Chapter 70

Smoothly making the five experimental subjects comply with his thoughts, in fact, gave them very few choices. However, regardless of what these people might be thinking, Bai Shi was not very interested in their psychological activities.

These people's bodies had been modified by natural energy. Theoretically, they could be called "superhumans." Their natural lifespan and the delay of aging would be much stronger than ordinary people.

To put it more simply, even at the age of sixty, as long as they paid attention to maintenance, their physical condition would not decline much, and they could continue working.

The current ages of these five people were all in their twenties, and they had another thirty years to provide him with labor services.

This was just the first batch, and more people would join in the future.

It had to be said that natural energy was really a good thing.

Although in terms of versatility, it still couldn't compare to chakra, in terms of physical enhancement, it had already completely surpassed chakra.

It was possible to mass-produce taijutsu-type ninjas, and after a few years of systematic training, reaching the level of a chunin was not difficult.

At most, their combat style would be more单一, and compared to standard chunins, they would be at a disadvantage.

Because most chunins wouldn't just specialize in taijutsu; they would also know other ninjutsu and genjutsu, allowing for diverse tactical cooperation.

But this was enough.

The use of natural energy lay in its universality; even ordinary people could be modified.

Bai Shi believed that this was the truly terrifying aspect of natural energy.

Ninjas were powerful because chakra lacked the universality to make most people strong.

The greatest beneficiaries were only a small number of people.

Natural energy was different; it could raise the lower limit of human capabilities. Due to the lack of useful information for comparison, Bai Shi couldn't say that the upper limit of natural energy was higher than that of chakra.

On average, chakra was inferior to natural energy.

Since he had decided to make good use of these five people's strength, Bai Shi naturally wouldn't be stingy with them.

He would teach them taijutsu training methods, chakra extraction techniques, and some simple ninjutsu.

Bai Shi wasn't worried about them exposing any issues.

The natural energy accumulated in their bodies was not obtained through regular cultivation but was directly injected into their bodies as a reagent, significantly enhancing their physical attributes.

In other words, these five people had the foundation for training in taijutsu, but they couldn't extract natural energy on their own.

Bai Shi never intended to casually hand over such things to subordinates.

Perhaps in the future, but at this stage, these five people were not yet trustworthy enough.

Therefore, even if he let them leave after a month, he would still need to leave some special marks on them.

After that, Bai Shi hastily finished his work in the laboratory, left the five people to serve as work tools, and returned to the surface to rest in his room.

◎

The next day.

Bai Shi went to Ruri's room to discuss the matter of the five people with her.

"Establish an organization?"

Ruri looked at Bai Shi with a puzzled gaze.

Seeing Ruri's confusion, Bai Shi provided a sufficient reason, saying, "Yes. I believe this is a necessary plan. As my research grows larger, especially with the senjutsu experiments, there might be some uncontrollable accidents. You should know how powerful a senjutsu失控 can be."

Ruri nodded seriously.

She had experienced that feeling firsthand. Although the underground laboratory was sturdy enough to withstand some energy impacts, encountering an overly powerful force could still cause some trouble and attract attention.

"I think we can establish an organization outside. When necessary, we can conduct experiments outside. After all, making a big commotion in the village can easily attract attention."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Another reason is that your clan, the Uchiha, and a certain high-ranking official in the village have a poor relationship. Although the Hokage has promised that there won't be any more incidents, you shouldn't believe such words, right?"

Hearing Bai Shi's counter-question, the cold smile on Ruri's face confirmed this.

She didn't believe a word the Hokage said.

Initially, she had a somewhat improved view of the Hokage's faction, but now it seemed that some Uchiha clan members were too naive.

Their arrogance and satisfaction with their power, and their disdain for schemers.

Konoha was not the same as it used to be, and the Uchiha were not the same as they used to be.

The Uchiha's current strength came from the Sharingan, a bloodline limit, not from people.

Therefore, this time, the Hokage's offer to view the Scroll of Seals again, Ruri did not follow their manipulation and view the Scroll of Seals again.

When Bai Shi heard Ruri make this decision, he felt a bit regretful, but if he persuaded Ruri not to act out of spite and agree to the Hokage's conditions, choosing another secret ninjutsu from the Scroll of Seals, she might have beaten him up.

This was a matter of principle for Ruri.

She would not accept such a nearly pitying and charitable compensation.

If she accepted the Hokage's proposal, it would mean that the grievances of this incident would be completely resolved, and neither side could mention it again.

However, for Ruri, this matter was not yet over.

Ignoring the Hokage's compensation, Ruri would seek justice in her own way. Bai Shi had already anticipated this.

What she wanted from the beginning was not compensation.

A great person once said, when thoughts are not clear, one must find a way to make them clear.

The only way to make Ruri's thoughts clear was not the Hokage's apology and compensation, but revenge on the Root.

Sometimes, the obsession of a power-worshipper can be truly terrifying.

"Unable to guarantee that similar incidents won't happen again, and the possibility of misinformation during missions is another reason we need to establish our own organization. Whether it's gathering intelligence or doing other things, it will be very convenient. Even setting up informants in the ninja world and secretly eliminating Root members on missions outside, you should be very interested in this, right?"

In both Bai Shi's and Ruri's eyes, Root ninjas were no longer considered comrades.

They were enemies.

The Hokage's biased actions were truly unconvincing.

Indeed, Ruri became interested.

Bai Shi's intentions were not something she particularly wanted to know, but she was very enthusiastic about the idea of revenge on Root.

"Another point is that Aunt and Uncle are always hiring other ninjas or samurai for their business travels... Although they are all well-known mercenary groups, in truly critical moments, these people are unreliable. We can personally provide them with high-quality and reliable protection to prevent accidents."

Ruri nodded again, acknowledging this point.

Her parents, Uchiha Sōsuke and Uchiha Mieko, indeed had this issue.

Bai Shi discussed this matter with Ruri because she was someone he trusted.

Trust was the key to solving many problems.

The most important point was that she was very wealthy.

Recently, Bai Shi had completed over ten relatively difficult missions, but the total reward was only a little over a million ryō.

This amount of money was not enough to establish an organization of sufficient scale to provide research services for him. It wouldn't even make a ripple.

Not to mention the various expenses for clothing, food, housing, and the large amount of funds needed for territorial expansion, which required substantial capital.

After hearing Bai Shi's long speech, Ruri simply replied, "How much money do you need?"

Bai Shi coughed and said, "I'm not very familiar with this, but I think the initial development should require at least several hundred million ryō. So, I think it's better to discuss this large investment with Aunt and Uncle first."

"No need. I can decide on this amount of money myself. In the Land of Tea, I have several mines under my name that can be sold for some money."

Bai Shi was at a loss for words after hearing this.

"Wait, why have you never mentioned the mines before?"

Realizing this, Bai Shi quickly asked.

"This isn't something worth boasting about. So, you don't need to worry about the funding. And it's not a big deal. Konoha's annual military budget is much more than this. To establish an organization that gathers intelligence, conducts research, and even trains armed personnel, it would be impossible without several billion ryō."

Although Bai Shi had proposed the idea of the organization, he suddenly felt that Ruri was more professional in establishing an organization.

"However, have you thought about where to establish the organization?"

Ruri asked this question.

The base of the organization could not be established within the territories of the Five Great Nations. These five nations represented power and would not allow uncontrolled forces to operate freely.

If the organization were established within these five nations, it would face a devastating attack.

Therefore, only small nations could be considered.

"Land of Demons and Land of Iron... Which one do you think is better?"

"Neutral countries?"

The Land of Demons and the Land of Iron were not considered major nations, and there were only five major nations in the ninja world.

However, not all small nations were classified as neutral.

For example, the Land of Rain, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Grass, or the Land of Whirlpools, which was destroyed a few years ago... Although they were small nations, they faced the risk of being destroyed by major nations.

Therefore, among the many small nations, the Land of Demons and the Land of Iron stood out as particularly special.

Especially the Land of Demons.

This was a nation without a daimyō.

The highest ruler was not a daimyō but a being known as a "miko."

The nation worshipped the miko and had a certain mystical style.

Ruri had heard that the ruler of the Land of Demons, the miko, possessed extremely special powers, supposedly able to see the future.

Whether this was true or not, there was no consensus.

Regardless, the Land of Demons was indeed the most unique nation in the ninja world.

Its governance model was different from most other nations in the ninja world.

"Yes, neutral countries can provide good protection and won't be affected by wars."

"Land of Demons."

Ruri said.

Bai Shi looked at her, eager to hear her reasoning.

In fact, the Land of Iron and the Land of Demons were similar, but the Land of Iron was closer.

"My parents' main workplace is there. Due to business relations, they have some connections with the authorities in the Land of Demons, which can provide some convenience."

"Miko?"

Bai Shi remembered that Ruri had mentioned that her parents conducted business in a small nation in the far west of the ninja world.

The Land of Demons was located in the far west of the ninja world.

The only drawback was that the Land of Demons was very far from the Land of Fire.

Even if they traveled non-stop, it would take more than three days to reach the Land of Demons.

If only there were airplanes. But Bai Shi could only imagine.

With the current technology in the ninja world, there might be flying tools, but they were not widely used and were very expensive.

"I don't know much about the miko. Later, I will have them gather information on the Land of Demons and the miko."

"That would be great."

Apart from the long distance, Bai Shi was quite satisfied with the unique characteristics of the Land of Demons.

Ninjas had already been seen, and he wondered what kind of being the miko would be.

With the ability to see the future, he really wanted to witness it.

◎

A month is neither long nor short, and before they knew it, it had passed.

After that, Bai Shi also went to the Hyūga clan and invited Ayame out, mentioning the organization. She didn't throw a tantrum and said, "I will unconditionally support whatever Bai Shi-kun decides."

Sometimes, Bai Shi really couldn't understand girls' thoughts.

Perhaps this was due to the onset of adolescence.

The underwear and kimono that Bai Shi had hidden in his room were not given to Ayame at this time because she wouldn't accept them now.

Although she was still as obedient as before, her stubbornness in certain aspects was something Bai Shi found very interesting.

What her future would be like, whether she would leave him after being freed from the Caged Bird Seal to find true freedom and independence, and find her own path...

After all, she was a ninja he had personally trained.

He was somewhat indulgent or tolerant of her unreasonable demands.

He hoped she would follow him for life, but he also hoped she could gain complete freedom to do what she liked without worrying about his feelings as her "master."

This was a complex mindset.

—The establishment of the organization proceeded smoothly.

First, the base of the organization was chosen to be in the Land of Demons in the far west of the ninja world.

Bai Shi didn't need to go there personally; he could control the five people and use them as his eyes and hands.

Even going to the Land of Demons would be a matter for years to come.

There was no need to rush.

After a month of basic training, the five people had勉强掌握了一些忍者的基础技能，接下来就是将这些技巧运用到实战中。

在假期结束前的两天，训练已经完成，Ruri负责将他们从木叶村转运出去，负责双方联络工作的是Ruri的忍猫。

这五个人要去的地方只有一个——Land of Demons。

到了那里，会有人告诉他们接下来该怎么做。

—实验室恢复了冷清，只有Bai Shi一个人在这里工作。

与一个月前相比，用自然能量取代查克拉作为生命能源的问题基本上得到了解决。

虽然结果有些不可思议，但Bai Shi不得不相信自己验证出的答案——

那就是自然能量在某些方面……与查克拉极为相似！

甚至可以说，经过一系列加工程序后，自然能量可以转化为与查克拉类似的能源。

从电脑的统计结果来看，相似程度达到了90%以上。

之所以无法达到100%相同，是因为技术上达不到，其中还有很多Bai Shi无法理解、感到不可思议的存在。

换句话说，将自然能量加工到这个程度已经是极限了。

再进行下去，需要特殊的“设备”。

而这个“设备”，Bai Shi现在毫无头绪，是否存在也是一个未知数。

Bai Shi觉得这可能是个偶然。

因为自然能量来自自然界。

而查克拉则是来自人体的肉体和精神力量的结合。

本质上是完全不同的，毫不相干。

它们唯一相连的地方就是仙术查克拉的融合。

自然能量相当于自然界的查克拉，与人体的查克拉是不同的。

所以，这个意外的发现，可能真的是个偶然。

他本来只是想加工自然能量，作为取代查克拉的生命能源问题，但越是研究下去，很多矛盾、完全违背常理的问题一个接着一个出现。

“这搞什么啊……”

Bai Shi苦笑了下。

老实说，Bai Shi真的无计可施了。

虽然验证查克拉与自然能量关系的实验没有必要继续下去，如果只是为了解决Caged Bird Seal的问题，其实到这里已经差不多了。

再者，他真的对此无计可施。

因为研究的线索到这里就断了。

Bai Shi感到面前有一堵门严严实实地闭着，而答案就在门的后面。

无论通过蛮力，还是其他方式，都无法推动这扇门分毫。

Bai Shi对此无可奈何。

只好放弃探索下去了。

对于毫无头绪的事情，Bai Shi也不可能无中生有。

以后如果有新的线索，倒是可以继续探索，现在不是关注这种事情的时候。

很快，他又要去战场了。

◎

十月初，两个月的假期结束，今天是前往前线的日子。

Bai Shi、Ruri和Ayame三人在木叶村门口汇合。

不久后，一名暗部出现，把两份文书交给Ruri和Ayame就消失了。

“中忍任命书？”

两份文书的形式一模一样，是提升忍者等级的特殊任命书。

提升等级的对象自然是Ruri和Ayame两人。

“无聊。”

早已具备上忍实力的Ruri对中忍这个职位并不满意。

Ayame笑了笑，把任命书收起来，显然也不在意这件事。

在忍者学校毕业时，她的实力就已经接近上忍，如今大半年过去，近两个月还修炼了自然能量，实力早已稳步提升到上忍阶层。

“走吧。”

这次前往前线，只有他们三人一组。

上面也没有给出具体指令，只是让他们三人尽快前往前线与他们的队长旗木朔茂汇合。

老实说，已经有两个月没有见到朔茂，Bai Shi还真有点想念他。

而且朔茂的行事作风果断坚毅，也让Bai Shi颇为欣赏。

最重要的是，他能够很好地照顾到同伴这一点。

在很多任务中，朔茂都会优先考虑Bai Shi三人的安全，然后选择是继续追击敌人，还是放弃追击，优先以同伴的安全为主。

在以前与砂忍部队交战时，朔茂这种想法就非常明显。

让Bai Shi觉得，朔茂是一名真正严格遵守火之意志羁绊原则，从而行事的忍者。

这正是初代火影一开始所期望的人才吧。

因同伴的羁绊而牵扯在一起的村子，并且保护好村子里的每一位同胞，正是火之意志的最终诠释。

即使朔茂在未来不一定拥有成为火影的器量，但他却是传递火之意志的忍者模范生。

Bai Shi是如此认为的。

尽管Bai Shi对火之意志并不是特别热衷。