Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 45 The Mission Gradually Becomes Lively

The next morning, before dawn, some members of the caravan woke up and started making breakfast for everyone.

Taiichi got up with the group. Even though they were in the wild, their daily training couldn't be interrupted. Taiichi went to a grove of trees by himself and found a clearing to practice basic physical and sword techniques.

[You have engaged in advanced physical training, and your related understanding has improved!]

Your physical skills have been upgraded, experience points +1.

Congratulations! Your advanced physical skills have been upgraded to Lv1 (0/2000)

[You have improved your understanding of the Hatake sword technique through practice!]

Your skill "Hatake Sword Technique" has been upgraded; experience points increased by 1.

[Congratulations! Your skill Hatake Sword Technique has been upgraded to Lv10 (maximum level), and you have learned the skill: Sword Stance]

【Sword Technique: The spirit is infused into the sword, combining the user's own sword intent to oppress the enemy, causing them to fear, retreat, and become sluggish. In severe cases, it can cause them to fall into hallucinations. It cannot be directly improved. The power is determined by the sword technique level and the nature change of Yin attribute chakra.】

[Congratulations! Based on your insights, your skill Hatake Sword Technique has been evolved to Advanced Sword Technique Lv0 (0/1000)]

With the continuous panel prompts, two important components of Taiyi's combat power finally ushered in an upgrade. This upgrade was significantly stronger than before, and a large number of memories kept emerging, slowly settling into Taiyi's entire body.

Taiyi felt as if he were in a chaotic space, constantly training in physical skills and swordsmanship until he had completely digested all the memories.

At this point, Taichi's skills in taijutsu and swordsmanship were at least comparable to those of a Jonin.

……

"Taichi, training?" Saori greeted Taiichi as he returned home after getting up. But then she noticed something was off and stared at Taiichi for a while.

Feeling embarrassed by Saori's gaze, Taichi asked in confusion, "Saori, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?" He then touched his clean face.

"Oh~ no." Coming to her senses, Saori quickly lowered her head, her fingers awkwardly poking at each other. "It's just that I feel like Taiichi, you've changed a lot since you came over last night. Even your eyes are different."

Taiyi understood after hearing this, guessing that the body had just broken through and hadn't fully adapted yet. "I just practiced swordsmanship and gained some insights. I'll be fine in a while."

"Really? Taiichi, you're amazing."

After a brief hiccup, as time passed, the convoy, like a giant python that had coiled up to rest, gradually came back to life. It stretched out its body and continued yesterday's journey after everyone had finished breakfast.

During this time, Captain Yamaguchi and Yohei were both amazed when they saw Taiichi, but only Captain Yamaguchi knew that Taiichi's breakthrough might actually be quite significant, otherwise his demeanor wouldn't have become so much sharper.

Time passed day by day, and by the fourth day, even Yangping felt bored. Every day was the same repetitive journey, which had long since worn away his enthusiasm when he left the village. Even the jokes of his companions could no longer attract his attention.

Compared to Yangping, Taiyi, who has mastered Shadow Clone Technique, is much better off. He creates a Shadow Clone Technique every day to act as a vigilant agent, while he either practices nature transformations or tries out the sword techniques he has just learned, making his days fulfilling.

Saori, on the other hand, got into Mrs. Ishihara's carriage. Ever since the two of them spoke on the first day, Mrs. Ishihara had been bringing little Ishihara to chat with Saori from time to time, and the two of them gradually became more familiar with each other.

On the fourth day, the group finally left the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Rivers.

"We're entering the Land of Rivers today, so everyone needs to be on high alert. This place won't be as peaceful as the Land of Fire," Captain Yamaguchi warned everyone.

"Yes!" x3

The caravan officially entered the land of rivers in the afternoon. Taiyi could clearly feel that the guards, who had been somewhat lax, had become more vigilant, and the number of people patrolling back and forth had more than doubled.

This caused Taiyi to put aside his cultivation and, together with his shadow clone, to be on guard against the surrounding environment.

Sure enough, not long after, the caravan was attacked.

At the rear of the convoy, a dozen or so bandits dressed in tattered clothes, brandishing broken samurai swords, charged forward with a whoosh.

Completely disorganized and without any formation, this rabble fled in disarray, leaving behind seven or eight corpses, without even breaking through the guards' defenses.

Yangping was the first to notice the surprise attack, but he didn't rush forward; he's currently standing there, stunned.

"How are you? Are you alright?" Taiyi's voice rang out from behind Yangping. Taiyi came to Yangping's side and asked, looking at Yangping's pale face.

"Is this the first time you've witnessed a murder?"

"Yeah, I killed him myself and this is how it turned out. Taiyi, am I really that useless?" Yangping said dejectedly.

This was the first time Taiyi had ever seen Yangping with this expression. Yangping usually had a silly, cheerful look on his face, so it seemed that this time he had really been hit hard.

"Everyone is different, and I believe this difficulty won't defeat you," Taiichi encouraged.

"Yes, I'll definitely be fine." Yangping's emotions came and went quickly.

"Do you think Saori would be terrified if she saw this? She's usually quite timid." Yohei grinned mischievously again.

Taiyi looked at Yangping with an expression as if he were an idiot, leaving Yangping at a loss for words.

At Taiichi's prompting, Yangping looked at the battlefield in the distance—a little girl was dealing with the corpses with everyone, poking and kicking one corpse from time to time; that was Saori.

Meanwhile, Captain Yamaguchi was watching from a short distance away. Noticing Taichi's gaze, the two exchanged a glance, and then both vanished with a bang. It turned out that these two were shadow clones.

Yangping, who remained where he was, was clearly more shocked. He remained silent for a long time before joining Saori in cleaning up the corpses, as he was also used to killing.

The memories transmitted back by the shadow clone made Taiyi smile slightly. He could imagine Yangping's dismayed expression, so he stopped watching him make a fool of himself.

Half an hour later, the caravan, having rested, continued its journey.

But it seemed that all the good luck had been used up in the previous few days, and the caravan was attacked four more times in the following day.

Although no one in the caravan died, injuries were inevitable. This inevitably made the atmosphere in the caravan increasingly tense.

At this time, in the middle of the caravan.

"Captain, something feels off. Is the frequency of these attacks normal?" At this moment, Taiyi's shadow clone came to inquire about the situation.

"This is unusual. The frequency is too high. Even bandits wouldn't cluster together this densely. Go and inform Yangping to stay vigilant." Captain Yamaguchi also expressed his doubts.

"Yes." After answering, Taiyi walked to the back of the group and told Yangping to stay alert.

The only benefit of these intense attacks was that they honed Yanghei and Saori's courage, enabling them to calmly engage in combat in subsequent attacks.

To everyone's surprise, Saori, who was usually timid and cowardly, became incredibly fierce when she fought against the enemy.

The kunai dance was deadly, and the lightning release was domineering and intense. After watching Taiichi and Yohei's battle, they spoke to Saori in hushed tones.

This made Saori feel embarrassed, and she poked even faster with her two little fingers.

This continued for more than a day, and just when everyone thought that the attacks were all so mild and relaxed their vigilance, the real attack was about to begin.