Escape from Konoha.

This explains why Shiraishi didn't see Ruri and her husband at Ruri's house.

When Ruri and her parents reunited, Shiroshi wisely refrained from going over, as doing so would only create awkwardness.

Shiraishi returned to the underground laboratory. Because he was going out on a mission, many of the experimental equipment had already been moved away, but some less important equipment was left behind.

The basement and the equipment were covered in dust, and Shiraishi was going to clean it thoroughly.

As she finished cleaning, she heard footsteps on the stairs leading upstairs, and Ruri came down the steps.

"What, did you finish your family interaction so soon? There was no need to rush over."

"We can catch up anytime."

"It seems that my uncle and the others will be staying in the village for a long time this time. Is it because of the war outside?"

Bai Shi asked, seemingly remembering something.

"They don't trade around the Land of Fire, but in the far west of the continent, so the war here won't affect their business."

"You're not using your real name, are you?"

"Yes, they use aliases. They know some ninjutsu, but their information hasn't been recorded by Konoha. Plus, some elders in the clan are pulling strings behind the scenes, allowing them to trade outside with peace of mind. Over the years, they've also hired many reputable bounty hunters, samurai, and ninjas to ensure their safety."

No matter what, the Uchiha clan is a prestigious family with a history spanning hundreds of years. Their foundation and connections are extraordinary.

For example, the Uchiha clan never purchases their ninja tools and equipment from the Land of Iron or from their own villages; instead, they purchase them from the summoning cat clan.

Often, the ninja cat clan would also act as spies for the Uchiha ninjas, gathering intelligence.

This is the Uchiha clan's network of connections.

And there are probably quite a few allies like the Ninja Cat Clan, making it extremely difficult even for Konoha to obtain this information.

Similarly, the Hyuga clan, the bloodline ninja clan, is the same. Only the highest-ranking members of the clan know the full extent of their secret connections.

True powerhouses are not just about strength and lineage; their networks are also a formidable force.

Afterwards, Ruri used the Summoning Jutsu to summon some ninja cats. These ninja cats carried scrolls containing a lot of large research equipment. All that was needed was to unseal them and reconnect the circuitry.

Shiraishi, Ruri, and the other ninja cats started working together, putting the research equipment back in its original position and connecting the wiring as before.

It was two hours after they finished, and only then did Ruri let the ninja cat laborers go back. Before leaving, the ninja cats showed human-like resentful eyes, and only went back in a better mood after Ruri said that she would prepare the best cat food for them next time.

Shiraishi looked around the huge research room and really wanted to find an assistant.

However, we shouldn't think about such things for now. There are many secrets here that cannot be made public and can only be carried out in secret.

Fortunately, this is the Uchiha clan's territory, and the Hokage's direct ANBU has no right to search here, after all, the power of the Uchiha Guard should not be underestimated.

There are quite a few Jonin and Special Jonin among them. Anyone in the clan who enters a ninja unit will have a strength of Chunin or above after reaching adulthood, which is a very frightening proportion.

Especially after awakening the Sharingan, the strength of Uchiha ninjas will increase dramatically, and they should not be underestimated.

Shiraishi has already identified his next research target.

The smoke bomb contains a highly toxic substance, along with a matching antidote.

Of course, the research on natural energy must continue. Although my time in Konoha will not be long, I cannot waste this precious time.

Just as Ruri was about to leave, leaving Shiraishi alone, Shiraishi suddenly spoke up, "By the way, Ruri, could I ask you for a favor?"

"Tell me, do you need to replace the equipment?"

"Ah, no need for that, these are enough for a long time."

"what is that?"

"Human experimentation".

Shiraishi simply uttered those four words.

Liuli's pupils contracted slightly, then she looked at Baishi seriously, and Baishi met her gaze calmly.

Do you know what this means?

"Human experimentation is not entirely evil."

As far as Shiraishi knows, many forbidden techniques are products developed based on human experiments.

The most famous of them all is Tobirama Senju, the former Hokage of Konoha.

It can be said that many of the distinctive ninjutsu techniques learned by Konoha's ninjas today originated from this Second Hokage.

Liuli nodded thoughtfully and said, "I will send what you asked for tomorrow."

Chapter Forty-Six: Soul Ninjutsu

The next day, four or five more people appeared in the underground laboratory.

These people were dressed like farmers working in the fields, but their faces were fierce and their bodies were very strong. Even though they were tied up, their eyes were still flashing with murderous intent, and they probably had a lot of lives on their hands.

Shiraishi didn't ask where these people came from, nor did he ask about their original identities, but they were probably bandits who killed and robbed people outside.

There is chaos and turmoil outside, with countless bandits burning, killing, and looting everywhere. I have encountered such things when I was on missions before, and I have taken care of many bandit groups in the process.

However, Shiraishi doesn't care where they came from or what they did before. Once they enter this laboratory, their fate is the same as that of the lab rats that Shiraishi used to manipulate—they are now considered experimental subjects.

With systematic planning, the natural energy experiment itself is not life-threatening. However, we cannot be too absolute. After all, animals were used in the previous experiment, and the life structure of animals is too different from that of humans. Therefore, the possibility of unexpected risks cannot be ruled out when using humans for the natural energy injection experiment.

"Experimental subjects are hard to find, so we shouldn't use them all at once."

Before leaving, Liuli said something.

It took her considerable manpower and resources to transport these experimental subjects here, hence the special reminder.

"Don't worry, don't forget I'm also a medical ninja, I can reuse them repeatedly."

Shiraishi knew that it wasn't easy for Ruri to get these test subjects, so he didn't plan to use them all up at once.

Medical ninjutsu can be very useful in situations like this; as long as the person doesn't die, it can be used repeatedly.

Furthermore, Shiraishi believed that the possibility of his research endangering lives was very low. Before conducting human experiments, he had already experimented on many animals. As long as he was careful, his life was basically guaranteed.

After Ruri left, Shiraishi began working.

The mouths of the people who were brought over were all gagged, so they could not speak loudly and could only whimper and growl angrily, seemingly very dissatisfied with their treatment.

These bandits, who live on the edge of death, have no fear in their eyes. They are probably thinking about how to kill Shiraishi and escape from here.

Ignoring the low growls of these people, Shiraishi randomly selected one of them and placed him on the experimental table. Because he was so restless, Shiraishi had to inject him with a small amount of anesthetic to make him drowsy before he calmed down.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of food and drink here as my test subjects. It's much better than your life outside, where you're constantly on the edge of a knife and never know when you might suddenly die. Besides, my experiments are basically life-threatening, I can assure you of that."

These people seemed to have a change in mood; their eyes became evasive, while Shiraishi's tone remained calm throughout.

Even for the sake of sustainable use, Shiraishi will do his best to ensure that these people's lives continue.

After all, in such chaotic times, many people are just trying to survive by eating.

Large countries are alright, but for people in small countries, even a meal is probably a luxury. They can only eat wild vegetables by the roadside, or maybe they don't even have wild vegetables to eat.

In this war-torn era where morality and ethics were disregarded, Bai Shi had long ago told himself that life was not something to be happy about, and death was not something to be sad about.

Life is often priceless because it is worthless.

◎

Two days later.

After emerging from the underground laboratory, Shiraishi had spent most of the past two days inside, conducting experiments, except for eating and sleeping outside.

Although there has been no progress so far, considering that the human trials have just begun, it will take at least a week of observation before any conclusions can be drawn.

After emerging from the underground laboratory, Shiraishi took a breath.

It's already July, and the sun's rays are quite harsh, as if all of one's energy is being sucked away by the scorching sunlight.

What Shiraishi has always wanted to complain about is that even though this world has electric lights and computers, why is there no air conditioning?

Heading to the room where Ruri was, the coolness inside was a stark contrast to the sweltering heat outside.

Because there was a lot of ice in the room, and the electric fan was constantly blowing, the cold air quickly spread to every corner of the room, creating the same effect as an air conditioner.

Liuli was wearing only a loose blue casual dress, and there were some scattered scrolls and black leather boxes around her.

"what is this?"

Bai Shi pointed to the scroll and the black leather box.

"This is your share of the reward for the previous mission. The total amount is 1.2 million taels of silver, and the rest consists of scrolls containing medical knowledge, as well as a few practical medical ninjutsu techniques."

"I see." Shiraishi sat down, opened one of the scrolls, and a smile immediately appeared on his face. "I didn't expect the village to be so generous, rewarding me with such valuable items. These are important documents that I've been hoping to obtain. I originally thought they would just give me something casually and let the matter drop. It seems the village leaders aren't entirely without human touch after all."

"I gave you these things because I wanted to just get rid of you. You idiot, is that all you're capable of?"

Liuli rolled her eyes at Baishi, who was smugly pleased with himself.

"???"

"For them, getting rid of you with these things is the easiest and most resource-efficient thing to do."

Upon hearing what Ruri said, Shiraishi immediately understood.

"It doesn't matter. Although it was a lucky accident, these materials and medical ninjutsu have indeed been of great help to me."

"Really? Whatever makes you happy."

"By the way, what about your reward, Liuli?"

"Afterwards, I will go to the Hokage Building. The village leadership has approved my choice of any ninjutsu from the Book of Sealing."

When Liuli said this, she looked very surprised.

It seems no one expected the Third Hokage to have such courage.

As far as she knew, the Senju clan and their Uchiha clan had always had a strained relationship, and even though things had improved somewhat in recent years, it was only a superficial friendship.

Upon hearing this, Shiroshi, who was standing to the side, suddenly found the scroll in his hand less appealing.

"Have you decided which ninjutsu you'll choose?"

Shiraishi composed himself and asked the question.

Liuli yawned listlessly, lay down on her side, and fiddled with a kunai in her hand.

"The clan elders respect my choice, but I don't know what powerful ninjutsu are in the Book of Sealing, and I'm not lacking in high-level ninjutsu, so I haven't decided yet. Do you have any ideas?"