Clink.

The pipe slipped from Hiruzen's grasp and hit the desk with a sharp clank.

Creak.

He leaned back, and his old chair creaked under him. Every battle, every tough call, seemed to weigh on him at once. He reached for his fallen pipe.

He lit it with a quick fire jutsu, thinking about the old sage.

Puff. Puff.

Smoke curled upwards, forming shapes that seemed to mock him, reminding him of all he didn't know, couldn't control.

"Gamamaru," he murmured. "The Great Toad Sage."

Jiraiya's eyebrow quirked up. "Sensei?"

"Remember when Gamamaru foresaw the Child of Prophecy?" Hiruzen ask his former student.

A cloud of smoke drifted from his lips, hanging in the air between.

Jiraiya's eyes softened at the memory. "How could I forget? The one who would bring great change to the ninja world." He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "We thought it might be Minato."

"Ah, Minato," Hiruzen sighed. "He certainly changed Konoha, sacrificing himself to save us all."

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

In the quiet, the clock's ticking seemed to echo.

"Yeah," Jiraiya said, looking off into space. He shook his head and cracked a sad smile. "But the old toad said the Child of Prophecy is still to come." He shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

Hiruzen nodded and took another drag from his pipe. The smoke swirled, forming shapes that looked almost like reaching hands. He blinked, dispelling the illusion.

"And what of your students from Ame?" he asked, his tone carefully neutral. "Any word on them?"

Jiraiya's face darkened. "Nothing concrete."

No information? Or is he... Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. No, Jiraiya wouldn't.

He studied his former student, standing before him. Jiraiya had said one of his students might have the Rinnegan—eyes only the Sage of Six Paths was supposed to have.

Neither spoke for a while, both avoiding the big questions.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "Show me his message, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya bit his thumb, formed a series of hand seals, and slammed his palm on the floor. "Summoning Jutsu!"

POOF!

Smoke filled the room, making Hiruzen's eyes water. As it cleared, a massive scroll appeared, nearly as tall as Jiraiya himself.

"Oof," Jiraiya grunted, lifting the scroll onto Hiruzen's desk. "This thing's heavier than I remember."

Thud.

The scroll landed on the desk, scattering papers. Jiraiya unrolled it, revealing a single word scrawled in blood-red strokes: DANGER

Hiruzen frowned, leaning forward to examine the scroll. "This is... unusual."

"Nothing new," Jiraiya said, shaking his head. "The old toad's never been this direct before. Usually, it's all riddles and metaphors."

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The Third Hokage ran a hand over his face, feeling the deep wrinkles there. "What exactly did he say, Jiraiya?"

"It's not just what he said, sensei. It's how he said it." Jiraiya replied. "I've never seen the old toad so... scared."

Hiruzen's pipe nearly slipped from his fingers again. "Scared?"

Jiraiya nodded grimly. "He was shaking, sensei. Actually shaking."

Impossible.

The sage had seen the rise and fall of nations, witnessed the birth of the ninja world itself. What could possibly frighten such a being?

"Tell me everything, Jiraiya," Hiruzen urged. "Word for word if you can."

Jiraiya's usual jolly demeanor vanished like smoke in the wind. He closed his eyes, his face scrunching in concentration. When he spoke, his voice was low and grave:

"Listen well, young one, for the future unravels before my eyes. Long before humans drew their first breath, a power beyond understanding ruled this world."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hiruzen's fingers drummed against his desk, his only outward sign of agitation.

"This ancient force slept as humans grew, waking only in brief moments. But now... it stirs. The barrier between worlds weakens, and what was once locked away seeks freedom."

"Humans live on an island of ignorance, surrounded by a sea of unknown terrors. They think they've mastered the world. But truths hide in the darkness, truths that could break minds and twist reality."

Scrape.

Hiruzen stood, his sandals scuffing against the floor as he paced. "This force... did the Sage say anything else? Anything we can use?"

Jiraiya slumped into a chair, suddenly looking as old as Hiruzen felt. "Not much. Just that it's old, powerful, and... alien. Whatever's coming, it's going to affect everyone and everything."

Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. People called him the Professor and the strongest Hokage, but his real power was what he knew, not his jutsu.

He had studied countless techniques, delved deep into the history of the founding villages. But this... this was beyond anything he had encountered.

"The history we know," Hiruzen mused aloud, "only goes back to the era of the Sage of Six Paths. But this prophecy... it speaks of a time before that. A blank history."

Jiraiya leaned forward, his eyes intent. "You think there's a connection?"

Hiruzen nodded slowly. "It's the unknown that's most terrifying, Jiraiya. Our fear stems from what we don't understand." He paused, his brow furrowing. "And if someone as ancient as Gamamaru knows so little about this force..."

"Then we're in deep trouble," Jiraiya finished.

Thump. Thump.

Hiruzen's heart seemed to echo in his ears as a thought struck him. "That statue," he muttered.

"Statue?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

Hiruzen took a deep breath. "A few months ago, a strange statue turned up in the Land of Water. It had... powers. Powers beyond any jutsu we've seen."

"You think it's connected to this prophecy?" Jiraiya asked, leaning forward.

"I fear it may be just the beginning," Hiruzen replied, his voice heavy. "If only we had studied it more closely before—"

"Before what?" Jiraiya pressed.

Hiruzen hesitated, the words sticking in his throat. "Before Orochimaru took it."

CRACK!

The arms of Jiraiya's chair splintered under his grip. "Orochimaru?" he growled, his face contorting with anger and disbelief. "That snake has the statue?"

Hiruzen nodded, his face full of regret. "I didn't think it mattered much back then."

Jiraiya jumped up, hands balled into fists. "I'll track him down."

"Watch yourself, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said. "We're in unknown territory here. This power is dangerous."

Jiraiya grinned, some of his usual swagger returning. "Hey, I've faced down Hanzo the Salamander. How bad could some crusty old statue be?"

But his smile faded as he glanced at the blood-red warning on the scroll still lying on Hiruzen's desk. For a moment, Jiraiya looked older than Hiruzen had ever seen him.

"I'll be careful," he said quietly.

Hiruzen nodded, turning to gaze out the window. Below, the village bustled with life. Children laughed, civilians went about their day, and ninja leapt from roof to roof. All of them blissfully unaware of the storm gathering on the horizon.

"Go, Jiraiya," Hiruzen ordered, his voice firm. "Find Orochimaru and that statue. I'll dig through every old text we have. There must be some clue about this power."

Jiraiya moved towards the door, then paused. "Sensei... what if we can't stop it? What if this is bigger than anything we can handle?"

Hiruzen turned back to his former student. "Then we'll face it together, as we always have. The Will of Fire burns bright in Konoha. We won't go down without a fight."

Jiraiya nodded, a small smile on his face. "Right. Well, I'm off then. Try not to let this prophecy business cut into your 'research' time, old man."

Hiruzen nearly slipped, catching himself on the edge of his desk. He glared at Jiraiya, but his eyes twinkled a bit. "Jiraiya," he called as the Sannin was about to leap out the window.

"Be discreet. We can't afford to cause a panic."

Jiraiya nodded, his face solemn once more. "Don't worry. I'll be sneaky as a shadow."

He winked, and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Whoosh.

A gust blew the leaves across the floor. He turned back to the window and saw his tired face reflected there.

He slumped back in his chair, sighing. What are you plotting, Orochimaru?

The pipe smoke twisted up, almost like grasping hands. Hiruzen didn't try to shake off the weird image this time. He had a lot of work to do, and the world's fate might depend on it.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock kept ticking, counting down to a future even the Great Toad Sage couldn't see clearly.