For a while, accompanied by the rays of orange sunlight and verdant forest, Yoichi along with the inspectors had detected free-flowing water nearby.
"Hoooh! Clean water!"
Battered and bruised, Yoichi jumped in delight.
"Come on, let's clean ourselves and head out once again. Regardless, we must exercise caution here."
The 4 inspectors then sighed in relief, immediately following Yoichi's already soaked figure.
Throughout the events, the others were truly dumbfounded despite the fact that their mentality should be calm, cool, and collected all the time.
However, Yoichi's cleverness as well as remarkable Taijutsu techniques were indeed stuck in their memories, unable to process the mind-bending scene during the constant warfare.
"Kid... I'm very sorry about our oversight in those months. We didn't actually understand your strength at that time."
When one of the inspectors spoke with a hint of heartfelt apology, the rest of the grown-ups fell silent.
The apologetic inspector implied that the time when Yoichi became a decoy and fought against the Amegakure Shinobi.
As a result of their innate arrogance and Yoichi's noticeable associations with the higher-ups, they simply set aside their actual obligations for their own vanity as Inspectors working for the citizens of Konohogakure.
"Oh, you mean that month? Sirs, you all don't have to worry about it. It's all in the past now. What we can only do is move on and learn from our errors."
Yoichi responded in a dismissive tone, waving his hands before unclothing himself.
"Good to hear that, kid."
The inspectors heaved a sigh of relief once more, appreciating the comfort of the water washing over their bodies and minds after hearing Yoichi's reply.
The clear blue sky and the refreshing breeze of the winds felt exhilarating as the 4 adults and one child enjoyed the scenery with its wonderful gifts.
However, time seemed to proceed rapidly as the rest moved afterwards.
Once clothed and restored enough, the group of 5 eventually departed with relaxed expressions on their faces.
...
"We're here, kid. Land of Hot Springs."
Soon, the group arrived at the remote town with numerous buildings and the scenery did not differ from the Land of Fire's current era of livelihood.
"This must be a good place to relax," Yoichi muttered.
"Kid, this is our final destination. We can't accompany you in your further adventure..." One of the inspectors reluctantly expressed.
This escort assignment was indeed successful considering Yoichi's particular demand being authentic with a little bit of hiccups here and there.
However, now that it had been thwarted, the group of inspectors must report back to their leader and provide a proper report without a second of rest.
"Oh well, that should be it..." Yoichi smiled bitterly until he added, "Thanks once more for escorting me, good sirs! It was a pleasure being attended by your company."
"Hahaha... Likewise, kid!" One of the inspectors chimed in.
"Be careful here, okay? Finish the mission as quickly as possible and leave immediately! That should be your main priority right now."
"That's right! Anything bad could happen, so be calm and careful as always! Anyway, we must go."
"Farewell!"
"I understand, sir. Well then, see you!"
As Yoichi expressed his gratitude, the 4 adult shinobi departed from the area after conveying their concerns and goodbyes.
Though the connection between them was relatively brief, Yoichi couldn't refute that these inspectors did a great job protecting him as well as having a satisfactory time being together.
"From now on, I'll be alone again," Yoichi cupped his chin. "No, I need to gather some info about my mission right away. Kumogakure's defenses must be top-notch in the present day, this insists on further deliberation and a proper way to approach."
Secret Technique: Face Changing!
Right after he went into a convenient spot, his face began to transform into an ordinary face, a regular get-up that had been commonly seen then took his time to accommodate himself to the new area.
Like a thrilled player discovering the unknown part of the game, he has explored the remote towns one by one up to the north-western region.
The only thing he had liked about the Land of Hot Springs was its exact temperature of hot springs.
As for the pacifist type of approach from Yugakure, that doesn't bother him that much.
Different people, different ideologies.
Currently near the periphery of the Land of Snow, Yoichi began trying out his earlier theories in the green fields.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu!'
*Puff!*
"So it really works! My clones really did transform into another person!"
Yoichi's face lit up until his eyes gleamed in the middle of the night.
Thanks to his discovery, he has a plan in mind: another identity for his current task.
Having this kind of interchangeable identity felt so convenient and at the same time, a reasonable amount of plausible pretext for future missions.
Furthermore, Face Changing doesn't consume that much of Qi Blood, and the Transformation Jutsu might be perceived by sensory shinobi.
Soon, Yoichi stoked out the campfire and fell asleep atop a tree branch.
...
"What an everlasting white snow!"
After being a journeyman for 2 days, Yoichi arrived at the Land of Snow.
During those days, he had periodically met unscrupulous bandits with malice so he dispatched them without any guilt.
Therefore, Yoichi's Soul Power improved by 8, still not a bad harvest.
Nowadays, Yoichi has completely forgotten about his Goredrinker and moved away from the addictive feeling of that demonic technique.
From his perspective, he still has the same morals and principles. Soul Eater couldn't be prevented from eating away souls of his butchered foes and he's not murderous enough to enact a killing spree.
With resources provided by his system and without a ticking time bomb in his brain, who would want to sacrifice their philosophy for shallow gains?
For the Land of Snow, consisting of dense white snow and mountain peaks wasn't surprising in Yoichi's eyes. But he appreciated the view of the white canvas landscape without turning back.
"Land of Lightning... This is it."
After 2 days again, he witnessed the clustered mountain ranges along with the rumbling phenomenon in each peak, truly a spectacular view for him.
Away from the snowy climate, Yoichi trudged through the rugged terrain with a narrow passageway.
In the presence of the seas stretching beyond the horizon, Yoichi stopped.
"Hey! Keep moving, brat!"
____________
(Current Progress)
Techniques are still the same.
「Soul Power: 34」(+8)
____________
Sorry for the short chapter. However, I comprehended the fact that some unnecessary words should be kept away from now on. Fast-paced in other useless things and slow-paced in action scenes along with dialogues. Got it.
Thanks to doomslayer24, TwinLoongs, and Daemonic_Dragon for the power stones! Thank you, Senior Brothers!