"Gastly, do you want to help Nagato with origami? But you don't even have hands." Konan reminded.
Although Gastly doesn't seem like something from the mortal world, once she got used to it, Konan found Gastly quite cute.
"Gastly?"
Gastly's eyes widened, looking at its own body in disbelief—it really doesn't have hands.
Nagato flashed a smile but, since it's his Summoning Beast, tried to control his expression to avoid laughing too obviously.
"Hahaha." Yahiko didn't hold back, laughing loudly.
Gastly had really shocked him back then.
"Gastly!"
Looking sullen, Gastly stuck out its tongue and licked Yahiko. Although it doesn't have hands, its tongue is long!
Since they were eating, Yahiko wasn't prepared and was caught off guard by Gastly's lick.
Yahiko instantly felt his body go numb and lost control, falling backward.
Nagato, sitting next to Yahiko, reacted quickly, catching Yahiko in time and preventing him from hitting the ground.
"Surely its body is poisonous. Just one lick and I'm already numb." Yahiko couldn't help but grumble.
Looking at Gastly surrounded by purple mist, Yahiko really thought Gastly might be poisonous.
In fact, Yahiko's intuition wasn't wrong; as a Ghost and Poison-type Pokémon, Gastly is naturally poisonous.
"Gastly!"
Gastly showed a proud expression; it's proud of its poison!
Fortunately, Gastly was recently born and not very strong; the numbing sensation came and went quickly, allowing Yahiko to soon continue eating and chatting.
Happy moments always pass by imperceptibly.
By the time Nagato came to his senses, the banquet was over, and he was already on his way to the Cultivation Room.
"This is wonderful." Nagato mused.
No matter how many times he reflected, Nagato felt lucky to have met Mokgetsu; life in the Ninja Sect is really good now.
Before joining the Ninja Sect after meeting Mokgetsu, aside from his life before his parents died, Nagato most fondly remembered the days when he learned Ninjutsu with Yahiko and Konan under Jiraiya's guidance.
Because although they were supposed to be learning Ninjutsu, Jiraiya more served as an elder, living and taking care of them.
Before meeting Jiraiya, Nagato had been wandering for quite some time, often barely getting by, so to feel the care of a reliable elder again, his gratitude towards Jiraiya was understandable.
Therefore, even now, if Jiraiya suddenly appeared before Nagato, Nagato would be thrilled and greet him warmly.
But if Nagato had to choose the happiest and most meaningful time of his life, it would be now.
In his current life in the Ninja Sect, Nagato is accompanied by Konan and Yahiko, whom he grew up with, and has Teacher Mokgetsu, whom he can unconditionally trust, along with a large group of ninjas who share his goals and move forward together.
The times spent learning from Jiraiya were certainly happy, but they didn't change the Land of Rain like the Ninja Sect did, bringing peace to its people and preventing the creation of more war orphans.
Thus, Nagato feels the current life in the Ninja Sect is more meaningful.
"Teacher Mokgetsu." Nagato saw Mokgetsu in the resting room, observed his surroundings, and called out Mokgetsu's real name.
Though names are just codes, privately, Nagato prefers to use Mokgetsu's real name.
Mokgetsu nodded slightly, then began guiding Nagato in cultivating the Breath of Yang.
The Breath of Yang is crucial for Nagato because his Rinnegan isn't his own.
Under normal circumstances, Nagato's strong internal Chakra means no major effect.
However, using the Rinnegan to fight at full power would damage Nagato's body.
For instance, using Super Almighty Push or activating the Gedo Statue.
The Breath of Yang can't completely fix Nagato's issues, but if mastered deeply, it can significantly alleviate them.
Preventing Nagato from recklessly using Super Almighty Push and shortening his lifespan.
After several hours, Mokgetsu let Nagato take a rest and left the Cultivation Room himself.
When Mokgetsu returned, he carried two steaming bowls of ramen.
Mokgetsu handed one of the bowls to Nagato and smiled, "Eat while it's hot. It won't taste as good once it gets cold."
Nagato thanked him and gratefully accepted the ramen, swiftly captivated by its enticing aroma.
Already a bit hungry from training, Nagato eagerly picked up his chopsticks and continuously brought the ramen to his mouth. After a few bites, he sipped some hot ramen soup.
The warmth spreading through his body instantly swept away Nagato's fatigue, making him feel rejuvenated.
What Nagato found a bit regretful was that, though the ramen looked like a large bowl, it felt like he had barely eaten before it was gone.
Nagato knew it was just an illusion; the ramen had indeed been plentiful, but because it was so delicious, he got engrossed in eating and felt like he finished it in no time.
"Thank you so much, Teacher Mokgetsu." Nagato thanked Mokgetsu once more.
With Mokgetsu being so busy with Ninja Sect affairs, yet still mentoring Nagato in cultivation and preparing night snacks for him, Mokgetsu's kindness embarrassed Nagato.
"It was nothing, just something done in passing; besides, I was hungry too." Mokgetsu smiled, encouraging Nagato not to be too bothered about it.
[You gifted your disciple top-notch, homemade ramen; the disciple was immensely grateful in return, rewarding you with a superb strike—reward acquired: Water Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Perfect Level)]
As the reward appeared, a flood of memories concerning Water Attribute Chakra Nature Changes surged through Mokgetsu's mind, rapidly enhancing his understanding and greatly empowering his abilities in that domain.
Mokgetsu's smile grew a bit more pronounced.
The feedback from teaching can be somewhat reliant on luck; one might be rewarded with a certain Chakra Nature Change, or perhaps a specific Ninjutsu.
Compared to a perfect-level Ninjutsu, undoubtedly, a perfect-level Nature Change is far rarer and offers greater strength enhancement.
"If it were the Lightning Attribute, then that would be truly perfect." Mokgetsu glanced at the panel and thought.
[Skills: Fire Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Perfect Level), Water Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Perfect Level: 1), Lightning Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Master Level: 7060)...]
Thoughtless Slash is also an S+ drawing scroll creation; if Mokgetsu's Lightning Attribute Chakra Nature Changes could reach Perfect Level, the power of Thoughtless Slash would greatly increase.
Moreover, the Water Attribute Chakra Nature Changes were only five thousand points away from reaching the Perfect Level, while the Lightning Attribute needed eight thousand points, making a self-upgrade more challenging.
In the next moment, Mokgetsu stopped pondering over the perfect-level Lightning Attribute Chakra Nature Changes.
Although scoring the Lightning Attribute Chakra Nature Changes would have been the most rewarding, even a perfect-level Water Attribute Chakra Nature Changes is considered lucky.
After all, skill proficiency becomes harder to improve as one progresses, and even if Mokgetsu were to cultivate on his own, patching up those missing five thousand proficiency points might still be unattainable even after thirty years.
After organizing the memories, Mokgetsu didn't prompt Nagato to resume cultivation but chatted with him instead.
With the night snacks finished, bedtime was nearing; continuing cultivation wasn't necessary.
"Wondering when I'll get to have that ramen again." Nagato was still savoring the memory of that bowl of ramen.
The ramen made by Mokgetsu is definitely the best Nagato's ever had, no, the best food he's ever tasted.
Delicious enough for Nagato to regret that Konan and Yahiko hadn't tasted such a treat.
But Nagato couldn't demand such things; Mokgetsu is the Leader of the Ninja Sect, not its Chef.
For Mokgetsu to take the time to make him a bowl of ramen was fortunate; could he truly press Mokgetsu to prepare one for Yahiko and the others as well?
Nagato couldn't find it right to voice such demands, nor did he want to.
Because only he knew, as the Leader of the Ninja Sect, Mokgetsu was busier than anyone imagined, having to develop the Sect while also considering Konoha.
PS:
Today, while checking for typos in chapter reviews, someone mentioned that after comparing Green Flame and Amaterasu, Amaterasu didn't seem very effective.
Although Amaterasu indeed lacks notable achievements, it still has a strong setup, supposedly the strongest physical attack and whatnot.
Sure, given various reasons, its performance has been underwhelming, and the strongest is really just a debuff (a win guaranteed face).
Personally, I think Green Flame is pretty strong; after all, using it doesn't make your eyes bleed or cause blindness, and it comes with Kagutsuchi and growth potential.
Regarding limiting strength, with the protagonist having crossed over only three years ago and already gaining such power, it feels somewhat like a half-invincible story, doesn't it?
Additionally, as for the slow timeline, the initial plan for this work is somewhat different from most Hokage stories; most parts are set during the Third War. Once that ends, there isn't much content left, and despite wanting to write thousands of chapters, it's essentially not feasible.