On the contrary, Jiraiya and his companions were already exhausted from their journey. They had only rested for a short while before being surrounded by the Aoda. Now, after experiencing an even more intense run, their fatigue was far more than just the sum of its parts.
"Call..."
Jiraiya a long sigh of relief. Now he was certain that they were out of the Aoda's territory, which made him feel much better. He then muttered to himself, "I was really unlucky this time. I ran into that kind of venomous snake. I haven't seen one like that in a long time. It's still as terrifying as ever."
" Jiraiya-sensei, let's rest a bit more. I can't go on, I'm so tired!" Kushina sat down on the ground with her legs turned outwards, panting heavily. This high-intensity running had left her feeling terrible.
"Yes! Yes! Let's rest a little longer!" Minato's face was already quite pale. He was arguably the one who had been most exhausted here. He had been extremely focused during the battle with the Kumogakure ninjas, and when he encountered the poisonous snake, he even used the Flying Thunder God Technique again. Now, his stamina was on the verge of being completely depleted, and his endurance was clearly insufficient.
"Okay, let's rest here. There shouldn't be any problems here. I'll keep an eye on things. You guys can't let your guard down completely either. Anything can happen in the forest, so stay alert at all times," Jiraiya nodded and said.
Araki silently placed the box on the ground. He didn't speak. In this team, he was mostly silent, because he was the only one in peak condition, and any slight expression of his feelings would be very obvious.
but...
After running just now, he suddenly understood a principle: that is, why ninjas always leap from tree branches when they go out on missions.
The leaping between tree branches was not achieved using physical strength, but rather through the transformation of Chakra in the soles of the feet, which allowed for the absorption and leaping process, making everything appear less difficult and the movements of the person very light.
The advantage is that it can conserve energy, maintain a good condition, and continue fighting until the destination is reached, and even after arriving, it can still fight.
The downside is also obvious: it consumes more Chakra, so you need to take Military Rations Pill to replenish your Chakra during rest.
In contrast, consider the running under the tree just now...
Not only was the speed slower than jumping between tree branches, but it also consumed more energy. After running for just a short while, the legs of everyone, including Jiraiya, were already sore.
If they were to reach the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind by running, it would be far too difficult and troublesome.
Araki hadn't understood this problem before, but after he actually went out once, he immediately understood what was going on, having experienced both methods.
" Araki, is everything alright here?"
Kushina suddenly spoke up, looking at Araki. She already trusted Araki a lot, and along the way, she had heard Araki share a lot of scientific knowledge, which she rarely heard before. Therefore, she trusted Araki even more and directly voiced her concerns.
Upon Kushina's words, both Jiraiya and Minato looked towards Araki, neither of them knowing what to expect.
"Based on the habits of the Red-tailed Green Bamboo Finch, this is no longer their activity area, so we can rest here without any problem."
Araki nodded.
As he ran, he kept sensing the airflow around him. This place was indeed a rare quiet spot, and he could occasionally sense some faint presences, which, if he wasn't mistaken, were probably small animals.
For example, wild rabbits or squirrels.
It won't pose any danger to them.
After hearing Araki's words, the group visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Even they themselves didn't realize that after the incident with the Aoda, Araki's status and image in their hearts had been significantly elevated.
Two hours later.
After replenishing their physical and mental strength, Jiraiya's team resumed their journey, leaping from tree branches to tree, constantly closing the distance to the border.
Some time passed.
As the setting sun took away its last rays, the woods gradually darkened, and night was about to envelop the forest.
Suddenly.
Jiraiya stopped, stood on a tree branch, looked up at the sky, and then at the darkening forest.
"That concludes today's itinerary. We'll find an open space nearby to set up tents and take turns keeping watch. Given that this is your first mission and you're both mentally and physically exhausted, we won't be traveling at night," Jiraiya said in a deep voice, having his own considerations.
"Yes!"
Minato was the first to respond. He was really tired today. He had just been thinking about this problem, afraid that Jiraiya-sensei would be inhuman and make them travel all night. If that happened, he would be completely exhausted by tomorrow daytime.
"Now let's start looking for a place to rest, prioritizing open spaces. That way, even if we encounter attacks from wild animals or ambushes from other ninjas, they'll be some distance away and their movements will be exposed," Jiraiya instructed.
"Clear!"
Minato responded, but his breathing was no longer as full, especially when he knew he could rest soon, the tension in his body also relaxed.
Araki silently followed behind the group. He knew very well that now was not the time to reveal his strength, but he believed that one day, when they encountered such a situation again, he could use Wood Release Ninjutsu to build a house for them on the ground right in front of them, so that they could have a very comfortable resting environment.
Before long, Jiraiya found a suitable location, and the group worked together to set up the tent. The whole process didn't take too long.
"You all go and rest first. I'll take the night watch. My habit is to cultivate at night. The night feels like home to me; it's very comforting." Araki volunteered to take the night watch for everyone.
Minato gave Araki a deep look but said nothing. He knew Araki was telling the truth. In fact, he had known Araki a little back in the Ninja Academy, though not in great depth. But things like training at night were not a secret at all.
" Araki, are you sure you can do this? You've been carrying that box all day!" Jiraiya asked with concern.
"No problem," Araki nodded and said, "My usual training intensity is much higher than this, so I've already adapted. I'm not even that tired. If I wasn't worried about disturbing your meditation, I'd really like to run a few laps around the tent."
"Let's skip the running laps. We're at night. It's good that you have energy, but training isn't urgent. We need to conserve our energy," Jiraiya, waving his hand.
"Understood." Araki nodded again.
"Then we won't stand on ceremony with you. Everyone's tired, let's go and rest first. If you can't keep going, just call me anytime and I'll take your place," Jiraiya said.
"No problem." Araki nodded again.
"Thanks a lot."
Jiraiya patted Araki on the shoulder, then looked at Minato and Kushina and said, "Everyone, let's rest."
Immediately afterwards.
The three of them went into their respective tents one after another.
The night air grew still as the sounds faded away.
As Araki said, nighttime means more danger for many ninjas, but for Araki himself, it was like coming home, without any fear, only a sense of warmth.
From the moment he transmigrated to the ninja world, he had been trying his best to rest. During the day, he needed to attend classes at the Ninja Academy to maintain his basic studies. After all, his studies were very important. If he failed to graduate from the Ninja Academy, he would not be able to become a ninja. This created an insurmountable chasm for him in the strict hierarchical structure of the ninja world.
Therefore, the only time he could have for extra practice was at night.
Araki spends almost 95% of his nights in training, with only a few days for relaxation. Now, he feels the familiar darkness enveloping him, and the cold air blowing on his skin gives him an indescribable feeling of comfort.
Hopefully, the journey ahead will be smooth!
Araki looked towards the boundary line. He had now raised his senses to the highest level, and there was nothing unusual around him, which brought him a sense of peace.
Chapter 30 A Simple Task
Araki stood alone outside the tent, feeling the tranquility of the night, which brought him into a state of peace.
Gradually.
over time.
The peaceful night passed just like that.
Araki kept watch outside all night without doing any special training. After all, Jiraiya-sensei, Minato, and Kushina were inside. Even if he cherished the time, a little more wouldn't make a difference, so he might as well get some rest.
For Araki, not training is equivalent to resting.
As the sun rose and its warmth spread across the earth, some unusual activity occurred inside the tent. The first to emerge was Jiraiya still heavy with sleep.
" Araki, didn't you sleep all night?"
Jiraiya yawned as he spoke. Even he didn't know why, but he was so tired last night that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and slept straight through until dawn.
"Hmm." Araki nodded, not paying any attention.
"Thank you for your hard work. I'll come tomorrow night." A gentle look appeared in Araki's eyes Jiraiya looked at Araki.
"This is nothing to me, I'm used to it. I can't sleep even in a tent, so I might as well get some fresh air outside," Araki said, waving his hand.
"Can your body handle this?" Jiraiya asked with concern. Minato and Kushina hadn't come out yet, giving him some time to chat with Araki alone, which allowed him to ask some questions he was curious about.
"My physique is quite special. After physical exercise, I not only don't feel tired, but I also feel a cool sensation all over my body, which makes me feel refreshed and very happy!" Araki said with a smile. He didn't explain everything clearly, but this simple explanation described his phenomenon, and strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly deceiving Jiraiya-sensei.
"Is that so?" Jiraiya was clearly taken aback. He had never heard of such a physique before. But the world is a vast and wondrous place. As someone who had traveled through the ninja world and seen a great deal, he had even seen the Rinnegan. He didn't find anything unusual about other places.
"I discovered this by accident. It wasn't like this before. Whenever my body reached a certain point of exhaustion, I would suddenly feel an extreme sense of comfort. That feeling could last for a few seconds and then disappear quietly. However, if I continued to exert myself like this, I could reach that point again, so I didn't feel tired." Araki explained again, changing the critical point of heart rate to the critical point of physical exhaustion. However, the other descriptions were not significantly different; he just changed some of the more apt descriptions.
"?????"
Jiraiya hearing these words, Jiraiya was filled with a bunch of question marks and was completely dumbfounded.
It's not that I didn't understand what it meant...
But he understood!
This is exactly...
What are his daily feelings?!
Araki seems to have achieved this through training, while he uses his hands. However, in terms of description, the feeling of breaking through the critical point doesn't seem to be that different!
rustling...
Just then, a sound came from inside the tent. It seemed that Jiraiya and Araki's conversation had woken them up, or perhaps because people sleep very lightly in the wild. Minato and Kushina came out together.
After the two came out, Jiraiya naturally couldn't talk about these things with Araki anymore, so he turned to look at Minato and Kushina.
" Minato, Kushina, how did you two rest?" Jiraiya asked. Instead of heading on his journey immediately, he was concerned about the condition of his three disciples, making him a rather caring teacher.
"I've recovered completely, I'm in top physical condition now." Minato smiled brightly, his azure eyes gleaming, and he looked energetic and showed no signs of fatigue.
"Me too, I'm fine, I can set off anytime." Kushina nodded, her gaze falling on Araki. After confirming that Araki was in a normal state, a Taiseki was lifted from her heart. After all, she knew quite a bit about Araki and knew that Araki often trained at night, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
"That's good."
Jiraiya nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face. This was not the first time he had taken on a disciple, but it was the first time he had served as a mentor to Jonin. The three disciples he had taken on in the Land of Rain had given him a lot of experience, and had also given him certain expectations.
From his perspective, the three disciples from the Land of Rain all possessed extraordinary talent, but their foundation was weak. Therefore, in the first year of his teaching, he almost entirely started from the basics, focusing on building their foundation.
Starting in the second year, the three disciples made rapid progress, and the one who showed the most outstanding talent was none other than Yahiko, the backbone of the three.
It was in that year...
Jiraiya realized there was nothing left to teach. His three disciples were growing at an astonishing rate, which in turn spoiled his tastes. If he couldn't teach some exceptionally talented disciples, he would rather not become Jonin instructor.
at first.
Jiraiya recognized Minato Namikaze's talent.
He didn't have any requirements for the other two. When he talked about this with the Third, the Third wanted to put the Ino -Ino-Shika-Cho into his team. However, he later discovered Araki, who suddenly rose to prominence like a dark horse, and Kushina, who had intricate connections with both Araki and Minato. That's why he included all three of them in his team.
Now it seems...