Time flew by. Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ryuji didn't manage to wait for Aka.
On her way through the Land of Rivers' border, she encountered Pakura, who was on a mission, and was pulled in to help.
A group of unknown individuals was also targeting the Gelel Stones and was causing trouble in the Great Rift.
Although they used Chakra, their power system was distinctly different from that of Shinobi, and their physical features didn't match any known people from the Shinobi World's nations.
They were suspected to be from the continent across the sea.
They seemed to possess information about the Gelel Stones and were extremely familiar with the Great Rift.
Pakura's teams, upon first arriving at the Great Rift, fell into an ambush. Combined with their unfamiliarity with the enemy's power system, they suffered heavy losses in the initial engagement… three out of ten teams were wiped out.
This was a very serious loss.
Regarding this, Ryuji wasn't too concerned.
Because, according to the message Aka sent back, the enemy's strongest was only at the level of an Elite Jonin.
The reason for Pakura's initial setback was entirely due to the ambush and not understanding the enemy's abilities. In the next encounter, who would win or lose was still uncertain.
And now, with Aka's assistance, the enemy could be considered finished as soon as they were discovered.
Right now, he was more focused on his current research.
The Strength of a Hundred Seal was successfully deduced by the Observation Device last night.
However, Gin couldn't learn it.
The principle of this thing is to use precise Chakra Control to seal the Chakra normally refined into the seal located at the forehead.
This requires an extremely high level of Chakra Control.
Gin did not possess this level of Chakra Control, nor could she refine Chakra herself.
Therefore, Ryuji halted the development of the subsequent super-speed regeneration and Byakugo Techniques.
He planned to wait until the Sage cells were cultivated, and a new body was made for Gin, before attempting again.
Currently, he was fully immersed in researching the crystal necklace.
Primarily, the research was on the sealing formula.
The sealing formula stored inside the necklace had a super-strong inhibitory force on Chakra, capable of severing the connection between a person and their Chakra.
It was somewhat similar to the Contract Sealing the Fourth Hokage used in the original work to sever Obito's connection to the Nine-Tails.
But there were differences.
The Fourth Hokage's seal blocked the connection. This seal completely sealed the Chakra, rendering it unusable.
If he could expand and enhance the research based on this seal, he might be able to develop the flawless Tailed Beast Sealing Technique he had been longing for.
Of course, Ryuji hadn't forgotten his original purpose.
So, he didn't stay in the workshop doing research all the time. Every morning, he would visit the Academy and the hospital.
On the surface, it was to inspect the study delegation's learning progress, but in reality, he was looking for suitable candidates to be replaced by the Wood Release Shinobi.
He had already found a few suitable individuals but needed further investigation and screening to confirm.
…
Time passed bit by bit.
The Third Shinobi World War intensified.
Iwagakure, Kusagakure and Kumogakure against Konoha; Amegakure against the Land of Iron; Sunagakure against Amegakure. Other small and medium-sized Shinobi Villages, seeing the great villages embroiled in war and too busy to pay attention to them, also joined their own conflicts one after another.
Except for Kirigakure, which seemed to still be in internal turmoil, the entire Shinobi World was engulfed in the flames of war.
But among all these battlefields, the most fiercely fought wasn't the largest-scale war of the three-village alliance against Konoha, but the war between Amegakure and the Land of Iron.
The Land of Rain bordered three major countries, always facing potential invasion from others. Hanzo had to end the war with the Land of Iron as quickly as possible, so he went all-out from the start, launching a full-scale offensive.
The Land of Iron didn't back down either, sending out samurai to confront them head-on.
When Sunagakure dispatched troops against Amegakure, Hanzo fought even more urgently and aggressively, wanting to end the war quickly and return to defend his village.
As for the Allied Forces' war against Konoha... The combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure were still in a standoff with Konoha defenders at the Land of Grass's border. There were occasional small-scale skirmishes, but overall, the situation remained relatively peaceful.
In the Land of Rice Fields, the frontline between Kumogakure and Konoha... Although Kumogakure continuously launched fierce attacks, wanting to force a decisive battle with Konoha...
Danzo consistently avoided direct confrontation.
He ordered his troops to utilize the forest and mountain terrain to engage in guerrilla warfare against Kumogakure, constantly moving in circles.
Although battles occurred frequently, the Konoha's side never engaged in prolonged fights. They fought if they could defeat the opponent quickly; otherwise, they retreated. No large-scale battles had erupted.
However,
Due to the numerical disadvantage, Danzo's forces were being gradually pushed back at a visible, though extremely slow, pace. It wouldn't be long before the battlefield shifted into the Land of Fire itself.
Because of the war, there were very few Shinobi within Konoha Village. Even members of the Police Force, the Uchiha Clan, were participating in large numbers on the front lines.
Some Genin who should have been doing D-Rank chores were also assigned to logistical duties.
A large number of wounded were sent back to Konoha daily. Even though Konoha's Medical-nin were the best in the Shinobi World, manpower shortages began to appear.
The Sunagakure's Shinobi interning at the hospital became useful helpers. They were often pulled into major surgeries as interns by the lead doctors.
Although they were just assistants, they could learn a lot.
These interns, thrown into the deep end, initially caused over a dozen medical accidents, but gradually became familiar with their duties as medical assistants.
After all, they were puppeteers, inherently proficient in human anatomy, pharmacology, and possessed fine Chakra Control. Learning Medical Ninjutsu came naturally to them.
…
"Finally finished!"
Inside the Portable Space, a disheveled Ryuji with dark circles under his eyes couldn't contain his excitement, waving his fist.
After two months, he had finally thoroughly researched the sealing formula left by the First Hokage inside the crystal necklace. Building upon and enhancing it, he had developed a flawless Tailed Beast Sealing Technique.
He originally thought that with the Observation Device's help in research and development, this task would be completed quickly. But upon truly understanding the specific composition of this seal, he realized its complexity was through the roof.
Although not as complex as an artificial soul, it was about half as complicated.
No wonder the entire Shinobi World, after decades of research, couldn't produce a seal of the same level, only trying to steal from Uzushiogakure or Konoha.
If it weren't for having the crystal necklace as a sample to reverse-engineer and analyze, but starting from scratch, even with the Observation Device's help, it would have taken years, even decades, to complete.
It must be said, as expected of something passed down by the Sage of Six Paths.
"With this thing, I won't have to worry about situations like Gaara's happening. If attacked by other Tailed Beasts, I'll have a countermeasure." Ryuji forcibly endured the fatigue, saved the research data, and left the Portable Space.
"Ryuji-sama! Ryuji-sama..."
As soon as he left the Portable Space, he immediately heard urgent knocking on the door, sounding very anxious.
'Did something happen?'
Ryuji frowned slightly, a bad premonition arising in his heart.
"Come in."
Hearing the voice, the door was flung open.
A middle-aged Shinobi rushed in, kneeling on one knee before Ryuji.
"Ryuji-sama... the Third Kazekage... has fallen in battle."