Konoha: My peaceful life was betrayed by the system.

In no time at all, the table was devoured in a whirlwind.

Everyone was eating like crazy.

Using "eating" to describe it is no longer appropriate, because their eating manners are quite unsightly.

Because they had been starving all day, everyone disregarded their image and began to eat heartily.

Although he ate military rations during the day to replenish his strength, it was only his brain and stomach that felt like they had eaten them.

But my mouth didn't feel anything.

Those military rations don't taste or feel good at all; how can they compare to the comfort of this feast?

About ten minutes later, there was nothing left on the table, and everyone's stomach was round and full.

Although it's nighttime, there's no need to worry about gaining weight, since they'll be embarking on a long journey tomorrow to search for traces of the ronin camp in even more distant areas.

This is a reasonable way for them to replenish their physical strength.

After dinner, everyone collected the trash and put it outside the apartment door. Someone will come to collect it tomorrow morning.

After that, they each began their own training. Yahiko and Konan mainly focused on training their chakra.

Long-distance outdoor missions test two things: physical strength and chakra.

Much of the land in the Land of Rain is covered in water, so finding a path would require a long and arduous journey.

Walking on water became a necessary means.

Sometimes a lake can be several thousand meters wide, and the consumption of chakra is no small matter.

Although their chakra levels were already quite high among ninjas of the same rank, they were still somewhat tired after a long day.

Therefore, choosing to cram at the last minute will definitely still produce some effect.

Kushina, however, had no such plans. As a member of the Uzumaki clan, she didn't understand why ordinary ninjas worried about not having enough chakra.

Isn't this stuff more than you can use up?

Why bother cultivating it? Isn't this something you naturally have a tiny bit of in your body?

What Kushina needs to consider now is learning some medical ninjutsu. Ashina also suggested that she learn some medical ninjutsu, so she went to Tsunade to learn some for this purpose.

She has learned several medical ninjutsu techniques suitable for her, and now she just needs to keep improving them. She is already seeing initial results.

Kushina easily healed any injuries the group encountered along the way.

The three of them were practicing some basic and ordinary things, nothing particularly valuable. They just needed to practice and learn step by step.

Minato, however, has a very difficult task: to learn Sage Mode!

On the way today, while the five of them were resting in a cave, Minato had already begun his training.

It had a small effect, which made Minato quite happy.

Jiraiya didn't tell him what to do from the beginning, but let Minato figure it out on his own.

Only after encountering a bottleneck that he couldn't overcome did Jiraiya decide to offer Minato some advice.

However, according to Torifu, Minato's talent for Sage Mode doesn't seem to be particularly good.

Jiraiya wasn't sure exactly how bad this was, so he could only take it one step at a time.

Ideally, Minato could learn Sage Mode to a near-perfect degree during this period.

"Brother Qufeng seems to have said that his sage techniques are different from those of Mount Myōboku, and that I only need to give him pointers when necessary. I'll do that to avoid ruining Brother's plans."

Furthermore, Mount Myōboku has a rule that he cannot teach others immortal techniques without permission; anyone who wants to join their sect must be taken to Mount Myōboku for training.

Jiraiya had no intention of taking the boy away, so he simply watched the boy cultivate quietly.

About twenty minutes passed, and there was some progress, but not much.

"It really is just as my brother said. His talent seems to be quite average, far inferior to his space-time talent."

Minato seemed to realize that his talent wasn't particularly good, but his older brother had told him that this one-dragon immortal technique could be successfully cultivated regardless of whether one had talent or not.

Therefore, Minato was not anxious or agitated. He calmed down and slowly began to train, carefully honing his skills and trying to absorb the power of nature.

"No medium was used to absorb the power of nature? Will this method even work, brother?"

Back in the day, Jiraiya suffered a lot when it came to absorbing the power of nature, and he even had to use toad oil to aid his training.

This kid has nothing, yet he directly absorbs the power of nature?

"Perhaps this is just how my elder brother cultivates. I won't worry about it for now, I'll just observe."

Minato could feel a strange power entering his body, and his body cells began to stir, as if they were rejecting this energy.

He didn't panic. He followed the procedure and slowly suppressed the irritation while continuing to absorb the nutrients.

Soon, the body's reaction lessened considerably, as if it could accept the force.

Minato felt a little more at ease and began to continue trying.

Jiraiya nodded to himself: "Brother's method is quite something. I was just about to make a move."

If natural energy is not properly controlled, it can be fatal.

The many toad statues in Mount Myōboku are all human beings who went there to cultivate.

Living humans, unable to control natural energy, were turned into stone statues.

How did they manage to suppress the water gate so easily? What method did they use?

Also, is this what my older brother meant by not having enough talent?

Jiraiya was a little confused, thinking that Tokiwa was making a joke on him.

But he didn't dare to be careless, so he just sat not far from the water gate and observed him.

Chapter 689 An Encounter with Kakuzu

Jiraiya nodded to himself: "Brother's method is quite something. I was just about to make a move."

If natural energy is not properly controlled, it can be fatal.

The many toad statues in Mount Myōboku are all human beings who went there to cultivate.

Living humans, unable to control natural energy, were turned into stone statues.

How did they manage to suppress the water gate so easily? What method did they use?

Also, is this what my older brother meant by not having enough talent?

Jiraiya was a little confused, thinking that Tokiwa was making a joke on him.

But he didn't dare to be careless, so he just sat not far from the water gate and observed him.

About half an hour later, Minato stopped his training.

"Sigh, just as my brother said, the energy is naturally thinner in crowded places, so we have to go to the wild."

Minato shook his head helplessly. When he was on a mission, there was no opportunity to cultivate at all. But when he got home and had time, there was no place to cultivate.

There was no other way, so he could only squeeze in a little time to cultivate during the day.

Seeing that Minato had stopped training, Jiraiya stopped observing him and went about his own business.

Back in his room, he opened his notebook and began to brainstorm plot ideas for his novel. He had a rough outline in his mind, but he still needed to refine it before he could put pen to paper.

And so, everyone had their own things to do, and the day came to a complete end.

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the apartment, waking Jiraiya from his sleep.

After he stretched and got dressed, he noticed that there were already busy sounds coming from downstairs.

Pushing open the door, I found that it was Minato and the others preparing breakfast.

They seem to have been bought early in the morning; some of them were still steaming hot.

"Jiraiya-senpai, you're awake! Come and eat!"

"okay!"

Jiraiya performed a stylish somersault and jumped directly from the second floor, landing steadily.

"Haha, what are we eating today?"

Minato pointed to the food on the table and introduced, "Steamed buns, soy milk, some specialty soups from Sunagakure, and snacks from Iwagakure."

The main dishes are the foods that everyone usually eats; the food from other villages is just a supplement.

The food I've eaten these past two days, although the food in other villages is also quite good, I still don't quite feel like I'm used to it.

After breakfast, it's time to start today's tasks.

After cleaning up the trash, the five of them prepared to set off.

Not far from the apartment, Shuimen ran into a familiar person.

Yahiko and Konan were also very surprised and delighted to see him!

"Uncle Kakuzu!" The three children ran over quickly.

Kakuzu, who was strolling down the street, was momentarily stunned when he saw them.

He didn't know who they were, but the moment he saw their faces, Kakuzu smiled.

"Oh, it's you three little guys. The chief told me you came to Yu Province, but I've been too busy to see you. I didn't expect to run into you on the street."

Minato smiled broadly: "We were thinking of seeing you, Uncle, but we've been busy with missions and haven't had the time."

It had been a long time since they last saw Kakuzu, and Minato, Yahiko, and Konan had all grown a lot in those years.

“You’re all big kids now, you can stand on your own, that’s really great.”

Kakuzu was all alone, but he never expected that the children he had taken in would have such deep feelings for him.

He was also very emotional. Sometimes when he couldn't sleep at night, he would think about what would have happened if he hadn't joined the Wind-Seeking Organization back then, but instead chose to leave.

What kind of life is he living now?

Kakuzu couldn't have imagined it, but he knew it would never be any better than it is now.

He has a group of very obedient and reliable brothers under his command, and the leader takes care of important matters, so he only needs to manage the operation of the organization.