Chapter 48: Escaping and Moving On

Chapter 48: Escaping and Moving On

Above ground, the battle raged on.

Below ground, the vine continued to grow.

Baishi's face was tense, veins bulging at his temples, as sweat dripped down his brow.

Controlling a single vine to grow over 200 meters was a monumental task, made even more difficult by his need to maintain the battle above ground. He couldn't afford to look like he wasn't trying, which demanded all his focus.

Adding to his challenge, he was still under the suppressive effects of the Four Beast Suppression Formation.

The mental strain was overwhelming, and Baishi was nearing his breaking point.

Finally, relief came.

In an instant, the third marker disappeared from his sensory range.

Baishi exhaled deeply, a tired yet satisfied smile crossing his face.

"Finally."

With one last breath, Baishi released his hold on Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, leaving only the single vine buried deep in the ground.

No longer burdened by maintaining the jutsu, he felt a wave of lightness and clarity.

Ignoring the confused looks of the Iwa ninjas, Baishi took a single step forward. Sensing the reappearance of the third marker, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

In a flash, Baishi vanished and reappeared 70 meters away inside a hidden space created by the vine.

Not wasting a moment, he erased the marker on the vine, then locked onto a more distant marker. He activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again.

Three jumps later, Baishi emerged beyond the boundaries of the Four Beast Suppression Formation.

The oppressive weight on his mind lifted, and his sensory abilities expanded. Within an instant, he could sense several markers across a 10-kilometer radius.

Casting one last glance at Ōnoki, who was speeding toward him from the sky, Baishi activated the Flying Thunder God Technique once more, vanishing into the distance.

Ōnoki stopped mid-flight, staring at the empty space where Baishi had been. For the first time in years, the Third Tsuchikage felt a pang of regret.

He berated himself for hesitating earlier. If he hadn't worried about conserving chakra, he could have destroyed the entire forest without hesitation.

But no one could have predicted that Baishi, even under the effects of the Four Beast Suppression Formation, would devise such a creative escape strategy.

Baishi's use of Wood Release and the Flying Thunder God Technique had been ingenious. If not for his quick thinking, the outcome of the battle might have been very different.

Ōnoki cursed his own caution.

With Baishi gone, he turned his attention to the remaining Konoha Anbu. His fury was unleashed, and none of them survived.

---

Time passed swiftly, and three days later...

In the early morning, Baishi arrived in the Land of Iron.

The climate here was far colder than in the Land of Waterfalls. Although it was still late autumn, snowflakes were already falling from the sky.

Walking across the barren wilderness, Baishi found himself surrounded by a world of silver and white—a frozen landscape that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Cold!" Baishi shivered as a snowflake found its way into his collar. Despite his 50-point Constitution, he couldn't help but feel the chill.

"Maybe I should develop a resistance to cold."

Never one to procrastinate, Baishi summoned the system, set the target for Cold Resistance, and began guiding the evolution process while continuing his journey.

Initially, he expected the process to take some time. However, to his surprise, it only took three days for him to acquire Level I Cold Resistance.

The speed of this development left him astonished. Based on his previous experiences, he'd estimated it would take at least a week to develop such an ability.

Curious about the cause, Baishi reflected on his surroundings and soon realized the reason.

The freezing temperatures and harsh winds were the perfect external environment to stimulate his evolution.

This revelation reminded him of his early childhood. Back then, his meager reserves of energy should have made it nearly impossible to achieve Level III Cellular Adaptability in just a few months.

But he had endured constant invasive pressure from Hashirama's cells within his body. That pressure had been the ideal stimulus for his ability to adapt.

Now, the icy environment was serving the same purpose for his Cold Resistance.

As the truth dawned on him, Baishi felt a pang of regret.

"How much time have I wasted without realizing this?"

He began to reflect on the other abilities he could have developed faster.

Abilities like Self-Healing, Poison Resistance, and Enhanced Senses could all have been accelerated if he had subjected himself to the right conditions.

"Why didn't I think of this sooner?" Baishi muttered, frustrated with himself.

After a moment of self-recrimination, he reassured himself, "It's fine. I'm still young. I have time to make up for it."

---

Another week passed.

By midday, Baishi arrived at the northern port city of the Land of Iron.

As expected, the harbor was bustling with activity.

Unlike the Land of Waterfalls, the port here was thriving. The ongoing war seemed to have only increased the flow of goods and people.

The familiar adage, "Where there's war, there's profit," held true even in this world.

Despite the allure of the bustling port, Baishi chose not to board a ship immediately.

Instead, he avoided the harbor altogether, quietly gathering information.

Once he confirmed that the port was still fully operational, he withdrew.

His caution wasn't unfounded.

The Iwa ninjas likely knew of his earlier attempt to escape from the northern harbor of the Land of Waterfalls. A thorough investigation might have led them to guess his destination.

If they had dispatched shinobi to lie in wait at this port, it would make things unnecessarily complicated.

Baishi could handle a few Iwa ninjas, but he didn't want to attract unwanted attention from the Land of Iron's samurai.

He preferred to delay his departure rather than risk another confrontation.

There was another reason for his delay: he needed time to prepare some custom equipment.

The equipment he planned to create was simple—weighted training gear.

If external conditions could accelerate the evolution of abilities like Cold Resistance, then they could surely enhance his core stats like Strength and Agility as well.

Weighted training gear was the perfect external stimulus for these attributes.

In most countries, crafting such equipment would be a challenge. But in the Land of Iron, it was relatively easy.

The samurai here relied heavily on armor and weapons, creating a thriving market for skilled blacksmiths.

With so many experts available, Baishi had no doubt they could meet his requirements.

(End of Chapter)

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