These past few days, Uchiha Shinji had been quietly keeping an eye on Karin.
Through the high-purity Byakugan controlled by his Susanoo Tomoshibi and the dual surveillance of Jikibi, which directly connected to Karin's spiritual body, he noticed that Karin's body had been continuously generating All Creation Power without pause.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this All Creation Power that Karin's entire demeanor was subtly transforming.
Her red hair became more vibrant, her skin grew softer—these were merely the most superficial changes.
What truly astonished Shinji was that Karin's spiritual body was steadily growing stronger!
Based on the clues Shinji had uncovered while poring over the rebuilt archives these past few days, there were very few methods in the shinobi world that could directly enhance a spiritual body.
Typically, it required years of relentless training, refining one's chakra bit by bit, to slowly increase the strength of the spiritual body.
As for other methods…
Either it was something like the Uchiha clan, where intense obsessions, stimuli, or the awakening of the Sharingan or Mangekyo Sharingan would trigger a surge in dojutsu power, thereby boosting the spiritual body's strength.
Conversely, the strengthening of the spiritual body could also indicate that Karin's dojutsu power was growing.
At times, Shinji couldn't help but want to use Wazunagi to extract some of All Creation Power from Karin to nourish his own Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
But then he remembered how much effort he had poured into the Rinnegan Plan, and now, with the results finally within sight…
If he gave in to temptation now, it would truly be a case of falling short at the final hurdle.
After stealing another discreet glance at her, Shinji averted his gaze.
"Her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan's dojutsu power has probably surpassed mine already," he thought.
A strange feeling stirred in his heart.
He reached this conclusion because he noticed that his Jikibi, when linking to Karin's spiritual body, had shown signs of instability for the first time.
This hadn't even happened with Yakumo.
This undoubtedly meant that Karin's dojutsu power now exceeded his own, and she could forcibly sever the Jikibi connection at any moment.
Watching someone he had personally nurtured gradually surpass him felt both wondrous and tinged with a hint of irony.
After calming his mind, Shinji turned to glance at Haku behind him.
At that moment, Haku was explaining to other students how to form hand seals, drawing quite a crowd of onlookers.
Haku had become more high-profile only because the Hidden Mist Village had been deeply shaken after the Akatsuki's 'B' attack on the Hidden Leaf Village.
The matter of Haku undergoing the Akatsuki's test still hadn't been resolved, leaving the Hidden Mist's higher-ups in a state of anxiety.
Haku's identity as a spy had never been exposed, which gave some of the Hidden Mist's leaders a sliver of hope.
They believed the Akatsuki hadn't discovered that Haku was a spy sent by the Hidden Mist to the Hidden Leaf, or perhaps the Akatsuki was still considering whether to recruit Haku.
Although Terumi Mei had raised objections, arguing to the Fourth Mizukage that using a genius with Haku's talent as a spy was a tremendous waste, the threat of the Akatsuki loomed larger than anything else within the Hidden Mist.
Thus, after a vote, the Hidden Mist's leadership decided by majority to have Haku take the risk of showcasing his talents to regain the Akatsuki's attention.
As for the Hidden Mist's decision, Haku had reported it to Shinji, his leader, through routine scheduled communications.
Considering that Shinji had previously involved Haku and the Hidden Mist in his efforts to counter the shinobi world's apocalyptic crisis, he couldn't bring himself to block the Hidden Mist's orders to Haku this time.
Fortunately, during the last Akatsuki test…
The only ones present were Haku, Terumi Mei, Kisame Hoshigaki, and the mysterious figure suspected to be the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, who had already been eradicated by sunlight. Thus, the only ones aware that Haku had participated in the Akatsuki's test were from the Hidden Mist.
As long as the Hidden Mist was placated, Haku's identity remained secure.
As for Haku showcasing his talents, Shinji wasn't worried in the slightest.
After all, because of his influence, in the original timeline, Sasuke—who hadn't yet publicly awakened his Sharingan at this point—had already unlocked the three-tomoe Sharingan. Naruto, who couldn't even perform a basic Clone Jutsu, had mastered Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan.
Not to mention Yakumo, who had awakened an entirely new dojutsu Bloodline Limit and mastered Wood Release—a prodigy among prodigies.
Thus, the Hidden Leaf's higher-ups had long since raised their threshold for what qualified as a genius at the Ninja Academy. Even if Haku displayed exceptional ninjutsu talent now, it wouldn't cause much of a stir.
At noon, on the training field…
Haku was demonstrating the hand seals for a Water Release technique to his classmates, his hands moving with graceful precision. In an instant, he completed the seals and smoothly unleashed a low-level Water Release ninjutsu.
As the water from the technique splashed around, it immediately drew applause from the surrounding students.
A single Water Release wasn't much in the context of the current Ninja Academy.
But when it came from someone who usually blended into the background at the academy, and who was now confidently teaching others, it was an entirely different matter.
From the edge of the crowd, Shinji watched for a while before turning to leave.
He could tell that Haku was deliberately slowing down his hand seals. But because Haku's usual seals were so fluid, even when slowed, they still had a pleasing elegance.
Moreover, Haku had clearly mastered single-handed seals and possibly even seal-less ninjutsu. His explanations of techniques were more detailed and insightful than even Iruka's.
Many students who had been confused by classroom lessons suddenly found clarity after listening to Haku's explanations.
As Haku earnestly taught, Shion, who had been listening for a while, scratched her head in frustration. After several failed attempts, she gave up.
Turning to Karin beside her, she asked, "Karin, why can't I ever get it? Why don't you give it a try?"
Karin quickly shook her head. "N-no, I can't do it either!"
Her chakra levels had reached an absurdly high point. If she wanted, even a B-rank or C-rank ninjutsu could feel like a forbidden technique in her hands. That's why she didn't dare experiment recklessly.
Then, Karin's gaze fell on the bell-shaped artifact at Shion's collar.
Shinji had used Shion's bell artifact as an example before, so Karin knew that this unassuming item was suppressing Shion's priestess powers, reducing someone with chakra rivaling a Tailed Beast to the level of an ordinary person.
As Karin zoned out, Shion pouted. "That guy Haku, he really seems like he wants to teach us, huh! Doesn't he know how hard ninjutsu is to learn?"
Karin thought to herself, If that bell artifact weren't suppressing her, Shion could probably master ordinary ninjutsu without even needing to form proper seals.