The elegant woman finally noticed Hakushi.
"Ah, yes, pleased to meet you."
Now that he had finally been noticed, Hakushi hurriedly stepped forward, politely bowing with a question mark.
"No need to be nervous. It's rare that little Ruri finds a good playmate. When she was younger, little Ruri would often chase after a big group of boys all by herself."
Hearing the elegant woman say this, Hakushi's mind already conjured up such a scene.
If it's Ruri, it's not entirely impossible that it could be true.
"Oh, by the way, when do you two plan to get married? Make sure to have a boy, because I suddenly feel boys might be a bit more fun than girls."
The elegant woman asked with a smiling face.
"..."
The abrupt change in topic made Hakushi's mind go blank, completely at a loss.
A tic mark appeared on Ruri's forehead, and she began forming seals.
Boom!
◎
Ruri's mother is named Uchiha Miyako, twenty-eight years old this year, in her prime, she loves luxury goods and wearing beautiful, opulent clothes, like a princess.
Ruri's father is called Uchiha Sosuke, thirty-six years old, a mature-looking man dressed in proper formal attire, appearing much more serious than his wife Miyako, and he seems more straightforward.
But considering Ruri is already twelve this year, and her mother Miyako is only twenty-eight, which means Miyako was pregnant with Ruri at… only fifteen, underage.
Looking at Sosuke's honest-looking face, Hakushi didn't think Sosuke seemed honest at all.
Because the couple didn't have the talent for becoming ninjas, they still only have the strength of a Chunin… by Ruri's standards, being at Chunin strength in their twenties or thirties might truly indicate a lack of talent for being a ninja.
Over the years, the couple had been working on their business outside, using some of the connections accumulated by the Uchiha Race, and in their own words, they are barely managing in the business world.
In recent years, they have not completely neglected visiting Konoha, but due to the busy nature of their business outside, they have only met Ruri at the village entrance before leaving in a hurry.
This is also why Hakushi hadn't seen the couple at Ruri's home.
While Ruri reunited with her parents, Hakushi wisely stayed away, knowing his presence would only add to the awkwardness.
Hakushi returned to the underground laboratory, since in preparation for a mission many experimental equipment have already been moved, but some less important ones remain.
The basement and instruments were covered in dust, and Hakushi needed to clean up thoroughly.
When he finished, footsteps were heard from the stairs leading up, and Ruri descended the steps.
"So, you finished your family reunion so quickly? No need to rush over."
"Catching up can happen anytime."
"Looks like your uncle and aunt plan to stay in the village longer this time, is it due to the chaos outside?"
Hakushi asked, as something occurred to him.
"They don't do business around the Land of Fire, but in the far western regions of the mainland, so the war here doesn't affect their business."
"They're not using their real names, right?"
"Yes, they use aliases. They know some Ninja Techniques, but their details are not recorded by Konoha, plus with some clan elders working behind the scenes, they can safely conduct business outside. Over the years, they also hired many reputable bounty hunters, samurai, and ninjas to ensure their safety."
Regardless, being from a centuries-old noble family, the foundation and connections of the Uchiha are extraordinary.
For example, the Uchiha's ninja equipment is sourced from the Ninja Cat Race, rather than from the Land of Iron or within the village.
Often, the Ninja Cat Race also acts as the eyes for Uchiha ninjas, collecting intelligence.
This is the Uchiha network.
There are likely many such allies like the Ninja Cat Race, and not even Konoha can easily obtain information on them.
Similarly, the Hyuga Clan, known for their bloodline abilities, likely has many such networks, known only to the highest clan leaders.
True noble houses don't just possess power and heritage—connections are also a formidable strength.
Then Ruri used the Summoning Jutsu to call forth some ninja cats, each carrying scrolls that contained many large research devices, which just needed to be unsealed and reconnected.
Hakushi, Ruri, and the ninja cats began to work together to set the research equipment back in place and reconnect the lines as before.
After two hours, Ruri finally sent the hard-working ninja cats back. Just before they left, the cats showed a wistful, human-like look until Ruri promised them high-grade cat food for next time, which brought back their good mood.
At this point, Hakushi glanced at the spacious laboratory, wishing to find an assistant.
However, it's best to not think about it for now; many secrets here can't be exposed, and can only be handled discreetly.
Fortunately, this is within Uchiha's territory, and even the Hokage's Anbu forces have no authority to search here since the Uchiha Security Team's power is significant.
There are many Jonin and special Jonin among them, and generally, anyone from the clan who enters the ninja unit has at least the strength of a Chunin or above once they reach adulthood, which is quite a terrifying ratio.
Especially after awakening the Sharingan, the power of Uchiha ninjas rises sharply, not something to be taken lightly.
Hakushi had already found his next research targets.
A smoke bomb infused with potent toxins and the appropriate antidote.
Of course, the study of Natural Energy must continue, even though their stay in Konoha wouldn't last long, they can't waste this valuable time.
Just as Ruri was about to leave, leaving Hakushi there alone, Hakushi suddenly spoke: "By the way, Ruri, could I ask you for something else?"
"Go ahead, need to replace some equipment?"
"Ah, there's no need for that, these are enough for a long time."
"Then what?"
"Human experimentation."
Hakushi simply said those four words.
Ruri's pupils slightly contracted, then she looked at Hakushi seriously, and Hakushi met her gaze calmly.
"Do you know what this means?"
"Human experimentation isn't entirely evil."
From what Hakushi understood, many Forbidden Techniques are developed based on human experiments.
Among the most famous is Konoha's past Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
It's fair to say that many of the specialty techniques current Konoha ninjas learn trace their origins back to this Second Hokage.
Ruri nodded thoughtfully and said, "I'll bring you what you need tomorrow."