War has its miseries, but life still goes on, day by day.
Among the villagers, who were once again anxious and uneasy, Shiraishi was actually the most peaceful person.
Because of the war, the medical instructor of the First Medical Ninja Experimental Class had once again reverted to the nameless Anbu Jonin from before.
At the beginning of the war, when Sunagakure attacked the Land of Fire, Tsunade had already gone to the front lines to coordinate with the Leaf ninjas and fight against Sunagakure. Her younger brother, Nawaki, had also gone to participate in the war early on. I hope he returns safely.
War is not a joke; it's a meat grinder.
A few months after the war began, in July of that year, it was summer, and a faint muggy heat hung in the breeze.
Shiraishi had successfully entered his fifth year, and his ninjutsu, taijutsu training, and natural energy research were all progressing systematically.
And the first batch of medicines developed using natural energy, after several months of unremitting effort and a large investment of funds, was finally researched and developed by Shiraishi.
This was a light purple pill, about the size of a thumb, which neutralized many medicinal ingredients. Most importantly, it incorporated natural energy, which caused the value and effect of this medicine to multiply.
Shiraishi's research had long shown that natural energy is a violent yet extremely vital special energy.
If it is not neutralized by other substances and is directly ingested into a living body, there is a high probability that it will instantly lead to death.
Unless it's someone who is naturally affinity with natural energy, but Shiraishi has not yet encountered such a person with a special physique, and whether they even exist is an unknown question.
The effect of this new drug can enhance Shiraishi's overall physical abilities, including the body's self-healing and immune capabilities, and will comprehensively boost strength, reaction nerves, and even resistance to attacks.
Because this new drug has minimal side effects, only one pill needs to be taken daily. If taken continuously for more than a month, the medicinal effects will slowly become apparent in the user.
The saturation level of the medicine varies according to each person's physique and processing system. Some people may reach saturation after taking it for seven or eight months, and continuing to take it will not only fail to enhance physical abilities but also cause significant harm to the body.
Others can continue to take it for more than ten months before their body begins to reject it.
Based on the report generated after his self-examination, Shiraishi determined that his saturation period for taking this medicine was eleven months.
Once the eleven-month condition is met, he must discontinue use.
Ruri's saturation point is between eleven and twelve months. To be conservative, Shiraishi set the time at eleven and a half months.
After taking this medicine, Ruri, after about six or seven months, would no longer easily feel fatigue or heaviness even when keeping her Sharingan activated for long periods.
Shiraishi also planned to find a time to give this new medicine to Ayane, so she could take it. With war imminent, being more prepared would increase her chances of survival.
◎
Ayane was hospitalized at this time.
While training, she deliberately twisted her leg and needed to rest in the hospital for about four days.
Because Shiraishi had given her many important tasks that could only be completed in the hospital, she could only use this method to enter the hospital for recuperation.
For example—
When a pregnant woman gives birth, does the baby's chakra generate on its own, or does it flow from the mother's body?
Or, does chakra already exist when the embryo is formed?
There were countless strange questions of this kind.
This kind of observation task also made Ayane feel very embarrassed.
Although there were many pregnant women awaiting childbirth in Konoha, and there was no shortage of observation subjects, still... how could such a perverted task be assigned to a girl?
Because the Byakugan has the functions of X-ray vision, long-distance vision, and insight, only Ayane could handle this task.
Ayane knew this, but she still wanted to complain about Shiraishi's research direction.
Are all medical ninjas so perverted?
Not only the issue of pregnant women giving birth, but there were also many more strange observation tasks that Ayane had to write into a documentary report and then hand it over to him, saying it would be of great use to his research.
Ayane suspected that Shiraishi wanted to switch to gynecology research.
What a pervert.
On the third day of Ayane's hospitalization, there was a knock on the door of her room.
"Please come in."
Shiraishi walked in, carrying a basket of fruit.
"Ayane, I've come to visit you. These fruits are a small token of goodwill from your classmates."
Ayane sighed and said:
"Don't worry, there's no one monitoring us. There's no need to be so secretive."
"Uh, Ayane, what are you talking about? I don't understand. I'm just here on behalf of our classmates to check on you..."
"Are you trying to get me to burn those observation reports?"
"Please, for goodness sake."
Only then did Shiraishi stop pretending to be foolish.
He took the scroll containing the observation reports from Ayane's hand and placed it in his ninja tool pouch.
After Shiraishi placed the fruit by Ayane's bed, he took out a palm-sized medicine bag from his 懷里 and handed it to Ayane.
"This is?"
"This is a new medicine I developed by extracting natural energy and neutralizing it with other medicinal ingredients to enhance physical fitness. Remember to take it punctually every day after lunch. This is a month's supply. I'll give you the rest on time each month. Just keep taking it for eleven months."
Shiraishi knew Ayane's body like the back of his hand, so he easily concluded that Ayane's saturation period was eleven months, the same as his own.
"I just feel like the color is very suspicious."
"That's just how it looks. Isn't the main thing the medicinal effect? The appearance doesn't really matter, does it? More importantly, has anything noteworthy happened recently?"
"No, as you requested, I've been living very peacefully within the clan."
Ayane recalled her life within the clan during this period and reported to Shiraishi.
"That's good. Regarding the Caged Bird seal, I already have some judgments, but I cannot verify the accuracy of these deductions. Can you get any information about the Caged Bird?"
"You're overestimating me, Shiraishi-kun. If I were to try to access classified information of that level, the likelihood of being dealt with is higher. That kind of information is not accessible to the branch family."
Ayane said with a helpless tone.
Shiraishi wasn't disappointed; he had anticipated this, but he still held onto a slim hope.
"It seems I can only figure it out on my own. I won't bother you anymore. Staying with you here for too long could easily cause problems."
Ayane nodded, watching Shiraishi leave her hospital room.
◎
Nawaki died. The news came very suddenly.
It was like someone who was laughing and talking together yesterday, and then the next morning, you hear of their death, leaving you at a loss.
It was said that he was eager to gain merit, and during a skirmish, he disobeyed his teacher Orochimaru's command, rashly fell into an enemy trap, and ultimately died from severe injuries despite rescue efforts.
When Shiraishi heard the news, he also froze on the spot.
Thinking of that confident and cheerful young man from the Senju clan, dying so suddenly at such a young age, Shiraishi felt a sense of pity.
In the face of war, even the bloodline of the First Hokage held no meaning.
In a place like the battlefield, anyone who goes there must be prepared for death.
It has nothing to do with a ninja's identity or bloodline.
The enemy wouldn't show him mercy just because he was the First Hokage's grandson.
"Tsunade-sensei must be very sad..."
Although he really wanted to visit Tsunade and comfort her, he was currently in Konoha Village and couldn't do that at all.
Even a ninja of Senju Nawaki's status died without value, so what could he, a commoner, change?
Humans are creatures that seek advantage and avoid harm. Before one's own safety is guaranteed, extending a helping hand to others will only make one more difficult.
The meaning of a word like "save" belongs only to the strong; the weak can only pity themselves.
Nawaki died, and Konoha would not hold a grand funeral for him.
Everyone was now racing against time to fight the enemy, to drive them out of the country. Life and death were already beyond their concern, and there was no time to grieve for a dead person.
Even if he was the grandson of the First Hokage.
Nawaki was a ninja, whether he had this awareness or not, it didn't matter.
This was the war of ninjas.
Shiraishi increasingly understood the ruthlessness of war.
In his previous life, he lived in a relatively peaceful era, far from the smoke and fire of war.
In these few years in Konoha, he hadn't witnessed firsthand what war was truly like, but he deeply understood one thing.
Life is not worth celebrating.
Death is not worth grieving.
To be born in a chaotic world is the greatest misfortune.