Thank You

Hearing Yato's demands, Riku stayed silent for a while before speaking in an indifferent tone. Yet Yato noticed a hint of desire behind its words.

"Without us, you still can't get the core of the Ryūmyaku. The energy contained in it is beyond your imagination."

"100%. Give us 100% of the energy, and we will provide you with a safe route to enter the core and help you absorb it."

The being possessing Riku sounded confident that Yato wouldn't be able to reach the core without their help.

Seeing Yato remain silent, Riku continued.

"The core of the Ryūmyaku has the effect of evolving your cells. After fusing with the core, the energy in your body will increase constantly, transforming your body and bringing you closer to nature. By then, you'll be able to access natural energy."

Yato frowned, processing Riku's words.

He didn't know enough about the Ryūmyaku, its energy, the dangers it held, and its effects on him after absorbing it. But he didn't doubt Riku's words, as there was no reason for such a being to lie to a mortal like him.

It would be a lie to say that Yato wasn't tempted by the offer. The promise of providing a safe route in addition to helping him absorb the energy was exciting, but he was still unwilling to give in completely and wanted to negotiate.

"70%. I can only give you 70% at most."

"With your speed of progress, even when the Fourth Great Ninja War breaks out, you can only absorb 10% of the Ryūmyaku's energy at most. Any more will overflow and be wasted!"

"But if you merge with the core, within a year, the energy in your body will rival that of the tailed beasts. You're a smart person; you should know what is best for you."

"Then I'll take 10%!"

Yato stopped negotiating and directly agreed to Riku's terms.

He had underestimated the energy contained in the Ryūmyaku, not realizing that even with more than ten years of practice, he could only accommodate 10% of its energy.

His DNA had been modified, giving him chakra capacity far beyond that of ordinary people, though not as high as the Uzumaki clan. According to the being, just 10% of Ryūmyaku's energy could make his chakra comparable to a tailed beast. He would be the stupidest man alive if he refused such an offer.

Riku's indifferent expression changed to one of rare hesitation, as one-tenth of the energy was immense, beyond anyone's imagination, and he didn't want to give it up easily.

But seeing the firm look on Yato's face, he knew he wouldn't be able to get any higher percentage. So, in the end, he gave up and didn't try to renegotiate. If he continued to push, the deal would likely fall through.

"So, would you like to purchase [Energy Absorption]?"

"No, I'll do it later." Yato immediately refused. He didn't plan to go to Loran anytime soon, so there was no reason to waste his precious Talent Points on something he wouldn't use for years. When the time came for the trip, he was confident he would have enough TP to buy the card.

"When you leave for Loran, we will start another deal!" Riku said, not pressing him to buy the card.

Yato nodded and continued skimming through the list, but in the end, he only bought A-Rank Fire, Wind, and Lightning Chakra affinities, which cost him 4000 TP each.

After closing the shop, Riku's eyes seemed to gain light and clarity, indicating that he had returned to his normal self.

As soon as Riku saw Yato, it jumped into the air and asked, "Are you finally going to leave Konoha? When are you leaving now? Do you want to say goodbye to Hanabi?"

"When I'm strong enough."

Ignoring Riku's intentional remarks, Yato lay back on the bed. The trip to Loulan wasn't urgent; there was still much for him to gain by staying in Konoha.

*****

The next day, after his fever subsided, Yato returned to Ninja School.

His injury wasn't severe because [Potential Explosion] had strengthened his body fivefold. If not for the aftereffects, he wouldn't have been weak enough to develop a fever. A few days of rest would suffice for recovery.

Class A of the first year was still noisy, oblivious to the recent tension in Konoha.

Yato blended in, pretending to know nothing and acting as if everything was normal.

His age was his best protection. Even a suspicious person like Danzo wouldn't suspect that the rogue Ninja who destroyed the Root was a seven-year-old child.

"Yato, good morning!" Hanabi greeted him with a smile as she took her seat.

She seemed to love laughing, especially around him.

Yato, without replying, pulled out his stool and sat down.

"Are you feeling better? Don't push yourself too hard."

Hanabi was used to his silence. Instead of being offended, she spoke in a more caring tone.

"Don't worry about the coursework; I took notes for you. Here are yesterday's notes, though there were only morning classes."

Yato took the notes but remained silent.

Some say that handwriting reflects a person's character, and seeing it is like seeing their face. Yato wasn't sure if this was true.

But upon opening the notes, he saw that Hanabi's handwriting was indeed beautiful. It wasn't sharp, but it had a generous and decent feel.

"Thank you."

He suddenly thanked her, unsure if it was for yesterday's or the notes.

Riku, on his head, grinned widely but didn't comment; he just looked at him like a proud father.

"No... You're welcome..."

Hanabi, usually more assertive, now felt her heart pounding, almost transforming into her sister Hinata as she hurriedly lowered her head.

After a while, she glanced at Yato, but he was indifferently flipping through the notes as if nothing had happened.

This made her a little discouraged. She held her cheeks with both hands and stopped looking at him.

Yato ignored her and continued flipping through his notes, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Life in the school has settled down. The kids who wanted to trouble me stopped after being taught a few lessons."

It seemed he no longer needed to spend much time at the ninja school.

He planned to focus on improving himself. He would leave a shadow clone at the school to keep up with theoretical knowledge. The fight with Susanoo made him realize his many shortcomings.

Even with five times his strength, he still couldn't break Susanoo, and he was outmatched. That wasn't even the real Susanoo. The perfect Susanoo was extremely powerful, capable of splitting mountains and making the five Kages despair.

"To challenge the perfect Susanoo, I must master Armament Haki!"

Armament Haki, from the One Piece power system, allows users to hit Logia-type Devil Fruit users, nullifying their elementalization, and it also enhances both defense and attack.

Those who practice Armament Haki to the extreme have bodies like invincible armor, impervious to swords, guns, and fire.

Had he mastered Armament Haki during his fight against Shisui, he wouldn't have feared Susanoo. He could have used the gravity fruit's properties to strike from a distance and crush Shisui.

"Additionally, practicing observation haki should be prioritized." The illusion Naraku-Ken no Jutsu used by the Root Ninja was common in this world and far less powerful than Uchiha clan illusions.

Yet, it still made him lose focus, nearly resulting in his death.

If it had been Itachi or any Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan, he might have been killed on the spot.

He didn't want to experience such a mistake again.

Thus, he needed to practice Observation Haki as soon as possible, as it would allow him to fight even with his eyes closed.

However, practicing Haki is easier said than done.

He had been studying Haki for a long time but still couldn't grasp the technique.

This might be because he wasn't strong enough or lacked combat experience.

After the fight with the Root, mastering both types of Haki became his most pressing goal.

"Physical training can't be neglected. After using the Talent Explosion card, my physical strength dropped by one third."

Even though his physical strength dropped, Yato wasn't disappointed, as yesterday's rewards outweighed the loss. Instead, he focused on planning training that would help him regain his strength as fast as possible.

Thinking of this, Yato's resolve strengthened, and he decided not to stay in the ninja school any longer.

"By the way, Yato, there's a practical class today. You just recovered, so should I ask Teacher Iruka for leave on your behalf?"

Hanabi, who was originally sulking, turned and spoke with concern.

She remembered there was a practical class today involving a one-on-one fight.

"Just focus on the lesson. You don't need to meddle in my business."

Yato closed the notes and returned them to Hanabi.

Usually Yato would have ignored Hanabi's words and treated them like he didn't hear anything, but today he answered her back. Even though most of them were rude remarks, he was still answering.

Yato might not have noticed, but Riku, who was watching, smiled.

'You should be more honest with yourself.' Riku though.

Unaware of Dokkaebi's thoughts, Yato changed his mind about sending the shadow clone to handle the school.

"It's not that I've changed, but the conflict between Uchiha and Konoha is about to break out. If someone discovers the shadow clone now, it will only cause trouble."

He found this excuse for himself and felt at ease.

*****

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