69novels Chapter 120 Daily Life
Chapter 120 Daily Life
Chapter 120 Daily Life
Training, reading, and practicing ninjutsu—these are the things Taiyi has been doing every day since he returned.
People often see Taiyi easily defeating his enemies in battle, but few can do what he does: spending almost all his time, except for rest, improving his strength.
[Congratulations! After a long period of study and training, your skill Sealing Technique has been upgraded to Lv5 (1/800)]
The intensive training over the past few days has lived up to expectations. His sealing technique has leveled up again, and he is only one level away from being able to create multi-layered lamp array sealing talismans. At the current rate, he is expected to reach that level within two months.
Just as Taiyi was overjoyed at the imminent achievement of another mission objective, the door, which had been silent for many days, was finally knocked on today.
The door opened, and there were Yangping and Saori.
The two men breathed a long sigh of relief when they saw the door open. Finally—someone had returned!
Seeing the relieved expressions on their faces, Taiyi quickly ushered them into the house. After everyone was seated, before Taiyi could even speak, Yangping began to pour out his grievances.
"Taiyi, you have no idea, we've been so bored lately we're practically going crazy!"
As Yangping recounted the story, Taichi learned about their experiences. It was somewhat related to him that, originally, when Taichi was around, Class 8, although without a captain, could still carry out some C-rank missions. Later, after Taichi left due to a designated mission, Yangping and Saori were no longer qualified to carry out C-rank missions and could only do D-rank missions.
That won't do. Doing D-rank missions is not as good as training at home. Besides, Captain Yamaguchi will be discharged from the hospital soon.
Unexpectedly, things didn't go as planned. On the very day Captain Yamaguchi was discharged from the hospital, he was called away again for a assigned mission, leaving only the two of them in Squad 8.
The fact that Konoha is so short-handed right now, with even Captain Yamaguchi, who was just discharged from the hospital, immediately starting to carry out missions, gives us a glimpse into the situation.
Despite being so busy, Yohei and Saori couldn't even complete a C-rank mission for various reasons. Can you imagine how frustrated they were?
Watching Yangping's affected performance, even though he knew it was fake, Taiichi still felt embarrassed. Seeing Saori's helpless smile beside him, Taiichi felt even more guilty.
He's been back for several days now, and he didn't even inform them. It's true that he didn't do his job properly.
"Taiyi, you don't know, last time when we went to the mission hall, the staff there advised us to apply to regroup. How could that possibly work?!"
Yangping was still complaining about how unreliable the staff was, and how there was no reason for them to advise a well-behaved team to disband, when he felt Saori tug hard on his clothes.
Unaware of what was going on, Yangping followed Saori's gaze and saw Taiichi's guilty expression. He then belatedly said, "Taiichi, I wasn't talking about you! Don't mind it!"
But the more he said that, the more embarrassed Taiichi felt. Seeing Yangping already somewhat at a loss, Taiichi interrupted his comforting words: "Alright, now that I'm back, we can carry out our mission again."
With that, Taiyi stood up. "Let's go, mission hall, let's go!"
Yangping and Saori exchanged a glance, cheered, and got up to follow Taichi's steps.
With Taiichi joining, the team finally regained its eligibility to accept C-rank missions. Although normal C-rank missions were quite simple for the team, it was still much better than staying at home doing nothing in this busy environment.
And so, Class 8, having reunited, began their missions once again. Perhaps because they had been cooped up at home for too long, or perhaps because they wanted to get more training, Yangping and Saori were particularly enthusiastic about missions in the following period.
Not only did she shorten the rest time between missions, but she also took the initiative to take on Taiyi's work, which made Taiyi feel embarrassed over time.
But even with such frantic missions, their cultivation wasn't hindered. Firstly, they were all able to create shadow clones for cultivation now, and secondly, the three of them were basically together every day. With Taiyi, an all-around expert, as their regular sparring partner, it would be difficult for them not to improve.
After all, Taiichi could communicate with Yangping's Fire Release and Taijutsu, and Saori's Lightning Release and Sealing Techniques. Even if they had any blind spots in their knowledge that Taiichi hadn't covered, he could provide guidance from a higher level.
Right now, they are on a C-rank mission—escorting the swordsmith Kritz out to find inspiration and safely returning him to Kyoto.
This swordsmith named Kritz was said to be a renowned master in Kyoto, but he had a rather eccentric and particularly obsessive personality. I guess that's a trait common to master swordsmiths; anyway, from what Taiyi and his companions had experienced that day, the master seemed quite kind.
This mission was issued by a nobleman in Kyoto. There were no special requirements; they simply needed to safely escort Master Kritz back to Kyoto within 10 days.
This easy and simple task also gave Taiyi and the others more free time. Now it was time to rest again, and the three of them immediately created shadow clones and disappeared into the nearby forest to conduct their respective training sessions.
This has become the norm for a while now, using every spare moment to guide training. Not to mention Yangping and Saori, even Taiichi himself has made significant progress in Fire Release, Taijutsu, Lightning Release, and Sealing Techniques during this period.
Each of them added more than 100 points of experience compared to studying and practicing alone. This may be what is meant by reviewing the old to learn the new, or by communication making people progress.
However, their good fortune didn't last long. Taiichi and his friends clearly underestimated the extent of the eccentric and obsessive nature of Kritz, a fact that was clearly marked on the mission statement.
On the third day after leaving Konoha, Master Kritz's eccentric personality began to emerge. At the morning assembly, the white-haired swordsmith did not choose the flat official road usually taken by caravans, but instead pointed to a winding mountain road on the map.
"We'll be taking this route today." Kritz traced an arc in the mountains with his finger. "They say the maple leaves there are already turning red, that rusty red is the inspiration for my new work."
"Master, you're a swordsmith, but you sound like a painter to me!" Yang Ping muttered to himself.
"What do you know? Any skill, once it reaches a certain level, must find inspiration in nature." Kritz's face was full of longing, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if that maple forest were right in front of him.
Then he turned and stared intently at Yangping: "Aren't you ninjas the same? I often see you ninjas sitting cross-legged in those dangerous mountains and places with unique scenery!"
"Is that so?" Yangping scratched the back of his head, trying hard to recall if he had ever experienced this. "I don't remember at all."
"Half of them are Jonin, or ninjas who have hit a bottleneck," Taichi explained to the group. "They are also trying to understand nature and thereby comprehend the nature transformation of chakra."
"I see!" Yang Ping exclaimed, feigning sudden realization. "Just like Taiyi, when you first grasped the essence of flame!"
"However, Master!" Saori frowned as she looked at the route on the map, circling a section with her finger. "This area is all deep mountains and forests, teeming with all sorts of wild beasts and poisonous insects. You—"
"Beasts! Poisonous insects!" Kritz scoffed, his eyes gleaming with unwavering determination beneath his thick white eyebrows. "I've been forging blacksmiths since I was 10, swords since I was 13, and it's been over 40 years now. If I'm afraid of even this little bit of danger, then I don't need the title of master!"
Yangping quietly tugged at Saori's sleeve and whispered, "No wonder the mission description said he had an eccentric and stubborn personality; it turns out he's fearless!"
Taiyi sighed. He had thought it would be a simple escort mission. He hadn't expected that the difficulty of the mission lay not in the enemies they might encounter, but in the person they were escorting.
These eccentric master-level quests often make some outlandish demands, and are generally a little better than annoying brats.
"Since you insist, we will do our best to protect you. But please follow our instructions and take shelter immediately if you encounter any danger."
"That's more like it!" Kritz looked at Saori smugly. "This kid's words are so much more pleasant to hear."
Ignoring Saori's flushed face, he waved his hand and strode toward the secluded mountain path.
On his back, various shovels and spades clashed and clanged from time to time in his tool bag.
Taiichi stepped forward, patted Saori's clenched fist without making a sound, and whispered to comfort her, "Don't worry about it, just treat it as an ordinary mission target."
"Yangping, let's catch up quickly." With that, he took the lead and caught up with Kritz, who was looking around.
But no one noticed that Saori, who was walking at the back, had turned even redder. This time, however, it wasn't from anger, but rather from Taiichi's intimate actions just now.
The mountain path was more rugged than he had imagined. As the afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows, Kritz suddenly left the path and headed towards a steep slope.
"Master, where is the danger—" Before Yang Ping could finish his warning, Kritz had already lost his footing and slid down the hillside.
Earth Release: Earth Flowing River. Taiichi quickly formed hand seals, controlling the range of the ninjutsu, causing all the rocks on Kriz's slide path to turn into mud.
Fortunately, it was just a small slope with a small drop. When Kritz slid down the slope, he was unharmed except for being covered in mud and looking a little disheveled.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you!" Yangping whispered to Taiyi, "At that distance, you could have easily teleported there and scooped him up."
Taiyi looked at Yangping in surprise. This kid's observation skills have improved, but he still denied it, saying, "How could that be? Protecting the safety of the target is my top priority."
Ignoring Yangping's "say what you will, I just don't believe you" look, she jumped straight down the slope, leaving Yangping watching the show and Saori pointing at her fingertips.
At the bottom of the slope, Kritz, who was still struggling in the mud, suddenly felt his collar being pulled. He then felt a tremendous force coming from him, and before he could react, he was pulled onto solid ground.
"Master Kritz, it's best to be careful in places like this. If this is really a cliff, we won't have time to rescue you," Taiichi kindly advised.
"Quickly, let me go!" Kritz struggled violently, mud splattered all over his body, but his face was full of excitement. "I just saw a piece of high-quality ore, which is definitely the best auxiliary material for forging weapons."
Taiyi let go, helplessly watching the old man rush towards a bare rock, pick up a small hammer and start tapping on it, occasionally listening to the echoes inside.
This is perhaps why Kritz became a master – he was completely dedicated and went to great lengths for his goals.
Before Taiichi could finish his exclamation, Kritz cried out in pain, "Ah!"
The three quickly arrived at Kritz's side, and saw a green snake crawl out from under the old man and quickly swim towards the grass.
Taiyi casually flung out a kunai, pinning down the green snake that had already half-hidden in the grass, and then bent down to check the wound that Kritz was covering.
Yang Ping then went over to examine the dead snake. "Taiyi, it's a five-step snake, highly venomous!"
Upon hearing this, Kritz trembled, his face turning deathly pale. Even then, he clutched the ore he had just picked up, pleading, "Young man, is there any hope for me?"
Just a moment ago he was a kid, now he's a little brother. Taiyi chuckled to himself.
But he still looked up seriously, carefully examining Kritz's face, without saying a word, until Kritz trembled from looking at him, before he lowered his head again to examine his bitten leg.
By this time, Kritz's wound had begun to turn black, and he could barely feel anything when touched. Just as Kritz was about to be filled with fear, Saori quietly nudged Taichi's back with her knee, signaling him to stop.
As expected of a companion who spends every day together, Saori noticed Taiichi's little trick.
Taiyi stopped trying to scare Kritz and took out an antidote pill from his ninja tool bag, handing it to Kritz: "Master, this is an antidote pill from my special envoy. Take it first."
Kritz didn't care about anything else at that moment. When he saw the antidote that Taiyi handed him, he put it in his mouth without saying a word. But after chewing it a couple of times, his whole face twisted together.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to vomit, Taiyi reached out and covered his mouth, and he heard that devilish whisper in his ear: "Swallow it quickly, or you'll have to eat another one later."
Kritz, feeling helpless, forced himself to swallow the medicine in his mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit.
At this point, he no longer felt pain in his legs, and he even loosened his grip on the ore he had been holding tightly.
It felt like my whole being had been elevated; perhaps this is what they call "after hardship comes happiness"!
Taiyi, however, straightened his expression and instructed Yangping to open the water bag. He then formed hand seals and used the Fine Bleeding Extraction Technique to absorb a handful of water, slowly pressing it into the wound to gently draw out the venom and damaged blood cells that had entered the body through the water flow.
A full minute passed before Taiyi pulled the water sphere out of Kritz's body again. The once clean water sphere was now covered in black and red filthy blood.
After this was done three times, when Taiyi finished performing the Minor Ailment Extraction Technique for the last time, only a faint blood-red color remained in the water sphere, and the treatment officially ended.
Taiyi picked up the bandage and skillfully bandaged Kritz's wound. After everything was finished, when Taiyi got up to help Kritz up, he found that Kritz had already focused his attention on the ore in his arms and was no longer concerned about his injury.
Taiichi, Yohei, and Saori exchanged helpless glances. But at least after this incident, Kritz finally learned to restrain himself and stopped wandering around so recklessly.
In this way, Yangping would occasionally fire a fireball to scare away the charging wild boars, and Shazhi would sometimes wield a lightning net to knock down a swarm of wasps. Taiyi would then offer his opinions after they performed the spells, so that they could correct their shortcomings in time and perform the spells faster and more powerfully next time.
Next, after touring the forest of crimson maple leaves, the group, as requested by Kritz, rowed across the vast lake, walked across the expansive fields, and finally climbed the steep cliffs, standing on the towering precipice to gaze at the rising sun.
As the bright red sun leaped above the horizon, Kritz, as excited as a child, kept muttering, "Found it! Found it! This is it!"
Then, Kritz, as if afraid that his inspiration would suddenly disappear, kept urging Tai and the others to quicken their pace. On the contrary, Tai, for the sake of Kritz's health, intentionally suppressed his speed.
Otherwise, if the target's health collapses before everyone even reaches Kyoto, would the mission be considered complete or incomplete?
Even so, Taiyi and his companions arrived in Kyoto on the seventh day. Upon entering the city, Kritz rushed into his forge, dismissed everyone, and announced that he would be going into seclusion to forge swords.
Taiyi and the other two were left standing at the entrance of the foundry, looking at each other with their mission sheets in hand, unsure of who to ask to confirm their mission!