Chapter 55: Rin Nohara
The sun shone brightly over Konoha.
The library was packed with people—shinobi and civilians alike.
Gōenji passed through the entrance and headed straight for the index section. After locating the section on thermodynamics and physics, he walked over and began searching through the books.
To develop a Fire Release Chakra Mode capable of enhancing both the power and control of his Fire Release, understanding chakra manipulation alone wasn't enough.
He also needed a solid foundation in academic knowledge.
Especially temperature.
Gōenji had already learned quite a bit about the subject, but today he wanted to study it more deeply.
That made thermodynamics his primary target.
After all, thermodynamics was an entire field of study, not merely a single formula.
Medicine wasn't one book—it was an entire room filled with books.
Likewise, there was no way he could devote all his time and energy to thermodynamics alone.
Over the past month, he had read extensively about fire, temperature, the human body, energy, and numerous related subjects. His overall knowledge had expanded considerably.
Today, he wanted to go deeper into thermodynamics.
Which meant he needed more knowledge.
Konoha's library was one of the largest repositories of books in the Land of Fire.
Whenever scholars throughout the Land of Fire produced new academic knowledge, Konoha collected it and made it available for shinobi to study.
The village spared no effort in this regard.
The Konoha Library contained academic works from many different countries.
This was part of a policy established by Senju Tobirama: knowledge itself could be as valuable as any ninjutsu.
It was a foundation hidden beneath the village's more obvious strength.
The original Naruto story had never really shown this aspect of Konoha.
In Gōenji's memories, the library had only appeared when Sai went there to study psychology in an attempt to improve his relationship with Naruto and the others.
That was where he encountered Sakura, the outstanding student.
Only after experiencing the library for himself did Gōenji truly understand its significance.
There was an enormous amount of knowledge here that had nothing directly to do with chakra, yet was closely connected to becoming a shinobi.
From the perspective of espionage, psychology helped shinobi understand human nature and gather intelligence.
From the perspective of assassination, mathematics provided better support for precisely setting traps.
From the perspective of ninjutsu development, academic knowledge provided an important means of understanding the fundamental nature of the elements.
From the perspective of medicine, it gave medical specialists the knowledge necessary to understand the human body.
And from a political perspective, the library gave shinobi a broader worldview and strengthened Konoha's overall capabilities.
It was an exceptional institution.
Konoha's position as the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages wasn't built solely upon powerful shinobi.
Its strength rested on countless foundations like these.
Thank goodness this is Konoha.
If this were Sunagakure, these books would probably be stacked underneath some wobbly table holding puppet parts.
That thought was admittedly a little exaggerated.
Still, Gōenji couldn't help but admire the village.
"Konoha's foundation really is solid. This is only one part of it. Once all these foundations are established, the village's development becomes obvious."
Thinking about this, Gōenji couldn't help but admire the wisdom of Senju Tobirama and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The two Hokage might sometimes have been slow to act in certain situations, but as leaders of Konoha, they had both done a remarkably competent job.
"Excuse me..."
A woman's voice came from behind him.
"Could you move aside for a moment?"
Gōenji turned around.
A girl stood behind him.
She had a rather exaggerated bob haircut, a few distinctive markings on her face, and looked to be around his age.
Nohara Rin.
Why is she here?
Gōenji watched as Rin carried a stack of books past him.
"Thank you."
She walked to a nearby table and placed the books down, clearly intending to study.
Gōenji walked past her.
The books in her arms were all related to medicine.
Has she already realized the weaknesses in her team and started seriously studying medical ninjutsu so she can better support her teammates?
Considering the current wartime environment and Rin's age, studying medical ninjutsu made perfect sense.
Even though Obito had been regarded as one of the weaker students at the Ninja Academy in the original story, he had actually become a chūnin at a relatively young age and had even learned the Great Fireball Technique.
If Gōenji remembered correctly, Obito's taijutsu wasn't bad either.
They were around the same age.
Gōenji was one year older than Obito and was also in the year above him at the Academy.
As members of the same clan, they had interacted occasionally.
Not very much, but enough.
Should I interfere with the fate of Rin and Obito?
No.
My Fire Release isn't powerful enough yet to contend with Uchiha Madara.
Everything will depend on how circumstances develop.
For now, I just need to take care of myself.
Rin was completely absorbed in her medical books.
Her expression was serious as she carefully studied the medical knowledge contained within them.
Then, suddenly, she felt someone's gaze.
She turned her head.
All she saw was the back of the boy who had just moved aside for her.
Was he looking at me just now?
Probably not.
But he's also an Uchiha.
Rin had noticed the Uchiha clan crest on his clothing.
As Obito's teammate, she recognized it immediately.
Her thoughts naturally turned to Obito.
Obito had once warned her that if she encountered any members of the Uchiha clan while in Konoha, she absolutely shouldn't confront them directly.
She needed to be careful.
And if she ever got into trouble, she should simply tell them his name.
Uchiha Obito.
According to Obito, the Uchiha were an arrogant clan.
The only exception was himself.
But now...
It seemed that wasn't entirely true.
She would tell Obito about this later.
Judging by his age, this Uchiha was probably around the same age as Obito.
They might even know each other.
Rin smiled faintly before turning back to her book.
Gōenji, meanwhile, had been slightly startled when Rin turned around.
He observed her for a moment before heading toward the thermodynamics section.
For a brief moment, he had considered talking to Rin.
He wanted to see what the real Nohara Rin was like outside the story he'd once watched.
But after thinking about it, he decided there was no need.
He wasn't planning to marry Rin or build some ridiculous harem.
He simply wanted to interact with a character he had once liked.
Whether through fighting or casual conversation, it would probably be interesting.
In his previous life, he had played as Rin and most of the other major characters.
But reality was cruel.
For now, he needed to focus on becoming stronger.
That was the most important thing.
As for everything else, if an opportunity presented itself, he could deal with it then.
At least he'd gotten to meet one of the major characters from the original story.
She really did have that approachable, girl-next-door feeling that he'd remembered.
And the impression she gave him was quite pleasant.
"Improving physical ability is important too."
Gōenji turned his attention toward the shelves and picked up a book.
"Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics. I've already read this one."
He moved on.
"Heat Transfer."
This field could be used to analyze heat conduction, convection, and thermal radiation.
Based on its introduction, it should be useful for designing the Shape Transformation of Fire Release.
"I'll take this one."
He picked up another.
"Combustion Science."
The book explored energy release and temperature distribution during combustion.
"This is important too. I'll study this."
His eyes continued moving along the shelves.
"Interdisciplinary studies..."
He paused.
"Plasma Physics and Engineering."
The book focused on the formation and control of high-temperature plasma.
Gōenji's eyes lit up.
"This is good."
It was highly relevant to the development of his Fire Release Chakra Mode.
He gathered the books into a stack.
Then he carried them to a nearby library table and sat down.
One by one, he began to read.