No. 66 Mingcha Street.
At noon, Rinjin was drinking with Jiraiya, who had just returned from his travels.
Joining them was Fukasaku Sage from Mount Myōboku, who had brought his own lunch.
Raising his cup, Rinjin lightly clinked it with Jiraiya's and took a small sip.
"Jiraiya, not to criticize you, but you really need to work harder on your sage techniques."
Hearing this, Fukasaku Sage, who was picking up a fat white worm and stuffing it into his mouth, nodded in complete agreement.
As the right-hand toad of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, his understanding and appreciation of sage techniques ran incredibly deep.
In his eyes, the two humans contracted with Mount Myōboku clearly didn't take sage techniques seriously enough.
Even though Jiraiya had mastered Sage Mode, in his view, it was still equivalent to not caring at all.
Meanwhile, Rinjin continued speaking:
"Brother, I've been researching sage techniques lately. Guess what I discovered?
Sage techniques enhance lifespan!
Maintaining Sage Mode for extended periods, letting natural energy flow unobstructed through the body, can at least double a human's lifespan!"
Fukasaku Sage nodded again.
He had lived for eight hundred years, and the Great Toad Sage was a toad from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's era.
To put it bluntly, when the Sage of Six Paths was still in diapers, the Great Toad Sage was already mating with female toads.
Faced with Rinjin's words, Jiraiya remained unconvinced.
Living too long seemed like torture to him.
Wasn't peeping at beautiful women enjoyable? Weren't mixed baths delightful?
After thinking briefly, Jiraiya shook his head in disagreement:
"First, let's not even discuss whether I can maintain Sage Mode for long periods.
Humans and toads are different. Especially us shinobi—we need to handle sudden battles. The stillness required for Sage Mode simply can't be maintained long-term!"
On this topic, Rinjin shook his head in disagreement.
"I respectfully disagree!"
Among the two people and one toad present, Fukasaku Sage, who had studied natural energy for centuries, was the most knowledgeable.
But when it came purely to Sage Mode development, Rinjin could confidently say he surpassed even Fukasaku Sage.
This wasn't empty boasting.
His physique was special—it seemed that even when he wasn't actively absorbing natural energy, his cells constantly interacted with external natural energy.
This allowed him to maintain Sage Mode for extended periods while "moving"—that is, in combat mode.
Meanwhile, Fukasaku Sage happily swallowed a plump worm and patted the table with his hand.
"Little Jiraiya, I also disagree with what you said.
The idea that you can't focus on extracting sage chakra during battle is actually a misunderstanding.
You shinobi can mix physical and spiritual energy to extract chakra during combat, right?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya nodded seriously:
"That's correct, but it's built on years of uninterrupted training and extensive combat experience!"
"Then why can't you make mixing natural energy to form sage chakra into a kind of—"
"Instinct!" Rinjin interjected.
"Exactly!" Fukasaku Sage nodded.
"Why can't you train extracting sage chakra to become an instinct?!"
Hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent.
Honestly, forget making sage chakra extraction instinctive during combat—even while meditating, extracting sage chakra was a major headache for him.
With his appearance when activating Sage Mode, he was too embarrassed to use it as a regular combat form.
On the other side of the low table, Rinjin glanced at Jiraiya and laughed inwardly.
This guy just needed more training!
He'd have to find a chance to throw him back to Hiruzen Sarutobi for retraining.
But thinking about it, people like Sakura and Kakashi, who could precisely extract and control chakra, were actually better candidates for Sage Mode training.
At this thought, Rinjin smiled self-mockingly.
It was a paradox.
Because of low chakra reserves, they needed precise chakra extraction and usage.
But people with low chakra couldn't handle Sage Mode, which required large amounts of personal chakra.
Simply put, if sage chakra amounts were too small, it wasn't much different from regular chakra.
Meanwhile, Fukasaku Sage continued trying earnestly to persuade Jiraiya.
He had always been quite dissatisfied with Jiraiya'sSage Mode training and had wanted to send him back for retraining several times.
However, Jiraiya would nod submissively on the surface, promising to study hard, then slip away to peep at women's bathhouses the next moment.
Just as Fukasaku Sage angrily ate three fat worms in succession, the back door adjacent to the courtyard suddenly sounded.
Hearing the noise, Rinjin turned and shouted:
"The door's unlocked! Just push it open!"
The next second, a handsome blonde young man pushed the door open.
Seeing who it was, Jiraiya immediately beamed with joy and waved at the blonde.
"Minato, come quickly! Your teacher's being bullied!"
Hearing this, Minato smiled warmly and walked to the low table, politely greeting everyone:
"Jiraiya-sensei, Rinjin-sensei, Fukasaku Sage, good afternoon."
The two people and one toad smiled and returned the greeting.
At Jiraiya's invitation, Minato removed his shoes and sat at the low table.
"Have you eaten?"
"Rinjin-sensei, I've already eaten. No need to trouble yourself."
Hearing this, Rinjin nodded and turned to Fukasaku Sage beside him, teasing:
"This kid's been handsome since childhood. I remember telling Jiraiya back then that I wondered which family's daughter would be lucky enough to get him.
Who would've thought this boy would end up with the little princess of the Uzumaki clan? They're well-matched."
In current Konoha, aside from Sarutobi's generation and old-timers like Kosuke, Rinjin already had the seniority to play the elder.
Hearing Rinjin's words, Fukasaku Sage's graying eyebrows immediately rose.
"I know! Little Jiraiya told me about it!
You two even bet with adult books back then~"
Hearing this, Minato immediately scratched his head with an embarrassed smile, a flash of nostalgia in his eyes.
Time flew by like an arrow. He still vividly remembered those two young men with their perverted expressions.
Beside him, Jiraiya was already laughing heartily.
Thinking back, they really were a troublemaking duo, wandering around the village bullying kids whenever they had free time.
After laughing for a while, Rinjin finally stopped and shifted the topic back:
"Minato, I heard from Fukasaku Sage that you've also trained in sage techniques?"
Hearing this, Minato nodded, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face.
"I have trained, but I'm not very skilled."
"Is that so? Then I suggest you train properly.
If for nothing else, just for the sensory abilities in Sage Mode, you should master it."
He wasn't speaking without purpose.
Both Minato and Jiraiya were strong, but their weaknesses were obvious—they lacked perception and prediction of hidden enemies.
For others, Rinjin might not say this, since human energy was limited.
But!
Minato was different. This kid was a genius!
As a genius, he should naturally shore up his weaknesses when conditions allowed.
With this thought, Rinjin picked up the wooden sandals beside him and casually tossed them into the courtyard.
"Minato, can you find my shoes?"
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