Re-cultivation

After testing his Earth Release ninjutsu, Jiraiya began to experiment with the Rasengan. A large, sky-blue sphere over a meter in diameter slowly coalesced in his hands.

He then pressed the Rasengan toward the ground, maintaining control to ensure it neither dissipated nor detonated. As Jiraiya applied force, the chaotic, swirling chakra of the Rasengan devoured the soil beneath it, and within moments, a massive crater appeared in the earth.

Jiraiya then dispersed the Rasengan. He did not attempt any other ninjutsu, as he had already gained a clear understanding of the changes in his body.

Jiraiya was a remarkably well-rounded ninja with outstanding capabilities across the board. Among the seven chakra natures, he possessed all except for Lightning Release; he commanded Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Yin, and Yang. He was not only proficient in various ninjutsu but also well-versed in the sealing arts of the Uzumaki Clan.

Beyond those, he had developed numerous ninjutsu and secret techniques of his own, such as the Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet and the Sage Art: Goemon used in Sage Mode, among many others.

Seeing Jiraiya standing there in thought, Naruto Uzumaki walked up and asked, "How does it feel, Pervy Sage?"

Hearing Naruto Uzumaki's question, Jiraiya folded his left arm across his chest and rubbed his chin with his right hand, replying, "I feel like I've become stronger. Yes. Much stronger, hahahaha!"

Naruto Uzumaki felt several black lines appear on his forehead upon hearing this. "Pervy Sage, be serious for a moment."

Seeing Naruto Uzumaki looking at him with a speechless expression, Jiraiya laughed even harder. Once he finished, he composed himself slightly and said, "The circulation of my chakra has become much smoother, my body has been strengthened to a certain degree, and compared to before, the ninjutsu performed with the same amount of chakra have seen a significant increase in power."

Naruto Uzumaki nodded; it was no surprise that the healing of old injuries could achieve this. Moreover, after the marrow-cleansing and bone-forging process, Jiraiya's physical fitness had jumped to a new level, so becoming stronger was inevitable.

Naruto Uzumaki then had Jiraiya sit down and tapped his finger on the center of the older man's forehead. This time, two cultivation manuals appeared in Jiraiya's mind: one called the Great Sun Skyfire Art and the other the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining.

Although Jiraiya possessed many chakra natures, his strongest was undoubtedly Fire. Giving him a Fire-attribute manual was done with this in mind.

While he was now cultivating a Fire-attribute manual, it did not mean he could no longer use his other natures; it simply meant his amplification for Fire-style techniques would be much greater.

The spirit energy in the ninja world did not have distinct attributes; it was all attribute-less spirit energy. The attributes cultivated by manuals were derived from the user's own innate nature. For instance, the Supreme Demon Sutra that Naruto Uzumaki cultivated was an attribute-less manual—or perhaps an all-attribute manual—as it provided a relatively balanced boost to all his own attributes.

Cultivating the Great Sun Skyfire Art allowed one to condense a flame within their energy vortex. As the manual progressed, this flame would slowly evolve until it eventually became Skyfire, though this would naturally take a very long time.

As for the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining, it contained the cultivation methods for artifact refiners as well as numerous weapon blueprints. Once Jiraiya successfully cultivated the Great Sun Skyfire Art, he could immediately begin learning artifact refining.

This was the "good stuff" Naruto Uzumaki had mentioned preparing for Jiraiya, as he truly couldn't think of anyone else to entrust the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining to.

After receiving the manuals, Jiraiya did not open his eyes but instead began cultivating without delay. Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki walked to a distance and sat down.

Calculating the time, Jiraiya had been in contact with spirit energy for over thirty years, so he was naturally very familiar with it. Before long, he sensed the spirit energy and began drawing it toward himself, guiding it into his body.

Because this was his first time cultivating and he had not yet condensed an energy vortex, the first wisp of spirit energy did not enter his dantian directly. Once the spirit energy entered his body, he slowly guided it to flow toward the dantian.

As this wisp of spirit energy flowed into the dantian, it slowly formed a small vortex. Once the small vortex appeared, the spirit energy surrounding his body began to surge frantically toward Jiraiya's lower abdomen, growing faster and more abundant by the second.

As the spirit energy poured in, the small vortex in Jiraiya's dantian grew continuously, spinning slowly until it finally formed a fiery-red spirit energy vortex. With the vortex successfully condensed, Jiraiya began to convert the spirit energy into Fire-attribute energy and circulate it throughout his body.

Because he had used the Myriad Spirit Longevity Art before cultivating the Great Sun Skyfire Art, not only had his marrow been cleansed and his bones forged—making his meridians tougher and wider—but a small portion of the Wood Spirit Qi that had been extracted from his vitality still remained within him.

When these converted Fire-attribute spirit energies encountered the Wood Spirit Qi, it was like pouring oil on a fire; they surged violently, becoming even more intense as they raced toward other parts of his meridians. As they devoured the Wood Spirit Qi, the circulation speed of the Fire-attribute spirit energy grew faster and faster.

Since Jiraiya's physical fitness had already been strengthened once, he felt no pain despite the spirit energy surging wildly through his body.

Seeing that Jiraiya had fully entered a state of cultivation, Naruto Uzumaki left a Flying Thunder God mark on a nearby large tree and stood up to walk into the woods, knowing that Jiraiya's cultivation session would not be short.

This was not only because his endurance had been greatly enhanced after the marrow-cleansing and bone-forging, but also because his internal injuries had just healed and required a massive intake of spirit energy to further strengthen his physique.

Furthermore, Jiraiya had been using spirit energy for decades; it was possible that through this session, he could refine his constitution into a Spirit Body.

Therefore, Naruto Uzumaki decided to go find some food. There was no one in this forest, and since he kept his sensory perception active, he could immediately return using the Flying Thunder God if anything disturbed Jiraiya.

By now, the spirit energy within Jiraiya had completed a cycle according to the manual's path. After the first cycle was finished, the speed at which Jiraiya absorbed spirit energy accelerated even further.

More spirit energy surged into the vortex, converted into Fire-attribute energy, and then entered the meridians to join the cycle.

As more spirit energy joined the circulation, it slowly began to strengthen his body, and Jiraiya's flesh began to devour the spirit energy ravenously.

Having already undergone one round of marrow-cleansing and bone-forging, Jiraiya did not waste any excess spirit energy on clearing out harmful substances.

While strengthening his physical body, Jiraiya began attempting to condense a spark in the center of the vortex. He left a portion of the converted spirit energy in the vortex and slowly stripped away the energy particles within it. Gradually, the energy particles accumulated, merging together into a red dot. Seeing this, Jiraiya absorbed spirit energy even more diligently, and the stripped energy particles flew into that dot.

Slowly, the dot grew larger. Once it reached the size of a ping-pong ball, its volume stopped increasing, but its color began to shift toward a deep red. Gradually, the light sphere began to emit a scorching aura.

As time passed, the light sphere grew hotter. After Jiraiya stripped away more energy particles and integrated them, the light sphere ignited, burned out, and was replaced by a deep-red flame.

At the same time the flame condensed in Jiraiya's vortex, ripples of fire appeared around his body in the outside world. Naruto Uzumaki, who was roasting a rabbit in the distance, saw this and remarked, "As expected of the Pervy Sage, he condensed the flame so quickly. At this rate, forming a Spirit Body is a sure thing."

Jiraiya remained immersed in cultivation. After condensing the flame, he discovered that the spirit energy he absorbed became even purer after being burned and converted by the flame.

Naruto Uzumaki, who was keeping watch, finished his roasted rabbit and, seeing that Jiraiya was still continuously absorbing spirit energy, went to a spot further away to begin his own cultivation.

At night, even fewer people would come to this forest. As for wild beasts, Jiraiya was currently radiating ripples of explosive flames; it would be a miracle if any beast dared to approach.

The next day, Jiraiya, who had cultivated for the entire night, opened his eyes. He saw that the surrounding trees had withered and the ground around him was scorched black. Then, he felt a chill on his body and looked down to find that his clothes had long since vanished.

With a helpless sigh, he summoned Gamatatsu once more to retrieve a set of clothes to wear.

In truth, Jiraiya had completed the transition to a Spirit Body late last night. The state of his surroundings and the loss of his clothes were simply consequences he hadn't noticed while immersed in his cultivation.

After Jiraiya finished dressing, Naruto Uzumaki ended his own cultivation. Sensing that Jiraiya had awakened, he quickly walked over.

Seeing the scene around Jiraiya and his changed clothes, Naruto Uzumaki knew that Jiraiya's Spirit Body had been successfully formed. "Pervy Sage, feels pretty good, right?"

Jiraiya nodded excitedly and said, "Excellent! I can't wait to test it out."

Naruto Uzumaki gave a cheeky grin, nodded, and after explaining how to use the Spirit Energy Body Infusion to Jiraiya, he quickly stepped back.

The Spirit Energy Body Infusion was not a special martial art, but a small technique for utilizing spirit energy: by stimulating the spirit energy in the vortex, it rapidly filled every part of the body to enhance physical strength.

Unlike Naruto Uzumaki's purple vortex, Jiraiya's vortex was deep red, as if it were a raging fire.

As Jiraiya activated the Spirit Energy Body Infusion, the fiery-red spirit energy in the vortex surged rapidly toward every part of his body, manifesting on his skin.

Unlike Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya's face underwent some changes after using the Spirit Energy Body Infusion; a flame-like mark appeared at the tip of the tear mark on his right side.

At this moment, a powerful energy fluctuation radiated from Jiraiya's entire body. He then raised his right foot and stomped on the ground. The earth gave way like tofu; Jiraiya's foot sank completely into the ground, and he lost his balance, falling to the right due to the excessive force.

Under Naruto Uzumaki's stunned gaze, Jiraiya coughed awkwardly and pulled himself out of the ground.

[System Panel]
Name: Jiraiya
Status: Spirit Body (Initial Stage)
Cultivation: Great Sun Skyfire Art
Technique: Spirit Energy Body Infusion

Provided by the great Ti Ta, "Naruto: Starting with Asura Chakra"