Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Song!
These were the two high-level, B-rank Fire Style ninjutsu that Uchiha Shiko had given to Ruri.
These were Fire Style ninjutsu that only jonin could access, and even then, they weren't always able to use them skillfully.
After reviewing them, Ruri realized that both of these B-rank Fire Style ninjutsu required a large amount of chakra to perform smoothly and ensure their power.
Furthermore, because they were high-level ninjutsu, even Ruri, who was proficient in Fire Release chakra nature transformation, couldn't master these three Fire Style ninjutsu in a short amount of time.
Fortunately, she was still a fifth-year student, and there was a little over a year until graduation in sixth grade. Mastering two high-level Fire Style ninjutsu within that year wouldn't be a problem.
The most crucial aspect was how to increase her chakra reserves. Without enough chakra, even if she learned these two high-level Fire Style ninjutsu, she could only use them at critical moments.
So, Ruri went directly to Shiraishi and told him about her desire to increase her chakra reserves.
Shiraishi, who was sitting in a chair in the laboratory drinking tea, listened to Ruri's request and put on a troubled expression.
Increasing chakra involved more difficulties than improving physical fitness. Shiraishi himself had almost perfect control over his chakra, with little waste, so even with an average amount of chakra, it was completely sufficient for his own use.
A ninja's flesh and blood body could easily be killed by a single shuriken or kunai, so Shiraishi didn't deliberately pursue the power of ninjutsu.
Therefore, Shiraishi currently had no great need for chakra; he focused on cultivating his physical fitness.
Most of his time these days was spent researching the application of natural energy, using it in medicine to create new types of drugs.
"I'll try my best, but it will take some time. I have other work at hand right now."
Ruri nodded when she heard Shiraishi's assurance and didn't rush him.
It would be great if he could achieve it, but there was nothing to be disappointed about if he couldn't.
Her body hadn't yet entered its rapid growth phase, and her chakra would certainly not be lacking once she reached a certain age, but she wanted as much as possible.
"So, your strength is already on par with the jonin in the clan, is that right?"
Shiraishi held a test tube containing solidified, translucent white particles. He opened the lid, used tweezers to remove a solid particle, and placed it on a small iron stand.
This solid particle also contained natural energy, but the amount was very small, almost negligible.
"My chakra isn't enough to engage in long battles with jonin, so my winning rate is less than twenty percent."
Ruri recalled the previous battle and made an objective summary.
"That's already very impressive, especially since your Uchiha jonin's chakra reserves are inherently greater than those of an average jonin. The reason you lost to him is due to your physical and age limitations."
Therefore, Shiraishi had reason to believe that Ruri's current strength was no longer inferior to that of an average jonin.
At least when her chakra was abundant, the gap with jonin was not significant.
By the time she graduated from sixth grade, reaching jonin level would be a certainty.
And the reason Ruri could become so powerful was inseparable from natural energy.
This shows that natural energy, including the more advanced Sage Mode chakra, indeed has a very significant growth-promoting effect on ninjas.
Although there are side effects... but Shiraishi thought about it, there are too many things with side effects. The food we usually eat contains trace amounts of toxins, and there are many bacteria when drinking cold water.
One cannot overestimate the human immune system, but neither can one underestimate it too much.
Side effects were not something to be feared like a tiger.
After chatting for a while, Ruri went upstairs, possibly to train or perhaps to take a bath.
I forgot to mention, Ruri's backyard had a small open-air bathhouse, but unfortunately, there was a partition in the middle blocking it.
Shiraishi believed that it was a barrier to human intimacy, a primal sin rooted in the world.
Putting aside the various distracting thoughts in his mind, Shiraishi focused on his research. He wasn't in a hurry to cultivate; no matter how much he improved his strength, his physical and age limitations were there, and there was a limit to how strong he could become.
However, researching natural energy was different. If one day he could fully master natural energy and perfectly refine Sage Mode chakra, his strength would experience explosive growth.
He had only slightly penetrated a part of the truth of natural energy, yet it allowed Ruri at such a young age to possess the strength to fight a jonin. Although Ruri's talent and Sharingan bonuses were also factors, the role of natural energy could not be denied.
By then, even if he left Konoha, he would be able to live well in the ninja world.
Therefore, many of Shiraishi's plans were calculated well in advance, and he had started planning his future life even earlier.
He was not only developing physical enhancement drugs, but also cold medicine, hemostatic drugs, stamina recovery drugs, and so on.
In short, the medicines developed with natural energy were bizarre, but in terms of effectiveness, they were much better than similar drugs on the market, and some were even powerful special medicines that were not available on the market at all.
If these medicines were put on the market now, they would surely cause a huge stir and attract a lot of unnecessary trouble.
When he left Konoha, Shiraishi planned to leave some of the drug formulas in Konoha, as a way of repaying Konoha for its upbringing and teaching over the years.
Konoha could use these medicines to treat patients in the village more conveniently and effectively, and also sell them to other countries to earn huge profits.
Drug profits have always been very high, especially since these drugs could be used for military purposes.
At that time, it would be up to Konoha to make its own choice.
Whether it was for commercial use, or kept for its own use, invested in the village's medical and military fields, or involved in all three fields, Shiraishi would not interfere.
This way, when he left, he wouldn't have to feel guilty and could part ways with Konoha with a clear conscience.
To be honest, Shiraishi didn't dislike the Will of Fire, but—
If ideals and philosophies were completely incompatible, forcing them together would eventually lead to mutual destruction.
For Shiraishi, Konoha would only be a past experience in his life, not where his heart truly belonged.
Therefore, Shiraishi was not lying when he said he didn't dislike the Will of Fire, and it was also true that he disliked the illusory ideals of the Will of Fire.
◎
In Konoha Village, there was no sense of the oppression brought by war. The adults chose to bear the pressure themselves, creating a seemingly peaceful paradise for the young children and protecting their growth.
During these years in Konoha, the things Shiraishi saw also changed over time.
He had gained a deeper intuitive understanding of the people, systems, values, ideals, and political climate here, to varying degrees.
Despite many imperfections and what could be called outdated customs, overall, it was still a relatively peaceful village.
Especially when standing on the Hokage Rock and gazing at the entire Konoha from there, one would be struck by Konoha's prosperity and vastness.
It made Shiraishi unable to believe that this was what a village should look like.
Life at school remained as quiet and peaceful as ever. If it weren't for the frequent return of wounded soldiers from the front lines, one might have the illusion that war had not broken out.
As an intern in the First Medical Ninja Experimental Class, Shiraishi also began his official internship at the hospital.
Most of the time, internships involved assisting the medical ninjas on duty, fetching things, and if lucky, bandaging wounds.
Shiraishi was assigned to drug testing and maintenance of medical equipment. Occasionally, he would also follow experienced medical ninjas to make new drugs and purify herbs.
Thus, his fifth-year school life passed uneventfully.
When he entered sixth grade, Shiraishi had just turned eleven and had been interning at the hospital for over half a year.
The leader of Shiraishi's team was a medical ninja with ten years of experience working in the hospital. Seeing Shiraishi's solid basic knowledge and meticulous and conscientious work, he assigned him to be responsible for one laboratory alone, independently conducting drug testing and maintenance of medical equipment. Even the more complex herb purification work was completed independently by Shiraishi.
With Shiraishi's knowledge reserves, these tasks, apart from being tedious, were not very difficult. However, Shiraishi felt very depressed about the hospital's overwork and exploitation of child labor.
He knew that Konoha Hospital was short-staffed, not just in the hospital but even more so on the front lines. But this meant he could only attend school in the mornings, and from noon until seven in the evening, he had to be busy at the hospital without stopping.
Moreover, his already meager salary was still being withheld by half by the team leader, the reason being "education and guidance fees."
If he relied solely on the salary earned from working at the hospital, Shiraishi felt that he might not even be able to make ends meet.
After all, he was penniless, and his daily living expenses and research funds were all provided by Ruri alone.
From this perspective, his previous decision to go to Ruri for financial support was incredibly wise and brilliant.
Ninjas also needed to eat.
Therefore, the salary earned from the hospital was happily accepted by Shiraishi and stored in his wallet as his private stash.
At this moment, Shiraishi fortunately felt that Ruri's eyes were the Sharingan, not the Byakugan, which could see through things.
Thinking about accumulating hundreds of thousands of ryo in private funds for free use by the time he graduated from the Ninja Academy, Shiraishi felt a little secretly pleased.