"Hey, Yoichi..." After sorting out the food utensils, Haruhiko nudged.
"Hmm?" Yoichi raised an eyebrow.
"Do you know of any ways to get stronger?" Haruhiko stated.
"Yeah, I—" Yoichi wanted to let him know before Haruhiko's face grew closer to his face.
"Then, please tell me! I'll do anything!" Haruhiko clasped his hands, begging for Yoichi's guidance.
"Don't joke around and tell other people to be their dog. There's no such thing as free in this world. But I'll teach you as long as you are diligent."
Hearing Yoichi's first sentence made Haruhiko's eyes go dim until he heard a consent from Yoichi's mouth.
"Please tell me!" Haruhiko's eyes felt like a radiant beam, shining at Yoichi, who shook his head in disbelief.
In 30 minutes of constant lecture, Haruhiko's face went complex akin to a rollercoaster ride. Fascination, amazement, interest, and shock filled his face.
"But how do you know that your Chakra refining technique was operating properly?" Haruhiko rebutted.
"At the very least, it could be able to provide a brief shot and save you from a future crisis. You are right, it was simply a basic refining method. Still, the usage was there and ready to go!"
Even though Yoichi didn't have any experience in teaching children, he was extremely glad to employ his knowledge and help them solve their doubts about the process.
As for why he taught Haruhiko, the reason was that Haruhiko's actions conveyed a larger part of his personality rather than his words.
In other words, Haruhiko proved himself as a trustworthy child than the 100 children around Yoichi.
Still, Yoichi couldn't just be friends with Haruhiko at the moment. After all, nobody could be able to mingle and socialize, saying they were friends in the span of one day, especially in a hellish place where rationality and caution must be necessary to survive.
Afterwards, the children were escorted to a different room with a bunch of rattan beds on the ground, serving as their sleeping quarters for the rest of their trials.
On the way to the sleeping quarters, Yoichi noticed that the foundations of the estate, particularly the pillars were made from a sturdy wood—a good alternative to improve his proficiency through practicing his pain conditioning.
After reserving a corner spot using his fame, Yoichi began hitting a thick pillar as the prickling sensation didn't faze him amidst the curious stares of the mix of shinobi and children behind him.
"Hmm? What is he doing? Taijutsu? It's so shit and not worth wasting enough time!" One of the shinobi sneered.
"What do you know, you lazy bum? Regardless, he's doing his best. What are you when you are also at his age?" Another shinobi interjected, amazed by Yoichi's diligence, and defended him from criticism.
Upon hearing his teammate's reply, the cynical shinobi's face darkened slightly as his thoughts went nostalgic. At the age of 4, he was still naive and a mommy's good boy, but Yoichi's dedicated effort struck a nerve in his brain.
"Heh, wish that he stays alive for the rest of the upcoming ordeals." the cynical man sarcastically replied, mocking his teammate.
The bickering of the two continued while the performer still trained with dedication in mind.
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
...
"Why?! Are all my efforts wasted? I can't even seem to defeat such a skinny guy!"
On the flip side, Sabito was beaten by a child of his age and didn't make it to the top 8. He was doubtful and suspicious, almost on the brink of paranoia from stressful overthinking and distrust of his own efforts.
"Need a helping hand, Sabito-san?" A familiar voice rang as Sabito grimaced at the incoming boy, who was smiling with concern in his eyes.
"What do you want, Masaru?!" Sabito grew alarmed. His hateful stare felt like a piercing laser on Masaru's eyes, trying to see the ulterior motives beneath such a graceful facade.
"Sabito-san... All I wanted was to help you. I took our grievances to the trash, the moment I stepped from this place. We are from the same place and are trying to find a good spot to live in this wretched situation. Can you forgive me and help yourself?" Masaru stretched a hand, attempting to seek a resolution.
Hearing Masaru's persuasion, Sabito hesitated to speak until Masaru said, "I'll give you time to think, Sabito-san. However, each passing second was dire, and being alone in this place was so scary. Farewell..."
As soon as Masaru's silhouette departed, Sabito clutched his head and thought about such theories in his mind. Meanwhile, Masaru's mouth faintly curved upwards and ultimately achieved his prepared scheme.
At this point, Masaru was one of the top 8 in the trial of combat as there was also a psychopath in their isolated location, brazenly killing unwilling children wantonly, and accomplished first place.
However, as friendly and cordial as he was, a lot of children in his location painted him in a good light, slowly building the youngsters' fondness and admiration towards him.
'Soon... It won't be too long till I have enough crew! I wonder what Yoichi will think seeing his friend on the verge of despair? Hahaha!'
With a thought away, Masaru sat down and refined his Raw Chakra, regulating properly as the night went into absolute control, enveloping the sleeping quarters with its suffocating darkness.
...
In the middle of the night.
"Phew... What a good harvest!"
As the never-ending rain drizzled on the ceramic roofs, sweat slowly slid on the boy's cheeks while seemingly delighted for some unknown reason.
Yoichi practiced until midnight for 4 hours and gained 14 points of proficiency, a halfway point near the Great Success. Without Qi Blood Pills, his harvest was still tremendous as his punching force underwent a qualitative change in a small fraction.
Now, he has 13 catties of force equaled to 7.8 kilograms, seeing the little fist marks on the pillar he endlessly punched with vigor. A 3 catties of change wasn't overpowered yet each kilogram of force was satisfactory and felt the slow change.
"Small steps at a time... Hoooh..."
Then, he went to the sleeping quarters and sprawled his limbs, utterly devoid of stamina.
"Are you really that thin when you started training?" Hearing a whisper, Yoichi was startled and looked at Haruhiko, who was awakened by his actions.
"Yeah... But I overcame being skinny by eating my way back to being healthy." Yoichi replied.
"Then, can you teach me that method?" Haruhiko's eyes flashed a shining light.
"Oh well, the problem is I can't." His Incinerator and other passives weren't something teachable unlike jutsu and other general techniques.
"Why can't you do it?" Haruhiko's persistence in the middle of the night made Yoichi a little bit annoyed.
"Just sleep!" Yoichi turned away from Haruhiko as he was instantly cuddled by Hikari, who was unconsciously enjoying the warmth.
"Oi... Oi...Hoy."
The night was destined to be a torturous event for Haruhiko until he fell asleep. Slowly, Yoichi also slept and drifted into his dreams, yearning for tomorrow.
________________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Small Success) 163/300]
10 catties -> 13 catties of punch force.
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Into the hellish training! I will reveal the tidbits in the next chapters later on. Sorry for the little dialogues that felt out of place. I just wanted to show the audience's characters' interactions and their value in the plot.
Thanks for reading the chapters and bookmarking the novel. See ya! XDD!