Ninja Ice House

Chapter 610 Prolonging Life

Konoha Village is only so big. Even though it has expanded a lot in recent years, its size is still limited. In addition, its financial situation has never been very good, so it is a bit beyond its capabilities to make large investments in children's education and pin its hopes on the future.

The ninja academy can only accommodate a maximum number of children each year. Any more than that and it won't be able to teach them all. Forcibly increasing the number of students would significantly reduce the quality of teaching, which would be counterproductive.

However, so many children, who were not particularly outstanding in terms of ninja aptitude, or even who were not bad but simply did not meet the training requirements of Konoha ninjas, were turned away.

For example, Yakumo Kurama, Might Guy, and Rock Lee would have no chance of entering the Ninja Academy without special permission; their chances of being eliminated would be extremely high.

Then there's the case of Kosugi Bokusui. It wasn't that he lacked ability, but rather that his identity made Konoha Village hesitant to appoint him as a formal ninja.

Every year there are many such children, but it's impossible for them all to receive a special order from the Hokage to enroll in the academy. The vast majority of them can only regretfully bid farewell to the path of ninja.

Even if they couldn't become ninjas, life still had to go on. The Kosugi family also built two kindergartens and an elementary school in the expanded Konoha Village, mainly for the children of families working in businesses controlled by the family, with a small number of students recruited from outside the village.

Although it teaches some chakra refining, basic combat, ninjutsu fundamentals and control techniques, it is not a pure ninja school.

With the rapid development of Shinjuku Town, the demand for education has become increasingly strong. Several years ago, Jiji's uncle established a complete education system here, from early childhood education to adult education. After so many years of investment, the comprehensive university with a consistent system has gradually gained the trust of the townspeople. Even many children from Konoha Village and nearby villages and towns have come to study here.

The siphon effect was created. As the first batch of graduates entered society, they received extremely high praise and began to give back to the school. As a result, people started paying high prices to buy places in the school.

Who doesn't want their child to be successful?

The desire for one's son to become a dragon and one's daughter to become a phoenix is ​​the same everywhere.

A comprehensive service system built around education has gradually become a major economic pillar of Shinjuku, contributing significantly to the town's prosperity along with the entertainment industry, cultural consumption market, martial arts competitions, employment agencies, and the financial industry.

"Sure enough, making money off children is a sure-fire way to make money, no matter where you are."

Investing in the future—what a resounding slogan! Yet, a family struggles for most of their life, and a large portion of their wealth is consumed in raising and educating their children.

"I won't look into the specifics; I'm confident my uncle can handle it. You haven't been looking well lately, so please take good care of yourself..."

Although I'm well-maintained, I'm not young anymore, so there's no need to rush things at work.

Gu Shanbu Shui heavily relied on his maternal uncle, Zhi Ji, not only because of his outstanding abilities, but more importantly because he was trustworthy. As long as such a close confidant was keeping an eye on things, many things would not deviate too much from the norm.

"I know, but... after being away from the mainstream for so many years, I finally have something to do, and I can't stay idle!"

"Okay, I didn't notice! My mother told me not to work too hard and to go back and visit more often. You're an adult now with children, so don't be like before, focusing on one thing and not being able to see anything else."

"I know! Even though I'm all grown up now, in Sister Liuli's eyes, I'll always be that naughty child who makes people worry."

Haruki's maternal uncle, who had already received the title of Prince Katsura, didn't really care about these trivial matters, but there were still some things he did care about.

"How's things going with the eldest brother's name?"

"Still the same. It's getting cold, and I'm feeling a little unwell, but it's nothing serious. I'm feeling a bit better now, and I like to wander around. Right now... I should be going on vacation to a warm island in the south. I heard there's some fun going on in the Land of the Sea. I guess I don't want to come back anytime soon."

"Alright! This whole bunch of relatives have gone to great lengths for this country. It's time for them to put everything down and enjoy their retirement. However, faking your death is still a bit unbelievable. When I found out, I simply couldn't believe you guys would do something like this."

"Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you, and don't let anything slip."

Gu Shanbu Shui said with a smile,

"How is Mrs. Mikoto's mood?"

"You're alright! I heard you had some kind of agreement with him, have you finished it?"

"Yes, it went relatively smoothly!"

"My worries have lessened a lot, and I feel more energetic."

"That's good!"

As he spoke, Gu Shanbu Shui took out a few caramel-like pills and handed them over.

"Take it, you and Mrs. Mikoto can try it, it works well, the child doesn't need to take it..."

"What is it for?"

"May you live a long and healthy life!"

"Oh, a powerful tonic pill? At this age, it's definitely time to start taking care of your health."

Without any suspicion, Katsura Haruki ate one.

"It's sweet and warm, but I don't really feel anything!"

"It can't be that fast!"

Gu Shanbu Shui prepared to get up.

"Karin should be arriving soon. I'm going to see her and talk to Mrs. Mikoto about something. I heard that Kirou hasn't been sleeping well lately..."

"Um, could you please take a look..."

"We're all one family, no need for formalities!"

What was given to Jiraiya's cousin was actually World Tree spores obtained by "fleecing" Jiraiya. The parasitic mechanism of this thing is not entirely clear, but one thing is certain: long-lived species with unlimited vitality, immortal bodies, and intelligent life forms in a state of harmony with nature will not be parasitized. It will most likely enter the body of a higher intelligent life form, and there is a small probability that it will enter the body of a cat, dog, bird, tiger, leopard, jackal, or other animal with a certain level of intelligence but a relatively limited range. There is an extremely small chance that it will merge with plants, microorganisms, and energy organisms.

Jiraiya's World Tree spores do indeed have the effect of keeping people young forever, but they cannot make them immortal; at most, they just make them very difficult to kill.

However, the Ancient Cedar Water can exploit a bug: as long as its vitality is continuously replenished and it is combined with other world tree species, it can indeed achieve a certain degree of limited immortality.

Of course, the price is that super life forms are willing to help operate it and provide convenience.

Otherwise, it can only have the effect of prolonging life.

In fact, Kosugi Bokusui hadn't fully figured out how to arrange Jiraiya, the dream space, and the World Tree spores. Kaguya Otsutsuki didn't know much about this kind of divine object either, so she could only take it one step at a time and slowly develop its value.

As for the risks involved, they are generally manageable and far outweigh the potential benefits.