"The future I foresaw… continues to collapse."
Inside a massive stone temple, an enormous orange toad—adorned with prayer beads and a lavender cat-eye gem—sat upon a throne engraved with the character for Sage. A tall scholar's cap rested atop his head, and his ancient, clouded gold eyes opened with agonizing slowness.
This was the founder of the Three Great Sage Lands.
The being who had lived for over a thousand years.
The one the world revered as—
The Great Toad Sage.
His low, rumbling voice echoed like distant thunder through the darkened hall.
"The shift in Konoha's Third Hokage… the premature death of Indra's reincarnation… the twisting fate of the shinobi world… the birth of a god-warrior who strides across two realms… rivers of blood… and the shadow of Mount Myōboku swallowed whole…"
He paused.
The Great Toad Sage had seen his own death in the fractured prophecy.
He lifted a small bottle of fragrant sake, took a slow sip, and his wrinkled face softened into a strangely human, mellow smile.
"The world moves with its own tide. Those who ride it prosper… those who oppose it perish."
"Once, we placed our hopes on Hagoromo and Hamura. Their rise brought Mount Myōboku a thousand years of peace."
"This time… the one chosen by fate is a child of the Uchiha."
Another sip. His golden eyes dimmed with something between helplessness and resignation.
"The shinobi world keeps fighting… and it's always the same cursed clan."
"And Hagoromo? That useless boy sits in the Pure Land cultivating all day, peeking at the world only occasionally. What good is that?"
He sighed.
"The ceiling of chakra is Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. No one surpasses her."
"The Ōtsutsuki… terrifying beyond measure."
Shaking the bottle, he drank the last drop and set it aside.
"I'm just a small, pitiful toad who likes liquor and making lucky investments. Why must my life end in ruin because of these troublesome monsters?"
After a long silence, he summoned his two most trusted elders—
Fukasaku and Shima, the ancient husband-and-wife sages of Mount Myōboku.
The two small green toads, wearing high-collared black robes, stood respectfully before him.
His voice carried the weight of millennia:
"This prophecy concerns the survival of our entire clan."
"If you cannot reach Uchiha Soren directly… then start with his disciples. Or his family."
Fukasaku and Shima bowed deeply and hopped away.
The Great Toad Sage closed his tired eyes again.
Fate—once fixed—now twisted, warped, and tore apart with every action Uchiha Soren took. Even he, the ancient sage, had to tread carefully, peering into scattered dream-visions for fragments of what was to come.
This world was no longer a paradise for outsiders.
Even the Great Toad Sage walked on thin ice—
slowly, cautiously—
abiding by the oldest rule of survival:
"Stand beneath the biggest tree."
Konoha — Uchiha Residence
"Jiruri, let's head back."
"Kaori is waiting at home."
The soft singing stopped. Soren wrapped an arm around a dazed, sleepy Uchiha Jiruri, and with a flash of the Flying Thunder God, they teleported home.
The more he used it, the more he adored it.
Even he had to give Senju Tobirama a silent thumbs-up.
The Hokage residence was quiet in the night.
Soren placed the sleeping Jiruri onto the bed—
next to Genkaori, who was curled around the cat Juno.
The light sleeper stirred, blinked once—and was immediately pulled into Soren's arms before drifting back to sleep.
Morning arrived swiftly.
Soren left with Genkaori at his side.
Thanks to Uzumaki Mito, the new Administrative Department staff were selected, and the Secretariat's crushing workload had finally eased. Feeling guilty that Genkaori had been overworking for his sake, Soren decided to take her out for air.
Her recent absent-mindedness had worried him.
"Darling… can we go there?"
She pointed ahead vaguely.
"Something is calling me."
Soren raised an eyebrow.
Nothing in this world should be "calling" someone like Genkaori.
But when it came to his wife, he didn't hesitate.
"Then we'll go."
Guided by her intuition, he used Flying Thunder God to teleport to the old Wind-border outpost, then summoned the Two-Tails as transportation. Together, they flew across the Land of Rivers, past the empty ruins of the Land of Sky, and into a vast mountain canyon.
"Darling, the calling stops here."
"I'll check for people nearby."
Soren expanded his sensory perception—
Forty kilometers.
A large traveling merchant caravan sat by a winding riverbank.
Descending atop the Two-Tails, their appearance threw the caravan into chaos—
until the merchants realized the visitors radiated gentleness, not violence.
A red-nosed old merchant hurried forward.
But before he could speak—
A small white creature dashed out from behind him.
A long-tailed snow-weasel, soft-furred, white-bodied, with black paws and tail, scarlet eyes, and a distinct diamond mark on its forehead.
It shot up Genkaori's sleeve, curled around her shoulder, twirled excitedly, and chirped affectionately.
Genkaori's expression bloomed with warmth. She lifted the creature into her arms, gently stroking its glossy fur with a sparkling smile.
The old merchant paled.
"Nelugu! Get back here!"
The snow-weasel had never approached strangers—
yet here it was cuddling a noble lady.
If it angered the visitors—
He glanced nervously at the massive Two-Tails looming behind them—
—his caravan would be erased from existence.
Genkaori giggled.
"Nelugu… what a lovely name."
She tapped its little nose. Its red jewel-like eyes matched her own, making her like it even more.
"Can you sell Nelugu to me? Money isn't a problem."
As Konoha's liaison to the Fire Daimyō, Genkaori could buy half a country if she wished.
The old man bowed apologetically.
"Miss, Nelugu is… family to us. Not for sale."
"I see…"
Her shoulders drooped.
Soren smiled faintly.
"If it's family… surely you wouldn't stop a family member who wishes to leave for a better home?"
The old man froze—
then nodded stiffly.
Soren extended a hand.
"Come here, little one."
The weasel hissed nervously—until Soren's cold black eyes met its own.
It instantly froze.
He lifted it easily.
"Darling, don't worry. If I'm right… this little one is what called to you."
He touched the diamond mark on its forehead—
and plucked out a shimmering, chakra-rich gem.
Ancient memories surged in his mind.
Under the sunlight, the stone refracted rainbow light.
Soren smiled.
"Genkaori… we've found a real treasure this time."
As she blinked in confusion, he turned to the stunned old merchant.
"Old sir… why don't you tell us everything you know about the Stone of Glair?"
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