In those 1 week and 4 days, Yoichi simply took care of his friend's deceased body. Silently mourning each morning as the days of his sorrow were merely eating and looking at his friend with boundless regret in deeper introspection.
Staring blankly like an immovable boulder, Yoichi couldn't help but involuntarily shed some tears with each passing day.
"Is anyone here?" The echoes of an unfamiliar shinobi rang across the cavern.
Hearing those words, Yoichi merely held his friend's body and walked out with a blank expression on his face.
As Yoichi's silhouette emerged gradually, the shinobi didn't even speak. The sensation of sorrow was the only thing the shinobi could feel in Yoichi, dumbfounded in the process.
"...Let's go." Coming into contact with the dew of rain, Yoichi glanced at the gloomy skies before staring at the silent forest, pacing himself alongside the corpse in both of his hands.
Weak! Too weak to even protect someone! If I had the overwhelming power, Haruhiko might be saved by my own hands!
Clenching Haruhiko's corpse tightly, Yoichi's eyes became like a bottomless abyss.
On the other hand, the shinobi eventually escorted Yoichi back into the cart with a heavy heart as Yoichi sat down, carrying his friend all the time.
In Yoichi's mind, the true consolation of Haruhiko was to be buried by his dear friends who made memories.
Soon, the water buffalo trudged slowly through the muddy soil with a cart on its back, going to their destination while the passengers were silent along the way.
...
...
...
For a moment, the cart gradually became deliberately slow until it came to a halt, reaching their destination with a mood that was simply languishing over someone.
"...We're here." With few words, the shinobi commented and stared at the child. At this point, the only solace he could offer was a prayer for the child to get through this traumatic event.
Slowly but surely, Yoichi took off and made his way back into the building with an apathetic expression written on his countenance.
Over the roof, Motoyasu and Hayate, who were waiting for Yoichi to come were shocked before rushing forward with unbounded haste.
"Who did it?! Tell me!" As soon as Moroyasu reached, he stared at Yoichi's face but the child became unresponsive and indifferent, eventually passing the two behind them while walking slowly.
"I'm asking you—" Motoyasu retaliated but he was stopped by Hayate's hand.
"It's better for the child to grieve with his friends. We also have the same experience as the kid, Motoyasu. So don't be insensitive."
Understanding the situation with solace in his eyes, Hayate shared his opinion and patted Motoyasu's shoulder, leaving the place in an instant.
As Hayate stated, each shinobi has their own trauma and hardships they carry over their careers. The problem was how to overcome this experience and make it go away sooner or later.
Even so, some of the traumatic memories were still there and were constantly invading their minds like a tricky nightmare haunting their sleep.
I hope you will overcome this tragic event, Yoichi...
Looking at Yoichi's mournful shadow, Motoyasu shook his head and went his way back to the office with a heavy heart, looming over his entire mind.
"Yoichi!"
In the building, Towa and Hikari yelled while Munekatsu and Genji were completely stupefied, rushing towards the detached visage of their friend.
"... Come on, let's give Haruhiko a proper burial," Yoichi said in a deep voice, and placed Haruhiko's body on the floor.
Upon hearing his words, their pupils dilated in shock as they quivered at the sight of their friend's corpse.
"Haruhiko!!!" With disbelief in their eyes, Towa and Hikari couldn't help but sob while Munekatsu lowered his head as his tears started to slide off his cheeks.
In contrast, Genji angrily grabbed the collar of Yoichi and shouted, "Who the hell did this to him?! Why didn't you help him?! Answer me!"
At this point, their bodies were battered by injuries but their wailing and lamentation soon focused on Yoichi's emotionless face.
"... I did the best I could, Genji. I killed the perpetrators by torturing them to death..." Yoichi bitterly smiled.
However, in his mind, he understood that he could give Haruhiko Qi Blood Pill at the start of the trial and he could essentially look for him in his practice time but he didn't.
In other words, he knew he could do better than that but as they said, "There is no cure for regrets."
Soon, Genji slowly let his hands out of his friend's collar and clenched his fists as the blood trickled in his hands, heavily frustrated and helpless.
The weeping became evident. Towa and Hikari hugged Haruhiko's body, crying out loud in despair while Munekatsu and Genji shed some tears on the side, angry but powerless against the cycle of life and death.
Later on, Yoichi and the rest decided to cremate Haruhiko's body as the shinobi merely approved of the request. As a result, Haruhiko's urn was given by the shinobi in charge of the burial while the rest became languid and lethargic.
"Guys, I'll leave the rest to you. I'll be going out for a while." Yoichi said, with determination filling his eyes.
"...Are you trying to leave us?" Hikari looked at Yoichi's figure and sensed his unusual behavior.
At this point, the impassive expression of Yoichi soon slightly trembled while the rest stared at him.
"Maybe it's your way to remove this grief... But what about us?" Genji added, staring at Yoichi with a complicated expression on his face.
"You know what to do, Genji. You could certainly do much better as a leader unlike me. In honesty, I'm blaming myself for letting this wretched event happen..."
"I need time to move on as you all are required to be stronger, much better than this to prevent any unexpected things from happening once again."
The party fell silent as Yoichi slowly walked out of the room with bottomless gloom in his visage.
I guess it's another farewell.. It's better to leave them out and find another place to cultivate my strength in the meantime. Only Konoha could give me peace in these times of isolation.
There's still nearly two decades before the Second Shinobi War...
Following that, Yoichi's silhouette gradually vanished while the party looked at him with sadness in their eyes.
"... Let's go. He chose his path to strength. As he said, we need power and capability more than ever to prevent this thing again." With Haruhiko's urn in hand, Genji and the rest glanced in Yoichi's direction before moving on to recuperate.
...
...
...
In the autopsy room.
"Hanzō-sama, I request to revoke Yoichi's qualification of being a shinobi!" On the other hand, Kouji was giving a harsh proposal against Yoichi.
From his perspective, it didn't matter if Masaru died in Yoichi's hand. But the provocation and absolute display of mocking earned Kouji's outrage towards the child to a great extent.
"This is a trial of survival, Kouji. If your recommended child didn't even survive, then what's the point of this plan we have?" Hayate threw a mocking glare at Kouji and truthfully shared his opinions.
In other words, if his selected child with all of the resources failed the task, then does that mean Kouji is a failure too?
Hearing this, Kouji's face darkened and he glared at Hayate with intensity.
"Both of you, cease your anger toward each other. You, tell me the autopsy report." After calming them down, Hanzō pointed at a shinobi nearby and wanted to hear the information.
"Based on our recent findings, Sabito died due to tremendous blood loss in his fingers severed and tongue cleaved out of the way."
"As for Masaru, it's even more awful. His tongue was sliced apart by a sharp object and his eyes were gouged by bare hands.
"Also, his four limbs were slowly hacked with the marks of a metallic object, and his penis was ripped then ruthlessly put in his mouth."
"His upper torso also has an etching in his skin which says, 'Is this your last hope?' written in a diagonal direction."
As the shinobi stated the reports, the crowd inside couldn't help but shiver down to their spine while each sentence registered in their minds and imagined Masaru's agonizing misery in that position.
"This is so barbaric! Is this kid born during the Warring States Period?!"
"Hiss... That level of torture was truly something!"
"Is that really a brat or an old man? How could he even think such egregious acts?!"
"Silence!" Hanzō felt delighted. All he demanded was a child like this, cruel and merciless against anyone who dared to cross his path.
"This gruesome event was cruel and barbaric but we can't let another talent go to waste. This case is now dismissed!" After a wave of his hands, Hanzō looked at his subordinates and left in such a commanding fashion.
"But Hanzō-sama..." Kouji wanted to prove his offense but Hanzō's silhouette disappeared without any attention left on Kouji's side.
"Everyone! Leave the autopsy room and do your respective duties..." Motoyasu adjourned the meeting while Hayate sighed in relief, slowly going back to his office only to see someone waiting for him.
Yoichi...
Waiting for quite a while, Yoichi merely sat down with elegance and glanced towards Hayate.
____________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success) 290/500] (+6)
[Mountain Crushing Fist: (Small Success) 28/300] (+5)
[Lightning Spear Thrust: (Small Success) 3/300] (+1)
[Phantom Steps: (Small Success) 47/300] (+3)
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I forgot to write off the proficiency exp in the previous chapter. Sorry for that.
Thanks for reading the chapters and bookmarking the novel! See ya. XDD!