Ruri headed to the Hokage Building, and it didn't take long for her to return home.
When she returned, Hakushi saw that Ruri was holding a scroll and casually tossed it to him.
"Thanks."
Hakushi accepted the scroll without fuss.
"Just hurry up and research the Immortal Technique."
"This sort of thing is quite challenging, after all, the data on Immortal Techniques is too scarce. Even a reference would be good. If there were some Sage Art System from the Three Great Sacred Lands to study, it would undoubtedly be a great help to my work."
"Give up. Without signing a Summoning Contract with the Three Great Sacred Lands, it's hard to find them, let alone acquire Immortal Techniques from there."
"That being said, the Sannin are indeed blessed ninjas."
The rumors of the Konoha Sannin being closely tied to the Three Great Sacred Lands have long been widespread.
Not only are they Hokage disciples, but they also have the support of the Three Great Sacred Lands, something ordinary ninjas can only dream of.
"But even the Sannin haven't been heard of mastering the Immortal Techniques."
"Of course, I'm not sure if the Immortal Techniques trained by the Summoning Beasts are any different from the ones I'm researching, but the fusion of Natural Energy with ordinary Chakra indeed carries considerable risk, potentially even fatal consequences."
Hakushi sat down in the room, gently sipped some tea, and then spread open the scroll in his hand.
The scroll's start recorded the developer and name of a Ninja Technique.
Spirit Transformation Jutsu.
Developed by the previous Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
According to the records, the Spirit Transformation Jutsu allows the soul to leave the body, travel regardless of distance, and directly kill the enemy.
However, after the soul leaves the body, the spirit retains the caster's consciousness, thus making this technique versatile. It can be applied not only in combat but also for transmitting information, wide-range sensing, and even transferring Chakra to allies—Spirit Transformation Jutsu can accomplish all these.
One must admit, the previous Hokage, Senju Tobirama, who developed this technique, is a character worthy of respect.
It's a pity he sacrificed himself on the battlefield of the First Ninja World War.
Hakushi agrees with many of the previous Hokage's ideas.
Building the Ninja School, establishing the Anbu, differentiating and suppressing the Ninja Race, promoting civilian status, and creating various Secret Techniques and Ninja Techniques belonging to the Konoha Style... His influence spans political, scientific, and military realms and was emulated by ninja villages all over different countries.
The One Country, One Village era was initiated by the Senju Clan and Uchiha Race, but this system was just an empty title with vague content. If not for the efforts of the previous Hokage, Senju Tobirama, the so-called Ninja Villages would, upon reflection, be no different than the chaotic situation where Ninja Races were separated and in constant conflict during the Warring States Era.
It wasn't until the previous Hokage came to power and carried out a series of transformative reforms that this abnormal framework of Ninja Race ruling villages began to shift in a positive direction. By using civilian tiers to check the Ninja Race, all of Konoha eventually formed a stable balance, mutually restricting and depending on one another.
The strategy for balance is truly admirable.
The only regret is that there's no follow-up.
With the outbreak of the First Ninja World War and the passing of the previous Hokage, Senju Tobirama, even if there were unfulfilled ambitions and dreams in his heart, they could only drift away with the wind, entrusting the village's future to the current Third Hokage.
As for the Third Hokage, Hakushi doesn't know much, perhaps because the previous Hokage's brilliance overshadowed him, leading many to overlook what the Third Hokage has accomplished.
Many systems were perfected during the time of the previous Hokage, making it difficult for successors to exceed those achievements. So, one can only await the Third Hokage's perhaps surprising actions in the future.
After pondering these, Hakushi took the Spirit Transformation Jutsu scroll and returned to the underground lab.
He had already injected Natural Energy into the experimental body, requiring some time to observe and gather data.
Now, it's time to consider the issue of the Caged Bird curse seal.
Concerning the Caged Bird, Hakushi had actually conducted research for some time, but due to a lack of data and the deeper structure of Chakra not being fully analyzed, progress in this area has stalled for a long time.
According to what Ayane mentioned, once the Caged Bird is engraved, it will follow one for a lifetime, only to be removed upon death.
In other words, the Caged Bird can be neutralized under the condition of 'death.'
So, what state of 'death' is it referring to?
Physical or spiritual?
What properties are given to Chakra in this context?
Humans naturally produce Chakra, and losing it results in death.
If Ayane is put into a state where Chakra is exhausted to the point of death, will the Caged Bird be eliminated?
Of course, this would be a pseudo-death rather than a genuine death.
Then, by reintroducing Chakra to Ayane, awakening her from the pseudo-death state.
The premise for conducting this experiment is to verify one hypothesis first.
That is, after losing Chakra... does a person truly die?
If losing Chakra doesn't necessarily mean death, then... where does Chakra come from?
Why does it become an essential energy for human survival activities?
Is the death due to loss of Chakra a physical death or a spiritual death?
Is it possible for humans to enter a peculiar pseudo-death state after losing Chakra, then revive by reintroducing Chakra? Can this indeed be realized?
If all these can be confirmed through experimentation, then eliminating the Caged Bird might no longer be a difficult problem.
It would also unravel many of Hakushi's inner doubts.
Hakushi carefully recorded these speculations in his portable notebook.
In science, curiosity leads to hypotheses, followed by efforts to prove or disprove them.
Therefore, the study of Soul Jutsu is quite necessary.
The only rather troubling thing is that now is a time of chaos and war; he might have to go out on missions at any time, preventing him from dedicating time to experiments here.
◎
Listening to the eerie cries from the experimental subject on the operating table, it was unbearable to hear. Though desperate to scream, not a sound came out, even though it felt like their throat was about to burst. Ultimately, only faint sounds of struggle on the operating table could be heard.
Hakushi watched coolly as the experimental subject on the operating table frantically convulsed, their face twisted in agony. Without emotion in his eyes, he skillfully sliced off a piece of skin on the person's arm, corroded by Natural Energy. The skin was a pale green, placed in a dish for observation under a microscope.
Then he glanced at the computer screen, which displayed the heart rate of the experimental subject on the operating table in real time, along with the fluctuation values generated by the fusion of Natural Energy and Chakra.
These experimental subjects transformed from initially non-cooperative to spiritless dolls ruined by people, expressing not even a hint of fear.
Hakushi admitted some miscalculation here.
He hadn't anticipated the terrifying mental and physical impact on individuals when Natural Energy fused with Chakra within the body.
Therefore, as soon as there were signs of mental collapse in an experimental subject, the experiment was promptly stopped. They were then given a sedative to stabilize their mental state and replaced with another subject.
This way, they could be repeatedly utilized sustainably, which also helped in reducing costs.
Hakushi looked at the others shivering against the wall and shook his head. Really, these guys had no spirit of sacrifice for science at all.
If his experiment could succeed, these people could become ordinary humans filled with Sage Art Chakra within, even if they couldn't perform any Ninja Techniques. Their life force, strength, speed, and reflexes would all see qualitative enhancement.
Not to mention, living to a hundred shouldn't be an issue.
As for immortality... Hakushi thought with a wry smile, just how far were his thoughts drifting?
"The research on Natural Energy is basically at this stage, requiring further derivation of data for Sage Art Chakra to enhance the fusion success rate. It's time to focus on dealing with the Caged Bird curse seal issue..."
Hmm? Wait a minute!
Hakushi suddenly realized a very serious problem: how he was to collect detailed physical data on Ayane's current state.
He was currently residing in the Uchiha Clan Land, while Ayane was a ninja of the Hyuga Clan.
If Ayane were brought over and accidentally discovered by Ruri...
A bead of cold sweat naturally broke out on Hakushi's face.
He quickly calculated his survival rate if found out.