Jiraiya looked at Mizuki who seemed to be thinking deeply, sighed and said: "No matter how you face fate, whether it is disdain, awe or indifference, when it comes, it will always make you feel the impermanence and unpredictability of the world. In the end, we are all in the control of fate and it is difficult to break free."

It seems that those who have reached a certain level of strength will eventually face this problem. Although Shuimu has not yet deeply realized the power of "fate", it is indeed time to consider it.

As for Jiraiya, "fate" and "prophecy" have entangled him for decades, and his understanding of them is definitely not comparable to Mizuki's.

Seeing that Jiraiya seemed to be a little sentimental, Mizuki asked, "Sentimentality doesn't seem very like Jiraiya-sama's style, does it?"

"Well..." Jiraiya seemed to recall some past events: "Some of them are Orochimaru's views. Originally, he also wanted to explore more on this road, but unfortunately, war and death eventually confused his mind and made him forget our original intention."

"Orochimaru?" Mizuki felt relieved. It was not surprising that a proud figure of this era had such insight. No smart person would turn a blind eye to this.

"So, what exactly does this 'fate' mean?"

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "It is unclear what exactly is controlling the direction of this world. However, Orochimaru once read the information left by the second generation and came to a conclusion; that is, the overall strength of the ninja world is constantly declining."

"Is the overall strength declining?" Shuimu has never experienced this.

"Although the accumulation of ninja knowledge and technology has made it seem that the ninja's combat power has not decreased but has increased, this is just an illusion."

Jiraila explained: "From the time of the Six Paths Sage, to the first Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and to the present, you can clearly see that the strength of the top masters has not only not improved, but has gradually regressed."

"An individual case cannot prove the trend of the entire ninja community, right?"

Jiraiya sighed, and then said: "There is one thing you may not know. Compared with the past, the number of Konoha's jonin has decreased a lot, and their strength is also much inferior. If it weren't for the support of Kakashi, Kai, and Asuma, these famous ninjas, Konoha, which is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, would have collapsed long ago. Of course, it's also a good thing that you have been able to come to the fore recently..."

"Is it so serious?" Mizuki had tried to inquire about these things indirectly, but Tsunade did not respond on the grounds of confidentiality. However, she did not expect that the situation of lack of successors would be so bad.

"That's it." Jiraiya said with a headache, "Konoha is weak, but it is still trying to hold on. After so many years since the Third Ninja War, other ninja villages still haven't taken advantage of Konoha's weakness to invade. In addition to the Third Hokage's clever methods, an important reason is that the strength of other ninja villages is also much worse than before."

"Is that so?" Shuimu seemed to understand something.

Just look at the suicide of Hatake Sakumo to know how powerful Konoha was. He was almost equal to half of the Sand Village, and his reputation was so great that even the "Three Ninjas" could not be compared with him. Others include the fourth generation Namikaze Minato and the younger "Shunshin Shisui" represented by the Uchiha clan, but all of this has long become a thing of the past.

Despite such a "collapse-like" decline, and the successive defections or departures of the three ninjas, no major wars occurred and the balance was still maintained. It can only be said that the situation in other villages was not much better.

"So, what's the reason?" Since the strength of the ninja world is very likely to be declining, there must be a reason for it.

"We think the problem may be with the chakra." Jiraiya gave an unexpected yet reasonable answer.

"It can affect the entire ninja world. There is nothing else that can do it except spreading chakra throughout the world."

Shuimu also said with a sense of relief. The fact that the seniors noticed this meant that his worries were not groundless.

The ninja community rose to prominence because of chakra, and the root cause of their overall decline may very well be attributed to chakra.

"But it's hard for us to confirm this." Jiraiya said with a headache, "There are many theories about the origin of chakra, but no matter which one, the current situation in the ninja world cannot be avoided without the Six Paths Sage. Unfortunately, the information handed down is not enough to confirm our speculation."

Not to mention the information that has been passed down, even Mizuki, who knows more, cannot get the truth. Whether there was a problem with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and her seal, or whether the Six Paths Sage did something, it is still shrouded in mystery.

If the overall decline of the ninja world was gradual in the past, then there has been a clear gap in the past decade or so. Before the children of destiny and their companions grew up, there were really not many masters who could stand out.

"If there has been any major change in the past decade, would it be him?"

The most influential thing that Mizuki knew about recently was undoubtedly the opening of the Rinnegan by Uchiha Madara, which then summoned the shell of the sacred tree, the Outer Path Statue, which eventually became the source of unrest in the ninja world.

"If it was Uchiha Madara who accelerated this process, then the timing would match. But is this a coincidence?"

"Hey, what did you think of?" Seeing Mizuki distracted, Jiraiya couldn't help but interrupt Mizuki's thoughts.

"Nothing." Mizuki smiled apologetically and asked, "If there is something that can absorb a large amount of chakra, will it reduce the power level of the ninja world?"

"Isn't it obvious? It must be." Jiraiya said: "Whether it is human chakra, fairy chakra, tailed beast chakra, or even natural energy, in essence, they are all the same thing. They are just a combination of spiritual will and vitality. It's just that different chakras represent different lives."

"Then what does natural energy represent?" Shuimu had been pondering this question for a long time.

"Everything has a soul. If we regard all existence in the world as flesh and blood, then what's so strange about the birth of 'chakra', a natural energy that represents the will of the world?"

"If that's the case, then what about the chakra that we humans, and even intelligent high-level summoning beasts, refine themselves? Aren't they all part of nature?"

Jiraiya looked at Mizuki and answered seriously: "Since the world has given us wisdom and let us master chakra, then, are humans still willing to be as ignorant as stones on the roadside?"