Chapter 81: 79: sh
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What a peaceful life it had be.
Shiraishi felt like he had retired to a life fit for the elderly after leaving his frontline missions behind and entering the ninja academy.
His days now consisted of going to work at the academy at 3:00 p.m., with the rest of the time his to manage as he pleased.
Even his shifts at the hospital were rtively short. Shiraishi''s current life was something many Konoha ninjas would likely not envy.
Study, leisurely walks, work, and punctual rest at home were his daily routines.
asionally, he''d go shopping with Ruri, but his encounters with Ayane were rare.
After the three of them left the Team Sakumo, they each had their own responsibilities.
Ruri had joined the police force, tasked with maintaining vige security and resolving civil disputes in the vige.
As a Jonin, Ayane had garnered early recognition from the Hyuga n''s senior members due to her potential. She now held an important position within the Hyuga n, even serving as the future Hyuga n head''s guardian.
Ayane''s status in the Hyuga n significantly exceeded that of ordinary Hyuga branch ninjas. The gap between the main and branch families was evident.
Due to these circumstances, Shiraishi had only encountered Ayane once since leaving the Team Sakumo. After their meeting, they hadn''t spoken for more than five minutes.
However, in secret, they maintainedmunication and exchanged information.
But what concerned Shiraishi the most currently were the secret measures taken by Konoha''s senior management—specifically, their research on Wood Release.
◎
"What are those high-level Konoha figures nning?" Shiraishi mused.
On the surface, Shiraishi appeared unconcerned. However, he was highly vignt about the higher ups research and experiments regarding Wood Release. Shiraishi had never underestimated these high-ranking individuals and had raised their threat level several notches in his mind.
While Shiraishi hadn''t personally verified the power of Wood Release, he had witnessed the destructive power of Tailed Beasts firsthand.
Even if it had been only one tail and possibly not at full power, among the tailed beats the Nine-Tails was the strongest Tailed Beast.
The fact that the first Hokage, with his Wood Release, could suppress such a formidable creature spoke volumes about the power of Wood Release.
Shiraishi had been genuinely shocked by the sheer might of the chakra sphere ejected from the One-Tail'', prompting him to briefly question his choice of being a ninja.
Someone who could subdue the most powerful Tailed Beast, even if not on the same level as the first Hokage, was not to be underestimated.
ording to information from Bug Man and hispanions, the strange white creature possessed remarkable stealth capabilities. Without the ability to sense natural energy, it was challenging to detect the creature''s presence.
If Konoha''s senior management indeed used Wood Release for researching such a specialized stealth unit, then its intended use was clear. Whether it was to gather information on enemy ninja or monitor the vige''s interior, its surveince capabilities surpassed those of the Anbu, rendering it extremely difficult to defend against.
Shiraishi wasn''t overly concerned about the research being uncovered. The strange creature''s stealth abilities could be detected using natural energy sensing.
Known threats, regardless of theirplexity, could be addressed with proper precautions.
The real challengey in the unknown.
How many of these stealth creatures did Konoha''s senior management possess? Where were they deployed? What was their unknown agenda? Had they infiltrated the Uchiha n?
These were all uncertainties.
Shiraishi''s absolute confidence in his own safety''s based on Konoha''s high ranking individuals having seriously underestimated his intelligence. No matter the circumstance, he possessed the initiative—a key to victory.
However, this kind of unknown factor, the ace up Konoha''s sleeve, was a wildcard.
"How troublesome..."
Shiraishi needed a n to shift the bnce of power or uncover Konoha''s high-level management''s intentions. Staying passive wasn''t an option.
To face a vast military organization like a ninja vige head-on offered no chance of victory.
As Shiraishi pondered this, Ruri made her way down the corridor of the undergroundboratory.
"When did you get back?"
"Just now."
"Is it thiste already?"
Shiraishi suddenly realized how time had flown.
Ruri''s shifts in the security force typically ran from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with two days off a week for leisure and personal activities.
"Aren''t you continuously concerned about the high-level ns?" Ruri asked.
"Well, it''s tied to Wood Release and might involve research simr to that on Tailed Beasts. We need to be vignt... Why, you don''t seem concerned at all?"
Shiraishi couldn''t help but notice that Ruri didn''t seem concerned at all, which left him slightly surprised.
It was worth noting that some high-ranking officials had a very strained rtionship with the Uchiha n, especially Shimura Danzo, the leader of the radical faction. If it weren''t for the Third Hokage''s efforts to mediate, the Root would likely not have remained so cooperative in recent years.
"Why should I worry about such things? As long as you possess the power to suppress all conspiracies and schemes, it''s a waste of time and energy to ponder countermeasures. If you have this time and energy, it''s better spent on enhancing your own strength."
"..."
Shiraishi remained silent, taken aback by her staunch power-centric perspective. In his mind, he had been fretting needlessly about Ruri.
"You''re too obsessed with the so-called truth. You used to be like this. You want to understand every bit of the so-called truth."
"It''s my duty to seek the truth."
Shiraishi replied.
"You''re clearly insecure."
Ruri stated with an expression that said, "Don''t try to deceive me."
Her eyes seemed capable of prating the essence of everything.
"Since you understand, why mention it? It hurts."
Shiraishi managed a reluctant smile.
Just as he understood everything about Ruri, she understood everything about him. Such tricks were impossible to hide from each other.
"Because I rarely see you entangled like this, it''s quite interesting."
Ruri chuckled.
"You..... you couldn''t it be Ayane using a Transformation Technique... Right..?"
Shiraishi hesitated for a moment before asking this rather impolite question.
As expected, upon hearing Shiraishi''s question, Ruri fixed him with her dark pupils. She didn''t answer but rather allowed the concentrated air to flow around her.
It appeared to be the real Ruri.
Ayane didn''t exude such a powerful and intimidating aura.
"How''s progress with the Sage Mode?"
This was the topic Ruri cared about most.
"In recent experiments, the sess rate of synthesizing Senjutsu Chakra has steadily increased to over 80%. Give me another six months to a year, and it can be officially put into use."
Shiraishi provided a rtively conservative timeframe.
Ruri nodded; half a year to a year was entirely manageable. She had plenty of free time at present. As a vice-captain in the security team, she could delegate most of her work to subordinates. asionally, when problems arose, she, as the vice-captain, stepped in to resolve them.
After Ruri left, Shiraishi was left in deep thought.
Indeed, as Ruri had suggested, instead of guessing on what Konoha''s high-ranking officials were nning, focusing on self-improvement was a surefire investment.
"But, no matter how much I improve inbat, I can''t surpass Ruri. Her rate of growth is abnormal, and my ''strength'' doesn''t reflect in battle..."
Shiraishi had sacrificed practice time, dedicating all his energy to research. This seemed to be his chosen path. Not only was Ruri outstripping him, but Ayane''s strength was also growing faster than his.
Although he possessed decent talent,pared to Ruri and Ayane, the gap was negligible.
Both of them had Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan and Byakugan, making them leading bloodline inheritors in the ninja world, an advantage Shiraishi didn''t share.
Furthermore, the Kekkei Genkai''s power grew increasingly formidable as the user developed. On top of that, Ruri and Ayane were natural geniuses.
So, abandoning training in favor of research was also a method of enhancing his ''strength''. Shiraishi understood that his role was to create ''weapons,'' while using these ''weapons'' inbat was Ruri and Ayane''s responsibility.
Shiraishi suddenly felt as though he was seeing the truth beyond the clouds. In this world, nobody was perfect. Therefore, relying on others topensate for one''s shorings and progressing together was essential.
Compared tobat, Shiraishi excelled at research, and his cognition and thinking extended beyond the era of ninjas. This was his strength, an area where he surpassed Ruri and Ayane. As such, there was no need for him to strive for excellence inbat; it wasn''t the path he should choose.
With this perspective, Konoha''s high-level management''s secret ns became less important. What mattered most was self-improvement.
◎
May brought warm weather to the region.
Unknowingly, a creature known as ''White Zetsu'' had covertly infiltrated Konoha. Konoha was renowned for being the most challenging vige to infiltrate among all the ninja viges, owing to its all-epassing sensoy-type seal.
This seal could pierce through the very essence of the entity using the Byakugan. Therefore, when White Zetsu snuck in, he exercised extreme caution in all his actions.
Three individuals had infiltrated: two White Zetsu were assigned to monitor outside Konoha, while the third infiltrated Konoha vige.
Their clear objective was to determine whether a missing White Zetsu had any connections with high-level Konoha members and also to gather information within the Uchiha n to locate a so-called "Emissary."
The requirements for this "Emissary" in terms of personality and talents were unknown to White Zetsu; everything was to be determined by their "Madara-sama".
However, it was essential for the "Emissary" to be of a young age, preferably a child or teenager, for ease of control. Consequently, most of the Uchiha people under their surveince were either young teen ninjas or children attending ninja schools.
The division ofbor was precise: one investigated the high-ranking officials, another the ninja school, and one remained concealed within the Uchiha n.
They had swiftly be proficient in gathering intelligence. Even in the most formidable Ninja Vige to infiltrate, given enough time, they could sessfully operate their intelligencework.
White Zetsu, responsible for the Uchiha n, moved underground with the expertise of a master. He was like an intangible ghost, and no one had detected his actions thus far, not even the Uchiha n itself.
This particr White Zetsu was feeling rather self-satisfied. While most White Zetsucked inbat abilities, they all possessed exceptional stealth skills. Only a few ninja with unique perception capabilities could detect their presence.
Considering the Uchiha n''s characteristics, he felt monitoring them was a straightforward task.
He thought to himself, "I''ll be able to deliver everything to Madara-sama soon."
Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly felt the chilling sensation of being secretly watched by some unknown creature''s eyes. It stopped him in his tracks as he swam through the soil.
Turning his head, White Zetsu was nearly ovee with terror. A pair of dark eyes had unexpectedly pushed through the earth beside him, locking onto him without warning.
Confusion swirled in his mind. What was this?
Before he could fully process this, the soil around him started to writhe and constrict, turning unnaturally soft, akin to quicksand. White Zetsu felt the suffocating oppression, and then he lost consciousness.
Everything urred so abruptly that White Zetsu hadn''t even managed to get a clear look at his assant.
When he awoke, White Zetsu found himself bound to a stone chair with restraints covering his entire body. He was in a secret chamber, bathed in a dim yellowish light that barely illuminated the room.
Before him stood a young man and woman, both around fifteen or sixteen years old. The woman, dressed in a tight ck ninja outfit, exuded a powerful, intimidating presence. The man, on the other hand, wore a white coat and observed him with an eerie, unsettling gaze.
Being subjected to this unsettling stare, White Zetsu couldn''t help but tremble. Although he sensed the woman possessed greater strength, there was something about the man that felt even more dangerous.
These two individuals were Shiraishi and Ruri.
"Hello, how are you?" White Zetsu tried to alleviate the chilling atmosphere with exaggerated and humorous gestures, attempting to ease his internal tension.
However, Shiraishi and Ruri paid no heed to White Zetsu''s exaggerated antics, entirely unaffected by them.
Once the atmosphere had settled, Shiraishi turned to Ruri and said, "Since we''ve managed to capture him alive this time, I intend to use a spiritualization technique to enter his spiritual world and extract information. I''ll leave my body to you."
Ruri, nodding in agreement, watched intently. Shiraishi promptly formed hand seals, closed his eyes, and began to glow. An illusory figure resembling Shiraishi himself materialized in mid-air.
This illusory figure represented Shiraishi''s soul.
With his soul out of his body, Shiraishi overlooked White Zetsu''s struggling body. He then headed directly toward White Zetsu''s body, merging with it and gaining ess to White Zetsu''s spiritual world.
White Zetsu, still seated on the stone chair, fought vigorously, sweat pouring down his face. However, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn''t break free from Shiraishi''s possession of his soul, rendering his attempts to resist futile.
Wandering through White Zetsu''s spiritual world, Shiraishi discovered an entirely nk space, leaving him visibly astonished. When he used the spiritualization technique to explore others'' spiritual worlds, they were never devoid of memory. There was always some portion of their recollections.
However, here was an entirely empty spiritual world. Did this individual truly possess nothing within his mind?
Shiraishi considered an improbable notion: "Could his memories be stored elsewhere, not within this ''space''?" Though it sounded unbelievable, it was the only usible exnation. Even animals with no intelligence had upied spiritual worlds that weren''t nk.
Shiraishi concluded that the memories leading to the core of this white creature were sealed somewhere else.
Shiraishi was about to leave when an enormous scarlet pupil suddenly materialized within the vacant spiritual world.
A powerful chakra, unlike anything Shiraishi had ever encountered, washed over him. It felt icy and dark, as if he were a small boat teetering on the brink of capsizing in a tsunami.
"Sharingan... how is this possible!?" Shiraishi was the first to turn pale with shock.
The massive scarlet pupils, with their three distinctive ck tomoe symbols, were unmistakably erged versions of the Sharingan. The evil and cursed power emanating from these pupils was even more overwhelming than the aura Ruri exuded.
Outside, White Zetsu suddenly let out a piercing roar. His face contorted ferociously, and countless blood vessels burst in his eyeballs, as though they might explode at any moment.
Shiraishi''s illusory spiritual form swiftly detached from White Zetsu''s body and returned to his own.
As he reentered his body, cold sweat covered his face. He stood there, pale, gazing silently at White Zetsu, who was seated motionless on the stone chair, mouth agape, and eyes rolled back, now lifeless.
"What happened?" Ruri, unaware of Shiraishi''s experience, inquired with a note of concern as she helped him sit nearby.
As Shiraishi settled down, his fingers trembled slightly on the armrest. It was as if he were still reeling from the earlier shock. After a considerable pause, his voice, hoarse and strained, managed to articte a single sentence:
"Sharingan..."
"Sharingan?" Ruri inquired.
"Sharingan''s ocr power greater than yours... What a monster..." Shiraishi slowly closed his eyes as he spoke, as though he hadn''t yet recovered from the recent horror.
Ruri, frowning at this revtion, thought deeply. "So, you''re saying that you encountered the Sharingan illusion within this individual''s spiritual world?"
Shiraishi nodded, confirming his previous statement. His words implicitly included Ruri, indicating that the opponent''s use of Sharingan exceeded her capabilities.
"I''m well aware of their strengths. I can''t confidently assert that my ocr power is the strongest among the Uchihas today, but there shouldn''t be more than two pairs of Sharingan that can rival mine."
"But here, in this individual''s spiritual world, the creator of the Sharingan illusion possesses ocr power far superior to yours." Shiraishi didn''t wish to dent Ruri''s self-confidence, but he had to state the fact.
As Ruri absorbed this information, she realized that she had been worrying needlessly. She refocused her thoughts.
However, no matter how she considered it, she couldn''t fathom which Uchiha member currently possessed Sharingan power surpassing her own.
"It seems I guessed wrong from the beginning. These protective measures extend beyond just Wood Release and Tailed Beasts; they also involve Sharingan. This individual''s arrival likely has no connection to the vige''s high-ranking members... There are other yers pulling the strings."
Shiraishi exhaled deeply, his eyes reflecting a profound gravity. He emphasized the importance of caution in their future actions.
For the time being, the Land of Rain would be designated a restricted area to avoid encountering Akatsuki members again. Shiraishi didn''t want to be a target due to unknown enemies.
In a vast, dark karst cave, a white figure emerged from the ground and promptly reported to an elderly man seated on a wooden chair.
"Madara-sama, the zetsu, who was investigating the Uchiha n''s territory, has vanished."
"I''m aware; the illusion I imnted in his mind was triggered, indicating his capture," the old man replied, his eyes shimmering with no one knowing his thoughts.
"Could our intelligence bepromised?" White Zetsu inquired with concern.
"No, the moment the illusion triggered, a chained suicide spell activated, and the White Zetsu is now dead," the old man responded coolly.
White Zetsu chuckled, disying no sadness at White Zetsu''s death. To them, their existence served as tools for their master''s benefit.
"Withdraw from Konoha for now. I didn''t expect such a formidable ninja to emerge within the n after my departure. I mustn''t act recklessly."
The old man''s face expressed regret.
"Do you intend to abandon monitoring the Uchiha n entirely?"
"Not abandonment. We''ll wait until things quiet down, then send White Zetsu. Alternatively, we''ll wait for the next ninja war; it might provide the perfect opportunity."
Among his ranks, some individuals had already detected White Zetsu''s traces. Regardless of the method he employed, he couldn''t easily gain full ess to the Uchiha n''s current information. So, he had to select the "Emissary" that best suited his desires with care.
Having heard the old man''s n, White Zetsu promptly vanished into the ground, disappearing before the old man''s eyes.
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