After deciding to eat out that evening, Chiba spent the entire afternoon holed up in the underground medical laboratory, studying medicinal properties and trying to improve Higan.
Unfortunately, Chiba's progress was painfully slow.
There were countless varieties of herbs in the Naruto World, and several hundred of them had medicinal properties compatible with Higan. Chiba did not know how many herbs would be needed to improve Higan, and the number and types of herbs gave rise to endless possible combinations. For the moment, he was truly at a loss.
This was not something he could solve by trying every possibility one by one. If he really did that, he would probably spend the rest of his life here.
And even after a lifetime, he might not succeed in improving it.
Moreover, Higan's medicinal effects were already extremely potent. Taking it could immediately send someone into a state of suspended death, their heart stopping on the spot. Poison potent enough to stop a heart instantly was already horrifying.
To alter its nature and produce a new effect while ensuring that its potency did not diminish was not necessarily possible at all.
In other words, Chiba might end up working for nothing. Higan might simply be impossible to improve.
In the end, when dinnertime arrived, Chiba could only burn the laboratory mice used for testing, disinfect everything, and return empty-handed.
"Is your research not going well?"
Yukina's first words when he entered made him pause.
"How did you know?"
Still stunned, Chiba blurted it out without thinking.
"Because of your footsteps. Whenever you're unhappy or have something on your mind, your steps always sound heavier."
Yukina smiled faintly as she spoke.
She can tell that from my footsteps?
For a moment, Chiba was taken aback, finding it a little unbelievable.
"I ran