He would be leaving the village on a mission tomorrow, so proper equipment was essential.
Yechen spent an hour buying a few necessities.
Ten kunai, twenty shuriken, ten Explosive Tags, a jar of ointment for external wounds, three rolls of bandages, and a packet of Soldier Pills.
Those items alone cost around three thousand silver coins, more than an ordinary family might earn in a month.
Ninjas seemed to earn hefty rewards, but once the cost of consumables was deducted, they did not make all that much, especially considering they risked their lives.
With his supplies ready, Yechen wasted no time getting back to training.
He summoned a Shadow Clone. Although this doubled his energy consumption, it also doubled his usual training speed.
The Shadow Clone practiced Myriad Forms Clone, while his original body picked up the final scroll, "Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique," and began studying it.
Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique was a secret Sharingan technique. Now that Yechen had activated his Sharingan, it was time to learn it.
The day passed quickly. His Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique reached level 1, beginner, while his Advanced Three Body Technique remained unchanged, with no breakthrough.
Yechen was not discouraged. He had expected as much; the Advanced Three Body Technique would not be as easy to train as its earlier version.
At nine o'clock sharp the next morning, Yechen arrived alone at Konoha's gates.
He spotted Ito Miyuki and Abe Rō from a distance. Both were fully equipped, but neither looked particularly energetic. It seemed they had not been idle yesterday either.
Seeing Yechen stroll over, Abe Rō yawned.
"Yechen, right on time as always."
Yechen did not respond to that remark. Instead, he looked at the dark circles under their eyes.
"What, were you out stealing last night?"
"Tch..." Ito Miyuki turned her head away, took out a mirror, and tidied up her appearance.
Abe Rō slung an arm around Yechen's shoulders.
"Don't even ask. I was excited all day yesterday, and then I couldn't sleep at all last night."
As he spoke, Abe Rō opened his mouth in an enormous yawn, looking as though he was about to swallow someone whole. He was utterly exhausted.
Yechen knocked his arm away. "If you're tired, sit down and take a nap. Teacher Nakagawa won't be here for another half hour."
"You're right. I'll catch a little sleep first. Once we get moving, there won't be any time to rest."
Not caring how he looked, Abe Rō found an empty spot, leaned against a rock, and dozed off.
Yechen shook his head at the sight. And he said he couldn't sleep? I think he just got too worked up.
"Miyuki, do you want to sleep for a while too? I'll keep watch and wake you both when our teacher arrives."
"No need." Ito Miyuki sat down on the grass, opened her backpack, and set a lunch box in front of her. Inside were little pig-shaped rice balls.
"Yechen, come have some. Mom made these especially for me because I was heading out."
Yechen had not intended to accept, but then he remembered that they were a team, and building good relationships mattered too. He sat beside her and took out a Spirit-Transforming Fruit.
"This one's for you. There's another for Abe Rō."
Ito Miyuki accepted the Spirit-Transforming Fruit and asked curiously,
"What kind of fruit is this? How come I've never seen it before?"
"I stumbled across it. It's edible; I've tried it," Yechen explained.
"I never said it was poisonous. Why are you explaining?" Ito Miyuki huffed, took a bite, and then exclaimed how delicious it was.
She also asked where Yechen had picked it. When they returned, she wanted to pick some herself and bring them home for her parents to try.
Yechen could only explain that there were none left. Ito Miyuki was a little disappointed, though she still looked forward to enjoying the sweet, delicious fruit.
The two sat discussing their training while eating the rice balls Miyuki's mother had made.
Half an hour later, Nakagawa Ichirō appeared before them.
"Eating without inviting your teacher? That's not what good students do."
Miyuki reluctantly offered him the last rice ball.
"Teacher Nakagawa, I'm never believing anything you say again. You do this every time."
Nakagawa Ichirō took it without hesitation, popped the rice ball into his mouth, and smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Abe Rō, wake up." Yechen walked over and gave him a nudge.
"Kill, kill, kill! Hokage Abe Rō is here! Who dares cause trouble?"
The three stared in disbelief. Speechless at Abe Rō's antics, they turned their faces away, looking as though they wanted to say, I don't know this guy!
"Hey, wait for me!"
Abe Rō came to his senses, saw the three walking away, and hurried after them.
"Yechen, my good buddy, why didn't you wake me sooner?"
"You were sleeping like a pig. You didn't even notice our teacher arriving."
"I dreamed I'd become Hokage. I was getting really excited!"
The four traveled farther and farther along the main road. Abe Rō was the sort to say whatever was on his mind, bringing a few laughs to the otherwise dull journey.
Toward evening, Team 7 reached the vicinity of Aconite Mountain.
They had traveled all day without stopping to rest. Although their overall pace had not been particularly fast, the journey had still taken a considerable toll on their stamina.
More precisely, it had taken a considerable toll on Abe Rō. Ito Miyuki was faring somewhat better, while Yechen and Nakagawa Ichirō looked completely unaffected.
That was only natural for Nakagawa Ichirō. He was a Jonin, and his physical conditioning was far superior to a Genin's.
Yechen's performance, however, was genuinely surprising.
"Yechen, have you been taking medicine or something? How do you have so much stamina?" Abe Rō asked between heavy breaths.
Ito Miyuki also looked over, wanting to know how Yechen trained. As for taking medicine, that seemed unlikely. When she had sat beside him that morning, she had not smelled any medicine on him.
If someone regularly took medicine, some trace of its smell would linger on them.
"Exercise more regularly, and your stamina will naturally improve," Yechen explained.
In truth, his physical constitution was strong, nearly on par with that of an average Chunin. Travel at this pace was naturally no problem for him.