Jiraiya's connection with Mount Myōboku allowed him to enter it through the Reverse Summoning Jutsu. It was also because the Great Sage Toad had foreseen his future that he was permitted to stay and train in Sage Art.
For ordinary people, reaching and entering the three Sacred Lands, their outcome would be truly uncertain. Since a method for cultivating Sage Art could be obtained from the system, it was naturally preferable to seeking out the Sacred Lands.
Although Torifū had intended to save his Peace Points for blueprints and such, aiming to rapidly modernize the ninja world, he was fundamentally clueless about manufacturing and research. If he had to rely on himself to create things like mobile phones and computers, it would probably take another lifetime. And having Kakuzu search for talented children in the ninja world would take an unknown amount of time. Instead of letting them gather dust in the system, it was better to use the points to enhance his strength.
Torifū's mood was quite good now. Since he had decided how to spend these Peace Points, there was no need to keep Browse the system. Even after redeeming 150,000 Peace Points, some would still remain, enough for critical emergencies. Torifū contentedly closed the store interface, pulled up his blanket, and fell into a deep sleep.
A day later, Torifū woke up early. That day was for setting off for the Land of Lightning, and the entire mission involved only Torifū and Naori. This was their first time operating as a duo; before, they usually worked more with Hiruzen and his team. However, Hiruzen and the others were now serving as Tobirama's bodyguards, so they were usually busy and had no time to accept missions.
As bodyguards, they had to stay by Hokage's side, and even if there were missions, they were typically assignments given to them directly by Tobirama. Most involved resolving internal village affairs, rarely requiring them to leave the village. Hiruzen and his team had been troubled by this for a while, but as shinobi, obedience to orders came first. Perhaps they would adapt after some time.
Torifū and Naori, however, hadn't been assigned any specific positions and were relatively free, possibly because they were not yet adults. Torifū thought it best to achieve his life's goal in one go, directly appointing himself as an Elder or something. From then on, he would no longer have to run around and could enjoy a good life.
But reality and imagination always differed. After washing up, Torifū put on some rather ordinary clothes and headed to the village gate to meet Naori. After all, the main objective this time was to gather intelligence, and being too conspicuous would be less than ideal.
The day before, Torifū and Naori had gone shopping together, buying many necessary supplies for the journey, including plenty of dried meat. The main reason was that neither of them was accustomed to eating military rations. Dried meat could restore stamina more quickly, so it was naturally the preferred choice for long-distance missions.
When Torifū arrived at the village gate, Naori, as expected, hadn't arrived yet. However, she didn't make him wait long. After about five minutes, a girl dressed as an ordinary villager came sprinting.
"Ah! Torifū! You're so early! I'm not late, am I?" Naori said with some surprise. Every time she woke up early, she thought she could beat Torifū, but Torifū always woke up even earlier.
Torifū smiled: "No, I just got here five minutes ago. Did you forget anything?" Naori checked her ninja pouch and found nothing missing, then handed it to Torifū. Torifū took it and stored it in his spatial ring. Naori stared at it for a long time, unable to clearly see Torifū's movements. Naori had wanted to learn this "unique ninjutsu" of Torifū's for a long time, but Torifū always found reasons to refuse. After many attempts, Naori became too embarrassed to bring it up again. However, every time she left the village for a mission, she would marvel at how incredibly useful this "ninjutsu" was. It could effortlessly store so many things.
[T/N: Should've just told her that it's an ancestral ring with spatial justu embedded in it. Or some sorta seal.]
"Alright, since we haven't forgotten anything, let's set off." Naori nodded. She was quite excited about this trip to the Land of Lightning. Although its name was the Land of Lightning, it actually wasn't plagued by lightning. On the contrary, it was a picturesque place, and Naori was very interested in it.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A puff of white smoke cleared, and Aokumo and Ryūfū appeared at Konoha Village's gate. The two cranes had beautiful appearances and nimble eyes. Each feather radiated a faint glow, appearing incredibly sacred.
"Aokumo, Ryūfū, we'll be relying on you two this time."
The two cranes nodded: "Leave it to us."
Torifū skillfully rode on Aokumo, while Naori, although she had flown on Ryūfū a few times before, was still a little scared. However, once she was securely seated, she was fine.
The two of them would rely on the two cranes for transportation this time. After all, with summoning animals available, walking to the Land of Lightning would take about four or five days. But with the cranes, they could arrive safely in just two days, and it would also give the cranes some exercise, as they had too much energy every day. Every morning, after Torifū woke up, he couldn't find the two cranes anywhere. Since he didn't use them much in combat anyway, if he didn't even use them for transportation, wouldn't it be pointless raising them to such a size?
With a loud cry, the two cranes flapped their wings and took flight. The massive airflow nearly broke the nearby small trees in half. Naori waited until Ryūfū had flown high into the clouds and stabilized before opening her eyes.
"It's so beautiful!" After several months, seeing the beauty of the clouds again, she couldn't help but exclaim. Having a flying summoning animal had its advantages; one could embrace the sky at any time.
Torifū snapped his fingers, generating small mirrors in front of Naori and himself. This way, it would block the high-altitude winds from making it difficult to open their eyes.
"If you like it, you can always ask Ryūfū to play."
Naori smiled sweetly and then nodded: "Okay, I'll play with Ryūfū more often in the future. I just hope it doesn't find me too bothersome." Before Torifū could explain, Ryūfū spoke up herself: "Not at all, Naori, don't be shy. Come play with me anytime you want. Aokumo and I are always flying around in the sky anyway." Naori had wanted to be more reserved, but since the host herself had spoken, there was no need to be coy.
"Torifū, roughly how long will it take us to reach the Land of Lightning?"
Hearing this, Torifū calculated: "At this speed, we should arrive tomorrow evening." Naori now had to once again admire the two cranes' flying speed. A distance that normally took four or five days was now shortened to two days. Aokumo and Ryūfū flew very high, almost making the ground invisible. Looking out, it was an endless sea of clouds.
"Torifū, can your Cloud Release directly control the clouds here?"
Torifū nodded: "Of course, I can." Saying that, he even gave Naori a demonstration. Torifū simply beckoned with his hand, and clouds from all around gathered towards him, forming a small vortex in his hand.