Uh… Ruri, what are you doing? Is something wrong?"
Shiraishi's peripheral vision caught sight of Ruri, who had appeared silently behind him, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.
Speaking of which… to be able to stand silently behind him, Shiraishi felt that Ruri's strength had increased significantly again.
The Uchiha bloodline was truly terrifying, and Ruri, who could easily wield this bloodline power, was even more terrifying.
Ruri didn't remove the kunai from in front of Shiraishi's throat, and her voice, close to his ear, suddenly rang out in the dimly lit laboratory:
"You weren't hiding anything from me before, were you?"
"Eh? Why do you say that?"
Shiraishi was startled for a moment, scratching his head with some confusion, as if he was very puzzled by Ruri's words.
"Your behavior today is a bit strange. Usually, when you go out to buy things, you just leave. There's no need to come and say hello to me. But today, when you went out, you came to say hello to me first. So, I've been thinking, are you hiding something from me?"
Ruri's expression was casual, and her eyes were no different from usual, but she gave off a feeling that nothing could escape those eyes.
"Uh… Ruri, when did you learn to joke? This was just a sudden whim."
Yes, it was just a whim. Shiraishi was also hypnotizing himself in his heart.
"A whim that only happens once every few years, that's quite coincidental. So I've been thinking, are you secretly meeting someone behind my back?"
"You're misunderstanding me. You should know my social circle very well, shouldn't you?"
"That's true, but precisely because of that, I feel something is a little off. I always feel a strange scent on you, and it's a woman's."
Ruri even sniffed a few times at Shiraishi's shoulder.
You're not an Inuzuka, you're an Uchiha! Shiraishi was already too exhausted to retort.
Just as Shiraishi was about to say something again, Ruri removed the kunai from his neck, and her tone was no longer as cold as before:
"But never mind, who you meet has nothing to do with me, does it? I'm not anyone to you."
As she said this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Ruri's mouth, and precisely because of this, Shiraishi felt even more terrified.
Generally speaking, Ruri doesn't joke.
"Uh, you're really overthinking it."
"Are you really not secretly meeting anyone?"
She said she didn't care, but she clearly cared a lot.
Her eyes grew even darker, and killing intent was almost bursting out of them.
"Of course, don't you know me? I never lie."
Shiraishi looked at Ruri with sincere eyes.
"Then how do you explain this photo?"
Ruri pulled out a photo showing Shiraishi and Ayane together. The photo was taken in front of Shiraishi's old residence, just as the two were opening the door and about to go in together, they were captured.
"…"
Shiraishi found that he couldn't explain it even with eighteen mouths. His brain directly crashed, ceasing to function.
"Honestly, you're too careless. It's so easy for me to catch you. If someone else did this, your secret would have been exposed long ago. Then it wouldn't be like this, but a special interrogation by the Yamanaka clan."
Ruri sighed at this, with a hint of disappointment that he couldn't live up to her expectations.
Huh?
No scolding, no beating him up, no anger?
This isn't right!
"Th-that… this is…"
Seeing Shiraishi's bewildered expression as he stood frozen, he probably still didn't understand what was going on.
"Although you have many admirable qualities, you are too naive in many aspects. You also haven't realized the importance of Sage Art. Sage Art is more important than you imagine. Two or three years ago, when you started researching Sage Art, I had already asked my parents to prepare two hundred wild cats of different breeds for me, transported to Konoha through various legitimate channels, to act as my informants."
Because they were ordinary cats, not ninja cats, and there were many stray and domestic cats in Konoha, even the Anbu didn't find any problems.
After all, these cats were all brought into Konoha in batches over several months through normal channels.
Moreover, these cats didn't roam in the core areas of Konoha. They usually acted like ordinary cats and didn't need to do anything special. Even when transmitting information, it was done in public with a few meows, all using coded language, so no one noticed.
"…"
Shiraishi was instantly petrified on the spot.
Seeing Shiraishi's almost petrified expression, Ruri seemed to smile with satisfaction:
"But in the process, I accidentally discovered some of your little secrets, which I hadn't anticipated. You're still researching the Hyuga clan's Caged Bird, aren't you?"
Ruri didn't know the exact details of what Shiraishi and Ayane discussed after their meeting, but she could infer some information from it.
"Ah, that… how should I put it, my thoughts are a bit chaotic right now… So, you already knew?"
"About a year ago. Although I was a bit careless, you and Ayane had your own channels and methods of contact. If I hadn't been extremely focused on this area, it would have been truly difficult to notice. Even if it was noticed, in the eyes of outsiders, it would just be a brief meeting between friends. In an era of frequent wars like this, Anbu has limited personnel, so they don't have the leisure to pay attention to you."
The Anbu's deployable personnel always hovered between sixty and seventy.
One squad was abroad carrying out secret missions or gathering vital intelligence.
Another squad remained within the Land of Fire to prevent enemy sabotage, ensuring timely reporting and the arrival of support troops.
The remaining two squads patrolled the entire village, monitoring dangerous ninjas with clear anti-Konoha ideologies or spies who had infiltrated.
Shiraishi's combat record was mediocre, but he excelled in the Will of Fire exam and showed no anti-Konoha tendencies. There was no reason or motive to monitor him; he was, in essence, a loyal Konoha ninja.
As for his excessive contact with the Uchiha, the Konoha higher-ups wouldn't pay too much attention to Shiraishi.
While not numerous, civilian ninjas with good relations with the Uchiha were certainly not few; dozens, even hundreds, could be found, including Jonin and Chunin.
After all, the Uchiha were also members of the village, and some ninjas had no particular prejudice against them. On the contrary, they believed the powerful Uchiha were trustworthy comrades on the battlefield who could effectively enhance a squad's mobility. Over time, their relationships naturally became very good.
Ruri had only placed the two hundred cats in Konoha as a precautionary measure, acting as her eyes and ears to nip any potential accidents in the bud, further ensuring Shiraishi's safety.
Regarding Sage Art, Ruri couldn't be as careless as Shiraishi.
Even though Shiraishi himself thought he was hidden well enough.
Shiraishi slowly closed his mouth at this. He had originally thought he was hiding well, but now it seemed that all the credit behind it belonged to Ruri.
Should he say, as expected of a genius ninja from a prominent family?
Whether it was grasping the main body of the plan or the effective measures taken against unforeseen circumstances, everything was meticulously handled.
He could use his knowledge, and his understanding of history and politics, to discern some future situations in the ninja world, but there would clearly be some deviations in the details.
"Phew…"
Being discovered by Ruri, for some reason, he actually felt relieved.
Shiraishi gave a wry smile and said, "There really is nothing I can hide from you. You've been sensitive to things like this since you were little."
"It's these past few years of comfortable living that have made you complacent, with no progress at all. Next time, remember to be more careful. All right, let's go out for dinner now."
Ruri put the kunai back into her ninja tool pouch and walked ahead first.
"Ruri, were you just concerned about me?"
From behind, Shiraishi's laughter came.
Ruri stopped, turned her head, her face cold, and looked at Shiraishi with the same look one would give an idiot.
"Which eye of yours saw that I was concerned about you?"
"Eh, really not?"
"You idiot, I'm only interested in Sage Art. Stop being so self-absorbed. Power is the only thing. What you do, what you get, it's all just a matter of a single thought. You'd best say your dreams when you're awake."
With that, Ruri turned and stepped forward, her black hair gently lifting with the turn, her figure aloof.
"Is that so? Very interested in controlling others… Can I interpret it that way?"
On the path ahead, no one answered his question.
Shiraishi helplessly scratched his hair. What a chaotic day… The problem shouldn't be too big, right?
However, to put it another way, next time he could openly bring Ayane here for a physical examination?