"To be honest, your house is incredibly huge," Shiraishi remarked as he surveyed the room where Ruri was waiting. He made himself comfortable without any reservation.
"It is quite spacious, but it can also feel empty sometimes," Ruri responded.
"By the way, aren't your parents at home? Shouldn't I greet them?" Shiraishi asked.
Ruri shook her head and explained, "No, they are hardly ever in the village. They don't possess ninja talents, so they work in a small business outside the village. They only send a small amount of money back each month."
Shiraishi's eyebrows twitched at the mention of a "small business." He wondered if Ruri misunderstood his original intention.
"Anyway, I'm here to conduct an experiment. Is there an empty and secure vacant house available?" Shiraishi asked, piquing Ruri's curiosity.
Ruri frowned, not fully understanding Shiraishi's intentions. She didn't think he needed such an elaborate setup for his experiments.
Usually, Shiraishi's research funds and living expenses were effortlessly provided for him. After hearing about his financial situation, she didn't expect him to repay the funds.
She had never grasped the concept of money since childhood.
"I believe the movement may be quite large and dangerous. The laboratory in my house is too small," Shiraishi explained.
Ruri decided not to press further and guided Shiraishi through a corridor to an empty house. She opened a plank within the house, revealing a secret passage leading underground.
The passage was equipped with lighting, and it led to an underground space of approximately 50 square meters. The surroundings and floor were protected by sturdy stone slabs, capable of withstanding the impact of ninjutsu.
"Is this space suitable? If not, there is a slightly larger one next door, twice the size," Ruri offered.
"No, this is more than enough. It exceeds my expectations," Shiraishi responded, thoroughly satisfied with the enclosed space.
"I'll leave you to it then. Call me if you need anything," Ruri said before heading back upstairs.
Shiraishi took out a scroll, unfurled it on the ground, and formed seals with his hands. A puff of white smoke emerged along with a variety of research instruments.
These research tools were relatively small in size and could easily be stored within scrolls.
Shiraishi meticulously arranged the equipment and initiated the experiment. Unlike his usual experiments, this one entailed significant risks.
However, if successful, the rewards would be immense.
.....
As evening fell and the sun disappeared from the sky, Shiraishi remained underground, not emerging from the basement.
In her room, Ruri finished her afternoon chakra refinement and instructed the maid to prepare dinner. Noticing that Shiraishi was preoccupied, she ate her meal alone.
Even after finishing, Shiraishi remained in the basement. She chose to disregard his presence.
It wasn't until midnight, while Ruri was lost in a deep sleep, that the earth began to tremble.
Ruri's body stirred slightly as she abruptly woke up and surveyed her surroundings.
An earthquake? No, that didn't seem right, she quickly dismissed the thought.
The source of the tremor was too close, and the nature of the vibrations suggested an explosive event.
Though not overly apparent, she could sense it herself.
Without wasting any time, Ruri slipped on her jacket and black tights, slid open the wooden door, and swiftly made her way towards another corridor.
Her destination was the basement of the adjacent house.
Upon reaching the basement, Ruri was met with a chaotic scene—a massive crater at the center of the room.
Even the durable floor, designed to withstand the impact of ninjutsu, had been blown apart. Ruri's eyes gleamed with a peculiar expression.
Amidst the blasted crater, a powerful chakra lingered. It felt slightly different, but its strength emitted an overwhelming aura that left Ruri with a sense of primal dread.
Among the debris lay shattered research instruments, rendered useless and destroyed beyond repair.
"How did this happen?" Shiraishi snapped out of his daze and asked a rather foolish question.
Ruri paid no mind to his question. She wasn't angry about the mess he had made of her basement; rather, she was concerned about what experiment Shiraishi had conducted to cause such an explosion.
"What were you experimenting with?" she inquired.
"I was experimenting with harnessing natural energy..." Shiraishi admitted without hesitation.
"Sage Mode?" Ruri gazed at Shiraishi in astonishment.
"Well, the experiment was based on assumptions and procedures related to sage now, but now i can add the conclusion," Shiraishi replied, taking out his notebook from his ninja bag.
Ruri accepted the notebook and opened it, but the technical terms and jargon made it difficult for her to understand the contents.
"The experiment failed?" Ruri presumed, given the explosion she witnessed.
"Well, one could say it failed, or one could say it succeeded. I managed to guide and merge natural energy with ordinary chakra, but I don't know the proper ratio for their compatibility. Perhaps there are other factors required for successful fusion, which resulted in this experimental accident. The uncontrollable neutralization of natural energy and chakra was far more volatile than I anticipated," Shiraishi explained, thoughtfully examining a damaged research tool.
Ruri nodded in agreement. Without the use of senjutsu, ordinary chakra didn't possess such destructive power.
"What do you need next?" For the first time, Ruri, who had never shown much interest in Shiraishi's research, expressed her support.
"Money, lots of money! And a more stable environment!" Shiraishi responded candidly.
In his view, Ruri provided the funds and the research location, while he focused on the experiments. They would both share in the final results, which he deemed fair.
.....
Shiraishi followed Ruri to the room above.
"You want me to live here?" Shiraishi expressed surprise at Ruri's sudden proposal.
"Yes, it's too inconvenient to keep going back and forth. Otherwise, you'll have limited time to study natural energy, and your progress will be slow," Ruri explained.
"But won't this raise suspicion?" Shiraishi voiced his concerns.
"Not all the maids in my household are from the Uchiha clan. I can hire you as an official employee with a formal contract. Besides, who would pay much attention to a student from the ninja academy? Do you think hokage would concern himself with such trivial matters? And even if an investigation were to take place, it would be the responsibility of the Uchiha police" Ruri reasoned.
Shiraishi found her reasoning sound.
After all, conducting experiments on natural energy in his own home would be impractical. His previous experiments were relatively formal and not dangerous. Even if he was accidentally discovered, he could explain his way out of it.
But the experimentation with natural energy was different.
Everything involved in it was top-secret and had to be kept confidential.
If Ruri employed him with a formal contract to work in her house, it would be an effective way to maintain secrecy.
Neither the Hokage nor Anbu would not have the leisure to monitor a student from the academy, especially when Shiraishi had shown no hostility towards the village. He was the rightful successor of the Will of Fire.
Even if any suspicion were to arise, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha police. And with Ruri being a genius from the Uchiha clan and having a background, they could handle any issues that might arise.
Furthermore, Shiraishi was in dire financial circumstances.
Considering that Konoha had no child protection laws, Shiraishi was kicked out of the orphanage at the age of six and had to fend for himself, working and earning money as an underage child. It was a reasonable arrangement.
Ruri offering him employment with a formal contract was also a way of helping a friend. After all, in the eyes of many, he and Ruri were inseparable friends.
It was only natural for friends to support and assist each other.
This way, he would have enough time to conduct his experiments with natural energy, and the secrecy would be maintained.
"On that note, how do you extract natural energy?" Ruri asked the question she was most curious about.
The information she had previously given Shiraishi about the Sage Mode was merely a surface-level understanding.
Ruri was intrigued by how Shiraishi managed to extract natural energy.
"Haven't you read my previous notes? It's actually quite simple. I don't know how the first Hokage guided natural energy, but he did it by guiding it through the chakra pathway. He used the chakra system as bait to draw out natural energy" Shiraishi explained.
"..."
"When it comes to the specific source of chakra, it is actually related to our daily diet. Physical strength is closely tied to food intake, such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, citric acid, and more. And spiritual energy is not only connected to the soul but also influenced by emotions. It can affect a person's mental state, or their 'state.' Ultimately, physical and mental power stem from these factors, producing a chemical reaction within the human body, which is then fused and extracted as chakra. Of course, this also involves the complex self-processing system within the human body, an
d there are variations in the physical qualities of different individuals, resulting in... um, do you understand?" Shiraishi concluded.
"..."