At first, Yugao Uzuki had no idea that her newly awakened self-healing ability could also slow down aging.
When Richard informed her that she could maintain her youth just like Tsunade would in the future, she froze in stunned silence.
Then, unable to contain her excitement, she flung herself at Richard and kissed him passionately.
No woman could resist the temptation of "eternal youth"!
After her excitement subsided, Yugao discovered that her chakra reserves had increased more than tenfold.
While it hadn't reached truly extraordinary levels, it was still impressive. Judging by chakra capacity alone, she now rivaled elite jonin like Kakashi and Asuma.
Of course, she still couldn't compare to Guy and Lee who had unlocked the Eight Gates.
After giving Richard a heated kiss, Yugao released him and shot him a suggestive look.
Though she didn't speak, Richard quickly caught her meaning and smiled. "We'll talk about that tonight. Go take a shower and get some rest first."
"Alright!"
Hearing Richard's response, Yugao's face showed a flicker of disappointment.
When she left the laboratory—converted from the guest bedroom—and headed to the bathroom, Richard went to his study and pulled a tablet computer from his system space to record data and observations from Yugao's body transformation experiment.
Though he had no ambitions of becoming a biological scientist, documenting the experimental data would help him conduct similar procedures more effectively in the future.
After logging all the relevant information, Richard returned the tablet to his system space and considered how to train Yugao to develop her Rinnegan next.
While the Rinnegan was more powerful than both the Byakugan and Sharingan, fully unleashing its potential required considerable effort.
Nagato was a perfect example.
Uchiha Madara had transplanted the Rinnegan into Nagato when he was very young, but it wasn't until Jiraiya took him as a student that he finally learned how to properly develop and use his Rinnegan.
Yugao didn't have Nagato's unique physique.
However, compared to Nagato back then, Yugao's foundation was much stronger.
She was already a jonin of Konohagakure, with chakra control and ninjutsu mastery far superior to what Nagato had possessed at the time.
In other words, guiding Yugao to master the Rinnegan wouldn't be particularly difficult.
While she might not be able to utilize the Rinnegan's power to its fullest extent, harnessing most of its abilities shouldn't pose a significant challenge.
Even if Yugao wasn't sure how to develop the Rinnegan, Richard could advise her.
When he had strengthened his own Rinnegan in Otogakure, he had already begun studying how to develop it to fully master its power.
With Nagato and the Six Paths of Pain as references, Richard hadn't struggled much to master techniques like Almighty Push, Universal Pull, Planetary Devastation, Outer Path, Chakra Absorption, Blocking Technique Absorption Seal, Human Path, and the Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
If there was any regret, it was that he hadn't yet mastered the unique ocular techniques of the Rinnegan such as Heavenly Impact, Limbo: Border Jail, Heavenly Hand Power, Infinite Tsukuyomi, Animal Path summonings, and Time Rewind.
Richard understood that these unique Rinnegan techniques, like those of the Mangekyō Sharingan, were exclusive abilities granted to different individuals—they couldn't be developed merely by wanting them.
Still, he wasn't ready to give up.
Conventional methods hadn't allowed him to master techniques like Tengai Shinsei and Limbo, but that didn't mean he had absolutely no chance.
If nothing else, his silver Rinnegan wasn't an ordinary Rinnegan.
Since his Rinnegan was already abnormal, it wouldn't be strange if it came with special circumstances that other Rinnegan didn't possess.
After some consideration, Richard decided to teach Yugao the six core Rinnegan techniques.
Whether Yugao could successfully learn these six Rinnegan jutsu, or whether she might develop other Rinnegan abilities, remained to be seen.
But one thing was certain—after mastering these six techniques, Yugao's combat prowess would improve dramatically.
Her current attack methods were too limited.
This was the main reason she hadn't been promoted to jonin before.
Once she mastered Almighty Push, Universal Pull, and other Rinnegan techniques, even without using her vibranium katana, her strength would rival that of Kakashi and Asuma.
Having made his decision, Richard stood up and left the study, heading toward his bedroom.
After returning to his room, he removed his clothes and went to take a hot bath.
Though he could have gone to the downstairs bathroom and joined Yugao—which would have been inappropriate for children—he chose not to.
This wasn't a question of stamina, but simply that he wasn't interested at the moment.
The body transformation experiment had lasted five days, yet it hadn't burdened him at all.
After soaking for half an hour, he left the bathroom wrapped in a towel, went to bed, closed his eyes, and began to rest.
That evening, after dinner, Richard and Yugao went to the open space near their residence.
Though Yugao had just completed her body transformation surgery today, she had received the Rinnegan transplant a week ago.
This meant there would be no issues with teaching her Rinnegan techniques now.
"As a bloodline limit, the Rinnegan has certain jutsu that complement it," Richard explained to Yugao. "I'm going to teach you a few, which will both increase your strength and help you better utilize the Rinnegan."
"Of course, you might also try developing your own Rinnegan techniques in the future."
Although that's what he said, given Yugao's talent, developing new Rinnegan techniques would be challenging.
Even with a transplanted Rinnegan, it didn't mean she could easily create new Rinnegan-based jutsu.
"Yes!" Yugao nodded eagerly.
"I'll teach you the first technique now." Richard continued. "Watch carefully—this jutsu is called Almighty Push."
"Almighty Push can deflect all surrounding objects or jutsu directed at the user, or directly damage enemies."
"The range and power of Almighty Push can be adjusted according to the amount of chakra used."
"If you encounter something that cannot be deflected, the reaction force will rebound onto you, so keep this in mind when using it."
"Additionally, Almighty Push has a five-second cooldown period."
After explaining the technique to Yugao, Richard activated his silver Rinnegan.
He raised his right hand and pointed his palm at a tree more than ten meters away.
The tree was around forty to fifty centimeters thick—not exceptionally large, but not something just anyone could easily topple.
Almighty Push!
After silently speaking the technique's name in his mind, Richard unleashed Almighty Push.
As the technique activated, a devastating repulsive force struck the distant tree.
BANG!
Without any resistance, the tree was instantly uprooted and sent flying.
Witnessing this, Yugao was momentarily stunned before her expression shifted to one of eager anticipation.
Though Almighty Push lacked flashy visual effects—just an invisible shockwave that had demolished the tree—Yugao immediately took a liking to this technique.
As someone who specialized in close combat, Almighty Push would perfectly complement her arsenal by providing medium and long-range attack capabilities.
After demonstrating Almighty Push, Richard explained to Yugao the key to performing it.
Being a technique that required the Rinnegan, Almighty Push needed no hand signs—it only required harnessing the power of the Rinnegan.
Simply put, she needed to channel chakra into the Rinnegan and activate its abilities.
Channeling chakra into the Rinnegan wasn't difficult.
It was actually quite simple.
But activating Almighty Push wasn't so straightforward.
Whether it was Almighty Push, Universal Pull, or Planetary Devastation, they were all stored within the Rinnegan like pre-programmed functions.
Without properly controlling the chakra flow, simply channeling chakra into the Rinnegan wouldn't activate Almighty Push unless by sheer luck.
To be precise, no technique would activate.
Only by channeling chakra and directing it to flow in a specific predetermined pattern could Almighty Push be successfully triggered.
Yugao's talent wasn't extraordinary, but it wasn't mediocre either.
If nothing else, she had excellent chakra control.
The rest was merely a matter of practice.
With enough repetition, techniques like Almighty Push and Universal Pull could become second nature.
After memorizing Richard's instructions, Yugao immediately began practicing Almighty Push.
Like Richard had done, she raised her right hand and aimed her palm at a large tree more than ten meters away.
She first channeled chakra into the Rinnegan and attempted to guide it along the prescribed pathway.
Then... nothing happened.
The chakra flowed smoothly into the Rinnegan but failed to activate Almighty Push.
Unsurprisingly, Yugao's first attempt ended in failure.
Though unsuccessful, neither she nor Richard were surprised.
The Rinnegan was indeed a powerful bloodline limit.
But not to the point where one could easily master Almighty Push without effort.
Even Orochimaru needed several days to train ninjas who had received Rinnegan transplants before they could utilize its power.
Compared to Nagato as a child, Yugao's foundation was stronger.
But compared to the ninjas at Orochimaru's hideout, Yugao had no particular advantage.
After all, many of those who received Rinnegan transplants from Orochimaru were already jonin.
After analyzing her failure, Yugao made a second attempt.
Then a third, fourth, fifth...
While Yugao continued her attempts, Richard used his enhanced vision to observe her chakra flow, pointing out her mistakes.
Even so, Yugao couldn't master Almighty Push that night.
Despite failing to master the technique, she had improved her chakra control significantly through practice.
Judging by her progress, she would master Almighty Push within a week at most.
After training for over an hour, Richard and Yugao returned home.
They then took a long, satisfying bath together.
The next morning, after breakfast at home, Richard—who hadn't been to the office for a week—headed to work.
Though he had been absent for the past week, many people had applied for assistant positions.
A cardboard box filled with application resumes had appeared in front of his office.
Opening the door, Richard carried the box inside and began reviewing the applications.
After going through hundreds of resumes, he placed three on his desk.
These three had been carefully selected.
Kaede Shiranui, Miki Kozeki, and Yui Hyuga.
Kaede Shiranui was the cousin of Special Jonin Genma Shiranui.
Miki Kozeki came from an ordinary family with no notable ninja lineage.
As for Yui Hyuga, she was from a branch family of the Hyuga clan.
Considering her age, Hinata would address Yui as "sister."
However, Hinata and Yui had vastly different statuses within the Hyuga clan.
After selecting these three resumes, Richard left his office and found some children playing outside. He offered them two hundred ryō each to summon Kaede Shiranui, Miki Kozeki, and Yui Hyuga for interviews immediately.
For adults, two hundred ryō wasn't much.
But for children in their early teens, two hundred ryō was an enticing reward.
Richard didn't give them the full amount upfront, just one hundred ryō each.
He would provide the remaining hundred after they brought the candidates.
After receiving their initial payment, the three children happily ran off toward the addresses of Kaede and the others.
Half an hour later, Richard met with the three candidates in his office.
After brief interviews, he decided to hire all three.
Though he had initially planned to recruit only one assistant, all three candidates met his requirements.
Additionally, their appearances satisfied his aesthetic preferences.
Yui Hyuga had the Hyuga clan's signature white pupils and black hair, wearing a white kimono adorned with cherry blossoms and fan patterns.
Kaede Shiranui also wore a kimono, not white but light green.
More importantly, she had striking features that reminded Richard of the famous Mai Shiranui.
She even had long brown hair like Mai Shiranui, tied up in a high ponytail.
As for Miki Kozeki...
Compared to Yui Hyuga and Kaede Shiranui, Miki's appearance was slightly less striking, but she possessed a gentle demeanor that neither Yui nor Kaede had.
She gave off the impression of a kind, sisterly figure from next door.
If she were older, that demeanor would evolve from a gentle older sister to a gentle young woman next door.
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