The next day, four or five more people appeared in the underground laboratory.
These people were dressed like farmers working in the fields, but their faces showed a lot of fierceness, and their bodies were very strong. Even though they were tied up, their eyes gleamed with malice and killing intent, suggesting they had probably taken many lives.
Shiraishi didn't ask where these people came from, nor did he ask about their former identities, but they were most likely bandits who had been killing and robbing outside.
Currently, the outside world was in chaos, with countless bandits burning, killing, and plundering everywhere. When he was on missions before, he had encountered such situations and had dealt with many bandit groups along the way.
However, Shiraishi didn't care where they came from or what they did before. Once they entered this laboratory, their fate was the same as the white mice Shiraishi used to experiment with—they were now experimental subjects.
After systematic planning, the natural energy experiment itself carried no life-threatening risks. However, nothing could be too absolute. After all, animals were used in previous experiments, and the life structures of animals and humans differed too greatly. Therefore, this time, human subjects would be used for natural energy injection experiments, and unexpected risks could not be ruled out.
"Experimental subjects are hard to find, don't use them all at once," Ruri said before leaving.
It took her a lot of manpower and resources to transport these experimental subjects here, so she specifically reminded him.
"Don't worry, don't forget I'm also a medical ninja. I can reuse them repeatedly," Shiraishi also knew it wasn't easy for Ruri to get these experimental subjects, so he didn't plan to use them all up at once.
Medical ninjutsu could be very useful at such times. As long as they weren't dead, they could be used repeatedly.
Moreover, Shiraishi believed that the possibility of his research harming lives was very low. Before conducting human experiments, he had already experimented on many animal bodies. As long as he was careful, their lives were basically guaranteed.
After Ruri left, Shiraishi entered his official work state.
The mouths of the people brought in were sealed with cloth, preventing them from speaking loudly. They could only growl softly, seemingly very dissatisfied with such treatment.
For these bandits, who lived by the blade, there was no fear in their eyes. They were probably thinking about how to kill Shiraishi and escape from here.
Shiraishi ignored their low growls. He casually picked one person, laid him on the operating table, and because he was too restless, Shiraishi had to inject him with half a tube of anesthetic to make him drowsy, which finally calmed him down.
"Don't worry, coming here to be my experimental subject means you'll have plenty to eat and drink, which is much better than living by the blade outside, not knowing when you'll suddenly die. And my experiments basically won't be life-threatening; I can guarantee you that."
The emotions of these people seemed to shift, their eyes becoming evasive, while Shiraishi's tone remained calm.
Even for sustainable use, Shiraishi would try his best to ensure the lives of these people continued.
After all, in this chaotic world, many people lived just for a meal.
Large countries were fine, but people in small countries probably considered even one meal a luxury, only able to nibble on wild vegetables by the roadside, or perhaps not even having wild vegetables to nibble on.
In these war-torn times, where morality and human relations were disregarded, Shiraishi had long told himself that life was not worth celebrating, and death was not worth grieving.
Life was often priceless because it was worthless.
◎
Two days later.
Shiraishi emerged from the underground laboratory. For these two days, apart from eating and sleeping outside, Shiraishi spent most of his time in the underground laboratory conducting experiments.
Although there had been no progress yet, considering that human experiments had just begun, it would take at least a week of observation to draw any conclusions.
After coming out of the underground laboratory, Shiraishi took a breath of fresh air.
It was already July, and the sunlight was a bit scorching, as if people's energy was being sucked away by the hot sun.
What Shiraishi always wanted to complain about was that even though this world had electric lights and computers, why were there no air conditioners?
He went to Ruri's room, where the coolness was a stark contrast to the stuffy heat outside.
There was a lot of ice in the room, and with the electric fan constantly blowing, the cold air quickly spread to every corner of the room, creating an effect similar to air conditioning.
Ruri was only wearing a loose blue casual outfit, and around her were some scattered scrolls and black leather boxes.
"What is this?" Shiraishi asked, pointing to the scrolls and black leather boxes.
"The rewards from the previous mission. This is your share. A total of 1.2 million ryo in money, and the rest are scrolls on medical knowledge, as well as a few practical medical ninjutsu."
"I see," Shiraishi sat down, opened one of the scrolls, and a smile immediately appeared on his face as he said, "I didn't expect the village to be so generous, rewarding me with such precious things. These are important materials I hoped to get. I originally thought they would just casually give me some things and gloss over the matter. It seems the village elders aren't entirely heartless."
"It's precisely because they wanted to casually dismiss you that they gave you these things, you idiot, is this all you amount to?" Ruri rolled her eyes at Shiraishi, who was gloating.
"???"
"For them, being able to dismiss you with these things is the most convenient and resource-saving way."
Hearing Ruri say this, Shiraishi immediately understood.
"It doesn't matter. Although it was a fluke, these materials and medical ninjutsu are indeed very helpful to me."
"Is that so? As long as you're happy."
"By the way, what about your reward, Ruri?"
"I'll go to the Hokage building later. The village elders have approved me to choose any ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals."
Ruri's expression was quite surprised when she said this.
She didn't seem to have expected the Third Hokage to have such courage.
According to what she knew, the Senju clan and their Uchiha clan had always had a very tense relationship. Even though it had eased somewhat over the years, it was merely a superficial friendship.
Hearing this, Shiraishi, who was nearby, suddenly felt that the scrolls in his hand were no longer appealing.
"So, have you decided which ninjutsu to choose?" Shiraishi asked, shaking off his gloomy mood.
Ruri yawned listlessly, lay on her side, and played with a kunai in her hand.
"The elders of the clan respect my choice, but I don't know what powerful ninjutsu are specifically in the Scroll of Seals, and I don't really lack high-level ninjutsu, so I haven't thought about it yet. Do you have any ideas?"
Ruri had some understanding of the Scroll of Seals, but she wasn't particularly clear about how many forbidden jutsu, secret techniques, and ultimate arts were recorded in it, or what their specific categories were.
"How about choosing soul-related ninjutsu?" Shiraishi suggested.
"Soul?" Ruri raised an eyebrow.
"I heard there's a jōnin in the village named Katō Dan who knows a very mysterious soul-type ninjutsu. He also seems to be Lady Tsunade's boyfriend. I think this type of ninjutsu would be very helpful for my research."
"Understood." Ruri thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Anyway, she didn't have a great need for the ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals. If soul-type ninjutsu could truly help Shiraishi and allow him to unlock the secret of Sage Mode earlier, it would also be a huge improvement for her.