As the wind gusts beneath the shady vibrance of the trees and the rains drizzle over time, 1 month and 2 weeks have passed by with an overly tedious and monotonous lifestyle circled over the world.
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Small Success) 297/300]
These days, Yoichi realized that his training method of wood has slowly stagnated and requires progress into another method. Each kick, punch, and posture was accomplished with blood and sweat, even using the night as a way to diligently complete the mastery of his techniques.
He was still the same but the calluses on both of his hands and feet were apparent. Along with the multiple white scars over his slightly darkened physique made his countenance felt like a child who experienced hardships during these days of solitude and wearisome life.
His days alongside the trials were quite easy with the cooperation and unity of his friends. Some of the children were entirely acclimated to the trials but the others weren't fortunate, over 17 children perished grievously with each death painting the harshness of the trials and their weak resolve.
However, only 3 deaths managed to be able to make Yoichi's potent curse be activated. The frigid and extreme indignation Yoichi felt was intensely terrifying to the point of breaking his mentality.
Still, the Sharingan didn't upgrade into Two-Tomoe but his special Chakra in his optic nerves became too dense and on the verge of a breakthrough.
As for his friends, they did relatively well when it came to adaptation and maturity. Over time, they become proficient at controlling their Chakra with the help of the lessons in the afternoon and the refinement process they did in the night.
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Small Success) 299/300]
"Hoooohh... Just one more and I'll be able to get into the Skin Refining Stage!"
Currently, in the middle of the drizzling night, Yoichi took a deep breath and began practicing the posture technique with excitement in his eyes.
From 5 points down to a 1 point was abyssmally low and felt like Yoichi was missing something due to the small gains. Regardless, his Qi Blood became controllable and dense while the organs and muscles seemed to slowly be connected as if like transmitter towers were interconnected to pass the valuable signals.
「Heavenly Demon Posture EXP +1」
As the last punch ended with vigor, Yoichi felt a scalding volcano once again, boiling his blood vessels underneath his organs and muscles.
"Ghhhhaaaaggghhh..."
He released a low grunt and clenched his jaws from the otherworldly misery happening within his physique. The gurgling sounds of his blood were heard as the transformation began in a sweltering temperature. The intangible energy within him became volatile in his temperament, circulating rapidly with his scorching force all over his internal organs including his skin pores that frequently contract and expand with each heartbeat.
The blood vessels were slowly refined under the searing heat, quenching and thickening his bloodstream in a continual cycle alongside the mysterious foreign blood pumped out by his two overworking hearts.
With the steam vapors coming out of his skin as if bathing in a sauna, his brain sent a massive wave of extraordinary craving and appetite.
After the tempestuous transformation, Yoichi felt exhausted and dehydrated as his face was ashen, struggling to get inside the comfort room.
His throat became dry from the excessive burning of his fluids, constantly evaporating his body's water content during the shocking evolution.
Thus, he took his time in the bathroom and ate all the remaining food in his pouch, satiating his brain's inner desire for sustenance and nutrition.
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success) 0/500]
As the Incinerator burned the calories and vitamins into his system, Yoichi understood the qualitative leap in his overall attributes. His Qi-Blood became rampant with vigorous energy alongside his bloodstream, which was pushed to the limit and thickened to a marginal degree.
Each strike with his Qi Blood was filled with dense pressure as his blood vessels could regulate and maintain such power with formidable endurance.
While checking his own physique, Yoichi could see the faint outlines of muscles underneath his clothes, the childlike yet robust arms were mighty, strong consolidated joints in all four limbs, and tough bones further amplified by his change.
"Thank heavens, I still got these scars! I mean, it's cool to have a good amount of scars... Nobody wanted to be a beautiful man with jack shit of power!" Yoichi's obsidian eyes shone with clarity and newfound power within himself.
"However, how can I hide this strong herbal scent from the ointment?! Ah, this is gonna be a hurdle for tomorrow... Let's sleep!"
Putting his thoughts back, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep in an instant, truly depleted from the metamorphosis that had happened on the eve of the night.
...
In the morning.
"Hey Yoichi, why do I feel like you are so charming now? Do you eat something or what?" Haruhiko instinctively felt Yoichi's change. He couldn't articulate the feeling, but the sensation was undeniably real.
"Hmm!" Hikari nodded constantly in agreement.
What they felt was the aura or temperament of his body. Reliable as a mountain and steadfast like a rock, Yoichi's unique disposition was distinctively better than some children filled with savagery.
...
"Now, you all are ready for the next trial! I applaud you for surviving these trials for 6 months with grit in your eyes. As for the deceased ones... Put them deep within your hearts and continue to move on along with their dreams!" Motoyasu's speech left the children bewildered by his persuasive words.
After four and a half months of trials, Yoichi and the children in the courtyard finally ended the trials. However, it looked like there were still some challenges imposed by the higher-ups for them, assignments they couldn't refuse or decline.
"What? There are still trials ahead?"
"What do you expect huh? We are training for recruitment, this isn't a game!"
"But what do you think the next trial is?"
These surviving children were now fully adjusted to the harsh reality of life due to the various traumatic experiences and the loss of their friends. Currently, the children know how to cast the basic jutsu such as Transformation Jutsu, Clone Technique, Body Flicker Jutsu, and Substitution Technique.
'How time flies... It felt surreal.'
Yoichi thought. On his side, he gained a measly 135 points of proficiency in these past months. The wooden dummy method, lack of resources, and his comprehension of the posture became too sluggish but his control over Qi Blood was steadily improving over time.
As for why, Motoyasu did not babysit him anymore and was afraid to be lenient with Yoichi's safety. There was no metal dummy around these parts since metal was still valuable for metalwork tools such as kunai, shuriken, and other instruments.
Furthermore, Motoyasu felt that his investment in the child was more than enough. In contrast, Yoichi's depiction of Motoyasu was stingy and self-absorbed but he didn't want to reveal his secrets so he let them be.
Now that his leeching time was over, Yoichi didn't manage to break through the Skin Refining Stage due to two important reasons. First, to hide the potent herbal scent of the ointment, without an alibi, there's not much for him to do. It's futile.
Secondly, tons of resources such as food were necessary for his breakthrough. As of now, he has accumulated over 8 Silver Tickets for a good chance of successful draws.
"From now on, you all will be escorted to Amegakure as your precious task will be held there. So rest up for the day and be prepared for further instructions." Motoyasu glanced at Yoichi before leaving the stage with a thoughtful expression on his face.
'I wonder what will be the next trial...'
Yoichi thought. Amegakure was the base of the future infamous organization, Akatsuki, after all.
__________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success) 135/500]
[Tickets: 1 Prismatic, 2 Gold, 8 Silver]
_____________
I'm very sorry that I crammed all the time skip and information dump in one chapter. Perhaps it should be my inadequacy as a writer that I made this obvious mistake. Sorry for that.
Also, I don't want to further enhance the details when it comes to the breakthrough. Chinese novels have this kind of thing where they will lengthen those flowery words and glaze over the MC's breakthrough, putting part 1, part 2 in the chapters. So expect me not to be like that, placing word count over quality.
Thanks for reading the chapters and bookmarking the novel. See ya! XDD!