Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

How should we reciprocate?

The couple's affectionate behavior even fed the "old folks" a mouthful of "dog food" (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection). Tsunade pouted and waved goodbye, while Jiraiya, not wanting to be a third wheel, followed, muttering to himself:

"Tsunade, it's been so long since we had a drink together, tonight..."

"I still have a lot of work to do!"

Tsunade ignored Jiraiya behind her. Recently, Furukawa had been practicing Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest, and the condition of the live slug made her a little worried. She felt that this sage seemed to be too enthusiastic.

-

Within the massive fault-lined cavern of the Wet Bone Forest, beneath the pale roots of the divine tree, a slug hundreds of meters in size continuously swayed its tentacles. After splitting into a human-sized clone, it curiously inquired:

"Does Lord Xiu intend to absorb this energy?"

“Revitalizing the sacred tree is not difficult for me, but after a long period of assimilation, these roots are no longer the original sacred tree.”

"This is my first time converting tailed beast chakra. Fortunately, there isn't much energy, so I can help if any problems arise."

A white branch gradually appeared in the slug's body. Unlike the seemingly lifeless tree roots above, the active branch was still growing slowly.

After Furukawa Osamu took the branch, the slug split into two palm-sized clones, which climbed onto his shoulder and continued to speak in a soft, sweet voice:

"Master Xiu's conjecture should be correct. The complete divine tree can transform all energy, and the fragments also retain basic functions."

"It is not the 'original chakra' that I mentioned, but merely the conversion of energy."

"It's alright. It has already verified our previous conjecture. Tailed beasts are indeed wondrous chakra energy bodies."

As Furukawa Osamu responded with a smile, he activated his [Gather] ability. Just as he had expected, a small ball of energy emitting a red glow quickly appeared in his hand.

In the live slug's vision and senses, the branches lost their vitality, and the small amount of Nine-Tails chakra that had been converted also vanished completely:

"Lord Xiu is just like me..."

Ignoring the wriggling slug on his shoulder, Furukawa Osamu channeled the energy in his hand into his body, then closed his eyes to carefully experience it:

"Interestingly, Yin Release, which represents spiritual power, creates physical form without being visible, while Yang Release, which represents physical power, infuses the physical form with life energy."

"The Yin-Yang Release is indeed very mysterious; the Tailed Beasts can actually use this power."

The energy collected contained very little information and had no special function; it only allowed Furukawa Osamu to better utilize his mental power.

"Yin-Yang Release? It seems to be a technique developed by Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Only he knows exactly how to create tailed beasts; no one else can do it."

"Even Gamamaru, who has a deep control over natural energy, cannot create life using techniques."

Furukawa Osamu nodded, then formed the hand seals for the Spirit Transformation Technique. Instantly, his spiritual power transformed into a spirit body, appearing in the Hundred Hairs Seal on his forehead, which was not yet fully formed.

In the spiritual world, the accumulated Sage Chakra appears as mist, sealed in one place by the technique.

In the past, when practicing, one could not see the specific manifestation of the technique. However, at this moment, Furukawa Osamu's spiritual body could perceive that the sealing technique was connected to the cells through the meridian system.

Unlike Tsunade's development direction, Furukawa Osamu's body is absorbing Sage Chakra in the opposite direction:

"The Hundred Healings Seal is more like an evolution of sealing techniques, independent of the body's meridian system and free from the limitations of the Eight Gates Chakra Points."

At this moment, Furukawa Osamu fully understood the formation of this technique. When he stepped forward to touch the misty Sage Chakra, he suddenly felt that a small part of his spiritual body had disappeared:

"Interesting. Can Sage Chakra contain a spiritual body or soul? Orochimaru is indeed going to develop the Reanimation Jutsu."

After the spell was lifted, Furukawa Osamu opened his eyes, and the slug on his shoulder asked curiously again:

"Lord Xiu, did you find anything?"

"I have a basic grasp of the art of spiritification, but I still cannot separate the spirit from the body. I'm trying to resonate with the slug."

As soon as Furukawa finished speaking, he quickly formed hand seals. When his spiritual body returned to the place where the Hundred Healings Seal was formed, it immediately caused a violent fluctuation:

"You...how did you become like this?"

Completely different from her outward appearance, the slug in the resonance, modeled after Tsunade, transformed into a blonde, large-breasted girl.

"Doesn't Lord Xiu like it? Humans should all like this kind of female!"

"..."

Chapter 43 A World of "Comparisons of Worstness" (Please continue reading)

In mid-December, news from Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) in the Land of Water shocked the entire ninja world:

Nine-year-old Momochi Zabuza defeated all the other students in his class and graduated all by himself.

Despite the legend of the "Village of Blood Mist" circulating in the ninja world, many ninjas did not believe it. Zabuza's appearance this time has confirmed the rumors that Kirigakure is extremely cruel.

Konoha didn't try to hide the news, and many ninjas proudly puffed out their chests upon hearing it, proving that the village was indeed the best in the ninja world!

Standing before the memorial stone, Kakashi looked at his father's photograph with a bewildered expression. He couldn't understand why so many ninjas felt proud upon hearing news of Kirigakure.

“Father, the village leaders are deliberately creating ‘tools,’ and the ‘tools’ are proud of it.”

“I can feel the care my comrades have for me, but most of them are living for the mission.”

"Why is the village environment so fragmented? Are those 'tools' worth saving?"

“A true ninja needs talent; I will not endorse those ‘tools’.”

"..."

Kakashi, as usual, reflected and whispered in front of the grave. Osamu Furukawa advised him to observe more and speak less, but the more he observed, the more confused he became.

The ideas they absorbed from childhood clashed violently with reality, resulting in a diverse range of Will of Fire ninjas who completely "tooled" themselves, with no resistance from the village's higher-ups.

As usual, Shuuya Furukawa visited Ichiro and Aoi. When Kakashi came to their side, he spoke first:

"Still confused? Kakashi, the ninja world is just that cruel right now."

"Even though they are both 'tools,' the village's 'tools' are better than those of other ninja villages."

It sounds ironic, but Kakashi, reflecting on his own mission experiences, realized it was indeed true.

Children in Konoha don't need to kill to become ninjas; they just need to be diligent to get commissions. Children from other villages, on the other hand, kill each other from an early age, all for the sake of obtaining the qualification to become ninjas.

"Perhaps there shouldn't be so many ninjas? The next Hokage will change this situation."

Kakashi asked a question in return, and then, like some other young ninjas, he placed his hopes on the next Hokage.

Furukawa Osamu did not provide an answer. He had been observing for many years and the village's interests had long been distributed. If the Hokage wanted to take power, he would still need to compromise.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, did a great job of balancing things, which is one of the reasons why most of the village's ninjas supported him.

"You're only 9 years old, we have plenty of time."

"Children cannot participate in adult matters; their primary task is to live a healthy life."

Furukawa Osamu smiled and comforted him, saying that no matter how talented a child is, they can't have a say in anything, and Kakashi was overthinking it.

As the two left the memorial, Kakashi recounted the mission from the previous two days, how his first time teaming up with Minato Namikaze had been a profound experience for him:

"The Flying Thunder God Technique is simply incredible! Captain Minato's reaction speed is even faster than my father's!"

"He is very popular among Jonin and Chunin, and everyone likes to partner with him."

Kakashi had been influenced by Minato Namikaze, and he rarely experienced the feeling of having someone to rely on during missions. He recognized Minato's talent.

"Minato's greatest strength might not be the Flying Thunder God Technique, but rather his incredibly optimistic attitude."

"Many ninjas in the hospital have psychological problems, but Minato is able to separate his ninja profession from his life."

Osamu Furukawa sincerely praised Minato Namikaze, saying that most ninjas lacked that kind of heroic spirit.

"Shu, do you also aspire to become Hokage like Captain Minato in the future?"

Kakashi asked curiously, but Furukawa Osamu laughed and pointed to the short sword on his back, jokingly replying:

"The Naruto era is still too far away; I prefer the power of chakra!"

"..."

Kakashi failed to understand Furukawa Osamu's words. In his view, refining chakra was a ninja's instinct, a normal and ordinary thing.

-

At the end of December, as the New Year approached, the Konoha leadership was somewhat puzzled after receiving news about Sunagakure.

"The Third Kazekage hasn't appeared at any meetings for the past month?"

"Is Sunagakure secretly planning an operation?"

Inside the Hokage Building office, Koharu Utatane voiced her doubts, while Homura Mitokado, continuing to peruse recent intelligence reports, frowned and responded with a single word:

"Perhaps the other side is mobilizing the tailed beasts; only such an operation would be carried out so secretly."

Sunagakure has been developing the One-Tailed Beast for many years and has achieved remarkable results.

The Magnet Release: Iron Sand series of ninjutsu combines offense and defense, and the Third Kazekage is also known as the strongest Kazekage. In previous wars, his name resounded throughout the ninja world.

Tailed beasts are the strongest weapons of war. Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled Jiraiya's report not long ago and said in a deep voice, pipe in mouth:

"It cannot be ruled out that if Sunagakure intends to use the One-Tailed Beast in the war, it is very likely that they have already mastered the power of the tailed beast."

"We are indeed lagging behind in this regard, but fortunately Jiraiya and the others are here, which is enough to deal with any situation."

With the three legendary Sannin in charge, not only was the village harmonious internally, but it also posed a significant deterrent to outsiders. Danzo, recalling Jiraiya's repeated rejections of his plans, said with some displeasure:

"It's not time to be complacent. I will make contact with Amegakure in advance so that if war breaks out, the battlefield cannot be located within the Land of Fire."

“The Root ninjas will accompany me on missions. Hiruzen, have Orochimaru leave temporarily.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. He didn't mind his old friend taking strong action against external forces for the benefit of the village, but thinking of Hanzo, he still gave him a reminder:

"Although Hanzo is old, we should still avoid conflict."

"I would prefer that everyone resolve their demands at the negotiating table; war is ultimately the worst option."

Danzo, squinting, remained silent. He wasn't so merciful to a small country like the Land of Rain; they weren't qualified to stand on equal footing with a major power.

-

The movements of the higher-ups are irrelevant to the genin. With the New Year approaching, Obito Uchiha, who was enjoying his holiday, unusually did not go to help the old lady, but instead accompanied Rin Nohara to buy food in the shopping street.

Obito saw Uchiha Inahisa, dressed in a Chunin green vest, chatting and laughing with Furukawa Osamu on the street and subconsciously muttered to himself:

"What a joke! All he does is boast within the clan. I really don't know why everyone approves of him."

Uchiha Inahi is highly regarded by the clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, and is currently a promising genius ninja in the clan. Obito, on the other hand, is always overlooked and often complains.

"Obito, don't talk about your seniors behind their backs."

"They are still your people, and you wouldn't want to be disliked by them, would you?"

Rin Nohara turned to give Obito some instructions. Seeing the girl staring intently at him, Obito immediately blushed, put his arms behind his head, and awkwardly replied:

"I understand, Rin! Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll definitely be able to surpass that guy."

"I'm going to be the man who carries the Uchiha clan crest and becomes Hokage!"

"..."

Obito's loud voice caught Inagi's attention, but he only glanced at her briefly before turning back to continue talking to Osamu Furukawa:

"Furukawa-kun, you'd be happy to visit the Uchiha clan sometime. The clan head is very willing to exchange ideas with the village's geniuses!"

"If Lady Tsunade needs pharmacopoeias and herbs, the clan is willing to contribute."

Unexpectedly, the Uchiha clan was so friendly. Furukawa Osamu smiled kindly and readily agreed.

"I will definitely find time to visit. I have spoken with Tsunade-sensei and Orochimaru-sama. They said that if war breaks out, the village will still need to rely on the Uchiha clan."

"'One-on-one, he will surely flee'—everyone in the ninja world knows the strength of the Uchiha!"

A smile spread across Uchiha Inahisa's long face beneath his black hair. Although Furukawa Osamu hadn't "run away" during the Chunin Exams and had instead beaten him up, it was precisely this kind of opponent's recognition that made it all the more precious.

"Then I look forward to Furukawa-kun's arrival!"

"Lady Tsunade, I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave now."

Tsunade, who had walked up to Furukawa Osamu, nodded in greeting. It was unusual for her to be dressed in a Jonin's blue casual outfit with her blonde hair down, all for a rare New Year's shopping spree. Looking at Uchiha Inahi's retreating figure, she glanced sideways and muttered:

"When did your relationship with the Uchiha clan become so good?"

"Kid, you didn't make any empty promises, did you? Why is a spies captain deliberately trying to prove his loyalty to me?"

Tsunade's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, and finally she leaned down and touched Furukawa Osamu's forehead.

Having recently been "contaminated" by the live slug's spirit, Furukawa Osamu was a little "nauseous" and could only step back to avoid her fingers and earnestly explain: