While Jiraiya was still digesting this reality, Shiratori thought of another thing.
What exactly was his current cursed energy level?
These two jutsu just now didn't feel taxing at all. His body hadn't shown any signs of exhaustion either.
In his mind, he called out to the system.
System!
What's my exact cursed energy value?
[Query detected]
[Processing request...]
Before the system could come up with an excuse to refuse, he fired like a machine gun, I know my own cursed energy is tied to Rika's growth. Because Rika and Sukuna both bring cursed energy, my total cursed energy must now exceed my own natural reserves. You just need to give me the number.
After saying this, he added, If you can't even provide basic information about your host, you might as well be scrapped and rebuilt.
[Information request: Valid]
[Updating personal interface with cursed energy tracking]
Tell me. What's my current cursed energy value? Shiratori calmly repeated.
[Personal interface updated]
[Total Cursed Energy field: ADDED]
"..."
The system acting this normally actually made him feel a bit uneasy.
Normally, the system shouldn't be this cooperative. Though suspicious, he didn't intend to pursue it, after all, his time was tied to his emotional value.
How could a mere system compare to his precious time?
He immediately opened the [Personal Info] page, and sure enough, at the bottom, a new field labeled [Total Cursed Energy] had been added.
The system's efficiency was surprisingly good this time!
[Total Cursed Energy: Personal Energy (3,800,200) + Cursed Spirit Energy (5,300,200)]
Staring at this number, he fell into thought.
Exactly as he had guessed.
His own cursed energy grew in perfect sync with Rika's growth.
Her current growth progress was at 38.002%, which meant his own cursed energy had reached 3,800,200.
When Rika's growth reaches 100%, then his own cursed energy will reach this body's peak value: ten million.
The cursed energy from spirits also matched the current progress of the cursed spirits he possessed.
Sukuna's current growth was at 15%, with his cursed energy at 1,500,000. Added to Rika's carried cursed energy, the total was 5,300,200.
The upper limit for cursed energy boosted by cursed spirits should also be ten million. But since there's no limit to how many cursed spirits he can have, the potential boost is essentially limitless.
At the end of the day, what he really needed to focus on was collecting emotional value. Not to mention, he was itching to unlock those copy techniques that hadn't been activated yet.
Especially Toge's Cursed Speech ability.
[Note: Copy technique activation requires multiple cursed spirit development]
[System designation: Cursed Spirit Mother Support System]
[Current system focus: Cursed spirit awakening through emotional energy]
"..."
Shiratori hadn't forgotten, but the system seemed to have.
If you hadn't said it, I almost forgot you were a support system.
More like a sabotage system.
[Function: Information and development assistance]
"..."
The system wasn't offline, but Shiratori couldn't take it anymore and logged off himself. He just couldn't handle how weirdly helpful the system was being today.
Right after logging off, he was immediately bombarded by compliments from Konan and Yahiko.
Of course, their compliments were absolutely heartfelt.
"Amazing!"
Yahiko and Konan didn't know anything.
All they knew was that he had perfectly recreated Jiraiya's jutsu.
Shiratori played along with them, his eyes wide with innocent excitement. He grabbed their hands and said, "That's great. Now I'll be able to keep protecting you all."
Yahiko and the others nodded vigorously.
"We'll protect you too!"
They were all genuinely happy. The sound of the children's laughter reached Jiraiya's ears. Seeing their joyful faces, the heaviness in his heart eased a little. No matter what, they were all truly good kids.
A soft expression appeared on his face.
He ruffled Shiratori's hair and said, "Then why don't you join in too!"
Thus, Shiratori officially joined their ninjutsu training.
Aside from his extremely fast learning speed, Jiraiya also discovered something else, it seemed that Shiratori wasn't limited by chakra nature. He could master all five chakra nature transformations. Not only that, the mysterious energy in his body seemed extremely powerful. Far greater in quantity and duration than the chakra possessed by Yahiko and the others. This gave him a subtle sense of destiny stirring within him.
It felt as though fate had guided these children to him, perhaps so that he could help them move forward.
---
The next day, as usual, Shiratori and the others trained with Jiraiya on the rocky shore. He was currently progressing the fastest in their ninjutsu training, but he hadn't given up on taijutsu either.
So, Jiraiya simply had Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan join the taijutsu training as well. He generously passed down all the ninjutsu he knew.
Shiratori was very satisfied with his current progress in copying the jutsu. But he was not satisfied with the rate of emotional value collection.
There were just too few people.
Jiraiya, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan only provided a limited amount of emotional energy.
They could certainly provide enough affection value for Rika's growth, but they lacked what was most essential for Sukuna's growth, killing intent value. On top of that, he wanted more cursed spirits. And to activate more cursed spirits, he needed to gather a broader range of emotions.
Inside this small house with only five people, it would be nearly impossible to awaken a third cursed spirit. If he wanted to collect large amounts of complex emotions, there was one ideal place for someone like him.
The battlefield.
That place contained all kinds of emotional energy, making it a natural site for power growth. But entering the battlefield required a special reason, as well as a noteworthy and valuable skill. And aside from combat troops, the most important role in war was medical. So, he decided he wanted to learn medical ninjutsu.
He knew, of course, that Jiraiya didn't know medical ninjutsu. But Jiraiya could call someone who did.
After effortlessly reproducing the ninjutsu Jiraiya had just demonstrated, Jiraiya's eyes flashed with admiration and praise.
When Shiratori finished, he suddenly looked up at Jiraiya and earnestly said, "Jiraiya-sensei, I want to learn medical ninjutsu."
Hearing this, Jiraiya was momentarily stunned. His eyes fell on Shiratori's face. On that child's face, he had never seen even a hint of negative emotion, always kind, always optimistic, always full of energy.
The boy didn't shine with the blinding light of the sun, but he had a warmth that reached deeper than sunlight.