Soon after, Shimoku excitingly vanished into his room.
He quickly exchanged for the much-craved [Immortal God Body].
However, just after the exchange,
Shimoku suddenly realized—he'd messed up big time!
The [Sage Body] and [Immortal God Body] actually repelled each other!
The reason was quite simple:
The [Sage Body] embodied the ultimate vitality of the body and cells. It was precisely because the cells were extremely active that tremendous regeneration ability and chakra were produced.
In contrast, the [Immortal God Body] reflected the ultimate inertia of the cells. Because of extreme laziness, even if the physical body was torn apart by five horses, the separated parts wouldn't decay—they'd last forever.
Therefore, when ultimate activity met ultimate inertia,
and coexisted within the same body, strong rejection naturally occurred,
which tore through Shimoku's body and cells like a violent split.
Thankfully, the System Store—the big shady merchant—
still provided basic after-sales service after selling its product.
It didn't simply abandon him.
Of course, returning the item was out of the question—no way in hell!
Thus, in the end, the System offered a compromise.
It transformed the [Immortal God Body] that Shimoku had exchanged for into one that could be activated voluntarily.
Essentially, it was like installing a switch.
When inactive, the [Immortal God Body] remained off, not suppressing cellular activity and causing no abnormalities.
But once activated, it would suppress cell activity and grant eternal immortality.
At this point, Shimoku finally sighed in relief.
Although there were some limitations after the modification,
it was still basically acceptable.
It had simply changed from a passive ability to an active one.
If he truly wished to open the [Death Gate] of the [Eight Gates], he could activate the [Immortal God Body] first.
Not that big of a deal anyway.
In short, he had finally obtained a true [Immortal Body]!
Moreover, looking at it from another angle,
he was actually lucky to have exchanged for the [Sage Body] first. If instead he had obtained the [Immortal God Body] first,
leaving his body cells always in a state of inertia,
that wouldn't have been good for the growth of his little swimmers!
It might even completely wipe out his baby-making capabilities!
Something absolutely unacceptable to Shimoku!
In that case, having the System change the [Immortal God Body] into an active skill was truly turning misfortune into blessing.
In the future, when he wanted to do something "for adults only," he could simply deactivate it beforehand.
Hopefully, that way it wouldn't mess with his little swimmers...
Afterwards,
Shimoku also generously rewarded Riyō, who had played a significant role.
Directly awarding Riyō with a bonus of 300,000 ryo coins, half a ton of beef, and three sessions of Taijutsu guidance.
This sparked envy among others in the Personal Guards, especially Gin.
The rest of the Personal Guards started clamoring for independent missions to showcase their talents.
Regarding this, however, Shimoku refused to indulge them.
Instead, he handed Gin over to Shinkawa Hyuga, ordering him to "instruct" the Branch House ninja in actual combat.
Only after defeating three or more Jonin-level members of the Hyūga Clan
would he assign Gin an important mission of his own.
Likewise, after receiving his rewards, Riyō was simply tossed aside by Shimoku for someone else to handle.
He planned to use the Byakugan and the help of Hyuga ninja to properly train the two boys.
After all, these promising talents needed sharpening—
Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to keep the Tailed Beasts' power under control in the future!
Besides, sparring with Hyuga ninja would definitely yield better results than practicing against familiar clansmen.
As for Shimoku himself?
Of course, he continued personally guiding Yueji in honing her taijutsu and mastering the Tailed Beast's power.
After all, looking across the entire village, no one else was more suitable than him.
...
Five days passed quickly.
Shimoku, immersed in training taijutsu, remained utterly engrossed.
Still, time had come.
For official matters, Shimoku eventually dragged himself out from his cozy little paradise.
He prepared to visit the Rain Hidden Village together with Orochimaru.
To pay a visit to that so-called god—Nagato, who appeared frail despite his grand title.
Additionally, on the day before departure,
news arrived from Kiri, stating that several envoys had been arranged to visit Homuragakure for diplomatic exchange, and to deliver the second installment of the payment.
They were expected to arrive in two days.
Upon hearing about Kiri, Shimoku couldn't help but think fondly of their luxurious hot springs and particularly about Terumi Mei's exceptional skills.
Truly unforgettable pleasures!
Of course, Shimoku firmly held himself back with iron willpower.
He instructed Riyō and others to properly welcome the allied guests from Kiri.
After all, real indulgence could wait until after he returned from the Rain Hidden Village.
No need to rush.
Thus,
on the afternoon of the fifth day,
Shimoku departed from the Land of Rice Fields alongside Orochimaru,
heading toward the Rain Hidden Village located at the tri-border central region.
...
Looking across the entire Ninja World,
the Land of Rain was unique as the only small country bordering three major nations.
Its strategic location made it inevitably a battleground constantly plagued by warfare.
From the end of the Warring States era until now,
in less than sixty years, nearly half that time had seen the Land of Rain embroiled in chaos and conflict.
Yet under the rule of two successive powerful leaders,
the Rain Hidden Village managed to survive tenaciously without being annexed.
In fact, they'd even constructed a modern-style advanced city filled with towering metallic structures and numerous vibrant bars.
This clearly showed that the Rain Hidden Village wasn't poor anymore, and its people lived pretty comfortable lives.
However, as a small country,
its fate was doomed to be tragic.
Because when it came to war or even economic competition, it didn't matter how strong you were—it was your endurance and staying power that mattered!
Already having limited population, compounded by constant wars and heavy rains,
made the Rain Hidden Village anything but resilient.
Just like twenty years ago, when Hanzo the "Half-God of Ninja World" single-handedly swept away troops from three countries, crushing an elite force led by the Sannin of Konoha.
But in the end, it proved meaningless.
By the time he defeated the enemy armies,
the entire Rain Hidden Village had already been reduced to ruins by the invading forces.
They couldn't even maintain a basic livelihood like ordinary people, let alone continue fighting.
That's why he had no choice but to forgo attacking the Sannin and secretly form an alliance with Konoha.
Take another example: Even if Konoha couldn't defeat Nine-Tails or Pain,
After taking a hit from [Supernova Shinra Tensei] and Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball, they still managed to recover quickly despite heavy losses.
Not long ago, Iwagakure Village was severely defeated by Konoha, suffering huge losses. Yet with the Land of Earth's support, they still regained their strength.
They even dared to spend a fortune hiring Akatsuki to assassinate the Hokage!
What about small villages like Rain Hidden Village?
One Tailed Beast Ball strike, and they probably wouldn't recover for ten years or more.
Size matters. Resilience. Population numbers...
These are the key factors determining any regime's future!
That's exactly why Nagato, possessing the Rinnegan and capable of rivaling the entire Ninja World, still chooses to develop quietly.
Because [Rain Hidden Village] only has one chance!
Waiting for [Rain Hidden Village] to grow stronger, waiting to capture the Tailed Beasts, and after making the world suffer pain,
Then having sufficient power to quickly unify the Ninja World!
Likewise, Shimoku is also accumulating strength.
Waiting until his Homura Hidden Village gains the capability to rule the world—after the five-year plan—then decisively taking control!
Just like the mighty Qin dynasty: "Building upon six generations of legacy before finally uniting all under heaven."
Otherwise, with Shimoku's current strength,
He'd have already stormed into other major Hidden Villages and ripped them to shreds.
And today has finally arrived—the moment when Shimoku and Nagato, these two Hidden Village leaders, these two 'ambitious' men, meet face-to-face!
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