Escape from Konoha.

Shiraishi ignored Ayane's wild thoughts and placed his hand on Ruri's exposed abdomen.

Shiraishi closed his eyes, sensed for a moment, then opened them, his expression growing increasingly grave.

The chakra and natural energy within Ruri's body were in a very chaotic state, especially the natural energy. It was originally in a gentle and stable state, but because it was suddenly fused with chakra, the power of Sage Mode went berserk within Ruri's body.

To get Liuli out of danger, the only option is to extract natural energy from her body.

However, the problem is that now that natural energy and chakra are mixed together, the separation work has become dangerous.

Because of the power of the Sage Art, Shiraishi conceived of the final form, but never put it into practice; it was merely a hypothetical concept.

If it's just a matter of natural energy, Shiraishi could easily solve it.

Thinking of this, a cold sweat involuntarily trickled down Shiraishi's face.

This is the only surgery in my career where the success rate is uncertain.

Hopefully, his previous experimental data and the final form of the magic won't differ too much.

On the other hand, the safest surgery would be to extract the chakra and natural energy from Ruri's body as well, which would also be the simplest and most effective way to get her out of danger.

The question is whether Shiraishi's theory about chakra leaving the body would actually cause death in humans, or whether it remains a hypothetical question.

If the chakra within Ruri's body is extracted along with the natural energy, and even if the chakra is returned, Ruri might not be able to wake up, which would be rather awkward.

If this assumption holds true, Liuli's current problem is very easy to solve.

The root cause of Ruri's state is that natural energy and chakra merged within her body, causing her Sage Mode to go berserk.

By extracting all natural energy and chakra, Ruri can escape this danger.

But hypotheticals are just hypotheticals. The surgery to remove chakra from the body is too risky and has the lowest success rate.

Therefore, Shiraishi could only first separate the Sage Technique into natural energy and chakra, and then extract the natural energy from Ruri's body.

Separating natural energy from the glass body only requires the technique of extracting it from the fine particles.

This advanced medical ninjutsu can extract harmful factors from the human body, thus avoiding even surgery.

Therefore, all Shiraishi needed to do was figure out how to break down Sage Technique into natural energy and chakra.

Shiraishi took a syringe from the medical kit.

Inject the medicine inside into Liuli's body.

After the injection, Liuli's complexion improved significantly. She was still breathing weakly, but compared to before, she was much better.

Upon seeing this, Shiraishi began the surgery.

During the surgery, Ruri struggled violently several times, but Ayane held her down firmly each time.

In this way, Shiraishi only needs to focus on performing the separation magic surgery.

Painful groans kept coming from Liuli's mouth; even with the anesthetic, the pain was still unbearable.

Time passed by, and Liuli's condition improved considerably.

A slight blush returned to her face, and her breathing gradually calmed down.

Shiraishi breathed a sigh of relief. Although he hadn't completely separated the Sage Chakra, most of it had been broken down. All he needed to do next was extract the natural energy from Ruri's body.

Once we get back to camp, with all the equipment, we can completely eliminate the danger.

A deep green light began to swirl around Bai Shi's palm as he used the Fine Extraction Technique to begin extracting and drawing out the natural energy from Liuli's body.

Just then, the sound of figures moving around seemed to come from outside the cave, causing Shiraishi and Ayane's expressions to change slightly.

Ayane quickly activated her Byakugan with the last of her chakra and scanned the situation outside.

"Who are they? Sand ninja?"

"No. They are Root ninjas."

Ayane's face showed a hint of gritted teeth.

If they weren't Root ninjas, the three of them wouldn't be in such a miserable state, facing a life-or-death situation.

Are you planning to be the last bird to pounce?

Shiraishi murmured something, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

The three of them had almost wiped out the Sand Ninja's pursuit force, but they didn't expect that the Root ninjas would keep following them.

"They were able to avoid your glare before because they knew your glare could be observed from a distance of five kilometers. They know a lot about our intelligence."

"All of them?"

"I don't have it here, otherwise the Hokage's direct ANBU would have contacted me long ago."

Shiraishi calmly analyzed the situation.

According to Ruri's initial intelligence, although Root was a branch of the Anbu, its leader was not the Hokage himself, but another high-ranking elder of Konoha, Shimura Danzo.

Shiraishi still couldn't determine the other party's purpose.

Whether it was to eliminate Hatake Sakumo, the leader of the Sakumo Squad, or was aimed at the three of them, Shiraishi had no idea.

"What do we do now?"

Ayane didn't know what to do. Her chakra was almost depleted, and since she hadn't yet begun training in natural energy, she couldn't provide much combat power.

"Go out and meet them. Liuli is out of danger, so it's okay to interrupt the surgery."

Shiraishi finished his medical ninjutsu and placed Ruri here.

Ayane nodded and walked out of the cave with Shiraishi.

As expected, four figures were standing outside; they were the Root team that had initially made contact with Shiraishi and his two companions.

They wore masks with unsettlingly cold colors, and their indifferent eyes were as ruthless as machines.

They stood in a row, motionless, staring indifferently at Bai Shi and his companion.

Just as one of them raised his hand, preparing to attack, Shiraishi acted first.

He wasn't attacking a Root ninja, but rather Ayane.

He pressed Ayane face down beneath him and twisted her hands behind her back.

"Shiraishi-kun!?"

Ayane was startled and, exhausted, couldn't react in time before Shiraishi pinned her down.

Shiraishi said helplessly, "Can't you see the situation even now? I didn't expect you to be such a foolish woman. I don't want to die with you all; I want to live a good life."

After saying that, he looked up at the four Root members and said to the captain, "I am a medical ninja, the least threatening and the most useful to you. I am willing to join you. Whether you control me with curses or poison, I don't want to die. How about giving me a chance?"

The captain was genuinely considering it.

Indeed, as Shiraishi said, he poses the least threat, and their Root organization is currently in dire need of medical ninjas to conduct forbidden human experiments.

As for whether Shiraishi will betray them, there's really no need to consider it. Once you're in their inner circle, you'll lose your freedom.

I admire your self-awareness, so I'll give you a chance.

The captain ninja threw a kunai over, which stuck near Shiraishi's feet.

"Kill the woman beneath you."

"it is good."

Shiraishi did not hesitate. Although a fleeting struggle crossed his face, it was quickly replaced by a ferocious expression.

He picked up the kunai and began to stab it into Ayane's neck.

However, a shuriken flew over and knocked the kunai out of Shiraishi's hand.

Shiraishi looked at the four members of Root with a puzzled expression; it was one of them who had interrupted his attack.

"Your determination is commendable, but it's not good to casually execute ninjas from your own village."

The captain, a ninja, spoke with utter hypocrisy.

Ultimately, he inherited the Byakugan's bloodline limit; even if he's from a branch family, a living person is more useful than a dead one.

Moreover, the opponent has very little chakra left in their body, so they are not a threat at all.

"I understand. I don't want to bear the infamy of killing my own comrade."

The captain ninja was very satisfied with Shiraishi's pragmatism.

I firmly believe that Shiraishi will become a good Root medical ninja.

Having this belief actually makes it easier to live a long life.

Two Root ninjas walked towards Shiroishi.

Shiraishi consciously stood aside, raising his empty hands, displaying a very cooperative and compliant attitude, posing no threat whatsoever.

"I never expected you to be this kind of person. It's a shame that Liuli and I trusted you so much."

A Root ninja took out a rope and tied Ayane's hands behind her back. Ayane glared at Shiraishi with resentment.

“Compared to living, this kind of thing is nothing. This era is too terrible. Unlike you, I was born into a wealthy family. I can only obtain everything through my own efforts.”

Shiraishi didn't want to argue anything.

Another Root ninja arrived behind Shiraishi and also took out a rope to aim at Shiraishi's raised gloves.

puff!

The Root ninja who was about to tie Shiraishi's hands behind his back noticed nothing, only hearing the sound of a blade cutting through his body, and his vision grew darker and darker.

In his last moments of consciousness, he seemed to see a headless body and hands holding ropes.

Are those my body and hands?

Is it just an illusion?

He got caught up in that thought, and his consciousness ended there.

"Varied--"

Before anyone could react, a blade appeared out of nowhere and pierced through the heart of the Root ninja standing next to Ayane, mercilessly cutting through his heart.

The blade was pulled from the Root Ninja's body, stained with blood.

At this moment, the ropes binding Ayane's hands were also cut, and she regained her freedom.