"Get some rest while you can. In an hour, once it's dark, we'll begin the mission."
Nakagawa Ichirō glanced over the three of them and found somewhere to sit. He would not intervene in this mission. Everything would depend on Yechen and his two teammates.
At his words, Ito Miyuki and Abe Rō quickly sat down, each taking out a Soldier Pill and swallowing it. They drank some water and settled down to rest.
Yechen also swallowed a Soldier Pill. It was not that he was unwilling to bring cooked food, but doing so would attract too much attention. He could not let anyone discover his storage space yet.
Although they had ninja tools that could hold things, their storage capacity was tiny. Carrying a few weapons was about all they could manage. Using them for food would be an outright luxury, and no one would do that.
He did not rest. Instead, he leaped up onto a tree trunk, reached the treetop in a few steps, and took out a pair of binoculars to observe the activity on Aconite Mountain.
The location of the bandit stronghold on Aconite Mountain was recorded on the scroll. He only needed to pinpoint it. Surveying the terrain was the first step.
Nakagawa Ichirō would offer no advice on this mission. They had to rely entirely on themselves, and they also had to wipe out more than a hundred bandits. That was no easy task.
Storming the stronghold might be simple, but ensuring that not a single bandit escaped would require a meticulous plan. They also had to keep an eye on Nakagawa Ichirō.
After all, they had no way of knowing whether he would suddenly increase the difficulty by tipping off the bandits.
So, as he climbed the tree, Yechen summoned a Shadow Clone and had him hide in the shadows to keep watch over Nakagawa Ichirō.
His original body had already activated the Byakugan. Pulling anything under his nose would be almost impossible, unless Nakagawa Ichirō could instantly send his own clone more than a kilometer away. But even with his abilities as a Jonin, that was beyond him.
Fortunately, Nakagawa Ichirō had no such intention, though he did notice Yechen's little precaution.
Even the usually stern and rigid Nakagawa Ichirō could not help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
This kid is too cautious. He's even watching out for me. Still, with that mindset, he'll have a better chance of surviving on the battlefield.
Looking back at Abe Rō and Ito Miyuki, Nakagawa Ichirō shook his head. Compared with Yechen, those two were what normal students should look like.
Yechen spent half an hour observing from the tree. The Byakugan was the best reconnaissance tool he had; the binoculars were merely a prop to conceal what he was really doing.
He already had a plan in mind. Just as he was about to act, a notification suddenly sounded in his head.
Ding! A new mission has been generated. The bandits of Aconite Mountain have committed every kind of evil. They not only rob passing merchants, but also abduct innocent women. Mission: Kill the bandit chief, wipe out all the bandits, and rescue the captive women. Rewards: Evolution Points +150, Spirit-Transforming Fruit +5
A mission... Yechen secretly rejoiced, but anger rose within him when he read its details.
He could understand bandits stealing money. Some of them might have been driven to banditry by desperation. After all, this was a time of war, and ordinary people struggled to survive.
But they were abducting women as well. Whatever their circumstances, that proved they were rotten to the core. Leaving people like that alive would only bring more harm.
He landed quietly, and the three of them used the remaining rest time to discuss their plan. They did not involve Nakagawa Ichirō at any point.
Nakagawa Ichirō was happy to stay out of it and simply listen from the side.
"That's settled, then. We'll follow the plan when we move out."
"Got it..." Ito Miyuki and Abe Rō replied.
Another half hour passed.
Fully equipped and ready to go, the three advanced in a triangular formation. Yechen had already mapped out their route. He even knew the location of every concealed lookout. Such was the Byakugan's scouting ability.
He took the lead. Upon reaching a patch of bushes, Yechen expressionlessly reached out with both hands and snapped a bandit's neck.
Crack.
The bandit did not even have time to scream. His body collapsed into the bushes, his eyes still open in death.
Yechen froze for a moment as he looked at the corpse. It was not fear over his first kill. Rather, through his eyes, he could see specks of silver light radiating from the bandit's body.
Could it be...?
Shock surged through Yechen. The bandit he had killed could actually be converted into energy.
Convert. With a thought from Yechen, the silver light suddenly rose from the corpse and flowed into his body.
Evolution Points +3
It really gives evolution points. Yechen was stunned. Killing people could earn him evolution points too. He looked at the corpse again. Nothing seemed to have changed, except that it was now completely cold, without a trace of warmth.
So this is Energy Conversion!
Naturally, Yechen was pleased to have another way to earn evolution points.
"Yechen..." Ito Miyuki called softly from his left.
She thought he was standing there in a daze because his first kill had unsettled him.
"I'm fine. Keep moving."
As they closed in on the Aconite Mountain stronghold, Yechen ambushed six concealed lookout posts, killing twelve bandits in total.
He earned a total of 65 evolution points. This was even more rewarding than completing missions. Of course, he would not slaughter innocent people indiscriminately. Killing villains gave him no qualms.
He also discovered something else: he could not see any energy from the bandits Ito Miyuki and Abe Rō killed. In other words, he could only convert energy from creatures he personally killed or energy-bearing items that belonged to him.