Chapter 96
<span style="font-weight:400">"You being able to arrive at Mount Myoboku is proof that you have been chosen as the child of destiny!" Fukasaku dered firmly.<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Jiraiya was stunned, his mouth agape in disbelief.
<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">He asked, "So, what is the prophecy you have for me?"
<span style="font-weight:400">Fukasaku shook his head and replied, "I don’t know. But you can train here while waiting for the Great Sage’s prophecy."
<span style="font-weight:400">Jiraiya blinked, a bit confused, but then a smile slowly spread across his face.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">A chosen one, huh? Training here and getting stronger... that actually sounds pretty good!</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">Back in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a troubled expression, filled with guilt.
<span style="font-weight:400">If it weren’t for him pushing Jiraiya, none of this would have happened.
<span style="font-weight:400">Now, Jiraiya had vanished, and he had no way to even begin searching for him. He felt utterly helpless.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Don’t worry, Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya has always been lucky. I’m sure he’lle back safe this time as well," Huiforted him, though he couldn’t shake his own concern.
<span style="font-weight:400">He wasn’t entirely sure if, due to his own presence in this world, Jiraiya would still end up at Mount Myoboku.
<span style="font-weight:400">If not...
<span style="font-weight:400">"Yes, Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya may seem reckless, but he’ll be fine," Tsunade added, trying to reassure him.
<span style="font-weight:400">"It’s all my fault," Sarutobi sighed heavily. "I shouldn’t have taught him the Summoning Jutsu without a proper contract in ce."
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui wasn’t sure what to say.
<span style="font-weight:400">In truth, he also felt a bit guilty. He knew that something like this might happen, but he hadn’t warned anyone in advance.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, Hui had been conflicted. If he had told Jiraiya about it, would Jiraiya have continued beingzy for the rest of his life?
<span style="font-weight:400">After all, Jiraiya’s pivotal moment was when he arrived at Mount Myoboku!
<span style="font-weight:400">"How about this," Hui suggested after thinking for a moment. "If Jiraiya doesn’t return within three days, I’ll start searching the locations where summoning creatures live. We’ll find him eventually."
<span style="font-weight:400">In reality, they wouldn’t have to wait long. If Jiraiya truly went to Mount Myoboku and things unfolded like in the original story, he would soon return to Konoha after forming a contract with the toads.
<span style="font-weight:400">"No, this was my mistake," Sarutobi Hiruzen said decisively. "If anyone’s going to search for him, it should be me."
<span style="font-weight:400">But by the afternoon, Jiraiya had returned on his own.
<span style="font-weight:400">Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, thankful that nothing had gone wrong.
<span style="font-weight:400">Before Jiraiya could even brag about his experience, Sarutobi gave him a stern scolding.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui, pretending to be angry as well, watched as Jiraiya squirmed with guilt.
<span style="font-weight:400">After the scolding subsided, Sarutobi finally asked Jiraiya what had happened.
<span style="font-weight:400">Jiraiya, now excited, eagerly began to recount his adventure, embellishing every detail.
<span style="font-weight:400">He bragged about how amazing and powerful Mount Myoboku was, even iming that the legendary Sage of Six Paths had trained in its techniques. He dered that Mount Myoboku was the greatest of the three summoning realms.
<span style="font-weight:400">Jiraiya also portrayed himself as a "child of prophecy," destined to be the strongest shinobi and the future hero of the ninja world.
<span style="font-weight:400">His exaggerated storytelling earned him skeptical looks from everyone else. Hui and the others exchanged nces, silently agreeing that they didn’t believe a word of it.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Come on, everything I said is true!" Jiraiya shouted, his frustration clear as a ck line formed on his forehead.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Alright, alright, we believe you," Hui replied quickly, attempting to cate him.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, the half-hearted assurance only deepened Jiraiya’s frustration.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Ugh! Damn it!" he shouted, but his outburst only earned him moreughter from the group.
<span style="font-weight:400">Regardless, Jiraiya’s life had finally "gotten back on track." He was now set on the path that would one day make him one of the great legends of the ninja world.
<span style="font-weight:400">In the following days, everything started to return to normal. Konoha and the entire ninja world entered a period of calm development.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui resumed his duties as the rtively idle vice-captain of the Anbu, spending most of his time training with Tsunade.
<span style="font-weight:400">Jiraiya continued to travel between Mount Myoboku and Konoha, steadily improving his abilities.<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Orochimaru, on the other hand, seemed more mysterious by the day, constantly learning new techniques with a determination to master every jutsu.
<span style="font-weight:400">At this point, Orochimaru hadn’t yet strayed down the dark path he would one day follow. The key events that would shape his future had yet to ur.
<span style="font-weight:400">Specifically, two major tragedies—his parents’ deaths and, even more critically, the death of Tsunade’s younger brother, Nawaki—had not yet happened.
<span style="font-weight:400">[tl/n: I think there was a mention of his parents dying in the first war?]
<span style="font-weight:400">These events would make Orochimaru painfully aware of the fragility of life, pushing him toward forbidden research in a desperate attempt to conquer death.
<span style="font-weight:400">Nawaki’s death in particr had a profound effect. Even after Orochimaru had grown powerful, he couldn’t prevent Nawaki’s death, which urred right under his nose. This was something Orochimaru found difficult to ept.
<span style="font-weight:400">Unable to cope with the frailty of human life and the inevitability of death, Orochimaru changed.
<span style="font-weight:400">He grew cold and callous, obsessed with the idea of immortality and transcending human limitations.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui knew all of this and had no intention of letting Orochimaru walk that path. He nned to alter Orochimaru’s fate, allowing him to shine in a role more fitting of his brilliance.
<span style="font-weight:400">But for now, there was no need to rush.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui was subtly influencing Orochimaru, nting seeds of different ideas without drastically altering his course.
<span style="font-weight:400">At this moment, Orochimaru wasn’t yet someone in need of intervention.
<span style="font-weight:400">Time passed peacefully, and before long, three years had gone by.
<span style="font-weight:400">During these three years, Konoha had developed rapidly, and the vige was constantly changing.
<span style="font-weight:400">In this time, several significant individuals who would shape the future of the ninja world were born.
<span style="font-weight:400">Among them were Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka...
<span style="font-weight:400">There were also Uzumaki Nagato and Uzumaki Kushina...
<span style="font-weight:400">This was the 25th year since the founding of Konoha, and Hui was now fifteen years old.
<span style="font-weight:400">One day, he suddenly received a new mission—one that involved a small country known as the Land of Whirlpools.
<span style="font-weight:400">The rulers of thisnd were the Uzumaki n.
<span style="font-weight:400">Though the Land of Whirlpools had survived thest great conflict, it now seemed to be facing new trouble.
<span style="font-weight:400">When Hui saw the details of the mission, his eyes gleamed.
<span style="font-weight:400">If his memory served him correctly, the Land of Whirlpools would be destroyed around this time.
<span style="font-weight:400">This mission would likely lead him to witness yet another bloodbath, perhaps even involving several famous shinobi.
<span style="font-weight:400">Undoubtedly, it would be a mission drenched in blood and filled with death.
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