Chapter 92

### Late July, Summer.

It was already close to evening when Shiro returned from the ninja school and heard an unexpected piece of news from Ruri.

"Going out on a mission?"

Shiro was slightly surprised when Ruri mentioned her desire to go out on a mission.

"Yes, I've been thinking, and I don't think I'm suited for the leisurely life of the Security Team. I've already submitted my transfer application."

Shiro thought about how Ruri had been working in the Security Team for over a year, and it was indeed about time for her to get tired of it.

The life in the Security Team was indeed too comfortable, and the tasks they handled were mostly civil disputes, leaving no room for a powerful jōnin like Ruri to showcase her skills.

Such tasks could be handled by ordinary Uchiha ninjas.

The reason Ruri was assigned to the Security Team as a squad leader was also to add some prestige to her resume.

After all, the Security Team was a prestigious department managed by the Uchiha clan, and many Uchiha members were proud to be part of it.

But for Ruri, it wasn't an honor; it was a monotonous and tedious life.

"Going out for a change of pace might be good."

"Do you want to come with me?"

In response to Ruri's invitation, Shiro scratched his head in thought and said, "No, I'll pass. My senjutsu research is just one step away from completion. Once I succeed, I'll consider it."

Ruri didn't insist, as senjutsu research was indeed an important matter.

She also looked forward to Shiro successfully mastering senjutsu.

That way, her strength would increase exponentially, and her use of the Sharingan would reach a new level.

"By the way, since you're going out on a mission, you'll need to form a new team, right? As a jōnin, you probably won't join another jōnin's team."

Normal missions are usually carried out by four-person teams.

There are also special team formations, such as mixed units consisting of several chūnin and genin.

This often happens during wartime.

During such times, the casualty rate for jōnin is also very high.

But it's not wartime now, so the standard team formation is a four-person team.

A jōnin is paired with three chūnin or genin.

"Recently, the jōnin leading a team was killed in action. I'll take over as the captain of that team. The team members are apparently fresh graduates."

"Haha, what bad luck. They just graduated and their captain is killed in action, and now they have to get a new captain."

The graduation season for the ninja school is usually in March or April.

It's now July, so the genin in this team have only been out of school for less than half a year, and their team leader was killed in action during a mission.

It's likely that they encountered some tragic and unfortunate event during the mission.

After all, many clients' missions are full of traps and false information.

Such things happen frequently.

Ruri's decision to go out on a mission might be because of the events involving Shokumō, which left her feeling somewhat troubled.

Shiro let her go, knowing that with Ruri's strength, she wouldn't encounter any unexpected situations.

After all, leading a team of new genin means the mission difficulty won't be too high.

It's very different from when they joined Shokumō's team.

◎

The next day.

Shiro went to Ruri's room and found only a note left behind. After reading it, he knew Ruri had already left.

He was a bit unaccustomed to it at first but quickly adjusted his mindset.

After breakfast, Shiro dove into the laboratory to begin adjusting the fusion mechanism of chakra and natural energy.

Controlling chakra and natural energy separately isn't particularly difficult.

Especially for those with a natural talent for control, they can quickly get the hang of it and use it efficiently in battle without wasting any energy.

However, when these two energies are fused, they become much harder to control.

In a transparent tube, he used instruments to adjust the fusion of chakra and natural energy.

He then left it there and moved on to other research.

This research was somewhat related to Daisuke, the clay figure.

After the battle with Hyūga Kazen, a jōnin from the Hyūga clan, he realized that Daisuke could provide significant assistance in battle.

For example, as a human bomb, a human bomb, a human bomb...

Besides its stealth capabilities, Daisuke's ambush skills were also top-notch.

Although he himself didn't have strong combat abilities, he had an internal space, similar to a sealing scroll, that could store many items.

Recently, Shiro had created several deadly weapons like poison gas bombs and explosive tags, which he placed inside Daisuke's body, making him more than just a communication tool.

Now, in addition to his senjutsu research, Shiro was also conducting experiments on creating a new "artificial person."

He planned to create another "artificial person" similar to Daisuke.

Daisuke's characteristic was "earth."

His stealth and movement abilities in the earth were far superior to those in water.

This time, Shiro planned to create a new artificial person.

He would give it the characteristic of "yin."

That is, yin release.

This type of jutsu was demonstrated by the Shadow Man in the Bug Team.

His ability to merge with shadows was a form of yin release.

Other examples include the Nara clan's shadow techniques and the Uchiha clan's Sharingan genjutsu, which are also part of the yin release category.

A new template quickly formed in Shiro's mind.

He drew the design and took out the materials he had prepared from the laboratory's inventory, starting the construction.

He hoped this new puppet would be more intelligent.

If it could be smarter than Daisuke, that would be satisfactory.

The process of creating an artificial person wasn't overly complex.

The first step was to shape the form, using yin and yang chakra to give the material life, and then using natural energy as their life force, setting up a trait to autonomously regulate and absorb external natural energy.

Next came the most critical step.

With a living body, only the soul was missing.

A body without a soul is an incomplete life.

And the subject of this soul... was Shiro himself.

He would transfer a fragment of his soul using a soul technique.

After cultivation and adjustment, it would be implanted into the puppet's body.

The final step was to place the puppet, now infused with a fragment of his soul, into a large glass container filled with natural energy for perfect fusion.

Shiro quietly watched as his new "child" came to life in the instrument...

◎

In the following days, Shiro quietly waited for his "child" to be born while also monitoring the progress of his senjutsu research.

In the afternoon, Shiro went to work at the ninja school.

When he returned home, the "child" in the laboratory was still not awake, needing to absorb more energy to fully come to life.

A day passed quickly.

The next morning, Shiro went to Ruri's room as usual.

Ruri was nowhere to be seen.

She hadn't returned for a day.

She must have taken the newly graduated genin on a mission outside the village.

Shiro felt a strange, indescribable feeling, looking at Ruri's empty room, feeling a bit down.

Since moving in, he had never been apart from Ruri for so long.

He missed her a bit.

While thinking this, he headed to the underground laboratory.

There was no change in the laboratory. His "child" was still in the large glass instrument, eyes closed, absorbing the natural energy inside.

Shiro checked the senjutsu fusion data on the computer, which had improved slightly from the previous day, though the progress was small, it was indeed getting closer to success.

The morning passed in this way, and he adjusted the senjutsu research method, but it was still just a bit short of success.

Shiro thought of the miko in the Land of Demons. Over the past few days, he had communicated with her through Daisuke.

Most of the communication was about business cooperation.

For example, establishing a company in the Land of Demons and hoping the Land of Demons would provide convenience as a neutral country to further cooperation.

But Shiro knew that the miko in the Land of Demons understood the application of natural energy.

She had also warned him to "be careful of Mount Myōboku."

Mount Myōboku, one of the three sacred places, is also one of the origins of senjutsu.

Does this miko also know senjutsu?

But asking such a question might be too abrupt. After all, something as important as senjutsu, if it were him, he wouldn't easily share it with others.

Rashly asking such a secret question could cause a breakdown in their relationship.

After all, it might involve important traditions that the miko's lineage cannot disclose.

"This is really difficult..."

Shiro frowned, seeing the clock showing it was already past noon, and decided to stop thinking about it and go out for a meal.

When he returned, Shiro was slightly taken aback.

The large glass instrument used to cultivate his "child" was empty.

The natural energy was still there, and the glass instrument was undamaged, as if the "child" had simply vanished from inside.

Shiro took a few steps forward and immediately sensed that the atmosphere in the laboratory was off.

Shadows.

A lot of shadows.

Countless shadows were swirling strangely and distortedly on the walls, the floor, and even on Shiro's body.

Blurry dark shadows, silent and still.

In this strange and twisted dance of shadows, there was a sense of mysterious and elusive mystery.

Finally, all the shadows stopped.

Converging at one point.

A solid form emerged from the ground in front of Shiro.

"Father."

A cold, female voice.

Dressed in pitch-black, with flowing black hair, a black metal mask, and cold, black eyes.

A shadow of the dark night, like ice and snow.

She knelt on one knee, showing the utmost respect and reverence to her creator.

Shiro's eyes were filled with relief. From her cold eyes, he knew she was different from the foolish Daisuke.

She was a daughter with normal intelligence.

At that moment, another form emerged from the ground, a clay head.

As it was about to speak, a dark shadow sliced through its neck.

The head, with pale golden eyes, rolled on the ground and stopped against a wall.

The shadow daughter, still paying homage to Shiro, said in a proud, cold tone, "Father, the enemy has been dealt with."

"..."

"Father?"

The shadow daughter spoke with a questioning tone.

Why isn't Father praising me?

"He's your brother..."

The shadow daughter's body stiffened, and she lowered her head, as if at a loss.

Shiro sighed lightly and consoled her, "But don't worry too much. Your brother has a problem with his brain and won't remember these things. Just be nice to him in the future."