“Destiny?” muttered Neji with a stunned expression.
“Yes, destiny!” nodded Fukasaku as jumped on top of a nearby rock, and while looking at Sasuke in the distance, he said, “The reason why Uchiha Kiyomi didn’t succeed, but Uchiha Sasuke did, this is the guidance of the wheel of fate. It was Uchiha Sasuke’s destiny to become Mount Myōboku’s successor of this generation.”
Listening to Fukasaku’s words, Jiraiya remembered his personal experience, and added, “Now that you mention it, something similar happened to me. I accidentally came to Mount Myōboku, that was also the guidance of fate.”
Hearing Fukasaku and Jiraiya’s words, Neji questioned depressingly, “Does that mean no matter how hard I work, the result will still remain the same? My destiny will never change?”
Elder Fukasaku shook his head and jumped away.
Jiraiya said with a sigh, “There are some things that are just meant to happen, you can not change them. No matter what you do, they will happen eventually, the means may change, but the result will remain the same.”
Neji looked at Sasuke in the distance while stroking the ‘Caged Bird’ Cursed Mark on his forehead, and said in a saddened tone, “I understand what you are saying Jiraiya-sama... however, I am just not reconciled... why does fate always against me?!”
Jiraiya patted Neji’s shoulder, and said, “You are still young to think of these things.” He wanted to say more to Neji, and inspire him to continue to work hard, however, remembering the fate of being a member of the branch family of the Hyuga Clan, Jiraiya shook his head. The bigger headache is, ‘Now how am I supposed to explain this to him?’
The entire trip to Mount Myōboku was proposed by Kuroto, and the only reason Jiraiya agreed was to reward him for his act of scaring away the Akatsuki and saving the village from a major calamity.
Jiraiya never expected that Uchiha Clan would also get involved in this. Normally, Jiraiya obviously wouldn’t have agreed, but he was forced to agree by his Sensei to draw Uchiha Clan closer to the village in order to maintain the stability of the village.
Now everything is messed up, although Uchiha Kiyomi failed the test, Sasuke passed the test and was selected, on the other hand, Neji, and Hinata didn’t even have the opportunity to take the test, which made it difficult for Jiraiya to explain to Kuroto.
After thinking for a long while, Jiraiya couldn’t come up with any solution and shook his head, “Forget it, it can’t be helped. Let’s just reward him some another time.”
At this time, Sasuke returned.
Neji quickly hid the disappointment on his face, and congratulated Sasuke with a forced smile, “Sasuke... congrats... you finally obtained such a powerful Summon!”
Patriarch’s Mansion, Hyuga Clan
After the return of Neji and Hinata, Hiashi, Hizashi, and Kuroto gathered and asked the two about the details of their trip to Mount Myōboku.
Feeling the concerned gaze of the Patriarch, his father, and Sensei, Neji felt ashamed of himself, and said tremblingly, “I... am sorry... I failed to sign a summoning Contract.”
Hinata also said timidly, “I... I also failed.”
Both Hiashi and Hizashi sighed, and a trace of disappointment flashed in Hiashi’s eyes.
Especially at Hinata, she had the opportunity to go to two of the three Unexplored Sage Regions, and she failed both times.
Contrary to Hizashi and Hiashi, Kuroto was much calmer. The moment he saw Sasuke being part of the trip, he knew that there would be some unexpected changes at Mount Myōboku. After a while of silence, he instructed Neji, “Tell me everything that happened at Mount Myōboku, every detail.”
Neji nodded and told everything. From the moment of arriving at the land of toads, to meeting Elder Fukasaku, then meeting the Great Toad Sage Gamamaru, the Senjutsu trial after that, and the test later.
“Sigh, it was bad luck this time.” Muttered Hizashi after he heard the reason for Neji and Hinata’s failure.
Kuroto chuckled, “Bad luck? Do you really think that’s the reason?”
Feeling the mockery in Kuroto’s tone, Hizashi looked at him doubtfully, and asked, “Is there any other reason?”
Kuroto folded his hands over his chest, and said lightly, “Gamamaru, leader of Mount Myōboku, has the ability to see the future of some individuals. The reason Uchiha Sasuke was selected, is not because he passed the stupid test, it’s because Gamamaru saw something in Sasuke’s future, and felt that Sasuke was more worthy to invest compared to the other kids.”
Neji was stunned, “Sensei... wasn’t that the arrangement of fate?”
Kuroto chopped Neji’s head, and said, “I have already told you several times not to believe in something as stupid as fate. Everything is in our hands as long as we make ourselves capable enough!”