Early morning at the Training Ground.
Clear birdsong rang out from the woods.
But louder still were the cries of a boy training hard.
Ling Feng was training his physique alone.
Though the sage body was powerful, he still had to develop its true power himself.
It was like having exceptional talent: if you were lazy and refused to work hard, you would still achieve nothing.
Every day, he did a thousand sets of exercises, including push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and running and jumping through the woods.
If Might Guy had seen him, his jaw would have dropped.
No five-year-old should have been able to endure training at this level.
Forget getting stronger-it would ruin their body.
Talent determined a person's ceiling, while effort determined their floor.
Only Ling Feng, with his sage body, could pull this off.
"...Nine hundred ninety-seven, nine hundred ninety-eight, nine hundred ninety-nine, one thousand!"
After calling out the final number, Ling Feng lay on the ground, panting heavily.
Working up a sweat like this felt incredible!
To draw out the sage body's full potential as naturally as possible, Ling Feng usually pushed himself until his strength was almost exhausted.
Then he relied on the sage body's powerful recovery abilities to replenish his stamina.
Instead of using a Chakra Potion.
Repeating this cycle allowed him to make the fullest use of his sage body.
It also ensured that he could develop one hundred percent of its potential.
After resting for about ten minutes, Ling Feng got up and prepared to begin his next exercise.
He had not fully recovered, but he had enough strength for the next stage.
Clack!
Ling Feng took out a pile of Kunai.
He had exchanged points for all of them. He needed to familiarize himself with the items obtained from the Shop so he could control his strength more precisely on the battlefield.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
There were five targets, and his throws struck every bull's-eye with perfect accuracy.
A second later, Ling Feng vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, followed by the sound of blades slicing through the air.
Ten Kunai flew toward him from a short distance away.
Ling Feng reappeared in his original spot, striking back and forth with a Kunai in his hand.
Clang, clang, clang!
He knocked down every Kunai flying at him from all directions with pinpoint precision.
If Minato Namikaze had been watching, he would have been too astonished to speak.
Ling Feng's Body Flicker Technique had grown stronger again.
Next up was...
Ling Feng was about to move on to his next exercise when he suddenly stopped.
A second later, he turned around, just as three figures appeared in that direction.
Ding! Gained 30 points!
Once he saw their faces clearly, the corners of Ling Feng's mouth lifted slightly.
"How surprising!"
"The genius kid Minato-sensei told us about really is impressive."
"How did you notice us? I'm very curious."
Familiar voices, familiar faces.
It was none other than the Konoha Sannin, renowned throughout the Shinobi World!
"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade."
Ling Feng looked at the three of them and calmly spoke their names.
"Hmm? What an ill-mannered little brat."
Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. Any other child might have burst into tears from fright.
"Given our seniority, you should address us as lord and lady."
The white-haired Jiraiya folded his arms as he spoke to Ling Feng.
Tsunade held her head even higher, clearly displeased with Ling Feng's behavior.
Their reactions did not surprise Ling Feng in the slightest. He knew these three very well.
Orochimaru had always loved experimenting, taking unconventional paths and researching unorthodox methods that most people could not accept.
Jiraiya was a lecher through and through. He had been slow to get going, but his overall strength was impressive.
Tsunade was a violent woman, completely at odds with her beauty, and much of her strength came from the Senju Clan's legacy.
Faced with the Konoha Sannin's objections and displeasure,
Ling Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead, then unhurriedly picked up his water bottle and took two gulps. Only after his breathing had settled a little did he look at them again, his expression as calm as ever.
By then, veins were twitching on all three of their foreheads. Their patience was almost at its limit.
After all, they were still young, at an age when their blood ran hot.
They also bore the title of the Konoha Sannin, making them particularly protective of their reputations.
Naturally, Ling Feng's indifferent attitude infuriated them.
"Hey! Don't think I won't hit you just because you're a kid!"
Tsunade was the first to lose her temper, waving her fist as she shouted.
Jiraiya hurried over to stop her. "Have a little patience, Tsunade! Don't let this kid think the Sannin are all hotheads! Show some dignity befitting the strong!"
Only Orochimaru maintained his cold expression. He had always been like this, and his behavior was the most mysterious of the Sannin.
"As far as standing goes, I'm an ANBU member just like you. None of you is my superior, so there's no need for me to address you that way."
Ling Feng spoke slowly and evenly, utterly composed.
He even had time to straighten his slightly disheveled clothes.
After a brief silence, all three of Konoha's top Elite Jonin reached the end of their patience.
"Although Minato-sensei sent us here simply to get acquainted with you, your behavior is genuinely unpleasant."
Orochimaru spoke, his sinister expression and low, raspy voice sending a chill down one's spine.
It felt as though a giant python had fixed its eyes on you, marking you as prey.
Beside him, Jiraiya gave Orochimaru a disbelieving look. "I didn't expect you to be so impulsive, too."
"Don't tell me you haven't been thinking the same thing."
As he spoke, Orochimaru took a step forward, making his intentions obvious. He wanted to teach Ling Feng a lesson.
Jiraiya laughed and scratched his head. "Of course I have. But he's only a five-year-old kid. Wouldn't all three of us going at him be a bit much?"
"Then let me do it! I'm about to explode! I never thought Konoha had a brat who knew so little about respect!"
Tsunade rolled up her sleeves and started forward, but Jiraiya firmly held her back.
The Konoha Sannin had once been teammates, so they knew one another very well, and their everyday interactions were lively and entertaining.
But Ling Feng was in no mood to watch their antics. Instead, he carefully considered the gap between his abilities and theirs.
The Konoha Sannin had earned their fame throughout the Shinobi World because each possessed something unique-abilities no outsider could replicate.
Such as Tsunade's Monstrous Strength, Orochimaru's unique ninjutsu, and the Senjutsu Jiraiya had learned at Mount Myōboku.
These were not things ordinary people could easily gain access to.
They were, without question, the strongest opponents Ling Feng had encountered so far.
But the stronger his opponents were, the more Ling Feng's blood boiled with excitement!
Before you continue