Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

"This is something my teacher taught me a long time ago, and I hope it can help you."

Itachi Uchiha looked at the girl with a serious expression. Although she had only moved to the Nanga Shrine two years ago, her ninja skills were outstanding, which was considered to have earned his approval.

"Master Xiu? No wonder Itachi mastered the Sharingan so early."

“My mother never told me any of this.”

Uchiha Izumi lowered her head and responded softly. Two years ago, during a nighttime attack, because their residence was neither in the center nor remote enough, her father tragically sacrificed himself to protect her and her mother.

Witnessing all of this, Uchiha Izumi was constantly consumed by painful emotions from that moment on.

After her mother, who had married out of the country, moved back to the Uchiha clan with her in the past two years, she finally successfully awakened the Sharingan.

The girl, seeing the wall surrounding the clan's territory, hesitated before finally expressing her inner turmoil:

"Itachi, I feel like some of the adults are acting strangely. Has something happened?"

"Some people have simply gotten lost on their path to power."

"If any of your clansmen discover that you have opened your eyes, don't worry about what they say. After you get the secret medicine, don't forget what I told you to control your emotions."

Uchiha Itachi looked at the girl and whispered his instructions. Uchiha Izumi immediately nodded vigorously, blushing as she softly thanked him.

"Thank you, Itachi."

As the two entered the clan's territory, a vortex appeared in the shadows. Wearing a tiger-striped mask, Obito Uchiha looked at the boy and girl's backs and inexplicably thought of himself and Rin Nohara.

Unable to instigate a war in the Land of Frost, he secretly returned to Konoha to search for the "seed" of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Having already left his coordinates at the Naka Shrine, Obito silently infiltrated the area. Today, he discovered this unexpected delight and couldn't help but secretly plan ahead. The White Zetsu he possessed also playfully offered his advice:

"Lord Madara, please be careful. Osamu Furukawa will be back soon."

"Itachi Uchiha will definitely stay by his side, and it will be a big problem if he is discovered."

"That girl is indeed very important; she might be able to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."

White Zetsu's tone was comical, but Obito was suddenly taken aback. As he was devising a "painful plan" for Itachi Uchiha, he suddenly remembered his own experience:

"Am I also part of Osamu Furukawa's plan?"

Upon hearing Obito's whisper, White Zetsu, realizing he had misspoke, quickly responded:

"Very likely! After all, only that evil guy knows what Lord Madara cares about."

"Maybe he took a liking to your eyes back then. Now, I wonder whose Sharingan you have. Its power is just too strong."

Obito remained silent, and White Zetsu, in an attempt to change the subject, simply reminded him in a comical tone:

"Lord Madara, shall we go visit Nohara Rin again?"

"Kakashi is coming back soon, and we might even see him propose in the next few days! That will increase my eye power!"

"Shut up! If you say another word, I'll stuff you into the Kamui dimension, and you'll never get the Mangekyou Sharingan again."

"No, Lord Madara!..."

As Obito recalled certain scenes, his eyes suddenly welled up with tears. The conflicted and painful emotions made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and in the end, he turned into a vortex and disappeared again.

-

Madara Uchiha has disappeared from the front lines of the Land of Frost, and Minato Namikaze remains extremely tense, conducting intensive patrols every day.

Under the cover of night, the Konoha ninjas gathered around the campfire, discussing when they would go home. Although Minato missed his son, he was more worried about the elusive enemy who appeared and disappeared without a trace.

"It seems Madara Uchiha has left again! I hope the Fourth Raikage will agree to patrol with him."

"If he sealed the Nine-Tailed Fox with the Amber Bottle, it will be extremely difficult to take it back."

Minato didn't take the Raikage's provocative words to heart; he only hoped to use the Raikage's power. Unfortunately, the Fourth Raikage didn't believe him at all.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You can improve the sealing technique when you get back."

"Does Jiraiya-sama have any useful information? The Land of Rivers, in my memory, is just a country that hasn't been developed much."

Furukawa asked in a low voice, while Minato let out a long sigh. As a disciple, he couldn't comment on his teacher, so he responded with a wry smile:

"The teacher still firmly believes in the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage about the child of prophecy."

"I can understand his feelings. He has spent his whole life fighting for this goal, but prophecies are of little help in war."

"I hope Jiraiya-sensei can calm down and master Sage Mode before setting off to investigate, which would be safer."

Jiraiya was surprisingly perceptive; he noticed that Nagato had only stayed in the Land of Rivers for an extra month. Furukawa kept this in mind, then sighed in admiration.

"Lord Jiraiya has worked too hard. He should rest for a while longer to recover from his injuries."

"We've gathered only a small portion of the information about the Rinnegan, and we hope it will be of some use to Lord Jiraiya."

Minato's expression darkened as he thought of the bizarre weapons and terrifying summoning beasts mentioned in the intelligence report. He decisively summoned the communication toad, took out the scroll, and didn't forget to give it a final instruction:

"Tell Jiraiya-sensei to stay in the village for now!"

"It would be best to wait until we get back before making any plans."

Chapter 188 Post-War Peaceful Life (Part 2)

At the end of June, Jiraiya, who had come to Konoha Hospital for another check-up, sighed repeatedly. After receiving a message from his disciple, he ultimately decided to continue resting.

After finding Nagato's hiding place, Jiraiya planned to strike at the heart of the enemy. However, his self-blame clouded his judgment, and he subconsciously blamed himself for Nagato's change of heart.

"Lord Jiraiya, your body has recovered remarkably well!"

"Avoid intense battles and frequent chakra extraction during this period."

After silently recording the data, he smiled and gave Jiraiya a few instructions, which the latter quietly agreed to. Then, a look of hesitation flashed across his face, and he asked in a low voice:

"Shizune, does Tsunade have some free time lately?"

"The ceasefire agreement will be signed at the beginning of next month, which should make the Hokage's job a bit easier."

Noticing the expectant look on Jiraiya's face, Shizune shook her head helplessly, then whispered, "..."

"Tsunade-sensei has so many documents to deal with every day!"

"Without Xiu's help, my work efficiency has dropped a lot, and my temper has been getting worse lately. Jiraiya-sama, you should be careful."

Jiraiya was even more moved that Tsunade could still find time to visit him under these circumstances. A bright smile spread across his face, and he stood up confidently, saying:

"I can't help with the village's affairs, but this time I will definitely investigate the Nagato problem thoroughly."

"After I finish the mission, I'll come back and have a drink with Tsunade."

"I will protect Tsunade and the village. That kind of attack will never happen again!"

Shizune nodded. The girl felt that Jiraiya-sama had misunderstood something because of his injury, but she really wanted to bring the two together so that Furukawa Osamu wouldn't have to bury himself in work when he returned.

During lunch break, Mitarashi Anko came to the office again. The girl had grown a lot in the past two years, but her figure was still flat.

Fortunately, being able to mute it was almost the same, which helped her regain a lot of confidence.

"When will you be back, senior? Are you deliberately hiding this from me?!"

Hongdou squeezed next to Jingyin, sharing meatballs and red bean soup while muttering under her breath. Thinking about her age, the girl added angrily:

"Don't treat me like a little girl, I'm already a Chunin."

Shizune glanced at Red Bean; aside from growing a bit taller, the other was still a "bean sprout," happily munching on three-colored meatballs, and grumbled irritably:

"There's still a lot of work to do after I get it back, I won't be spending time with a little girl like you doing some boring cultivation."

"Also, stop hanging around the medical department all the time. Doesn't Lord Orochimaru have a lot of work to do? You're not slacking off again, are you?"

The two quickly started teasing each other until Rin Nohara appeared, at which point Anko regained her ladylike demeanor, offering him dumplings and greeting him warmly:

"Lin, do you have any news about your senior?"

"Damn it, Shizune always tries to brush me off!"

Nohara Rin tilted her head, feigning deep thought, then smiled reassuringly and said:

"I should be back in the village by mid-next month at the latest. Don't worry, Kakashi told me there's no more fighting on the front lines!"

"The leader of the Cloud Village ninja is said to be coming to our side, and the village will hold a peace celebration. This war has indeed lasted too long."

Through continuous battles, Shizune, an elite ninja in the medical squad, witnessed many deaths:

“Hong’s father also sacrificed himself in the mission in the Frost Kingdom. She has been depressed for the past six months. We will talk to her again after she recovers.”

Upon hearing Shizune's words, Nohara Rin immediately agreed. The older generation suffered the most casualties, and this war made many ninjas realize how precious peace is.

"You can come to my house for dinner tonight. Kakashi bought a lot of ingredients!"

Rin Nohara extended an invitation with great enthusiasm, and Shizune and Anko immediately responded. The girl whispered that she would bring desserts, which immediately earned her a teasing remark from Shizune, who called her a "little devil."

Seeing this, Rin Nohara's face lit up with a bright smile. With the war over and Kakashi and her friends by her side, the girl looked forward to the future with even greater excitement.

"I wish I could turn 18 sooner!"

-

Jiraiya accepted Minato's advice and recently began to focus on training in Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku. However, his talent seemed to be lacking, and he always encountered problems when refining Sage Chakra.

"Ouch, that hurts! Fukasaku-saku!"

Jiraiya, who had been knocked to the ground by Fukasaku's staff, finished his frog transformation. Touching the large bump on his head, he grumbled in frustration:

"Damn it, natural energy is too difficult to control. I didn't expect that just refining it would be so difficult."

"What should I do about the Sage Mode later on? I can't keep using toad oil, can I?"

Jiraiya, sitting up straight, hurriedly asked a question, but Fukasaku the Sage sternly criticized him:

"See those petrified toads? It's not just humans who find it difficult; we also face enormous risks when we cultivate ourselves."

"All you have to do is let your body remember that feeling, and my wife and I will help you with that later."

Jiraiya inexplicably thought of insect ramen and insect dishes, his face turning green for a moment, and he quickly changed the subject, saying:

“Master Fukasaku, I would like to meet the Great Toad Master. I still have many questions about the Child of Prophecy.”

As soon as Shima jumped over, he heard Jiraiya's request and immediately retorted in an annoyed tone:

"Little Jiraiya, don't take the master's prophecies to heart. Sometimes the master doesn't even remember what he said!"

"If you are going to make contact with the Rinnegan, remember to summon us using the Summoning Jutsu."

"Just looking at those compiled intelligence reports is extremely dangerous. How did you defeat him back then?"

Before Jiraiya could respond, Fukasaku immediately took over the conversation:

"It was that boy named Osamu Furukawa who defeated the attacker. He should also possess the power of Sage Mode, far more so than Jiraiya."

"The lord's prophecy will not be wrong, little Jiraiya, we will support you."

Deeply moved, Jiraiya was about to express his gratitude when Shima the Master opened the basket and cheerfully handed him the insect dish:

"Little Jiraiya, this is a brand new seasoning that I specially prepared for you!"

Staring at the bowl of bright green ramen teeming with insects, Jiraiya initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the expectant expressions on the two sages' faces, he finally steeled himself and loudly proclaimed:

"I'm starting!"

"vomit..."

Late at night, in an underground laboratory in the dense forest west of Konoha Village, Orochimaru coughed lightly from time to time, intently observing the changes in the experimental subjects' data. Finally, he whispered an order:

"Kabuto, try activating this body one more time."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"

Although Kabuto Yakushi, who wears round-framed glasses, is only 10 years old, he is indeed a genius in medical ninjutsu. After activating the experimental subject, he immediately stepped aside.

"It seems that guy wasn't lying after all."

"The Sharingan's power is difficult to continue to grow after transplantation, and the Mangekyou Sharingan can only be born in the bloodline of the Uchiha clan."

After saying this, Orochimaru covered his mouth and coughed lightly. Even though the experimental subject's body used Hashirama cells, the Sharingan didn't receive much of a boost.

"Lord Orochimaru, your body is collapsing."

"Even with my seniors joining forces, it would be difficult to maintain my current physical condition."

After giving his advice, Kabuto stopped analyzing. Orochimaru tried to sense the container; he hadn't expected his body to collapse so quickly. He chuckled softly and responded in a hoarse voice:

"It seems there's still time. Kabuto, what do you think of the power of bloodline limits?"