"No," Pakura said, shaking her head. "I'm just curious. Besides, psychic beasts consume too much. I can't afford to raise one."
Shinki chuckled at her response and gave her a fair evaluation in his mind: Not knowledgeable.
He then turned his attention to the two snakes in the box, pondering. When Minato starts raising one of these, will it end up eating him out of house and home?
At that moment, Orochimaru returned, offering some advice. "These experimental snakes can only be kept and raised in the ninja world. They can't be returned to places like Ryūchi Cave, or they'll become food for other psychic beasts."
Shinki raised an eyebrow. "So Ryūchi Cave snakes treat them as snacks?"
Orochimaru nodded. He had tested this with Manda, who seemed particularly fond of these experimental snakes. It was a word of caution—don't even think about tossing these snakes into Ryūchi Cave for convenience.
"I think I understand why your test specimens all died on the testing bench. You just didn't want to deal with raising them." Shinki shot him a knowing look.
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "Perhaps."
Then, with a casual wave, Orochimaru departed, leaving Shinki alone with the box. Less than half an hour later, the two snakes began writhing around in the box, clearly searching for food.
"Hunger already?" Shinki sighed. "I hope your stomachs aren't bottomless pits."
Ten minutes later, two puppets returned carrying a wild boar. The task of butchering the animal fell to Pakura, who reluctantly took on the chore.
The two snakes devoured the meat hungrily, consuming more than their body size. Incredibly, the entire boar lasted less than three days. The following morning, Pakura reported grimly to Shinki:
"They need feeding about every three hours. They digest incredibly fast, even bones. They've grown significantly overnight."
In just one afternoon and night, the two snakes had eaten the equivalent of one-and-a-half wild boars. Their size had increased noticeably, becoming longer and thicker.
Realizing the urgency, Shinki grabbed the golden-scaled snake and signed a leadership contract. As soon as the bond was formed, the snake coiled around him and flooded his mind with hunger signals.
"Keep feeding them," Shinki instructed Pakura. "I'll send the puppets out to hunt more."
Three days later, the snakes had grown to nearly three meters long and two arms thick. Their insatiable appetite finally made Shinki understand why Orochimaru had warned him.
Shinki contacted Tsunade, asking her to send a message to Minato Namikaze:
Prepare yourself to raise your psychic beast at the frontline camp. Sign the leadership contract early and start building a rapport.
Meanwhile, back in the village, Nawaki wasn't taking the news well.
"What? Why does Minato get to go to the frontline camp, and I don't?" he complained loudly.
Minato gave an awkward smile, unsure of how to console him. Tsunade stepped in with a sharp retort.
"Because Minato's teacher prepared a psychic beast for him, and your teacher… well, who knows where he's wandering."
Tsunade delivered the blow with ruthless efficiency, but she had a plan to placate her brother. "When Jiraiya returns, he'll take you to sign a contract with Mount Myōboku. If you have the talent for Sage Mode, you can train there. It's a great place."
Nawaki perked up at the mention of Sage Mode. Tsunade's promise gave him hope, even if she continued to chide him.
"Besides, do you even know how much it costs to raise one of those experimental snakes? Minato's psychic beast is practically a walking black hole for resources. If I gave it to you, you'd bankrupt us!"
Minato hesitated and raised his hand nervously. "Uh, Tsunade-sensei… am I really expected to feed this psychic beast?"
Tsunade nodded solemnly. "From what Shinki reported, those snakes are ridiculously expensive to maintain. Be prepared to spend a lot of time hunting to keep them fed."
Minato's expression turned serious, but he resolved firmly, "I'll work hard to support it."
"Good. If you're struggling, just go to your teacher. He's the one who sent you the psychic beast in the first place," Tsunade said.
A few days later, Minato packed his things and set off for the frontline camp. As he bid farewell to the sulking Nawaki, the younger boy turned to his sister, still upset.
"Why does Minato get to go to the frontlines while I'm stuck here?" Nawaki asked.
"Because your taijutsu needs improvement," Tsunade declared firmly. "For the next while, I'll personally train you in taijutsu. No excuses."
Nawaki groaned, but Tsunade was relentless. Her brother's taijutsu had lagged behind due to his initial training focus on ninjutsu, particularly Water Release techniques. Now, it was time to fill in the gaps.
"You've been indulged enough. Both Shinki and I agreed that your ninjutsu was the priority early on. Now it's time to balance things out."
"Why didn't you just let me focus on taijutsu earlier?" Nawaki protested.
"Because," Tsunade said, raising a fist, "I didn't want you turning out like Jiraiya—good at taijutsu but nothing else!"
And with that, Nawaki's rigorous taijutsu training began.
>>>>>
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