"Yahoo! We can finally leave this place and look forward to the outside world!" Haruhiko's arms were raised, overly excited and thrilled about his next chapter of his life.
"I won't be happy if I were you..." Under Yoichi's remarks, Haruhiko glanced at him while Hikari lifted her eyebrows in curiosity.
"Why do you think so?" Hikari's ears were perked up, waiting for his detailed explanation.
Her closeness with her friends soared over time as the two didn't mind her unusual yet harmless change.
"First and foremost, we don't know what is the next trial. I don't even have any prior knowledge of that place."
"Second, human nature is unpredictable. The inhabitants should be hyper-competitive just to earn money. Expect to have a bad time trying to float in that environment."
"Lastly, resources. If our task is in Amegakure, what about our mining area's children along with innumerable youths? Those who survived the trial might definitely be there!"
As Yoichi pointed out his rationale, Hikari and Haruhiko fell silent. In his observations, each word rang in both of their minds as the trial tended to be exceptionally difficult to succeed in.
These trials they experienced were brutal, who could truly say that the next thing will be an easy one?
In Yoichi's first remarks, it's true. No matter how talented they are, certain pitfalls such as a lack of knowledge, preparation, and mindfulness were one of the nemesis of the shinobi as if someone's trying to get inside the cave without any knowledge or tools.
Furthermore, geniuses are ubiquitous. As long as someone was loyal and dutiful to serve the village, the gifted shinobi's life was guaranteed at that point. With bountiful rewards, the people would keep trying to find merits to satiate their self-interest.
"Then, what should we do? No, there must be a plan concocted by Hanzō-sama or the other leaders, right?" Haruhiko found himself in complex emotions before he thought of his superiors.
"Yeah, so don't be too unsettled," Yoichi replied.
"So that means we can see Genji and Sabito once again?!" Pulling Yoichi's clothes, Hikari's eyes shone brightly as she hurriedly asked him.
"Although I'm not sure, there's a high probability..." Upon hearing her thrilled voice, Yoichi felt nostalgic about his friends being taken away from them.
"Ohohoho~ Then, I should be able to introduce myself! I'm eager to know about them since Hikari was telling stories about your mining days..."
Haruhiko was deeply interested. Hearing about their chemistry and cohesion in those treacherous mines was like a fantasy story for him.
"Everyone! Immediately fall in line and go with your group now!"
As they talked for some time, the children slowly took some time and glanced back at the courtyard including Yoichi and his party.
Despite the timeframe being too small for him to be reluctant in this place, he experienced all the things that were traumatic and fulfilling at the same time, obtaining a good friend with fond memories in 6 months.
'Let's say that I've enjoyed my time here... I hope this place won't be used in the near future...'
After one last look, he went along with his party and didn't look back, carrying the faint recollections beside his back as a resume for his dominant future.
...
As water buffaloes trudged through the extreme winds and drizzling rains along with the carts on their backs, this picturesque essence of the surroundings didn't diminish its monochromatic paint of desolation.
"What's your dream, Hikari? For me, it's to become a great shinobi feared across the whole shinobi world!" Bored as hell, Haruhiko proudly revealed his ambition with pride on his face.
"Hmm... —I want to have a stable life with someone..." After saying her goal, Hikari hid her face with her hands and frequently glanced at Yoichi, who was closing his eyes.
She felt embarrassed but her motive was to test a certain someone's attitude towards her dream.
"Hmm? What's that, Hikari? Is something wrong?" Feeling a gaze from somebody, Yoichi's eyebrows looked seemingly curious.
"No, no— It's nothing..." Hikari panicked a little bit, waving her hands bashfully until calming down.
Certainly, Yoichi knew the gestures and her hints but his eyes were for the Martial Dao. At this point, love has become a burden in his mind, and love like in friendship terms was the only thing he could give to his friends and Hikari.
Perhaps only time would erode his opinions with his boulder-like conviction and maturity towards love.
"What about yours, Yoichi. What is your dream? Tell me, tell me!"
Suddenly, Haruhiko was exceedingly prying on Yoichi, who crossed his arms and went deeply into his thoughts.
"Hmmm... I really never thought about this," Yoichi answered.
As a man with two lives, he was excited about looking for an adventure in Naruto World. However, the cruelty and survival of the fittest slapped him harshly on the face.
Since then, his belief in humanity became far too astray as he lost hope for it to change. While he swore to the original owner, the thought of what's next after completing his promise became undefined to him like clear water tainted by a drop of ink.
"Perhaps my dream is to survive..." Yoichi revealed his thoughts and looked at their dejected eyes.
"That is so lame! Of all the things you can dream of in this world, that's really what you picked?! Are you deceiving us?!" Haruhiko felt his blood boiling from the nonchalant response of his friend, ultimately pinning his anger on Yoichi.
"If you are still doubtful about it, then so be it. I just said my ideal thoughts about the topic, that's all."
After that, Yoichi closed his eyes and rested once more as his party was filled with disbelief before moving on.
After all, Yoichi's overly maturity was nothing new in his friends' eyes.
...
"Look! There's something tall outside!"
"Awesome, is this really Amegakure?!"
"I'm so excited that I never even took a sleep!"
After long hours of traveling, the silhouettes of the sky-high and unknown infrastructures began to be seen in their eyes.
Tall structures with a feeling of metal struck on their eyes, shining brightly as the thoughts of becoming a shinobi went out of control.
"Amegakure... The Land of Rain's sole protector against the Major Villages."
Seeing the village with his own eyes, Yoichi felt a fiery blaze of resolve fill his eyes, mesmerizing himself by the mechanical city built through desperation and meritocracy.
_________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success) 135/500]
[Goredrinker: 0/100]
[Tickets: 1 Prismatic, 2 Gold, 8 Silver]
__________
Finally, it's here! Although the chapter was about friendship and character cohesion, it will be necessary for MC since his friends were one of his anchors and motivation for his rise.
Two more and I'll be done with my chapter debt. If you wanted to give power stones, double it and give it to the deserving fanfics out there.
Thanks for reading the chapters and bookmarking the novel. See ya! XDD!