Under the radiance of the Primordial Spirit, Bai Sui didn't need to experiment or grope around.
He naturally knew what he could do now. Of all his new abilities, the one he valued most was flight.
Though Bai Sui couldn't truly fly yet, the combined power of his spiritual sense and qi let him float. With help from the wind or the qi between heaven and earth, he could even manage to fly with his physical body, though he was slow—slower, in fact, than walking.
Still, it was flight! The freedom to fly by one's own power was a longing almost etched into the depths of every soul.
Next was his spiritual sense. Without leaving his body with his Primordial Spirit, Bai Sui's spiritual sense now reached ten meters in every direction.
Within those ten meters, he could freely manipulate the qi of heaven and earth. Apart from being unable to affect matter directly, he could do almost anything.
He could practically consider those ten meters his own private domain. He hadn't tried it yet, but he felt he could directly disperse or deflect ninjutsu within that space.
Bai Sui could now cast spells instantly. After all, as long as he wished, a mere thought was enough to reshape the qi within range as he saw fit. He didn't know any spells from his previous life, but even the pure application of qi was more than enough.
Of course, the ten-meter range referred to the area in which Bai Sui's spiritual sense could circulate in a complete cycle.
If he didn't form a domain and instead extended his spiritual sense in just one direction, he could reach a hundred meters. His control would plummet, but he could still "see" everything within that radius.
He could even extend it farther, all the way to a thousand meters. At that distance, however, he could only sense the general outline of things and couldn't make out any details clearly.
When his Primordial Spirit left his body, the range increased a hundredfold, but without the protection of his physical body, he was more vulnerable to injury.
With a thought from Bai Sui, the sword that had been stuck in the ground some distance away rose under the influence of qi and shot toward him. Once it entered his ten-meter domain, his spiritual sense guided it in a circle around him before it settled against his back.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!" Even someone like Bai Sui couldn't help but feel happy. He laughed from the bottom of his heart.
His laughter echoed through the forest, startling flocks of birds from the trees that had only just fallen silent.
And so, taking his time in that slow but carefree manner, Bai Sui gradually flew back to the small village.
Hovering above the village, he looked down at its scattered, uneven houses, and a strange feeling rose within him.
"I've been in this world for more than ten years, but I've either been cooped up in the Uzumaki Clan Territory or cultivating in a small village. Before, I had no choice but to survive in this chaotic era because I couldn't protect myself.
"Now, I'm not invincible, but at the very least, I can protect myself. It's time I saw more of this world."
Bai Sui wasn't impulsive. Even though he wanted to leave the village, he wouldn't do so immediately. He would make thorough preparations first.
His first concern was making arrangements for the village. He had lived there for quite some time and had grown somewhat attached to the place.
So he gave his apprentice another round of instructions, entrusting him with various responsibilities. Whether any of it would prove useful was hard to say, but at least Bai Sui had a clear conscience.
After that, he sought out Kubota Noriyuki and told him plainly that he planned to leave the village and travel for a while.
Kubota Noriyuki was already over forty. Though he wanted to go with Bai Sui, he felt the years weighing on his body and ultimately said nothing.
Before leaving the village, Bai Sui infused Kubota Noriyuki with a strand of earth-element qi. It was a parting gift for his friend.
Bai Sui had a premonition that this would be the last time the two of them ever saw each other.
News of Bai Sui's departure caused no stir. Iwai Yasuharu, his apprentice, read the letter and quietly took on the responsibility of serving as the village doctor. Fortunately, Bai Sui had deliberately trained him for the job. With years of experience and the medical books Bai Sui had left behind, he couldn't promise much, but he could at least care for the whole village.
Once Iwai Yasuharu had fully taken over as village doctor, the villagers gradually forgot about Bai Sui. After all, what they really needed was a doctor, not Bai Sui in particular. Who filled the role didn't matter.
Traveling light, Bai Sui brought only a sword and a shoulder bag. Inside were a change of clothes, a few bottles of medicine he had prepared in advance, and some money.
The money had come from villagers who had given it to him as thanks for treating their illnesses. He had two silver mon, along with 5,400 copper coins (one gold ryo = fifty silver mon = 4,000 copper coins).
At the time, one silver mon was worth eighty copper coins. If Bai Sui converted all his money into silver, he would have a total of 68.5 mon.
According to prices at the time, the average daily wage was three silver mon, while food cost about one mon a day and lodging cost about one mon a day. That left roughly one mon in savings each day.
In other words, if he spent nothing but money on lodging, Bai Sui could stay somewhere for at least seventy days, and long-term stays would be cheaper.
Bai Sui didn't head toward the Land of Fields, the closest country. Instead, he traveled west toward the Land of Iron. He wanted to see the country protected by the samurai, who had existed in the Ninja World for more than a thousand years.
Bai Sui had no particular destination. He simply wanted to tour the land, wandering around and learning more about its customs.
The small village was already on the border between the two countries, so he hadn't gone far before reaching the Land of Iron.
He was sure of it because, in the distance, he could see a massive fortress wall.
The fortress was built against a cliff, with countless samurai standing guard atop it. Beyond the fortress, many more samurai patrolled the area. The whole place seemed grim and imposing.
Kubota Noriyuki had told him a little about the Land of Iron, so Bai Sui wasn't surprised. He simply felt for how difficult life must be for these samurai.
Bai Sui made no attempt to hide himself. He emerged from the woods with an easy stride and headed for the fortress gate.
He had been too far away to notice before, but now that he was close, he began to see some differences.
First, the samurai weren't wearing the gas-mask helmets from his memories of his previous life. They wore ordinary helmets instead.
The outfits from the story were likely modified after the samurai had suffered at the hands of Hanzo of the Salamander.
Then there was the fortress itself. It was dark all over. From a distance, Bai Sui had thought it was built from earth and stone, but up close he saw that it was made entirely of metal, with only a layer of anti-rust coating on the outside.
This wall must be at least twenty meters high, and who knows how many miles long. It's made of metal! Even if they only clad the outside with it, the amount of material they've used must be enormous.
Note: The currency exchange rates for the Warring States period are based on those of Japan's Edo period: one gold ryo = fifty silver mon = 4,000 copper coins.
This distinguishes it from the later era of the hidden villages.