"Old Devil, I'm lucky that you've come. Otherwise, I would have ended up eating bugs."
It has been almost a month since Jiraiya signed the contract; he and Masahiko are still staying in Mount Myoboku.
Initially, Masahiko planned on leaving the moment he gets his witness points, but that prophecy made him feel a little bit uneasy. Thus, he decided to stay for a while and see if the Great Toad Sage would wake up and give him other predictions.
An entire month has passed, and Jiraiya had mastered that art of summoning quickly, but the Great Toad Sage still didn't wake up.
Looking at Jiraiya in front of him, Masahiko sighed.
Since that time he ended up eating grass at Shikkotsu Forest; Masahiko carried food on him sealed in a scroll wherever he went. However, a month later, staying with "Gluttonous King Beelzebuth" here, his food resources were entirely exhausted.
(T/N: Gluttonous King Beelzebuth: Is a reference from the Manga "That Time I Got Reincarnated as Slime." Beelzebuth ("Gluttonous King") is one of Rimuru Tempest's Ultimate Skills. It had been created from the Unique Skills Gluttony and Heartless during Rimuru's Harvest Festival…)
"Jiraiya, aren't you going to leave? If you stay any longer, the guys in Konoha will be worried about you."
Jiraiya looked surprised, "Wait, I thought we're staying?"
Masahiko's face stiffened and almost cursed himself for being such a careless old man. Jiraiya has only learned the art of summoning; if he forces him to leave, he might not get another chance to learn the Sage Mode.
"Then I will…" Just when Masahiko was about to leave alone, Fukasaku appeared beside him.
"Jiraiya-Chan, Great Safe has woke up, and asked you to come."
This month, Jiraiya has been getting along well with the toad clan members. With such a simple call, Jiraiya followed Fukasaku to the toad palace.
Masahiko frowned, "Didn't the Great Sage ask for me?"
Fukasaku shook his head gravely, then left with Jiraiya.
"So, there aren't any more prophecies about me, huh?" Masahiko felt strangely relieved. He really wanted to know more about his destiny in this world, but after thinking about it, the less he knows, the better.
Masahiko didn't follow him this time and just waited. Jiraiya will tell him everything anyway.
After more than an hour, Jiraiya came back with this head upright; the look of pride was evident in his expression.
Masahiko was stunned and asked, "Why are you so happy, did the Great Sage praise you?"
Jiraiya nodded, "He said that I'm gonna become a great Shinobi, and one day one of my disciples will be the Child of Destiny, end he will end the war in the Shinobi World." He said, then he shook his head regretfully, "It's a pity… Why didn't I become the Child of Destiny?"
Masahiko took a deep breath, then muttered, "Thank god…"
In the past few days, he was worried that Minato won't meet Kushina, and Naruto will not be born… But this is great news!
"It's not a pity, you will be the teacher of the Child of Destiny, that's already cool."
"Well, I guess you're right!" In the end, Jiraiya accepted it.
"Let's go back to Konoha." Masahiko wasn't worried about Jiraiya anymore; he will surely fulfill his destiny. Thus, he said lightly, then flew him toward the exit.
"Hey, hello, Old Devil, why are you taking me with you, I can just ask Fukasaku to summon me back to Konoha.
Masahiko didn't answer, and secretly said: "You want me to go to that cold and wet place all by myself? Or are you asking me to hold Fukasaku's old toad butt during reverse summoning? Not in a million-year kid!"
As the place was becoming darker and darker around them, Jriaiya's mouth twitched, "Old Devil, where are you flying? "The exit of Mount Myoboku is not in this direction."
Masahiko's face got pale. He kept thinking about Fukasaku's old toad butt, while flying toward Shikkotsu Forest, and completely forgot that Mount Myoboku should also have an exit on its own. However, he certainly wouldn't admit it.
So he pretended to sing, "♪Sha La La~~ Itsuka kito, boku wa teni surunda, hakanaki mune ni soto, hikari moete yukeeee ♪"Completely ignoring Jiraiya, Masahiko speeded up.
"Hey, Old Devil, are you hearing?"
"♪ Sha La La~~ Itoshi ki hit anata mo mieteiruni mamayui tsuki ga soto ashita o terashite ♪"
"Why did you start signing anyway?!"
"♪ Tsuyokuuuuu♪" Masahiko smirked upon noticing that Jiraiya forgot about the main subject, then he winked at him inviting him to sing along.
"♪ Tsuyokuuuuuu♪" Jiraiya completely ignored him…
"♪ kagayaiteeeeeeeeeeeee♪"
"Finally, what a terrible song…" Jiraiya said while covering his ears.
"Well, you hate, because they completely left you out of this op's video clip…"
"What…?!" Jiraiya was so confused.
...…
Regardless, Masahiko was very happy now knowing that the prophecy of the Child of Destiny still exists. As for the dark-haired young man with the bun, he didn't really care, because even if he couldn't beat him, it won't be a big deal, he will just wait for Naruto to save the day, then they will sing together!
Masahiko was quiet the entire way; he only greeted Katsuyu when he reached Shikkotsu Forest. During the rest of the road, he flew at high speed.
This time Masahiko didn't fly directly into the Hokage building but landed at the Konoha's Main Gate.
"Jiraiya, go find your teammates and teacher, you were missing for a month, they should be so worried about you."
Jiraiya didn't answer Masahiko because he ignored him the entire time, and left happily, thinking of showing off his cool summoning beast to Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Masahiko greeted the two ninjas who were guarding the gate, then walked into the Hokage Building step by step.
The sky was getting slightly dimmer, but Tobirama's Chakra was still inside the building. Masahiko nodded at the Anbu on the door, then walked in.
"Second Grandpa, you're finally back, was it a smooth journey?"
Masahiko scoffed, "Of course, how could it fail when I was the one who's appointed for it."
"However, since everything is okay, I'm leaving this time."
Tobirama hesitated for a moment, but he didn't say anything.
Masahiko shook his head, "What? Are you thinking of something else to make me stay?"
Tobirama smiled bitterly, shaking his head.
"Speak already, why do you want me to stay?" Masahiko smiled, he was actually very curious at this point.
Tobirama took a deep breath, then said, "Second Grandpa, can you give me a sample of your blood?"
Masahiko's smile gradually faded away. Orochimaru asked him the same thing; it seems that everyone wants to live longer. But the way Tobirama asked it, gave Masahiko a bad hunch.
"Your body…"
Tobirama smile bitterly, "I still can't hide anything from you. My body has deteriorated in the past two years. That's why I'm rushing to select the next Hokage."
"Did that injury affected you? I'm sorry, it's really my fault…" Masahiko sighed, "My cells won't be as useful as your elder brother's. There's another reason for my long lifespan."
Tobirama lowered his head, "Is that so?"
Watching that pitiful look on Tobirama's face, Masahiko shook his head, "It's okay, just wait until this Grandpa gets strong, I will definitely resurrect you and your elder brother."
Tobirama sighed, "I'm not afraid of death. It's such a pity really, I only need another ten years, and I might by then be able to completely develop the Edo Tensei and resurrect big brother, no, maybe even less, five years…"
Masahiko shook his head bitterly, "It won't work even after a hundred years."
Looking at him, Tobirama seemed puzzled; thus, Masahiko explained: "Although that Ninjutsu can resurrect people, they will always be bonded to the afterlife. It will need a lot of power to break that bond. Your Grandpa here can do it. But for some reason, I can't shake out the feeling that I will need to be much stronger than this if I'm gonna do it."
Masahiko knew for sure that if he ever successfully resurrected the dead, Hagoromo would be knocking on his door then next day.
Tobirama pondered, "Is that the case…?"