Over the next three days, Yechen immersed himself in training. Myriad Forms Clone, one of the Advanced Three Body Techniques, and Void Flash Evasion Technique finally reached level 2.
At level 2, Myriad Forms Clone could summon two Shadow Clones at once, doubling his training speed again.
His Shadow Clones practiced his skills while his real body cultivated his main cultivation technique. This way, he did not have to worry about exhausting his energy.
Of course, Yechen still grew tired. He usually rested for two or three hours before returning to training.
As a result, Yechen's attributes also improved considerably.
His strength increased by 2 points and his constitution by 5, while his spirit rose the fastest, gaining 8 points.
That might have had something to do with his emotional upheaval over the previous two days. Besides, most of his training involved ninjutsu, so it made sense that his spiritual power grew quickly.
He turned his attention to his evolution points. Killing seventy enemies had yielded 310 through Energy Conversion, and with the mission rewards added, he had a total of 460 evolution points.
With so many evolution points, Yechen naturally needed to plan carefully. Ideally, he would balance all three attributes to keep his combat power stable.
Ordinary ninjas focused on practicing ninjutsu as Genin and Chunin. Only after becoming Jonin did they shift their attention to their constitution.
Yechen, however, trained all three at once. His advancement might have seemed slow, but his combat power was anything but weak. He was stronger than other ninjas at his rank.
After spending all his evolution points, Yechen's combat power doubled outright.
System panel: Host: Uchiha Ye Chen Rank: Genin Cultivation technique: Primordial Chaos Devouring Heaven Technique Combat power: 9.8 Strength: 32 Constitution: 32 Spirit: 34 Energy: 340 Bloodlines: Sharingan (one-tomoe), Byakugan (first stage) Talents: Energy Conversion, Amaterasu (1), Space Compression (level 1) Skills: Advanced Three Body Technique (level 2), Fire Release: Great Fireball (level 7), Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique (level 2) Evolution points: 0
With his combat power at 9.8, he was only 0.2 short of the Chunin threshold of 10. Yechen believed his base combat power would reach Chunin level within a few days.
That referred only to his base combat power. If he used all his abilities, Yechen was already strong enough to stand among the Chunin.
It had been only two months, all told, since he came to this world. His rise from a useless nobody to his current level was inseparable from his hard work, but the most important factor was still the talents the system had granted him.
Yechen did not let that make him proud. He continued training relentlessly. A Chunin's strength did not amount to much on the battlefield. Even a Jonin could not claim they would definitely survive, so what reason did he have to relax?
Three days later.
Team 7 gathered in the forested mountains east of Konoha.
"Our next mission is to gather medicinal herbs. Remember, don't pick the wrong ones."
Indeed, Nakagawa Ichirō had accepted another mission that day. Perhaps to give them time to adjust after the previous incident, he had chosen an herb-gathering assignment.
Everyday chores like this were all D-rank missions. They required no fighting and gave the team some time to unwind. He could not push them too hard all at once.
Most herb-gathering missions like this were issued by the Nara Clan, which held the lease on this stretch of forested mountains.
They not only cultivated many medicinal herbs here but also raised a large herd of deer. Deer antlers were valuable medicinal ingredients too, so the combined value needed no explanation.
Thus, even ninjas from the same village could not enter these mountains at will without the Nara Clan's permission.
They were allowed in only because they were Genin who had accepted an herb-gathering mission. Otherwise, hidden sentries would have stopped them before they even approached.
Abe Rō began complaining again. The previous bandit-clearing mission had ended before he had done much fighting, and now they had another D-rank mission. He was thoroughly annoyed. He wanted to fight.
"Stop it, Abe Rō," Ito Miyuki said, unable to listen any longer.
"Wild beasts often roam these mountains, so be careful. Besides, do you think killing people is fun?"
Thinking of Yechen, Ito Miyuki felt that something was very wrong with him today. He had never been talkative, but now his entire demeanor had become unusually cold.
And this idiot was still being so thoughtless. It was infuriating.
"All right, all right, I get it." With Ito Miyuki putting it that way, Abe Rō had no choice but to shut up.
From what Nakagawa Ichirō could see, three days of rest had allowed those two to recover mentally. But he was puzzled about what was going on with Yechen.
Yechen seemed fine on the surface, yet something about him appeared to have changed. His eyes, in particular, gave off a cold feeling, and he treated everyone with unusual indifference. Had the previous incident wounded him emotionally?
At that thought, Nakagawa Ichirō sighed. If the boy could not escape the shadow of that experience, he probably would not get far in the future.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Nakagawa Ichirō led Team 7 on another C-rank mission.
This time, however, they escorted a merchant caravan rather than clearing out bandits. Although they encountered some trouble along the way, it all fell within the scope of the mission, and nothing dangerous happened.
To Yechen's disappointment, it did not trigger a mission.
Today was their day off. Ito Miyuki suggested going out shopping. Staying home and training all the time would make them sick.
Yechen thought it over. He had been in this world for quite some time, yet he had never properly explored Konoha, so he agreed.
No one was happier than Abe Rō. He was restless by nature, and he occasionally showed affection toward Ito Miyuki. Yechen knew the guy had most likely fallen for Miyuki.
That was only natural. The three had faced life and death together and forged a deep bond. Ito Miyuki was not only pretty but also the only girl on Team 7. It had only been a matter of time before Abe Rō fell for her.
As for Yechen, he had no such thoughts at the moment. How could someone who could not even guarantee his own safety talk about love? What could he offer the other person?
Rather than take on another attachment, he would be better off training hard and growing stronger as quickly as possible.