This idea ignited a fuse, making Jiraiya's eyes instantly light up like spotlights! He seemed to see countless small coins waving at him.
He suppressed his excitement and picked up the stack of money, counting it carefully—over three hundred ryo.
This was all he had for the month.
Fortunately, as a war orphan, he received a monthly pension of one thousand ryo before graduation, which was barely enough to live on.
Tucking the banknotes away, Jiraiya rushed out of his house in a flurry, heading towards the relatively bustling commercial street of Konoha Village.
The setting sun gilded the streets, and the shops on both sides lit up.
The shouts of vendors and the sounds of haggling were endless.
The air was mixed with the fresh scent of fruits and vegetables, the aroma of grilled fish, and the faint smell of meat stalls.
Among the pedestrians, Genin wearing headbands, Chunin in light green vests, and Jonin in dark green vests were everywhere, forming a unique scenic line.
Jiraiya even glimpsed two ANBU Members wearing animal masks flashing across the rooftops like ghosts.
He stopped and ducked into a stall with a sign that read "Affordable Fruits and Vegetables."
The diverse array of vegetables exuded an earthy scent.
"Boss, excuse me!" Jiraiya's voice was crisp.
He carefully selected three plump, red tomatoes, six fresh eggs, and a few bunches of vibrant green bok choy.
The bald-headed stall owner, seeing his small stature buying groceries alone, showed a kind smile on his face: "Little friend, you're very capable! I'll charge you twenty ryo for all of these!"
"Thank you, Uncle!" Jiraiya politely paid the money, then carried the small bag and walked to the adjacent stall, where the aroma of meat wafted.
On the cutting board, fresh spare ribs were neatly arranged.
"Uncle, how much are these spare ribs?"
"Oh, little friend buying spare ribs? Eleven ryo a catty! I'll give you a discount, ten ryo!" the hearty butcher waved his hand.
"Thank you, Uncle! Then please cut me three catties!" Jiraiya quickly counted out thirty ryo and handed it over.
The uncle's knife rose and fell, his movements clean and swift, and soon he wrapped the chopped spare ribs in oil paper and handed them to him: "Alright! Take care! If it's delicious, come again next time!"
"I definitely will!" Jiraiya smiled as he took the heavy spare ribs.
Next, he ducked into a general store, specifically choosing a stack of good quality A4 white paper, two smooth-writing pencils, a thermal lunchbox with a cartoon print (to prepare for tomorrow's lunch), and some spices.
The total came to forty-eight ryo.
Finally, he carried a small ten-catty bag of rice from the rice shop, which cost eighty ryo.
Looking at his deflated wallet, Jiraiya clicked his tongue in pain.
The total shopping trip cost 178 ryo!
However, thinking of the delicious food and his writing plan for the next few days, he felt the money was well spent—the rice would last him for more than half a month, and the vegetables and meat would last two or three days.
Jiraiya, laden with his purchases, almost ran back to his small house, put down his things, and plunged into the freshly cleaned kitchen, which still had a faint scent of fresh soap powder.
Jiraiya stood on a small stool, and a "duel" with the ingredients immediately began!
The stove fire happily licked the bottom of the pot, oil sizzled in the pan, and the spare ribs gradually took on an attractive caramel color under the influence of soy sauce and spices; the egg liquid poured into the hot oil quickly expanded, colliding with the bright red tomatoes to create a rich sweet and sour aroma; the green vegetables maintained their jade-like color under high-heat stir-frying...
Half an hour later, the kitchen battle ended.
On the small coffee table in the living room, three steaming, fragrant dishes and one soup were laid out: rich and tender braised spare ribs that fell off the bone; golden and crimson tomato scrambled eggs with a rich sauce; crisp and refreshing stir-fried green vegetables; and a bowl of plump rice exuding the fresh aroma of rice.
This familiar home-cooked taste instantly awakened the taste buds of Jiraiya, who was a "single little chef" in his previous life, and his mouth watered madly!
He unceremoniously served himself a large bowl of rice and devoured it.
The diet in the Hokage world focused on grilling, steaming, and sweet pastries; home-cooked stir-fries with "wok hei" like this were rare.
As Jiraiya feasted, enjoying the long-lost flavors, he happily calculated: "When I save enough money, I must open a stir-fry restaurant in Konoha! With this skill, I'll definitely surpass Ichiraku Ramen and become the new culinary landmark!"
He finally let out a satisfied burp after finishing three bowls of rice.
He carefully packed the extra food into the thermal lunchbox and put it in the refrigerator's cold storage—tomorrow's lunch was taken care of!
After washing the pots and pans and cleaning up the "battlefield," Jiraiya rested for about twenty minutes, allowing his well-fed body to relax slightly.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, standing in the cool night breeze, Jiraiya took a deep breath.
He knew his current shortcomings: apart from a moderately proficient life-saving Substitution Jutsu, he was a blank slate in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu.
The most urgent task was to build the most basic physical foundation!
There were no fancy moves, only the most primitive, clumsy repetitions.
Jiraiya stood in the center of the courtyard, his legs slightly apart, sinking his waist and sitting in a horse stance, throwing out punches one by one, followed by hooks and swings.
After retracting his fists, he began to practice kicks, straight kicks, side kicks...
Sweat quickly soaked his thin clothes, and his muscles silently screamed in soreness.
Every punch and every kick strived for precision, and every breath coordinated with the rhythm of the movements.
He knew that every drop of sweat shed now was capital for survival on the future battlefield.
After an hour of monotonous practice, Jiraiya was drenched as if he had just been pulled out of water.
He could no longer support himself and "plop" sat down on the cold dirt, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath, his limbs and bones screaming with fatigue.
After resting for about ten minutes, he barely regained some strength to move, staggering back into the house, picking up a water cup, and chugging it down to the bottom.
After another half an hour of rest, once his physical strength had largely recovered, Jiraiya prepared to practice hand seals.
The previous Jiraiya hadn't paid attention to this, his mind entirely on bathhouse beauties and erotic novels.
But now, he had to pick it back up.
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the cold floor of his simple living room, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, fingertips touching, eyes closed in concentration.
In his mind, the foundation of Ninja power in the Hokage world clearly emerged—the twelve profound seals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar.
He silently comprehended the mysteries of these seal forms.
Hand seals, in essence, are a precise and fixed combination of finger movements that guide the Chakra flowing within the body, achieving energy conversion and form manipulation of different attributes.
Like drawing complex energy circuits, each seal corresponds to a key node in Chakra flow.
This is not only the key to releasing Ninjutsu but also the precise art of a Ninja controlling power.