As Genji declared, Yoichi couldn't help but worry about his colleagues, specifically Old Man Gunbai.
Even though they occasionally shared experiences in few times, the trust and camaraderie between them was strong.
In terms of protecting someone, there were two choices: protect your loved ones or kill the enemy, indirectly protecting your loved ones.
I hope they are fine... That Earth Release was truly lethal in such an expansive range! Situation demands strength, pull one Prismatic Ticket!
[Do you wish to draw for (Prismatic Roulette)?]
Yes.
With a conviction in his mind, Yoichi's perception went into his deeper consciousness and was welcomed by two humongous roulettes, greeting him at his behest.
[Drawing...]
Give me something useful...
[Congratulations on winning (Fighting Spirit)!]
[Fighting Spirit] (Prismatic)
—After entering combat mode, your strength, vitality, and speed will increase by 1% every 10 seconds. (The increase cannot exceed 30%)
"Thank god! A battle augment type of passive!" Now, Yoichi felt relieved and soon arrived at the spot where the foreign shinobi had slaughtered their way through the earlier commoner fighting.
Phantom Steps!
In a sharp stomp, Yoichi's figure disappeared at the clueless Kumogakure Shinobi and landed on his right foot with a terrifying right fist incoming at his opponent's body.
Cloud-Style Deception Beheading!
However, as his punch landed, a faint smoke and a wooden trunk were destroyed by a devastating force, then Yoichi instinctively tumbled sideways as the shinobi in front of him made a swift slicing motion, which was narrowly avoided by a child.
What a tricky opponent!
"What's your name, brat?" As Yoichi stood up, the Kumogakure shinobi narrowed his eyes at the child.
In his 10 years of living, this was the only time someone got out of his shady technique with extraordinary perception. Also, the one who dodged his strike was a child, making him acknowledge a good seed at a simple glance.
"... Yoichi."
While Yoichi replied, an intangible but vigorous phenomenon coursed throughout his whole body. In an instant, Yoichi felt a newfound power abruptly injected into his nervous system and body, providing him a mystical boost of energy.
This feeling... It's exhilarating!
"Hahaha! Your name is Yoichi? Good, very good! Another genius will fall under my sword!"
Soon, the arrogant laughter and remarks broke Yoichi's thoughts.
"My name is Asui, kid. Remember this name in your afterlife!"
Chakra Shock Slice!
Yasui suddenly infused his sword with Chakra and swung it, releasing a potent blade-like slash into Yoichi.
With a wide area of the powerful strike, Yoichi's lower limbs charged up and instantly jumped away, cold eyes still looking at Asui's next move.
Cloud-Style: Front Slice!
Then, after a timely leap, Yoichi safely got down but Asui's silhouette rushed and appeared in front, executing a two-handed lethal cutting action while the faint whistling of the winds echoed.
Nonetheless, Yoichi leaned to the right and successfully swerved away from the cut, looking at Asui's unstoppable inertia with ferocity in his eyes.
Following that, his Qi Blood slowly gushed to his left hand and loaded his arms, taking the opportunity to inflict damage when Asui was still recovering from his earlier velocity.
Phantom Steps!
As the Qi Blood swelled through his arms, Yoichi felt inaudible vibrations to the ground and soon canceled the attack, using his nimble technique to get away from the area.
Earth Release: Earthen Stone Shoots!
Substitution Technique!
After seeing Yoichi retreat, Asui was baffled until the 4 large spikes beneath the soil abruptly condensed and sprouted towards Asui, who was aghast and employed another decoy.
"YOU FUCKING ROCKWORM!"
Unable to dodge the remaining spikes, Asui suffered contusions to his upper torso and limbs, cursing the hell out of the Iwagakure Shinobi with intense wrath written on his face.
"Every man is for himself, dog. By killing you two, I'll enjoy my life as a shinobi by presenting your corpses!"
"Then, my name, Junichi will roar across the shinobi world, HAHAHA!"
In his boisterous laugh, Yoichi narrowed his eyes and faded away, leaving a phantom-like figure in his original spot.
At this point, it was a free-for-all.
Without any agreements or words, Asui also sped through the high ground with a violent savagery in his eyes, intending to slay a third party as if his wife had been stolen from him.
Ignoring the pain in his left arm, Yoichi unhurriedly arrived near the Iwa-Nin while his stacked passive was autonomously recovering from his slightly injured arm at a turtle pace.
I need to conserve Qi Blood... After all, I don't have any Qi Blood Pills remaining... Yoichi thought.
"Hahaha! You dare to even be near close to me? Take this!"
Earth Release: Mudshot Technique!
With dexterous hands, Junichi kneaded his Chakra and hastily released jutsu, spitting off viscous mud from his mouth along with numerous shurikens in his hands.
He intends to tire us out!
A myriad of projectiles were hurled at him yet Yoichi nimbly deflected the shurikens and evaded the mud, slowly reaching the Iwa-Nin's position.
Phantom Steps!
After that, Junichi wanted to sprint out of Yoichi's range until the child's silhouette blurred and demonstrated an overwhelming fist to his face.
Mountain Crushing Fist!
Impossible! How's he able to dodge that?! What the hell is this monstrous brat?!
As the punch got closer and closer, Junichi blocked the punch with his kunai but the disastrous force broke the flimsy kunai and connected to his skull, ultimately pulverising the nose and consciousness of Junichi.
Due to his enemy's complacency, Yoichi blew most of his Qi Blood and unleashed his strength in a brief span. As a result, the body flew off a distance and Yoichi was uncertain whether Junichi was still alive or not.
Alongside stacks of passive with imbued Qi Blood in his arm, Yoichi felt fulfilled yet his arm and body were greatly strained, only recovering from the heals he received from the passive.
What the hell is that?! How can a feeble boy deliver such strength?!
As for Asui, his eyes widened at the sight of that furious and potent punch, effectively trashing the rockworm as a result.
"You're next." Looking at Yoichi's temperament, Asui felt shivering from the killing intent and fearfully retreated away from him.
"Yoichi! The Shinobi are here!" Genji's loud voice resonated through the alleyways and was heard by Yoichi and Asui.
"Where are you going, Kumogakure rat?" In an instant, the numerous shinobi encircled Asui, who was now extremely trapped and frightened of the situation.
"Don't let him eat the poison!"
Hearing those words, the shinobi soon blot out the sky and beat up Asui, maiming the Kumogakure youth and carefully avoiding killing their hunt.
Subsequently, Asui was apprehended with a fierce glare at Yoichi, brimming with hate and grievances.
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +17」
「Mountain Crushing Fist EXP +13」
「Phantom Steps EXP +27」
On the other hand, Yoichi took a deep breath and sighed, Hooooh... It's over. Thanks to my passive and progress over time, I actually saw my massive strength against these shinobi. Fighting truly felt so good in terms of proficiency!
"You've done well, brat. You and your team completed the trial in an instant! I'll report this back to Hanzō-sama and await your rewards."
After the shinobi leader's words, Yoichi nodded and returned to his friends, who were glad to know that Yoichi was slightly unharmed.
"As expected of you, Yoichi! We finally did it! Hahaha..." On his side, Genji put his arm around Yoichi's shoulder and flashed with a radiant smile.
"Are you really alright?"
Seeing Towa and Hikari's worried expression, Munekatsu and Haruhiko felt slightly jealous of Yoichi's reputation but it didn't shake their minds.
Children have some ego and jealousy, after all.
They shouldn't know my connection to the shinobi. Maybe it's also a way to protect them from harm.
Soon, Yoichi glanced at the unmoved workshop and its relieved people until he returned home along with his joyful friends, happily walking to the muddy ground in a jovial mood.
...
As the shinobi carried Asui and senseless Junichi out of the place, a silhouette appeared on the roof and said, "That brat grew stronger again?! That was two Genin! In just 3 weeks, he could fight two Genin with mere scratches on his body!"
Yoshiro saw all the things that happened from start to finish and he couldn't help but be shocked by such a tremendous display of improvement and capability.
Shit, I need to follow them. That child must be waiting for us to be able to get him through and communicate!
Therefore, Yoshiro took his time to swerve from left to right simply to avoid detection until he saw the child and his friends go into the basement room.
"Nice! Now, I ought to report this back to Ishida's hands and let him make the decisions." In a second, Yoshiro vanished with good information about Yoichi and his whereabouts.
__________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success) 217/500] (+17)
[Mountain Crushing Fist: (Entry) 42/100] (+13)
[Phantom Steps: (Entry) 97/100] (+27)
[Fighting Spirit] (Prismatic) NEW!
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