"A Witch Priestess?"
Hakushi remembered that Ruri had mentioned her parents were merchants in a small nation at the far west of the Ninja Realm.
And the Land of Demons is situated precisely in the far west region of the Ninja Realm.
The only somewhat troublesome aspect is that the Land of Demons is quite a distance from the Land of Fire.
Even rushing with all one's might, without rest, it would take over three days to barely reach it.
If only there were an airplane. But Hakushi could only imagine.
With the current technology in the Ninja Realm, there might be flying tools, but they are not widely available, and the cost would be extraordinarily high.
"I don't know much about the Witch Priestess. Later, I'll have them compile some information on the Land of Demons and some data about the Priestess."
"That would be wonderful."
Apart from the journey being a bit lengthy, Hakushi was quite satisfied with the unique situation of the Land of Demons.
Having encountered ninjas already, what sort of existence would a Witch Priestess be?
Possessing the ability to see through the future, he really wanted to witness it himself.
◎
A month is neither long nor short, and before noticing it, it had already passed.
After that, Hakushi also went to the Hyuga Family, brought Ayane out, and briefly talked about the organization. She didn't show any displeasure, and said, "As long as it's Hakushi-kun's decision, I will unconditionally support it."
Sometimes, Hakushi really couldn't understand what girls were thinking.
Perhaps it's just the arrival of adolescence.
The innerwear and kimono that had been hidden in Hakushi's room hadn't been handed directly to Ayane, as she wouldn't accept them now.
Although she was still as obedient and well-behaved as before, when she got stubborn, Hakushi found it an intriguing aspect of her growth.
What would her future be like? After breaking free from the caged bird, would she leave him, searching for her true freedom, becoming entirely independent... finding her own path...
After all, she was a ninja he personally trained.
There's a bit of pampering, or perhaps indulging her unreasonable demands.
Both wishing she could follow him for a lifetime, and hoping she could gain complete freedom, doing what she loves, without worrying about his feelings as her 'master'.
This mindset is indeed complex.
Regarding the organizational setup work, it proceeded quite smoothly.
The chosen base for the organization was the Land of Demons at the far west of the Ninja Realm.
Hakushi didn't need to personally go there to observe; he could control the five people to act as his eyes and hands.
Even going to the Land of Demons would be something he would do many years later.
Currently, there's no need for him to rush over.
After a month of simple training, the five individuals had roughly grasped the basic skills of a ninja. The next step was to apply these skills in real battles.
The training had been completed two days before the end of the vacation, allowing Ruri to transport them out of Konoha at that time. Ruri's ninja cat would be responsible for communication between both sides.
The only destination for those five was the Land of Demons.
Once there, someone would instruct them on what to do next.
—The laboratory returned to its quiet state, with Hakushi working alone here.
Compared to a month ago, the problem of using Natural Energy as a substitute for Chakra as a life energy source was basically resolved.
The results were somewhat unbelievable, but Hakushi had no choice but to believe in the answer he had verified—
That is, in some aspects, Natural Energy is incredibly similar to Chakra!
It could even be said that after undergoing a series of processing procedures, Natural Energy could be transformed into an energy source similar to Chakra.
And the similarity level, according to computer statistics, is over ninety percent.
The reason it wasn't completely identical is due to technological limitations, with many things beyond Hakushi's comprehension, seemingly inexplicable.
In other words, processing Natural Energy to this extent was already the limit.
To go further, special 'equipment' would be needed.
This 'equipment' was something Hakushi currently had no clue about, and its existence was uncertain.
Hakushi thought this might be a coincidence.
Because Natural Energy comes from nature itself.
Chakra, however, originates from the combination of physical and spiritual power in the human body.
In essence, they are entirely different and unrelated.
Their only connection is in the fusion of Sage Art Chakra.
Natural Energy is akin to Chakra in nature yet differs from the human body's Chakra.
So this unexpected discovery might really be an accident.
Originally, he just wanted to process Natural Energy as a solution for the life energy problem, replacing Chakra, but the further he researched, the more contradictions and entirely unreasonable issues popped up, one after another.
"What's going on here..."
Hakushi gave a wry smile.
To be honest, Hakushi was truly at a loss.
Continuing the experiment to verify the relationship between Chakra and Natural Energy was unnecessary; if it was just to resolve the caged bird issue, things were nearly complete up to this point.
Moreover, he was truly out of his depth.
Because the research trail ended here.
Hakushi felt there was a tightly shut door in front of him with the answers behind it.
No matter if he used brute force or another method, he couldn't push the door even a bit.
Hakushi was left helpless.
He could only give up exploring further.
For things with no leads, Hakushi couldn't invent something out of thin air.
Should new clues arise in the future, he could continue exploring; now was not the time to focus on such matters.
Soon, he would have to go to the battlefield again.
◎
At the beginning of October, the two-month vacation ended, and today was the day to head to the front lines.
Hakushi, Ruri, and Ayane gathered at the gate of Konoha Village.
Shortly after, an Anbu appeared, handing two documents to Ruri and Ayane before vanishing.
"Chunin Appointment Letter?"
Both documents looked identical, being special appointment letters for advancing in Ninja Level.
The intended recipients of this advancement were naturally Ruri and Ayane.
"Boring."
Already possessing Jonin level strength, Ruri wasn't very satisfied with the Chunin position.
Ayane smiled, put the appointment letter away, and clearly didn't take the matter to heart.
When she graduated from the Ninja School, her strength was almost at the Jonin level, and after over half a year had passed, with nearly two months of Natural Energy training, her strength had steadily advanced to the Jonin tier.
"Let's go."
This time, heading to the front lines, it was just the three of them in the group.
No specific instructions were given from above, just for the three of them to quickly head to the front and join their captain, Hatake Sakumo.
Honestly, it had been two months since seeing Sakumo, and Hakushi did find himself oddly missing him.
Moreover, Sakumo's decisive and firm approach in handling matters was something Hakushi greatly admired.
Most importantly, he could properly look after his comrades.
In many missions, Sakumo would prioritize the safety of Hakushi and the other two before deciding whether to continue pursuing the enemy or to abandon the pursuit, primarily ensuring the safety of his companions.
His approach was very evident when they previously fought against the Hidden Sand Squad.
It made Hakushi feel that Sakumo was a ninja who truly adhered to and acted according to the Will of Fire's principles of bonds.
This was probably what the First Hokage hoped to see in talents.
A village connected by the bonds of comradeship, ensuring the safety of each villager, was the ultimate interpretation of the Will of Fire.
Even if Sakumo might not have the caliber to become Hokage in the future, he was a true model for passing on the Will of Fire.
That was Hakushi's belief.
Even though Hakushi wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the Will of Fire.