Escape from Konoha.

"Shiraishi, what happened to those two?"

Sakumo looked at Shiraishi, the most ordinary and normal-behaving medical ninja in the group.

"It's nothing, girls have it every month..."

Liuli walked directly to the side, stepping on Baishi's foot, which made him turn pale and speechless.

"Teacher Sakumo said that the mission is very dangerous, so don't leave my sight, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety."

Hearing the veiled threat in Ruri's words, Shiraishi had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Ever since that day, Liuli's face has become very frightening.

You can't reason with a woman who is extremely angry.

Shuo Mao scratched his head, wondering why the team's cohesion seemed to be getting harder to manage.

Chapter Seventy-Three Dawn

April, Konoha Year 40 (Three years later, don't ask again).

Mt. Miaomu.

Towering trees and incredibly large stone statues and mushrooms are the distinctive features of this place.

The constant croaking of frogs and chirping of insects gives one a strong sense of vitality.

"Minato, I'm going to tell you about some things regarding Sage Mode."

Fukasaku, one of the two great hermits of Mount Myōboku, spoke earnestly to the blond-haired boy sitting in front of him.

The blond-haired boy was none other than Minato Namikaze, a ninja from Konoha.

As a disciple of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, he naturally signed a summoning contract with Mount Myōboku, allowing him to choose to train in Sage Mode, which is more powerful than ninjutsu, at Mount Myōboku.

Minato had long yearned for Sage Mode, so when he heard Fukasaku say this, his expression became extremely solemn.

"Yes."

"So-called Sage Techniques are the fusion of one's cultivated chakra with natural energy absorbed from the outside world, forming a unique Sage Chakra system. Once mastered, Sage Techniques can amplify genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu by several times or even more than ten times. You should know something about natural energy, right?"

"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei has already talked to me about natural energy."

Watergate answered.

"That's good. If you want to cultivate immortal arts, you must learn to sense natural energy. But don't underestimate sensing natural energy. Some people spend more than ten or even decades and still can't reach the first stage of sensing natural energy. For you humans, sensing natural energy is a very difficult thing."

Fukasaku knew that Minato had great talent, but since ancient times, more than 95 percent of the humans who came to Mount Myōboku to cultivate immortal arts had ended in failure.

"So, for the immortal, immortal techniques are something that, even if you know the method, are very difficult to master?"

“That’s right. That’s why you humans use some assistance when you’re cultivating immortal arts on Mount Myōboku. This is toad oil. Applying this to your body can enhance your ability to perceive natural energy.”

Fukasaku the Hermit pointed to the oil pool beside him and said.

"I understand."

Minato is eager to enter the training phase of Sage Mode.

"By the way, Master Fukasaku, where did Jiraiya go? I haven't seen him since I came here."

Before learning Sage Mode, Minato remembered something and asked.

"Little Jiraiya? He went to see the master."

Fukasaku answered Minato's question.

Compared to Minato, Jiraiya has been practicing Sage Mode for many years, but due to his lack of effort in practicing Sage Mode and his limited talent, he is still only at the initial stage where he can only sense natural energy.

Even at this stage, Jiraiya's ability to sense natural energy was not always accurate.

To be honest, even Fukasaku was starting to think about giving up on Jiraiya, this idiot student.

Fortunately, he took in a disciple with even greater talent. He believed that with Minato's talent, the success rate of mastering Sage Mode would be much higher than that of his master, Jiraiya.

Most importantly, Minato is a focused person and would never be careless during important training sessions.

"The Great Toad Sage?"

Water Gate looked at the enormous and awe-inspiring building in the distance.

His teacher, Jiraiya, was there, communicating with the Great Toad Sage, the ruler of Mount Myōboku.

"A few years ago, the old master made a prophecy about the future of the ninja world. Jiraiya seemed full of confidence, but in his heart he had become very impatient."

After all, it was a huge event that involved the entire ninja world, and Konoha could not avoid that terrible future. For Jiraiya, Konoha was a village that was more important than his own life and needed to be protected.

He certainly wouldn't allow that to happen.

The hermit, Fukasaku, had lived for nearly a thousand years and had long since become detached from worldly affairs.

Minato wisely refrained from asking what the prophecy was; for him, knowing such things was far too early.

Even if he asked, Fukasaku the Hermit might not answer his question.

His purpose in coming to Mount Myōboku at this moment was merely to learn the first stage of immortal techniques, in order to prepare for cultivating perfect immortal techniques in the future.

◎

The land of rain.

The rain poured down, silencing the noise and clamor of the world.

The group walked through the rain, hearing only the torrential rain and the chilling coldness it brought.

They passed through a long-abandoned village and saw many corpses by the roadside.

There were men and women, the elderly and infants crying for food; they either starved to death or froze to death.

A pack of emaciated wild dogs swarmed around the corpses, tearing at them until they whimpered a few times and collapsed as well.

Why was this village destroyed, and by whom?

This truth is no longer relevant.

This cruelty is playing out every moment in the Land of Rain.

They could be ninjas from a major country passing by, wandering ninjas from abroad, or even bandits.

In short, there are just too many possibilities.

If we were to investigate the truth, we would only get one of these few answers.

"No matter how you look at it, it's like a scene from hell on earth..."

One of them said.

I passed through many places along the way, and my impression of this country was only one of economic depression, internal chaos, rampant banditry, and people being displaced.

Despair. Crying.

Pain. Sorrow.

Like an unstoppable virus, it ravaged the country, ruthlessly reaping lives.

"There's nothing we can do. Even if the war is over in six or seven years, such a small country can't possibly recover... In fact, the chaos hasn't lessened at all since the war."

"A 'little girl' oppressed by a powerful nation, barely clothed, ekes out a living on the ground..."

One of them gave a wry, sorrowful smile.

Many years ago, he was also a member of this country.

To be honest, even though he was once a member of this country, he hated it and loathed its system.

Every day, people fight, kill, plunder, and die here.

"Speaking of which, what were our objectives for coming here again?"

"dawn."

"Ah, that new organization that's recently become quite famous in the Land of Rain. I heard they want to liberate the Land of Rain and achieve true peace."

One person showed his appreciation.

"They're just a bunch of reckless bulls right now. Although they're young people with beautiful dreams, they underestimate the cruelty of this ninja world. But no matter what, their will is commendable, and their dreams are excellent. Recruiting Akatsuki into our organization is the leader's order to us."

The leading ninja wasn't wearing a headband, but his sharp eyes pierced through the layers of rain, spotting the person they were looking for not far away.

After traversing this dilapidated village that resembled a living hell, the group strolled towards a small path built along the mountainside, heading towards the bare mountaintop.

They wore straw raincoats to shield themselves from the wind and rain, and pale yellow bamboo hats, with only their eyes exposed.

"We've found them."

"Let's finish the mission quickly. The organization is in dire need of fresh blood. After Xiao, there are other people we need to recruit."

Halfway up the mountain, seven or eight people were gathered together, resting inside a cave.

They are an organization called 'Akatsuki'.

It was established two years ago in the Land of Rain, and the ninjas in the organization are all ninjas from the Land of Rain, but they are not affiliated with the Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village) government.

The members of this organization are mainly teenagers.

They freely discussed their beautiful dreams for the future within the organization; they wanted to change this weeping country and bring it true peace.

However, ending the various disturbances caused by the war in the country is by no means a simple matter.

Even Hanzo of Amegakure doesn't have this ability.

Because the opening battle of the Second Shinobi World War was set in the Land of Rain, the country's economy has not yet recovered and is in fact more serious than it was a few years ago.

Furthermore, they also have to consider livelihood issues and solve basic food and clothing problems.

If they are determined to change the country, then they must set an example by not burning, killing, or looting.

Therefore, they could only seek out residents of the Rain Country who needed help, but due to the poor domestic economy, the rewards offered by those residents were very small, sometimes only a few steamed buns.

But those who knew did not refuse because of this.

They always earn the lowest wages while doing the hardest work.

This country has already experienced too much darkness; it would be good to bring even a sliver of warmth and light.

"Yahiko, we're completely out of ammunition and supplies. When is our next mission?"