Chapter 119: Which Excavator School Is the Strongest
Late at night, at an abandoned mine in the northern suburbs of Kumogakure.
Samui changed into a dark bodysuit, put a basket on her back, and led Yoriichi into the pitch-black entrance.
Yoriichi followed behind her, admiring the curves that appeared faintly in the dim light, and asked, "It might be a bit late to say this now... but won't doing this cause you trouble?"
"Although the Village has officially sealed off this place, as long as we don't make too much noise, the patrol team usually turns a blind eye. After all, even the Sensory Division finds it hard to detect the remaining ore fragments."
"Here." Samui stopped in front of a rock wall and pointed to a thin, cyan-green vein on the rock face. "This is chakra metal ore."
She pulled a small hoe from her basket and began to strike the rock wall. The burden in front of her swayed with her movements, making one dizzy.
Ding, ding, ding—clatter.
She skillfully used the hoe to chip away the surface rubble, picked up a few pieces of ore the size of pigeon eggs, streaked with cyan-green veins, and handed them to Yoriichi.
"Mr. Yoriichi, this is roughly how it's done." Samui wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It will probably take three nights of digging to gather enough for one sword."
Yoriichi took the stones, examined them, casually put them into the basket, and walked to the rock wall.
"As long as we don't make too much noise, it's fine, right?"
Seeing Samui nod, he drew his sword, blue Chakra wrapping around the blade.
"Then let's finish it tonight!"
Swish, swish, swish—
The katana swung out, slicing through the rock wall like tofu, and the vein was instantly hollowed out.
The usually calm Samui looked on with her jaw nearly hitting the floor, then snapped back to reality and began picking through the rubble on the ground.
Watching Samui, who still had to check piece by piece, Yoriichi reached out his hand again.
As lightning-attribute Chakra was released, all the ore containing chakra metal began to glow, becoming clear at a glance.
"Mr. Yoriichi? This..." This move left Samui completely stunned.
"Please hurry, continuously releasing Chakra is quite tiring," Yoriichi urged—though it wasn't actually that tiring, he was just too lazy to do it himself.
While Samui was picking up the ore, Yoriichi secretly activated his Byakugan.
Under the vision of the Byakugan, the surrounding stone walls turned into a translucent gray.
"Hmm... this ore vein is indeed large..."
After admiring it slightly, Yoriichi began to search for the scattered blue fluorescence within the rock layers—that was the remaining chakra metal.
His gaze pierced through the deeper rock walls; at the end of the mining tunnel, there was a thin, long vein. Although not thick, the content of chakra metal was significantly higher than the surrounding area.
"About five hundred meters from here?"
Ten minutes later.
"I didn't expect it to be this simple..."
Looking at the basket full of ore, Samui doubted her life.
Yoriichi stepped over to another vein and took a stance.
"...Mr. Yoriichi? This is already more than enough, let's go back."
Swish, swish, swish—
The katana swung again, and the shattered rock wall turned into ore, covering the ground.
"To borrow the words of a friend of mine:'Since we're already here." Let's collect your and your brother's share as well."
A blush appeared on Samui's face, then it dimmed.
"Thank you." She took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, and continued to pick up the ore.
The next morning, in a secluded workshop on Artisan Street.
"Samui, you... surely you didn't use..."
When Samui and Yoriichi put down the two baskets of ore, the shopkeeper's eyes almost popped out.
"No." Knowing the other party's concern, Samui explained, "This is what I've saved up over several days."
The shopkeeper looked at the ore, then at the two of them, and didn't ask further: "Alright, come pick it up tomorrow."
After the two left, in an unnoticed corner, a white-haired figure appeared.
"Simpler than imagined..."
Crushing, filtering, purifying... the entire process was clearly visible through the Byakugan of the Shadow Clone.
...
Outside the training ground, Atsui saw the two from afar and rushed over—followed by a one-eyed middle-aged man.
"Mr. Yoriichi! I've been selected as a candidate! The selection is tomorrow, and if I pass, I can go to Konoha to participate in the joint Chunin Exams!"
"Kumogakure actually accepted the invitation?"
Yoriichi was surprised inwardly, but his face remained that deadpan expression: "Is that so? Then congratulations."
"Heh heh, this child being able to participate in the selection is all thanks to you, Mr. Yoriichi," the middle-aged man chimed in with a chuckle.
"Mr. Yoriichi, this is Lord Dodai. He says he has something to discuss with you," Atsui introduced excitedly.
Yoriichi's gaze narrowed.
Dodai—an old veteran left behind by the Third Raikage, and also a veteran Jonin of Kumogakure.
"I've long heard of the great name of the Demon Slaying Style swordsman." This elder was very polite. "To be able to teach this child to master a Chakra blade in such a short time, your teaching ability is truly amazing."
Yoriichi shook his head: "Atsui's achievements are mainly due to the foundation he built and his natural talent..."
"That's not it! The things Mr. Yoriichi taught me..." Atsui was eager to interject, but was silenced by Samui covering his mouth.
"You are too modest. I wonder if you have any intention of settling down in Kumogakure? As long as you are willing to open a dojo and teach students, the Village can provide the best venue and resources."
Not just Dodai, but Samui and Atsui beside him also showed expectant gazes.
But Yoriichi still shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Dodai. However, I am still traveling and training, and have no plans to settle down for the time being."
Dodai was silent for a moment, seeing Yoriichi's clear and firm eyes, he didn't try to persuade him further, just sighed: "That is a pity... If you finish your training or change your mind in the future, Kumogakure will always welcome Mr. Yoriichi."
He turned to Atsui, his expression serious: "Atsui, since you've learned his sword techniques, don't embarrass yourself in the selection tournament. If you don't secure a spot for the Konoha joint Chunin Exams tomorrow, you'll be scrubbing the floors for the Raikage for a month."
"Don't worry, Lord Dodai! My Fire Release sword techniques are fired up now!" Atsui punched the air excitedly.
Watching Dodai's departing back, Yoriichi fell into thought.
Kumogakure is indeed planning to participate in this Chunin Exams, and they take it quite seriously.
Once Kumogakure finalizes the list and hands it to Asuma, it will be time for me to return to Konoha.
"Looks like I have to work overtime tonight."
...
That night, Yoriichi avoided the patrol team and came to the abandoned mining area again.
The mine was pitch black. Yoriichi didn't light a lamp, but directly activated his Byakugan and walked towards the vein he discovered yesterday.
"Earth Release: Mining Technique."
A Ninjutsu improved from Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave, making the rock wall spit out the ore.
"Separation Technique."
This time it was adapted from a Detoxification Technique in Medical Ninjutsu—originally a technique to separate poison from the human body, this time it was used to separate pure chakra metal.
One hour later, Yoriichi satisfiedly put away the storage scroll—this was specially prepared for this "zero-yuan purchase".
The amount dug up this night was more than ten times what was dug up yesterday, more than enough for building a Barrier Ninjutsu.
"It's a pity I didn't dig up any divine artifacts or anything like that... but this is reality."
After clearing away the traces, Yoriichi left the mine.
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