Escape from Konoha.

Thankfully, it wasn't.

"Then why is this happening?"

"I do not know."

The Great Toad Sage said quite simply.

"what?"

Jiraiya was completely bewildered.

do not know?

What kind of answer is that?

"The person who will bring absolute destruction to the ninja world is currently in Konoha. You must investigate him thoroughly. I'm counting on you, Jiraiya..."

In Konoha!?

Jiraiya looked surprised.

What's going on? The one who will bring destruction to the ninja world is in Konoha?

who is it?

Are there such terrifying people in Konoha?

If that's the case, why didn't I realize it at all?

Those must be powerful Konoha ninjas.

"Great Toad Sage, I—"

"Whoosh..."

The only sound coming from the chair was the sweet snoring of the giant toad sage.

Jiraiya, Fukasaku the Sage: "..."

Was the prophecy just now really not a joke or a dream?

However, it seemed unlikely. If it were just an ordinary dream, the Great Toad Sage wouldn't be so bored as to call him over.

"But Konoha is so big, with so many ninjas, how am I supposed to find them..."

Jiraiya's sigh echoed in the main hall.

Besides, he's about to head to the battlefield; he wouldn't have time to do something like that.

Besides, it's uncertain whether they are male or female, and trying to check them one by one would be exhausting.

Should we ask Sarutobi-sensei for help? Jiraiya began to make plans.

Chapter 52 The Warning Inspired by the Toad

Upon returning to Konoha, Jiraiya did not explain to his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the strange dream prophesied by the Great Toad Sage.

Whether the Hokage believes in prophecies is another matter. Even if he does believe, investigating innocent ninjas without any basis could easily cause chaos within Konoha.

In many situations, even the Hokage cannot casually pry into a ninja's secrets; Jiraiya was able to distinguish between what was important and what was not.

Therefore, this is something that can only be handled personally.

After all, the Great Toad Sage said that this dream prophecy would directly cause ninjas to disappear from the ninja world, including Konoha.

As a staunch supporter of the Will of Fire, Jiraiya could not tolerate such a thing happening.

Therefore, Jiraiya had two plans. One was to find the person the Great Toad Sage mentioned in Konoha and deal with him directly. This was the first method, and also the most direct and effective.

However, this was not his style, so the second method was to find the person who made the prophecy and educate him with the right ideology. This would not only prevent the disappearance of Konoha, but also cultivate an excellent ninja for the village.

The choice between the two methods depends on finding the person who made the prophecy; without finding this person, anything said is just wishful thinking.

However, Jiraiya was vaguely worried.

Because the Great Toad Sage did not conclude that the person he prophesied could be correctly guided to abandon darkness and embrace light in his handling of the prophetic dream, but instead directly foresaw the disappearance of the ninja forces led by Konoha, accompanied by an unprecedented war that swept across the ninja world.

Therefore, Jiraiya worried that the person who made the prophecy would be unable to correct their thinking through any means or words, and would go further and further down the path of destruction.

With all the ninjas gone, the ninja world will naturally be destroyed as well.

This is exactly what Jiraiya was worried about.

◎

At the end of July, the sun was blazing.

Under a large, shady tree in the courtyard, Shiraishi and Ruri were meditating together, practicing a ritual to extract natural energy from the natural world.

Unlike the physical and mental energy that forms within the human body, natural energy has a wider range of sources. It is contained in the air, water, flowers, trees, and plants, and is a kind of life energy that is omnipresent and endless.

Absorbing natural energy can significantly enhance physical and mental activity, resulting in an overall boost.

Furthermore, after absorbing natural energy, it can significantly improve the human body, making the body more resilient.

In simple terms, if all of humanity in the ninja world mastered the method of absorbing natural energy, then the natural lifespan of humans would increase by at least several decades, and in old age, their physical condition would not decline too much, nor would their appearance appear too aged; instead, they would maintain boundless energy.

Of course, this is an ideal situation.

Theory often requires logic, but reality is often far-fetched.

To think that this cultivation method could be promoted in the present era to benefit all mankind is simply a pipe dream.

Without a sound system and regulations, such a hasty action will not only put one's own situation in great danger, but will also brew an unprecedented storm of war.

The war will no longer be confined to ninjas, but will extend to the entire human race.

Therefore, continuing to preserve oneself is the best course of action.

Precisely because they have mastered the method of extracting natural energy, they should hide even deeper and never show their faces unless absolutely necessary.

Just as Baishi was concentrating on extracting natural energy, Liuli opened her eyes.

Suddenly, an orange-fuzzy cat landed on her shoulder. This cat was a bit fatter than a normal house cat and looked harmless, but it came to Liuli's side with a light and silent movement, which showed that its speed and agility were completely disproportionate to its fat size.

"Lady Liuli".

From its open mouth came a voice that sounded like a human, but was rather neutral, making it impossible to tell whether it was male or female.

"Yu Huo, is there something you need?"

Yuhi is the most capable of the ninja cats that Ruri signed a summoning contract with. Normally, it is responsible for managing the hundreds of cats in Konoha Village and transmitting information.

It's not yet time for the scheduled intelligence exchange, which means Yu Huo has something important to report to me.

"I don't know why, but there have been many more toads in Konoha these past few days than usual."

Yu Huo jumped off Liu Li's shoulder and looked directly at her.

"Toad?"

Liuli frowned.

"Yes. I felt something was off about this, so I came here specifically to report it."

What do you think is the reason?

It took almost half a year to send those hundreds of cats into Konoha through various formal channels, so Ruri's use of cats to gather intelligence went unnoticed by outsiders.

Even the identities of these cats blended naturally into Konoha, without any sense of incongruity.

Because of past experiences, Liuli is always on high alert for any unusual occurrences in her surroundings.

"I'm not quite sure. Lady Ruri, what should we do next?"

"From now on, when you have your cats deliver intelligence, choose a high place on a building, somewhere without toads. If there's anything amiss with those toads, come and notify me immediately."

Regardless of the reason for the sudden increase in the number of frogs in Konoha, whether it is a natural occurrence or someone is controlling it behind the scenes and planning something, Ruri must remain extremely vigilant.

Never overlook even the slightest suspicious detail.

"Yes!"

After Yu Huo finished reporting, he disappeared from Liu Li's sight with a whoosh.

Shortly after the feather fire disappeared, the white stone over there opened its eyes and stood up from the shady spot where it had been meditating.

"How's it going? Is it finished?"

Liuli cares about this.

"It went very smoothly. Now I have inexhaustible energy in my body, and my mental state is much better than usual. I feel like I could go for days and nights without sleeping and not feel tired."

After stretching his muscles, Shiraishi smiled with satisfaction.

Just as I had imagined, natural energy has unimaginable benefits for living organisms.

If this method were applied to the human population, it could indeed rejuvenate people's bodies and minds, preventing them from suffering from numerous illnesses. Some minor ailments could be eliminated simply by relying on the body's own strong immune system, without the need for medication.

Shiraishi's body appears unchanged, but in addition to chakra, it also contains natural energy drawn from the natural world.

Shiraishi hadn't realized this through his experiments, but now that he'd extracted natural energy, he suddenly felt that even without chakra, natural energy could become a very complete energy system.

This was very close to the result he had expected. Even without chakra as a support, natural energy could be a necessary energy supplement during battle.

Especially the improvement in physical skills.

This conclusion has already been proven in previous experiments.

Whether ninjutsu and genjutsu can be released using natural energy alone requires further research.

If one can use natural energy to unleash ninjutsu and genjutsu, then natural energy is undoubtedly a superior alternative to chakra.

But in fact, the two complement each other.

The Sage Chakra, produced by the fusion of natural energy and chakra, undergoes a further qualitative change in energy intensity, including its powerful life force that replenishes the human body.

Chakra, natural energy, and Sage Chakra are progressively developed in this order.

In theory, since natural energy can be used alone to enhance physical and mental activity, that is, to strengthen taijutsu, then logically there is no problem in using it alone to release ninjutsu and genjutsu.

However, this only means that there is no problem in terms of theoretical logic.

Even so, Shiraishi was already satisfied. His fighting techniques were mostly derived from taijutsu, and his ninjutsu was mainly medical ninjutsu.

Now that he has a better alternative to chakra to enhance his taijutsu—natural energy—he can save the limited chakra in his body and use natural energy to improve his physical and mental activity. The overall improvement effect is better than that of chakra, and his endurance is also more outstanding.