For the next few days, Miki and Tsunade practiced Sage Art in Shikkotsu Forest, leaving for training in the morning and returning home at dawn.
Originally, Tsunade suggested they simply disappear for a while to avoid the hassle of commuting.
But Miki, considering the Third Hokage's feelings, stopped Tsunade's impulsive idea.
The Jinchuriki eloped with the Mushi-Hime!
No, the Mushi-Hime abducted the foolish Jinchuriki!
Hokage-sama would be furious.
He really would be furious!
"Miki! I'm hungry!"
"…"
"Miki!!! I'm hungry!!!"
"…"
"I'm not doing this anymore! I'm going home!"
Tsunade was getting confrontational.
"Open your mouth."
Miki seemed to compromise.
"Ah…" Tsunade triumphantly opened her mouth.
Her eyes curved like crescent moons, full of smiles.
Miki suddenly moved, roughly stuffing bread into Tsunade's mouth, then pinching Tsunade's lips. Without waiting for Tsunade to chew, she poured all the milk she held down her throat!
After several days of this…
Miki snapped!
Covered in white liquid, Tsunade coughed repeatedly, glaring at Miki and shouting, "Are you crazy!?"
"That's right!!!" Miki said coldly, "Don't think you can control me just because you're somewhat useful!"
Hearing this, Tsunade's eyes darted around, and she said guiltily, "I know I was wrong."
"Too late, go play by yourself!" Miki said, about to leave.
"No, it's too boring here! Don't leave me alone!" Tsunade pleaded sweetly, with a few fake sobs.
Miki scoffed a few times, seeing right through her.
Slug watched this scene, shrinking her neck slightly, feeling a bit wronged.
Am I not a person?
Actually, no.
But I can talk.
Glancing at Miki, Slug tried hard to minimize her presence.
Lady Tsunade doesn't love me anymore!
Slug felt so wronged.
Am I boring?
"You!" Miki said coldly, crossing her arms, "You're no longer useful to me."
Sage Mode was like this; after a few days of observation, Miki had basically confirmed it was feasible.
It was just that the current progress was extremely slow.
There was almost no hope of completion.
Tsunade's genes were adapting and evolving. Currently, her cells couldn't defeat Natural Energy, but perhaps one day it would suddenly complete itself, as long as she continued this way.
It was a gamble on that inevitable probability.
Ordinary people didn't have the capital to gamble like this; they would have died long ago. But Tsunade's capital was especially abundant. No matter how many times she lost, as long as she won once, it would be a huge profit.
Continuing to watch was pointless.
"How can that be!?" Tsunade looked at Miki, feeling wronged, "Don't go, I'll sing for you!"
"Not interested." Miki said, about to clap her hands and leave.
"No!!!" Tsunade urgently stopped her, "I'll starve to death!"
"Crawl out and eat yourself, it won't take that long!"
"What! Training is already exhausting! I can't cook!" Tsunade persisted.
"Then starve to death!" Miki said heartlessly.
Inside her, there was constant rapid destruction and regeneration. Nutritional supplements were useless; what she ate was just for taste. The Nine-Tailed Chakra was primarily at work.
The one suffering was only the Nine-Tailed.
One or two days were fine, but continuously drawing the Nine-Tailed Chakra like this long-term…
The Nine-Tailed would also snap.
However, Miki estimated that the Nine-Tailed would blame her for this.
Tsunade looked at Miki, her eyes gradually widening.
How could she say such heartless words!
"Fine! I'll starve myself to death for you to see!" Tsunade shouted, "I'll just starve to death! Die here! And I'll never talk to you again! You'd better watch what you do!"
Miki responded by clapping her hands.
She left decisively and gracefully.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!" Seeing this, Tsunade raged in helpless fury.
But what could she do? Life had to go on.
"One day! I'll make you cry, Miki!" Tsunade roared.
She continued her training.
"Keep it up, Lady Tsunade." Slug gently encouraged her. With Miki gone, her voice grew louder.
The stronger Tsunade became, the safer she would be. Otherwise, she always felt a creeping sense of dread, constantly on edge.
She feared waking up one day in a glass bottle, covered in insects.
Miki would be standing outside the bottle, her eyes glowing with bloodlust, staring fixedly at her.
Slug shivered.
Keep it up, Lady Tsunade! Don't stop!
"Of course!" Tsunade said seriously.
Tsunade would not slack off in her training.
Miki had her completely figured out.
Within the Sealed Space, hearing Tsunade's grand dream, the Nine-Tailed silently released its control over Chakra.
If she wanted to draw it, then draw it.
If it couldn't resist, then just get it over with quickly.
I support your dream!
The Nine-Tailed turned a blind eye.
It would be best to make that annoying fellow cry every day.
Thinking of this, the Nine-Tailed bared its fangs and grinned, amused.
The next second, the Nine-Tailed closed its mouth, its expression fierce and cold.
Just wait!
I'll be back!
Wait, if this blonde completes this Sage Mode, won't this great one be locked up for a very, very long time?
Thinking of this, the Nine-Tailed winced, as if with a toothache.
It secretly and desperately clung to its Chakra, conflicted.
But under the seal's operation, it couldn't hold on at all.
Damn it!
The Nine-Tailed stood up, roaring in helpless fury at the sky.
If I can't hold onto the Chakra, I might as well just let it all go!
The Nine-Tailed lay flat.
After Miki returned, she went straight to the laboratory. She also had to start the preparatory work for her own Sage Art training.
The first step was to create a high-concentration Natural Energy environment.
But Miki didn't intend to put herself at risk.
Tsunade's method was not suitable for her.
If this body died, it would truly be gone.
There was no room for recklessness.
She still needed to carefully consider the specific cultivation method for a while.
One of the current goals was to create insect species capable of using Sage Art.
Originally, Slug could use Sage Art, but this Sage Art of physical splitting and reorganization had no combat capability.
It seemed insignificant, but it had to be utilized well.
There was more than just this one thing to do now; those materials also needed to be utilized as quickly as possible to achieve infection and dominance.
So…
It was better to cultivate a new batch of insects first.
Miki plunged into her busy and fulfilling new work.
At this time, Tsunade was practicing Sage Art.
Orochimaru was working overtime, developing new techniques.
Jiraiya was training and studying deeply at Mount Myōboku.
Hitomi was attempting to practice whimsical and fantastic sword techniques.
Naori was pondering deeply, developing new techniques that could rival the Mangekyo.
It wasn't just them.
At this time, in Konoha, the Ninja Academy had intensified its curriculum, hoping to quickly train qualified Shinobi.
The major Shinobi Clans secretly began military drills.
The Aburame Clan, at Miki's suggestion, was developing new swarm tactics.
Clan members were nervously preparing for war in inconspicuous corners.
The Senju Clan still appeared to be living carefree, but each of them had secretly begun desperate training.
The Hyuga Clan was still the same, seemingly unchanged, but the new branch families suddenly discovered they could learn more advanced clan secret techniques.
The Hyuga did not lack allies.
The Byakugan, no matter which team it was in, would receive preferential treatment and protection from teammates.
The Kurama Clan was very mysterious, but at this time, the Kurama Clan could no longer afford such mystery and sought out the Senju Clan.
They needed reliable allies and meat shields.
In the Village, the Senju's character was the most trustworthy.
The secretive Genjutsu clan was not suited for fighting alone.
The major Shinobi Clans silently began their actions.
Sensing this growing tension, the civilian Shinobi also began to act.
Grouping together was the best method.
Even Hokage-sama could not ignore their wishes.
At this time, the Uchiha Clan gradually grew boisterous.
A storm was brewing.
But there were always a few lone wolves who felt nothing.
White Fang was cleaning.
Scratching his head, White Fang looked out at the snow-covered forest, all silver in winter.
It had been several months.
Had someone forgotten about him?
Was he going to sweep floors for the rest of his life?
Surely not…
"White Fang! Time for a test!"
"Eh!?" White Fang looked bewildered.
Test what?
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