"Haaaahhh... Almost at the early stage. My chest and back have been successfully refined, thank god."
Yoichi somewhat succeeded in his Jade Skin refinement as the transparent membrane atop his skin soon covered his skinny chest and back.
Due to some hiccups along the way, he took over 4 hours to refine. Also, the chest and back consist of interconnected muscle tissue fibers as well as fascia that is linked throughout his upper torso.
Processing over small yet significant components with his active Qi Blood surely took a toll on Yoichi's physical and mental status.
Therefore, Yoichi's Qi Blood was nearly depleted and the remainder of his mental energy was solely focused on nutritional meals along with the Qi Blood Pill, a nourishing supplement.
For a while, the 10 KG feast that he had bought in the market then drastically reduced by over 4 KG, replenishing his Qi Blood coupled with his Incinerator stomach.
Thank goodness, I'm very lucky with my system. If not, maybe I'm the one who's asking for help right now...
As they said, "Literacy is for the poor while Martial Arts is for the rich."
Patting his stomach with satisfaction on his face, Yoichi then left his home and went to the Uchiha District to buy another 10 KG of nutritious supplies.
That being said, the goods required more than 100,000 Ryō. A costly but necessary step towards his Martial Path. Along with his sacks of food, Yoichi gradually noticed a familiar outline and soon turned around swiftly until a boisterous voice was heard across the middle of the day.
"Yoichi... There you are! Oh my god, you have a lot of things! Do you need some help?" Running towards Yoichi, Jiraiya appeared with his unceasing optimism and vigor, relentlessly pestering him.
"...Good afternoon, Jiraiya." Yoichi turned his head slightly and walked slowly back into his own crib. In his mind, the overly extroverted Jiraiya was his nemesis as a slightly introverted child himself.
"How's your practice? Is everything alright in your training?" Yoichi added.
"Ehhh... As you can see, this thing was truly hard! It took me too long to boil my Qi Blood within my body..." Jiraiya's gesture of cheekily smiling and scratching his white spiky hair made Yoichi's eyelids twitch in incredulity.
"Wait a minute... Did you say you have a boiling sensation in your blood?!" After reflecting on Jiraiya's words, Yoichi involuntarily dropped his things and held Jiraiya's shoulder in disbelief.
"No no no... But I'm almost there! I can feel the energy circulating through. Is that really worth your shock?" Once Jiraiya waved his hands, he ignorantly tilted his head and glanced at his friend.
I almost sacrificed my life just to cultivate Martial Arts and now you are saying that it was easy as shit?!
Unbeknownst to Yoichi, the harmony between Jiraiya's physique and the Mahavairocana Mantra was perfectly compatible with each other. The requirement for the cultivation of the Buddhist Mantra was like a light derived from the meaning of Mahavairocana — The Great Illuminator.
Although Jiraiya's habit was sketchy as hell, his radiant positivity and foolish compassion made some characters like Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan understand their true purpose.
"Is this talent? Haaaahhh..." On the side, Yoichi sighed and shook his head, eventually making out with the truth. Currently, he felt a little bit dejected but the major part of it was delight.
Being happy for his friend's success should be common sense in this world. However, the harshness and cycle of hatred across the Shinobi World couldn't be dissolved in just a flick of fingers, losing their minds over a friend's progress as if it were a dystopian corporate company.
"Talent? That's right. I am truly exceptional, hahaha!" Jiraiya's playful laughter rang across the district with a bright smile on his face.
"I'm glad about your success, Jiraiya! Anyway, I need to go home and cook some lunch for myself. See you tomorrow!" Therefore, with a farewell, Yoichi took his sacks once more yet his eyes were filled with competitive spirit, blazing his determination.
Strength... Not enough!
With the competition of cultivation, Yoichi then returned to his house and left the very perplexed Jiraiya all alone in the district. Subsequently, Jiraiya thought about something else and smiled at a not-so-good idea.
Hehehe... There's a hot spring around these parts. What I am doing is for research! I should formulate a jutsu for this time-consuming study!
Then, he left with his thoughts and made his way, not minding Yoichi's departure.
...
...
...
In the Class A's room.
"Yoichi! What the hell happened to you?! Oh, you overexerted on those actions, aren't you?" Jiraiya threw a knowing look at Yoichi, who was tired and sat down at the cramped desk.
After 3 days, Yoichi successfully refined his private parts, lower, and middle sections of his physique. Now, the transparent film atop his skin remained hidden to the naked eye, brimming with elasticity and toughness.
However, the major challenge was around his head and neck. These parts were extremely important since every nook and cranny of his body must be totally refined to break through in the Jade Skin Stage.
Yoichi spent over 12 hours every single day in those 3 days simply to strengthen himself.
Similarly, his ointment continued to be closely consumed by his endless practice. As of now, he still has 13 bottles of ointment and 21 Qi Blood Pills. Yoichi heavily insisted on using these resources since the dangers to his life hadn't been eliminated yet.
With that being said, the Amegakure Shinobi who were hunting him remained silent for all 3 days of his reckless excursion at night. From the looks of it, these foreign shinobi were so patient unlike the earlier attempt.
Time is on my side, no matter how hard they fight against it. If they could really escape this inevitable trap, then perhaps this village isn't as great as it seems.
"Why the glum expression?" Tsunade asked, noticing Yoichi's frown. She felt a tug of concern for him.
At her question, Jiraiya and Orochimaru turned their gazes toward Yoichi, both curious about what was bothering him.
"It's nothing... Just a small issue. Anyway, how's everything going on your end?" Yoichi quickly changed the topic, looking at them with a hint of anticipation.
"Hahaha! I'm doing great! Just look at how much stronger and more energized I am! It must be my incredible talent," Jiraiya boasted, playfully flicking his spiky hair as he celebrated his progress over the last three days.
"That's bullshit! I've gained more than enough for your meager efforts." Tsunade interjected and scoffed at Jiraiya with a hint of competitive blaze in her eyes.
With the 30 Pills funded by Yoichi, her practice became so much smoother and easier to perform, accumulating a dense amount of Qi Blood alongside her inherent physical constitution.
While the two clashed like ice and fire, Yoichi glanced towards Orochimaru.
"My gains should be satisfactory,"
Orochimaru responded to Yoichi in such minute words. Instead of overly reacting like the two, Orochimaru was merely glancing at them with a subtle irritation.
Unlike the other two techniques which rely on physical toughness, his Moon Swallowing Snake method leaned on the agility, perception, and lethality.
Thanks to the technique, Orochimaru felt much more relaxed at night like a nocturnal snake finding its victim.
"Very well... If you have any questions, just don't be shy." Yoichi added.
"I have a question..." Hearing this, Tsunade finished beating Jiraiya before she finally glanced at Yoichi with interest flickering in her eyes.
"Then, ask about it." Therefore, Yoichi and the rest continued talking about the intricacies of Martial Arts as well as the theories he had concluded over the past few days.
Overall, the progress between the three was exceptionally remarkable.
In such a jovial mood, the four children in the back row were in their own worlds while the children around felt jealous and incredulous, glancing at the four children intently.
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(Current Progress)
[Realm: Skin Refining Stage] (Gold Skin)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Perfection) 1/1000] (+1)
[Mountain Crushing Fist: (Small Success) 96/300] (+18)
[Lightning Spear Thrust: (Small Success) 67/300] (+15)
[Phantom Steps: (Small Success) 115/300] (+14)
[Tickets: 1 Prismatic, 0 Gold, 0 Silver.]
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Shoutout to Doomslayer24 and HologramBuddha for the Power Stones! Holy shit! Absolute Cinema!
Thanks for reading the chapters and bookmarking the novel! See ya! XDD!