Chapter 54

On the training ground.

Boom!

The moment the fist made contact with the ground, a loud explosion echoed, and a crater several meters in diameter instantly formed, sending sand and gravel flying everywhere, obscuring the figure in the sudden dust cloud.

After the dust settled, the crater was riddled with shocking cracks that extended deep into the ground.

The skin on Ruri's fist was slightly red, and she felt a faint pain, but it quickly disappeared without a trace.

"Is this the power of natural energy? It's truly not to be underestimated. Just a casual punch caused the same effect as a ninjutsu."

Not only that, Ruri felt her body become incredibly light. Using natural energy to replace chakra for physical enhancement was indeed very effective.

This made Ruri begin to have a newfound respect for the power of nature.

Compared to the vastness of nature, the natural energy within her was just a drop in the ocean.

Lost in such thoughts, Ruri suddenly felt that humans, or ninjas, were truly insignificant.

Survival depends on this land and this sky.

No matter how strong one becomes, one cannot transcend this world.

Everything is bestowed by nature.

And the chakra formed within the human body is insignificant in the face of such power.

"What's wrong, you seem distracted?"

Shiro carried a portable medical kit to prevent any injuries during the upcoming practice, either to Ruri or himself, and could quickly provide treatment.

Seeing Ruri fall into deep thought after testing the power of taijutsu, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Nothing, I just suddenly realized how insignificant humans are in the face of nature."

Shiro laughed out loud upon hearing this.

"What are you laughing at?"

Ruri narrowed her eyes, a fierce light appearing in them, and her fist was already raised.

"Ah, nothing, it's just that such philosophical musings don't seem like your style, Ruri."

"..."

"Alright, alright, there's no need to be like that. After all, humans are an inseparable part of nature. We are just a more prominent group of animals in the natural world. Don't think of humans as a superior life form above nature. As the saying goes, the more knowledge one has, the more one realizes their own limitations."

Ruri carefully considered Shiro's words and found them quite reasonable.

Her former self was too ignorant to fear anything.

As she grew older and gained more knowledge, she increasingly understood the true vastness and grandeur of the world.

In the face of such power, she realized her former self was just a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Alright, how does the natural energy feel?"

Shiro asked about the main topic.

Ruri didn't answer verbally but instead threw a punch directly at Shiro's face.

Shiro slightly turned his head, allowing Ruri's fist to pass by his ear, as if it had been precisely calculated.

"Just as you said, this feeling is very powerful, on a completely different level from before. With my current state and the power of the Sharingan, I should be able to catch up to Teacher Sakamoto's speed and counterattack appropriately."

Ruri felt an endless supply of energy in her body, and the state where every cell seemed to be rejoicing made her feel unprecedentedly comfortable.

"That's good. Next, let's experiment with whether natural energy can be directly applied to ninjutsu and genjutsu."

Natural energy, like physical and mental energy, requires many steps to extract.

Absorbing natural energy from nature is a general concept. How to effectively absorb it, how to store it in the body, and which part of the body is best for absorption all require continuous accumulation of experience.

Physical and mental energy are also the same.

The amount of food consumed, the type of food, and the emotional state of the day all affect the extraction of physical and mental energy.

Theoretically, chakra can be used for taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Since it has been proven that natural energy can enhance taijutsu, it should also be possible for ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Ruri didn't object; she also wanted to know if natural energy could be used to release ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Saying this, she began to form hand seals to better balance the natural energy gathered in her mouth and release a ninjutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

As a signature fire technique of the Uchiha clan, it is far stronger than the fire techniques of ordinary ninjas.

Although Ruri successfully formed the hand seals and the natural energy did indeed gather in her mouth, there was no significant reaction.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Ruri's slightly unnatural and somewhat painful expression, Shiro worriedly ran over to ask.

Ruri turned her head, opened her mouth, and took a deep breath, her expression easing.

"My tongue got burned..."

Shiro: "..."

It seems to have failed.

The natural energy only emitted an unimaginable heat in Ruri's mouth but did not transform into a fireball and materialize.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball..."

...

Afterward, every time Ruri used the Great Fireball, she had to drink a large amount of water to reduce the heat in her mouth.

The experiment continued until evening, and it ended in failure.

◎

A week passed.

All attempts to use natural energy to replace chakra for releasing ninjutsu and genjutsu ended in failure.

In other words, currently, natural energy, while capable of enhancing physical and mental activity, cannot replace chakra for releasing ninjutsu and genjutsu.

However, this does not mean the experiment was a complete failure. Shiro believed that the reason it did not meet his expectations might be due to the method being incorrect.

Suddenly, an order came from above, and Sakamoto's team needed to immediately mobilize to the front lines of the Fire Country battlefield for support.

Thus, Shiro had to terminate his work, quickly hiding everything in the laboratory and having the ninja cats summoned by Ruri transfer the experimental equipment.

After nearly twenty days of relaxation, Sakamoto's team finally welcomed a new round of missions.

They gathered at the entrance of Konoha.

When Shiro and Ruri arrived, Ayame and Sakamoto had already been waiting for a long time.

Because hiding the experimental equipment took some time, Shiro and Ruri were a bit late, but it was still half an hour before the agreed meeting time, so they weren't considered late.

After the four met, there wasn't much talk. After more than half a month, the four had some changes in appearance. Sakamoto's aura was the most noticeable, with a sharp and outwardly radiating presence, indicating that his sword skills had improved significantly.

"Sakamoto-sensei, everyone is here, we can go."

Shiro, seeing everyone gathered, prepared to move out.

"Wait a moment, another team will be joining us. They should be here soon."

Sakamoto smiled and waited patiently.

Another team? Shiro and the others looked puzzled.

As Sakamoto said, about half a minute later, two people, one tall and one short, arrived.

The tall one was dressed in Konoha's jōnin uniform, a white-haired adult man who seemed a bit slick and unorthodox but had a certain extraordinary presence.

Behind him was a short figure, about the same age as Shiro and the others, with golden hair that shone brightly and a sunny, handsome smile. Compared to a few years ago when he was shy and easily embarrassed, he was now a more mature young man.

—Minato Namikaze.

Shiro recognized the identity of this young man.

Like himself and the others, he was a student who entered the ninja academy at the same time, so they could be considered classmates.

However, he graduated early in the fourth grade, becoming a genin earlier than the three of them and participating in missions.

He didn't expect to meet in such a situation.

Shiro greeted Minato friendly, and Minato returned a smile.

"Sorry, sorry, I was delayed by some things. I hope I didn't cause any trouble, Sakamoto?"

The white-haired ninja scratched his head and laughed, a talkative and cheerful person.

"No trouble. I didn't expect you to be back in the village, Jiraiya. We haven't seen each other in years."

Sakamoto called out the name of the white-haired ninja.

One of the Three Great Ninja of Konoha, a disciple of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya.

Hearing this name, Shiro gave Jiraiya a quick once-over.

From his outward presence, he was indeed a formidable jōnin, with no obvious weaknesses in his movements, indicating that his taijutsu was definitely strong.

Just this alone wouldn't make Shiro pay much attention to him.

But recently, there were suddenly many toads in Konoha, and he was the prime suspect.

Jiraiya quickly became friendly with Sakamoto, chatting and laughing, and Shiro nodded inwardly.

This guy was troublesome, thick-skinned, and had strong social skills. When talking to him, one had to be careful, as even casual conversations had a strong purpose.

Regardless of his strength, his personality was definitely the type Shiro least wanted to encounter.

After a brief catch-up, Sakamoto and Jiraiya led the way toward the front lines.

On the way, Jiraiya sighed inwardly.

Although he had placed some toads from Mount Myōboku in Konoha, he wasn't confident that anything would be discovered.

Moreover, he now had to head to the front lines and had no time to consider this matter.

If the Great Toad Sage's predictive abilities were more precise, it would be better.

Speaking of which... Is there really such a powerful ninja in Konoha?

However, the powerful ninjas he knew in Konoha were all closely related to him. While he might not know everything about them, their loyalty to Konoha was definitely not in question.

So, who is the person who predicted the endless wars that would destroy the ninja world?

And where in Konoha are they hiding?