Honestly, Tsunade's words were pretty ambiguous.
Don't die somewhere I can't see… so, what, die right in front of you?
Although Yuu didn't think his place in Tsunade's heart could compare to the already deceased Nawaki and Katō Dan, the fact that she was willing to take him as a student and even brought out the Shikkotsu Forest contract for him to sign meant he could at least be compared with Shizune.
And if Shizune died right in front of Tsunade…
That would probably be an enormous critical hit.
Yuu muttered inwardly, but did not say much out loud. Instead, he casually chatted with Tsunade about some lighter topics for a while. Estimating that the timing was about right, he finally left the Senju mansion under her gaze, holding the scrolls he had just received.
On his way out, he happened to run into Uzumaki Kana coming out to collect clothes.
"Oh, Mikami-kun? Visiting Lady Tsunade again?"
"Mm. I just got some study materials from Teacher Tsunade. I'm planning to take them back and read them."
Yuu gestured toward the scrolls in his arms and nodded.
"Mikami-kun, you really work hard. You're clearly still so young, but already so outstanding… Um, could you wait a moment? I have something I'd like to give you."
"?"
Under Yuu's gaze, Uzumaki Kana quickly returned inside and brought out a bottle of dark red liquid shaped like a cola bottle, then handed it to him.
"This bottle contains my blood. It can be used to heal injuries and restore chakra. Back when I was in Kusagakure, they often collected it from me…
"I heard you'll be going to war with other villages soon. I don't have anything else I can give you, so please take this as thanks for saving my life back then."
"…?"
Yuu froze slightly.
This was…
an unexpected surprise.
Although Yuu had a whole set of life-saving abilities and believed he generally would not need to use Uzumaki Kana's blood, this thing was basically a low-grade senzu bean. Its recovery effect was absurdly strong. Even if he didn't need it right away, saving it as a healing potion was not bad.
Besides, even if he did not need it, Rin and the others might. Later, he could also consider getting some experimental equipment from Orochimaru and studying the components in this blood sample. Maybe there would be some unexpected gains.
At once,
Yuu thanked Uzumaki Kana, accepted the bottle, and carefully put it away. Only then did he leave the Senju compound again and return home.
That night,
Yuu first spent some time copying the Water Formation Wall scroll and gifted the copy to Water Formation Wall.
The latter was extremely delighted.
[Water Formation Wall: Wow, is this the new outfit Master bought for me? I'll put it on right away!]
[Water Formation Wall affection +9. Current affection: 68/100 (Intimate)]
[Water Formation Wall: Mm… so a wall of water can be constructed this way too. I understand! Master, I feel stronger and more flexible! The will to protect has never been so clear!]
"Good, good."
Yuu closed his eyes slightly, feeling the faint additional understanding of the defensive essence of water flow appearing in his mind. He was very satisfied.
He had not expected that a gift option that would normally only add 6 affection points would trigger a critical hit with Water Formation Wall and directly add 9 points. It seemed that techniques with this kind of affection-starved personality were indeed easier to攻略. Give them a little benefit, and the return would be doubled.
With this,
the third-stage affection trait should unlock soon.
Compared with Water Dragon Bullet, the Tobirama version of Water Formation Wall was not simplified much in terms of hand seals. It only changed from five seals to two. But the change in form was huge.
An ordinary Water Formation Wall was a wall of water rising from bottom to top, only able to block attacks from one direction. But Senju Tobirama's Water Formation Wall appeared in a circular form, creating a 360-degree defense similar to Rotation.
The difference between a single wall and a circle was not small at all.
Yuu planned to find time another day to practice it and see how it performed in actual use.
As for now…
He sorted the other things by category, placed them into a sealing scroll, then stuffed them into his ninja pouch together with his other tools. Only then did he wash up in the bathroom and go to bed.
Nothing happened overnight.
The next morning,
Yuu said goodbye to his reluctant parents at the door, then left the civilian district with Rin, who was waiting beside him, and arrived at Konoha's village gate. By then, Kakashi and Obito had already arrived ahead of them.
Kakashi still had his usual cold, aloof expression, as if he could not be bothered with anyone.
Obito looked as if he had been dragged straight out of bed. His face was drowsy, and he yawned repeatedly, looking like he had not fully woken up. But the moment he saw Rin, he immediately became excited, waving his arm hard and calling out loudly.
"Rin! Yuu! You're here!"
"Man, Kakashi went to wake me up early in the morning. It wasn't even the gathering time yet! Oh right, what's going on with Asuma and the others? Don't tell me they're all late. It's already this time and they still haven't come?"
"Idiot."
Kakashi glanced at Obito with his dead-fish eye and said coldly, "They already set out an hour ago. To conceal our movements, the teams will leave in batches and only regroup near the southwestern battlefield. Didn't I already tell you that?"
Obito froze. "Huh? You did?"
"As expected of an idiot dead-last. You can't even understand human speech."
"What did you say?! Stuck-up Kakashi!"
The two doomed lovebirds started arguing again, only their vocabulary was poor, like elementary schoolers bickering.
Yuu and Rin exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly, not bothering to persuade them. These two wouldn't actually fall out anyway. Every time, they fought at the head of the bed and made up by the foot of the bed. No one else needed to intervene.
"It's about time… Let's go."
Yuu coughed lightly, interrupting Kakashi and Obito.
"We need to reach the area near Mount Kikyo within two days and regroup there with the other squads and Lord Orochimaru. The trip won't be too easy, so we should set out as soon as possible."
"…Hmph. For Yuu's sake, I won't argue with you this time."
Obito said irritably.
"A dead-last is still a dead-last."
"!!"
…
No matter what, the team began their journey toward the southwestern battlefield.
They had already walked this route three times. The first time was escorting. The second was frontline training. And this third time was when they truly stepped onto the battlefield and became Konoha soldiers.
Although Minato was not there, which made it feel like something was missing, the others were much stronger than the last time they had left the village. So they did not encounter any obstacles along the way. The occasional passing bandits and wild beasts were mostly easily repelled, or retreated on their own.
Halfway through the journey,
Yuu's squad caught up with Asuma's team.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!