Hyuga Aokawa turned to look at the three people who were still in a state of shock and spoke up.
"Let's go, it's time to head back."
The three of them finally nodded blankly, as if waking from a dream.
Suppressing their exhaustion, the four of them quickly gathered potentially valuable intelligence and supplies from the chaotic mess on the ground.
Afterward, they dared not linger for a moment and fled at full speed toward the Land of Fire.
After running wildly for a full day and night, they were finally far away from the city where the incident occurred.
Only then did the four dare to stop, collectively breathing a sigh of relief.
However, after successive battles and a long journey while injured, everyone was already at their limit.
The sky had darkened before they knew it.
They found a relatively hidden clearing in a dense forest and decided to camp there.
But since they weren't completely safe yet, they didn't dare to start a fire.
They could only gnaw on dry rations with cold water before each finding a place to rest.
Hyuga Aokawa leaned against a large tree and closed his eyes in exhaustion, but his consciousness sank deep into his Sea of Consciousness.
It was only now that he had the time to check the rewards given by the Stone Gate.
In his Sea of Consciousness, the Stone Gate shimmered with strands of light, transforming into clear text.
[Exiting the city gate with wisdom and easily counter-killing; you have gained Favor]
[Chakra Thread Condensation Manipulation Technique (Adept Level) *1]
[Puppet Manipulation Technique (Adept Level) *1]
[energy crystal *180]
Looking at the description, it seemed to be for killing that hot-tempered female pursuer.
[Bravely saving companions with a benevolent medical heart; you have gained Favor]
[You have activated the Yin Release Chakra attribute]
[Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Adept Level) *1]
[Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death (Adept Level) *1]
[You have obtained the Fire Release Chakra attribute]
[Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Adept Level) *1]
[Fire Release Chakra Shape Transformation (Adept Level) *1]
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique (Adept Level) *1]
[energy crystal *330]
[Cleverly using the terrain to win with fewer numbers; you have gained Favor]
[Puppet Manipulation Technique Experience *1]
[Your Puppet Manipulation Technique has been upgraded to Proficient Level]
[Chakra Thread Condensation Manipulation Technique Experience *1]
[Your Chakra Thread Condensation Manipulation Technique has been upgraded to Proficient Level]
[Summoning Technique (Adept Level) *1]
[energy crystal *680]
"What a massive harvest!" A surge of joy welled up in Hyuga Aokawa's heart.
There was so much text that it even made Hyuga Aokawa feel tired just reading it.
He had never had such a large harvest before.
As expected, one really has to go out and cause trouble by cutting people down more often.
This mission yielded over a thousand energy crystals in total.
He also gained two Chakra attributes: Yin Release and Fire Release.
Now he could say he was a six-attribute Ninja.
Moreover, he now had Proficient-level Chakra Threads and Puppet Manipulation Technique.
He couldn't wait to open his personal information panel.
---
racial imprint: Quincy (Normal, Fusion Degree: 94.02%+)
Innate Skill: Reishi Gathering
Racial Skills: Holy Arrow, Holy Arrow: Scatter, Reishi Network
Emblem: Innate Full Spirit Power
Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan
Chakra Attributes: Water, Lightning, Earth, Fire, Yang, Yin
energy crystal: 1230
---
"Over 1,200 energy crystals, that's enough."
With a thought, he unhesitatingly poured the energy crystals into increasing his Fusion degree.
As the number of crystals decreased, the Fusion percentage began to grow in leaps and bounds, finally settling at 100%.
[Your Imprint Fusion degree has reached 100%; you have unlocked new racial skills]
[You have obtained the racial skill: Holy Arrow: Demon Break]
[You have obtained the racial skill: Hirenkyaku]
[Holy Arrow: Demon Break—Highly concentrated reishi, condensing a normal Holy Arrow into a high-powered, single-target sniper-type arrow. It possesses extreme range and immense piercing power.]
[Hirenkyaku—The high-speed movement technique of the Quincy. Through Reishi Gathering, reishi from the atmosphere is concentrated under the feet, allowing the user to instantly transport their body to another location. The more dense the gathered reishi and the stronger the reishi control, the faster the movement speed.]
[Quincy (Normal) has been fully fused]
[You have fully mastered the power of a normal Quincy and possess the foundation to improve your Aptitude]
[Please obtain more energy crystals to open the Stone Gate and gain even greater power]
[energy crystals required to open the Stone Gate next time: 2000]
After reading the prompts, Hyuga Aokawa felt a wave of relief.
Fortunately, he had decided from the beginning to prioritize using energy crystals to increase his Fusion degree, only considering opening the Stone Gate if there was a surplus.
Otherwise, after painstakingly accumulating energy crystals, he would have ended up having to increase his Fusion degree anyway, which would have been a loss.
The '+' sign behind the Fusion degree had disappeared.
He shifted his gaze to the energy crystal column, where 1,110 remained lying quietly.
Eh?
It consumed 120?
It seemed 1 was rounded up.
However, Hyuga Aokawa didn't dwell on it; his attention was completely captured by the new skills.
Hirenkyaku went without saying.
It was the core movement skill of a Quincy from the early stages all the way to the Late Stage.
Controlling the reishi under one's feet to transport the body meant having a foothold anywhere at any time.
Even in mid-air, one could Move forcefully.
This was countless times stronger than the Body Flicker Technique he was currently using.
As for Holy Arrow: Demon Break, this was another skill not mentioned in the Shinigami series.
But looking at its description, it could greatly increase his range.
Although the range of the Chakra Arrow he currently condensed could be increased to 700 meters through charging—barely beyond the visual range of an ordinary Ninja—
In the Ninja World, due to the existence of Chakra, 700 meters was just a blink of an eye for a Ninja.
A range of 700 meters was still not safe enough in front of top-tier experts in the Ninja World.
If the range could be increased again, it would greatly improve his margin for error.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Hyuga Aokawa simply stood up and summoned his Spirit Bow, preparing to try out the new skill.
A flash of blue-white light immediately alerted the other three.
"Is there a situation?" Yūhi Shinku instantly became alert and asked in a low voice.
"Sorry, sorry," Hyuga Aokawa quickly explained. "I just wanted to try out a new Move I just thought of."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they still looked at him curiously.
Hyuga Aokawa activated his Byakugan, concentrating his ocular power to scan the surrounding environment.
Although experimenting with skills now was a bit risky, he would feel more at ease knowing the limits of his skills sooner.
Besides, having scanned with the Byakugan once, there shouldn't be much of a problem.
After confirming there were no signs of people in the vicinity,
Hyuga Aokawa began to continuously inject Chakra into the Chakra Arrow and used his newly realized technique to perform extreme compression.
The Chakra Arrow, which originally shimmered with light due to energy dissipation, gradually became more restrained and stable.
The sense of familiarity in Hyuga Aokawa's heart grew stronger and stronger.
A moment later.
An extremely restrained, almost physical Chakra Arrow was completely formed.
Unlike ordinary Chakra Arrows that emitted light because of energy dissipation, the Demon Break arrow emitted an extremely restrained halo throughout its body.
The tail of the arrow also extended into four exquisite energy tail fins.
If an ordinary Holy Arrow was a light arrow composed of unstable energy,
Then the Demon Break arrow condensed energy into a highly concentrated physical arrow, with power and stability far exceeding that of a normal one.
His eyes widened as he realized in an instant.
Wasn't this the kind of arrow that Ishida Uryū could only condense in the Late Stage Blood War arc?
Although the degree of energy condensation was nowhere near that of the Late Stage Ishida Uryū,
Its materialized form was already very similar.
It was indeed reasonable for an early-stage ultimate Move to become a basic attack in the Late Stage.
He took a deep breath, pulled the bowstring to a full moon, and then released it.