Jiraiya, upon returning to Konoha, did not inform his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, about the strange dream the Great Toad Sage had prophesied.
Whether the Hokage would believe a prophecy was debatable, and even if he did, investigating a ninja with an unblemished record without any basis could easily lead to internal chaos in Konoha.
In many situations, even the Hokage couldn't casually probe a ninja's secrets. Jiraiya understood the priorities in such matters.
Therefore, this was something he could only handle himself.
After all, the Great Toad Sage had said that this dream prophecy would directly cause ninjas, including those in Konoha, to disappear from the ninja world.
As a staunch supporter of the Will of Fire, Jiraiya could not tolerate such a thing happening.
So, Jiraiya had two plans: one was to find the person the Great Toad Sage spoke of in Konoha and deal with them directly. This was the first and most direct and effective method.
However, doing so wasn't his style. Therefore, the second method was to find the prophesied person and provide them with proper ideological education. This would not only avoid the problem of Konoha's disappearance but also cultivate an excellent ninja for the village.
Which of these two methods to choose was based on finding the prophesied person. Without finding this person, anything else was just wishful thinking.
However, Jiraiya was vaguely worried.
Because the Great Toad Sage's handling of the prophetic dream did not conclude that the prophesied person could be correctly guided by him and turn over a new leaf. Instead, it directly foresaw the disappearance of ninja powers, led by Konoha, accompanied by an unprecedented war that would sweep the ninja world.
Therefore, Jiraiya worried that the prophesied person might be impossible to correct through any means or words, and would only delve deeper into the path of destruction.
If ninjas disappeared, the ninja world would naturally be destroyed along with them.
This was precisely what Jiraiya was worried about.
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Late July, the scorching sun blazed.
Under a large tree in the shade of the courtyard, Shiraishi and Ruri were meditating together, practicing extracting natural energy from the natural world.
Unlike the physical and spiritual energy formed within the human body, the source of natural energy was much broader. Air, water, flowers, and trees all contained natural energy, an omnipresent, endless life energy.
Absorbing natural energy could significantly enhance physical and mental activity, meaning an overall boost.
Furthermore, absorbing natural energy could greatly improve the human body, strengthening its vitality.
To put it simply, if all humans in the ninja world mastered the method of absorbing natural energy, then the natural lifespan of humans would increase by at least several decades. Moreover, in old age, their physical condition would not decline much, and their appearance would not seem too old, but rather maintain boundless vigor.
Of course, this was a very ideal situation.
Theory often requires logic, but reality is often absurd.
Trying to promote this cultivation method in the current era to benefit all humanity was simply a pipe dream.
Without a complete system and institutions, rushing into this would not only make one's own situation very dangerous but also brew an unprecedented storm of war.
The war would no longer be limited to ninjas but would encompass the entire human class.
Therefore, continuing to preserve oneself was the best approach.
Precisely because they had mastered the method of extracting natural energy, they should hide even deeper and never show their hand unless absolutely necessary.
Just as Shiraishi was concentrating on extracting natural energy, Ruri on the other side had already opened her eyes.
A fluffy orange cat suddenly landed on her shoulder. This cat was a bit fatter than a normal house cat and looked harmless, but it arrived beside Ruri with light, silent steps, showing that its speed and agility were completely disproportionate to its plump size.
"Lady Ruri."
From its open mouth came a human-like voice, neutral, indistinguishable as male or female.
"Haika, is something wrong?"
Haika was the most outstanding of the ninja cats Ruri had signed a summoning contract with. Normally, it was responsible for managing hundreds of cats in Konoha village and relaying information.
It wasn't time for the regular information transfer, which meant Haika had something important to report.
"I don't know why, but in Konoha these past few days, the number of toads has increased much more than usual."
Haika jumped down from Ruri's shoulder and looked at her directly.
"Toads?"
Ruri frowned.
"Yes. I thought this was a bit strange, so I specifically came to report it."
"What do you think is the reason?"
It took nearly half a year to get those hundreds of cats into Konoha through various legitimate channels, so Ruri's use of cats to gather information had not been noticed by outsiders.
Even the identities of these cats had naturally integrated into Konoha, with no inconsistencies whatsoever.
Because of past lessons, Ruri would be vigilant about any abnormalities around her.
"I'm not sure. Lady Ruri, what should we do next?"
"From now on, when your cat offspring relay information, choose high places on buildings, where there are no toads. If those toads show any abnormalities, come and notify me immediately."
Regardless of why the number of frogs in Konoha suddenly increased, whether it was a natural phenomenon or someone was controlling it behind the scenes, planning something, Ruri had to maintain extreme vigilance.
At no time could she overlook even the slightest suspicious detail.
"Yes!"
After Haika finished reporting, it vanished from in front of Ruri with a whoosh.
Shortly after Haika disappeared, Shiraishi had already opened his eyes and stood up from the cool spot where he was meditating.
"How was it, did you finish?"
Ruri was concerned about this.
"Very smoothly. Now I have endless power in my body, and my mental state is much better than usual. I feel like I could stay awake for days and nights without feeling tired."
Shiraishi stretched his muscles and bones, a satisfied smile on his face.
It was exactly as he had thought. Natural energy had unimaginable benefits for living beings.
If this method were promoted among humans, it could indeed revitalize human bodies and minds, preventing many illnesses. Minor ailments wouldn't even require medication, relying instead on the body's strong immunity to eliminate them.
Currently, Shiraishi's body looked unchanged, but inside, in addition to chakra, he also had natural energy absorbed from the natural world.
Shiraishi, through experimentation, had not yet realized that now that he had extracted natural energy, he suddenly felt that even without chakra, natural energy could become a very complete energy system.
This was also very close to the result he had anticipated. Even without chakra as support, natural energy could become an essential energy supplement during combat.
Especially its amplification in taijutsu.
This conclusion had already been proven in previous experiments.
As for whether separate natural energy could be used to release ninjutsu and genjutsu, further research was needed.
If ninjutsu and genjutsu could be released using natural energy, then natural energy would undoubtedly be a superior substitute for chakra.
But in fact, the two complemented each other.
The intensity of senjutsu chakra produced by the fusion of natural energy and chakra, including the powerful vitality it supplied to the human body, still needed to undergo further qualitative changes.
Chakra, natural energy, senjutsu chakra—these three progressed in this deep sequence.
Theoretically, since natural energy could be used alone to enhance physical and mental activity, that is, to strengthen taijutsu, then using it alone to release ninjutsu and genjutsu had no logical problem.
But it was only logically sound in theory.
Even so, Shiraishi was already content. His fighting methods mostly came from taijutsu, with medical ninjutsu as his primary ninjutsu.
Now he had a better substitute for chakra to amplify his taijutsu—natural energy—which allowed him to save his limited internal chakra. Using natural energy to enhance physical and mental activity provided a better overall enhancement effect than chakra, and its endurance was also more prominent.
Therefore, calling natural energy an inexhaustible energy was not an exaggeration at all.
"By the way, I think I heard Haika's voice just now. What happened?"
Shiraishi had vaguely heard the ninja cat Haika's voice while extracting natural energy, which prompted his question.
Ruri did not hide anything and said directly, "It came to report to me that many toads have appeared in Konoha recently, and told me to be careful."
"Toads?"
Shiraishi tilted his head.
Honestly, if one wasn't particularly observant in this area, it would be hard to notice the sudden increase in toads in Konoha village. After all, toads are so small, and most hide in dark, damp sewers. Who would pay special attention to such a thing?
"Mount Myōboku, one of the three great holy lands, is the toads' nest. And Jiraiya-sensei, one of the Sannin, has a deep connection with Mount Myōboku."
"Are you worried it's toads from Mount Myōboku?"
Shiraishi suddenly felt this was a bit too far-fetched.
"According to the Uchiha clan's records, the three great holy lands have a long history and possess incredible, mysterious powers. Whether or not it's the Sannin's doing, we cannot let our guard down."
"Is that so? Then we'll just pay attention."
Shiraishi didn't object. Anyway, Ruri had a complete intelligence system, so he didn't really need to get involved in such matters.
However... it was indeed a bit strange for so many toads to suddenly appear in Konoha.
"Never mind, I just need to remain inconspicuous. There's no need to do these extra things," Shiraishi thought to himself.
So far, he had hidden himself very well, and Ruri had handled many follow-up issues for him. One could say that he was currently an innocent-minded, ordinary Konoha genin.
He just needed to continue living with this ordinary feeling.