BOOM!
Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated the night sky, and the cold rain pelted down onto the land of the Hidden Rain Village.
In the forest, Asahi briskly made his way towards the small wooden house. Having just returned from the Hidden Rain Village with ample supplies, his current concern was the training of his three disciples: Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato.
In the original story, Jiraiya had trained them for three years, after which they became formidable shinobi. Although Asahi's teaching abilities might not match Jiraiya's, with the assistance of the system, he believed he wouldn't fall too far behind.
Asahi silently calculated these thoughts in his mind and quickly arrived back at the small wooden house. Of course, the house's presence couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
Asahi formed hand seals, and with a flash of light, he entered the protective barrier surrounding the small wooden house. Once inside, the house became visible.
He didn't wake his disciples but instead placed the supplies in the living room and retired to his own room.
To be honest, although Asahi had handled things well on the outside, receiving such a massive amount of information in a single day had left him exhausted.
Asahi fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
"Ah! So many things!"
In the early morning, Asahi was awakened by a scream. Sensing the surging chakra within him, he confirmed that yesterday was not a dream.
Rubbing his head, Asahi walked out of his room. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato gathered around the supplies he had brought back yesterday, touching it and looking at him with curiosity.
Seeing their astonished expressions, Asahi couldn't help but smile.
"Haha! Don't be so curious. It's all for you. My disciples, hurry up and take your bedding back to tidy up your rooms!"
Listening to Asahi's somewhat exaggerated laughter, Yahiko asked in astonishment, "Master, where did you get all this stuff? We didn't have any of it yesterday, did we?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Konan looked at the large boxes with a face full of excitement.
Though Nagato was not very talkative, his contentment was evident on his face at this moment.
"Well, when you guys were asleep yesterday, I went to the Hidden Rain Village and got these from them" Asahi casually said, without a hint of arrogance in his tone.
Of course, he wouldn't brag about it; he had essentially conned someone. But his three disciples were unaware, looking at their master with admiration.
What does it mean to have the art of deception? This was it, and it was all done invisibly.
"Hurry up and divide the bedding among yourselves. By the way, can any of you cook?"
Asahi didn't want to dwell on the issue of supplies; he was hungry.
"Yes, Master, I can cook!" Konan raised her hand enthusiastically.
"That's right, Master, you don't know, but Konan's cooking is delicious!" Yahiko nodded in agreement.
Nagato also nodded in approval. It was clear that he highly regarded Konan's cooking.
"Very well, once you're done tidying up, Konan, you can prepare breakfast."
It's not that Asahi couldn't cook; he was just lazy!
Besides, it was only natural for disciples to serve their master when there was work to be done.
"Alright, Master, I'll be right out!"
After saying this, Konan went back to her room, carrying her bedding. But within seconds, she returned, having not tidied up at all, and went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Asahi didn't intervene; he let Konan take charge of the stove and cooking.
In no time, the entire room was filled with the aroma of porridge. Asahi then had Konan stir-fried some fresh vegetables that Hanzo had provided, and a hearty breakfast was served.
Yahiko and Nagato, the two of them, had been waiting eagerly at the table, occasionally casting longing glances toward Konan as she cooked.
The warm atmosphere in the room made Asahi, who had always been alone, feel a sense of attachment he had never experienced before.
After finishing breakfast, the three disciples sprawled on the floor without caring about their appearance, rubbing their full bellies. In this war-torn country, vegetables were even more precious than meat, which had led to all three of them eating too much.
Asahi helplessly looked at his disciples, feeling like he had acquired three second brothers.
"Hurry up, get up and move around, digest your food. We'll need to train later!" he urged.
"Ah, Master, I really don't want to move!" Yahiko complained reluctantly upon hearing Asahi's prodding, but he obediently got up from the floor.
In contrast, Konan and Nagato were much more compliant, not arguing with Asahi at all.
Asahi gave Yahiko an impatient kick to motivate him.
"Now, let's go outside to practice body techniques. Follow me."
Without giving Yahiko a chance to complain, Asahi kicked him and then turned to leave. The three disciples obediently followed him.
Just as they walked out of the protective barrier's range, Nagato, the most perceptive of them all, noticed that something was different from earlier.
He looked back and was shocked to see that their small wooden house, which had been their training ground, had disappeared!
Nagato thought he might be seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes to make sure, but the house was indeed nowhere to be seen. Startled, he quickly called out to Asahi.
"Master!"
Asahi paused, puzzled, and turned back. "Hmm? What's wrong?"
Yahiko and Konan also turned back in confusion to look at Nagato at the rear of the group. And what they saw was quite surprising.
"Master! Our house disappeared!" Yahiko and Konan exclaimed in amazement.
Yahiko even ran back in an exaggerated manner, and the expressions on the faces of all three disciples were filled with panic.
"Stop! Yahiko, come back here." Asahi sighed and lightly tapped his forehead, wearing a somewhat helpless smile.
"I forgot to tell you. Yesterday, I set up two barriers. You can enter by using hand seals and chakra manipulation."
"Oh, I see!" Konan exclaimed in surprise.
Yahiko, on the other hand, began experimenting with it, going in and out repeatedly using hand seals.
Seeing this, Asahi facepalmed, exasperated by Yahiko's antics.
"Ah! Master, that hurts! What are you doing?" Yahiko cried out.
"Get serious and start training. Is this really that amusing?" Asahi scolded Yahiko.
On the side, Konan and Nagato couldn't help but stifle their laughter. Strangely, it was Yahiko, still clutching his head, who muttered under his breath:
"I actually find it quite fun, it's so magical..."
"What did you say?"
"Uh, nothing, Master. You misheard me. I meant to say we should hurry up and start training. I can't wait! Hahaha... Haha~"
Facing Asahi's warning, Yahiko quickly surrendered and walked briskly ahead, which made Asahi burst into laughter.
Shaking his head in resignation, Asahi said, "Alright, stop laughing, both of you. Get ready, digest your food, and then we'll begin our training."
"Yes!" Konan and Nagato immediately composed themselves and replied earnestly.
Watching his lively disciples, Asahi couldn't help but chuckle internally.
Hehe, enjoy your happiness now. You'll soon understand what true hardship means. When I was training in my youth, I endured a lot, and now I finally have the chance to train the next generation! Hehe~
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