiya conveyed even more shocking.

How come the Child of Destiny is gone out of nowhere???

"Jiraiya, what are you going to do now?"

After a long silence, Tsunade asked.

"I'm not sure, let's take it one step at a time."

Jiraiya sighed with a headache. Now he really didn't know what to do.

The thing he had been pursuing for half his life shattered like a bubble, leaving him in deep confusion.

"Let's go look for Mirai later. As Minato's brother, maybe I can find a part-time job for myself or something."

……

Hokage room.

"You want me to find you a job?"

Sitting in the Hokage's seat, Namikaze Mirai stared at Jiraiya in surprise.

On the first day back to the village, he found himself as the Hokage and wanted to get a position?
"I don't want to either, but I really don't know what to do right now. For the future, for Minato's sake, you won't refuse to help with such a small favor, right?"

Then, Jiraiya revealed that the Child of Destiny was gone.

Namikaze Mirai shook her head.

"This imaginary thing called the Child of Destiny has absolutely no scientific basis."

As a staunch supporter of Marxist materialism, he would never believe in such groundless stuff.

It's better to be gone, so Jiraiya doesn't have to continue wasting his time.

Jiraiya's expression suddenly became serious. He stared at Namikaze Mirai and said solemnly, "Mirai, I suddenly feel that you are the child of destiny!"

???

Namikaze Mirai was stunned.

"That's right, in the future, you are the child of destiny."

I recalled the rumors about Namikaze Mirai that I heard on the way back to the village, the scenes I saw after returning to the village, and the villagers' admiration for Namikaze Mirai.

Jiraiya felt more and more that this guess was correct.

"In the future, you have changed the village and the Fire Nation. You are the child of destiny!"

There seemed to be fire burning in Jiraiya's eyes.

The most important thing is that in the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage, the blue-eyed boy is playing with the nine tailed beasts in the forest, and Namikaze Mirai is the blue-eyed boy.

Everything fits right!

Namikaze Mirai is the child of prophecy.

"Stop! I don't want to argue with you about such nonsense."

Namikaze Mirai, who was already unable to describe her feelings in words, didn't want to waste time on such boring topics.

"But as for your job search, I seem to have something that needs you."

"what's up?"

Jiraiya held his breath.

"Chūnin Exam Host!"

(End of this chapter)