Escape from Konoha.

...Did I actually get tricked?

This was Shiraishi's first thought.

When did Ayane's deceptive tricks become increasingly difficult for him to understand?

She shouldn't have been trained that way in the first place.

Now, problems have indeed arisen.

Under the somewhat impatient gaze of the female shop owner, Shiraishi reluctantly paid for the two pieces of clothing.

This finally cleared the shop owner's face: "Welcome back next time, we can give you a 10% discount."

Shiraishi carried the bag containing clothes and felt that the clothes inside were heavy.

He wasn't unaware of Ayane's or Ruri's feelings.

For girls of this age, who are just beginning to experience romantic feelings, it's normal to care about things that boys wouldn't.

Their feelings are also very pure and direct.

However, Shiraishi believes that matters of the heart should neither be forced, but rather allowed to take their natural course, nor should they be treated lightly, but rather with caution from beginning to end.

The goodwill you feel now may not be love; it could be some other kind of emotion.

Thinking this way might seem a bit arrogant, but that's how love is in Shiraishi's eyes.

Everyone thinks their love is unique, but in reality, it's just a cliché story being repeated over and over again.

Shiraishi believes he has always been an ordinary person.

"I was actually troubled by something like this before, it's really embarrassing," Shiraishi sighed inwardly.

No matter what, he's not a normal twelve-year-old child.

He has a mature soul, his own plans, and a profound understanding of his own life.

These values ​​may not necessarily align with Ruri or Ayane in the future.

Shiraishi doesn't want to let down anyone who is kind to him.

Most importantly, it's too small...

I can't bring myself to do it.

Copper smelting will not enrich a country or strengthen its military; it will only land you in jail.

Those sinful values ​​deeply bound him.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; that only applies to certain things.

The feelings of those you cherish are the last thing you should play with or trample on.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Future Plans

Perhaps because he had figured things out, Shiraishi found himself in a much better mood after returning home.

My enthusiasm for research has been greatly boosted, and I can now stay in the lab all night without any problem.

Putting aside personal matters, the research has made great progress in the past few days.

Due to an unexpected discovery, a drug processed with natural energy is now being used to replace the chakra in mice as their life energy, resulting in an increasing number of mice surviving.

These surviving mice are larger and more energetic than ordinary mice. Most importantly, there have been no cases of sudden death so far.

According to the results of instrument detection, this healthy growth state can accompany these mice throughout their lives.

They will not die suddenly before the end of their natural lifespan.

Processed natural energy can replace chakra as life energy, allowing life to function normally.

—Therefore, a new round of human trials is about to begin.

That's right.

Shiraishi's ultimate goal was not to alter the mice.

The final stage of this experiment is its application to the human body.

In order to help Ayane untie the caged bird, so that when she leaves Konoha, the Hyuga clan won't be able to exploit her weakness.

Although experiments were conducted on mice, one important stage remains to be completed.

That is to replace chakra with the original natural energy.

The chakra now replacing the chakra in the mice is processed natural energy.

However, having already identified the core of the problem, Shiraishi was extremely confident that he could quickly move past this stage.

The next step is to begin a new round of human trials.

Unlike experiments that integrate natural energy, this experiment is fraught with danger.

The slightest carelessness could lead to death.

So how do you minimize the risk... In other words, Shiraishi's bottom line is that even in the event of failure, the test subject can still survive.

This is also the first thing to solve.

Shiraishi found it strange that he didn't feel much discomfort when he was actively killing people, but when it came to human experimentation, he hesitated.

This is probably because the feeling of playing with one's life is something one really hates.

But this is the only path to true science that Shiraishi knows.

Medical science, and other types of science, often use inhumane human experimentation, and this is how these sciences have progressed.

The same applies to medical ninjutsu in the ninja world; it was only after numerous sacrifices that it gained the attention of ninja villages.

The emergence of guidelines for human experimentation was merely intended to offer some reassurance to those who carried them out.

Regardless of the circumstances, this is playing with other people's lives.

The psychological activity involved is entirely different from directly taking someone else's life.

"What's wrong, Lord Shiraishi?"

One of the experimental subjects' assistants saw Shiraishi standing next to the experimental table in a daze and asked a question.

"Nothing, just thinking about some trivial things."

Shiraishi shook his head.

Thinking so much about it, I can't possibly give up the job I have now.

Therefore, minimizing the risks of the next round of human trials is the most meaningful and valuable thing to do.

Suddenly remembering something, Shiraishi looked at the five experimental assistants who were helping him in the laboratory and asked them in a serious tone:

"By the way, do you guys want to become ninjas?"

The atmosphere in the laboratory fell silent.

After a long silence, one of the experimental subjects' assistants stammered, "What does 'ninja' mean...?"

"It's about learning ninja skills, like ninjutsu."

Bai Shi casually offered an explanation.

"Can we... do it?"

He seemed a little fearful and somewhat insecure.

"Of course you can. Your current physical condition is better than many active ninjas. Even if you specialize in taijutsu, you can reach the level of Chunin within a few years, or even surpass it."

Shiraishi knew where these people's insecurities lay.

At the beginning, the five of them were just a group of ordinary bandits who had not undergone any systematic training, let alone ninja skills.

Now, thanks to the improvement from natural energy, and disregarding experience in actual combat against real ninjas and tactics, in terms of taijutsu, he is no weaker than a standard genin.

To reach the level of Chunin, or even higher, within a few years is truly incredible.

But natural energy can do this.

This is the magic of natural energy.

The methods he developed for absorbing natural energy are all based on the premise of being suitable for human development, and represent another system that can be developed.

Although this system is still in its early stages and has many imperfections, it is enough to benefit people immensely.

"So? Are you really going to work for me? I can give you a certain degree of freedom, and even help you live a better life in this world. Even if you were ruthless bandits in the past, you still want to protect your parents, wives, and children, right?"

These words were like a knife, deeply embedded in the hearts of the five people.

One of them looked complicated, as if recalling some unpleasant past events.

"The five of us actually come from the same village, and our homeland is the Land of Rain."

"Was it the main battlefield of the previous war?"

Shiraishi had heard of that place, a place where it rains all year round.

It is known as the 'Crying Country'.

Because it is located between the three great nations of fire, wind, and earth, Shiraishi can imagine what life would be like for the people there should a war break out between these great nations.

It was like hell on earth.

"Yes. A few years ago, those ninjas who came to our village, although they didn't kill us, they robbed us of all our supplies—food, winter blankets, and even our houses were occasionally requisitioned..."

Yet he continued to live humbly, living humbly.

In this world devoid of warmth, everyone is desperately trying to survive.

If someone tries to take your things, then you should take things from the weaker party.

It's all about survival.

“At the beginning, there were more than twenty of us, but sometimes what we did was too dangerous, and many of our comrades were killed… Actually, there was no complaining. Everyone was just fighting for survival. We didn’t feel any regret, nor did we think it was any kind of righteous act; we were just fighting for survival…”

The person who spoke had a dim look in their eyes, and even their expression had become numb.

For people who can't even afford basic necessities... no, whose own country and family are being arbitrarily trampled upon, survival is already a struggle, so there's no need to be overly critical.

When oppressed by the strong, if you don't want to die, you can only step on the weaker ones and snatch food from them.