"Why did you call me here at this time?"
Ruri entered Hakushi's office, asking why he had summoned her.
After the Dragon Vein incident, Ruri returned to her usual, monotonous training. Whether it was continuing to hone her Sharingan or developing even stronger Immortal Techniques, she always seemed to find ways to become more powerful.
While marveling at Ruri's talent, Hakushi also had to accept the fact that he was just an "ordinary person."
Compared to these geniuses, his talent as a ninja was just too mediocre; he could only become strong by taking another path.
"There's something I want you to take care of. After thinking it over, it seems only you have the ability to handle this—I'm not comfortable leaving it to anyone else."
Ayane's Byakugan is powerful, but she relies too much on Taijutsu. Aside from Divine Sky Strike and the enhanced Revolving Heaven, she's lacking in large-scale offensive techniques—when facing that mysterious force, she has some clear weaknesses.
Moreover, both Divine Sky Strike and the enhanced Revolving Heaven require consuming massive amounts of chakra to release, making them unsuitable for drawn-out battles.
The enemy we're facing this time probably possesses the Sharingan and the legendary Power of Wood Style. All things considered, Ruri is the only ninja without any weaknesses.
Ninja Techniques, Taijutsu, Illusion Techniques—she's the fully developed all-rounder type of ninja.
Even her weakest area, Illusion Techniques, is not something regular ninja can easily counter.
Not to mention the Sharingan can amplify genjutsu, and she can use Immortal Techniques—capable of both close and long-range combat.
Most importantly, the best way to counter the Sharingan is to use Sharingan against it.
"What is it?"
"The power behind White Zetsu."
"Sharingan?"
Ruri narrowed her eyes.
She had known about that mysterious force a long time ago, but back then she had too many matters to deal with, so she couldn't spare any attention for them.
Stalking Konoha, targeting the Uchiha in the shadows—all of that made her, a ninja who inherited the Uchiha bloodline, feel quite uneasy.
Besides, she was also very interested in that person lurking in the dark, wielding a powerful Sharingan.
As far as she knew, before this, the only member of the Uchiha Clan to leave Konoha was Uchiha Madara.
But Uchiha Madara's death had already been confirmed, so who could this Uchiha be?
Thinking of this, Ruri felt a fierce fighting spirit well up inside her.
If they met, it wouldn't be a bad idea to test the powers of a Sharingan user said by Hakushi to be even stronger than her own.
"Right, how are your clan members progressing with their Natural Energy cultivation?"
Hakushi suddenly thought of something and asked Ruri.
Cultivating Natural Energy can calm the mind—in simple terms, it raises a ninja's mental stress tolerance. For members of the Uchiha Clan, it's a very fitting training method.
"So far, only two have barely managed to sense Natural Energy."
Ruri frowned, clearly not very satisfied with this result.
"Two?"
Hakushi was surprised.
Seriously? Uchiha Clan ninja in the Land of Demons have been training in the Natural Energy method for a while now—how could only two succeed, and even then just barely at sensing Natural Energy?
Does that mean the rest all completely failed?
"Their hearts can't find peace, can't attune with nature. Their inner worlds are too turbulent. Especially those who have already awakened the Sharingan—they perform the worst at sensing Natural Energy."
That was how Ruri evaluated her clan members.
"But over on the Hyuga Clan's side, almost all of them have completed the basic Natural Energy sensing training... Hmm, maybe it has to do with the different lifestyles of the two clans causing these discrepancies."
That was all Hakushi could conclude.
"Do you have any good ideas?"
Hearing what Hakushi said, Ruri felt a bit irritated.
She wasn't being arrogant, but the Hyuga Clan in the Land of Demons—even if you added Hyuga Ayane to the mix—would never be a match for her.
Since when has the Hyuga Clan ever been able to get the upper hand over the Uchiha Clan?
"Natural Energy cultivation can only be achieved through one's own efforts. Calmness of mind is the most basic requirement. Otherwise, even if you use external aids, they'll struggle to actually use Natural Energy in combat. If this goes on, the gap in this area will only get bigger and bigger compared to others."
Unless absolutely necessary, Hakushi didn't recommend Ruri's clan members learn Natural Energy through shortcuts.
Hakushi could do it for them, but in real battles, it was much too easy for things to go wrong.
Like requiring a long 'loading' time—if they found themselves in a dangerous situation, they might not be able to use that power before being killed.
Ruri sighed softly.
She seemed to understand this too, so she didn't dwell on it further.
Anyway, the country hasn't faced any external threats in recent years, and they don't need her clansmen to provide any meaningful fighting strength.
Their job now is to train, master Natural Energy as quickly as possible, and also to reproduce and expand the clan's population.
That last bit is extremely important.
A clan's prosperity can't rely on one or just a few people. That's not only exhausting, it also leads easily to problems.
Population growth is the foundation of a thriving clan.
It might sound like a cliché, but Ruri truly supported her clansmen taking wives and having children.