Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 378 Natural Energy Is Insufficient

He walked in and found that the temple master had changed from one of the four elders to another young woman.

"Hello, would you like to offer incense?"

"I am Shiraki."

"M-Sir!" The girl quickly bowed respectfully. "Sir, you are too young. I didn't recognize you."

After all, in his mind, that person was almost forty years old, but right now...

"It's alright, where is Elder Zi?"

"My lord, Elder Zi passed away before the new year, and I have taken over her position."

"Did they die of old age?" You Nu Zhicheng had fed those four elders insect medicine back then, and with their physical functions, they could have lasted at least another ten years.

The woman nodded and whispered, "Elder Zi wanted to preserve her youth, so she used some methods..."

That's not surprising. Women, for the sake of youth and beauty, they feel it's worth it to live a few years less.

"You go down first." You Nu Zhicheng called the person away, pushed open the stone door and walked towards the underground palace. After walking dozens of meters, he came to the natural pool.

The pool was half full of a transparent liquid, the Hero's Water accumulated over the years, but it was thinner than the nectar of Giant Insect Island.

He took out the petri dish and poured the Hero Water into it.

In no time, both bottles of liquid were finished. Aburame Shisei frowned slightly as he looked at the two unchanged bottles.

Not enough, not nearly enough.

He muttered to himself, "Now there are more and more things that need to be cultivated, and the natural energy required is also increasing."

In the petri dish, besides Gun Gun and Umibozu, there are also Sheng Yang and Lei Ming Chong. Of course, Xiao Qing, Tu Gu Zhu, Da Bai, Xiao Bai, and Xiao Hong also need to use some natural energy every once in a while, which is one of the reasons why he dispersed them to different places.

Because the natural energy in the ninja world is scarce, people who gather together will engage in competition for food.

As they grow in the future, the amount of natural energy they consume will only increase.

Sometimes he wondered if he should stop his other subordinates from practicing immortal arts.

But he quickly rejected the idea; the little bit of magic they had saved was just a drop in the ocean. Instead of thinking about how to cut costs, they should think about how to increase revenue.

"Perhaps it's time to find out some information about the three holy lands," Aburame Shisei thought, stroking his chin.

Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave are the three places where natural energy is most concentrated in the ninja world. If we can take them over, natural energy will no longer be a problem for a short period of time.

However, the toads, snakes, and slugs in those places are not easy to deal with.

As he was thinking, he suddenly sensed a familiar presence approaching from the ground.

On a street in Takigaku Village.

Kakuzu had just come out of a bank, holding a thick stack of ledgers in his hand, his face revealing neither happiness nor unhappiness.

However, seeing a large pile of IOUs and deficits in his hand, he probably wasn't very happy.

Just then, he bumped into a familiar figure at the street corner.

"Oh, my lord is back." Kakuzu stopped and smiled, a rare sight for him.

"You're like a dragon, rarely seen, it's really not easy to catch a glimpse of you."

Aburame Shisei walked out from the street corner and looked him up and down. It seemed that although Kakuzu had been busy making money all these years, he had not neglected his training at all.

The flow of the five elements of chakra within his body is perfect, and his heart has long since achieved unity of the five elements and is no longer a weakness. In terms of strength alone, he has probably already reached the edge of becoming a Super Kage.

Kakuzu chuckled and, without any modesty, pulled his master towards a nearby teahouse: "Come on, let's find a place to sit down and talk. I have some things to report to you."

The two sat down in a private room of the teahouse. Kakuzu personally poured his master a cup of tea, and then, as if having a casual chat, began to talk about the economic changes in Takigawa over the years.

"Our economy has been steadily growing over the years. Heiji's policies are good; people have more money in their pockets, so consumption has increased, and with increased consumption, tax revenue has naturally increased as well."

As Aburame Shisei sipped his tea, he listened to Kakuzu discuss a country's economy in a business-like tone, finding it both reasonable and absurd.

"By the way, there's something I need to report to you, lest I get sued and complained about after I've finished," Kakuzu said jokingly, before continuing, "It's about our own currency. I've been wanting to talk about this for a while now."

Kakuzu tapped his fingers on the table. "Print it as soon as possible, issue it as soon as possible. The people of Takigawa should have a high level of acceptance of their own currency, after all, our credit is there. The sooner it circulates, the sooner we can capture the market."

"I've done all the research; the printing technology, anti-counterfeiting technology, and raw materials are all fine."

Looking into Kakuzu's eyes, which were practically screaming "make money," Aburame Shisei smiled and nodded: "Go ahead and do it."

Even if he doesn't agree, Kakuzu will definitely do it anyway; it's just a matter of time.

Kakuzu smiled with satisfaction, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and was clearly in a good mood.

Before leaving, Aburame Shisei suddenly asked, "When are you going to practice immortal arts?"

Kakuzu leaned back in his chair, gazing at the street outside the window. "I'll wait until you've mastered the Five Elements to perfection before I start cultivating. By then, I'll want the complete, simplified version."

"Besides, this landlord's family doesn't have much surplus food. I am immortal, and while my strength may not be invincible, it is still rare in the ninja world. Let's leave the opportunity to those children."

Aburame Shisei was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected Kakuzu to say something like that. The natural energy of the ninja world was finite; it seemed Kakuzu had already seen through the problem.

"That's all for now, I'm going to get back to my work. With you leading the way, I don't think we need to do anything."

What Otsutsuki, what Sage of Six Paths? Now that Shisei Aburame is standing in front of him, he feels immense pressure and is utterly terrified.

If even Yu Nu Zhicheng can't handle it, then what's the point of them cultivating immortal arts?

-

Misty Village, Water Shadow's Office Building.

A large group of Hidden Mist Village ninjas surrounded the area, making it completely chaotic, yet somehow orderly.

The reason for all this is that their Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, has been missing for many days.

At first, the ninjas of Kirigakure thought that the Fourth Mizukage was on some secret mission and that they just couldn't contact him for the time being.

But as time went by, they began to realize that something was wrong.

Not only Yagura, but also more than a dozen Jonin and Anbu members, all disappeared without a trace, without a single word.

Furthermore, if it's a secret plan, it's impossible to keep it from everyone, right?

This made them suspect that their water spirit had been murdered!

The murderer could very well be among the crowd.