The southern trade town was far livelier than Shinra had initially expected.
The town streets remained lively even as the afternoon sun gradually began descending overhead. Compared to the tense atmosphere surrounding the team yesterday, the current surroundings felt strangely peaceful.
Yogi walked at the very front of the group with both hands resting behind his head as though they were merely ordinary tourists instead of shinobi returning from a C-rank mission.
A short while later, Team Eight eventually stopped in front of a large wooden building positioned near the far end of the street. Steam quietly rose from several vents across the rooftop while the faint sound of flowing water could already be heard from inside.
"We have arrived. Try not to start any fights while we're here," Yogi said casually. "I'm too lazy to fill out extra paperwork today."
Hyori frowned slightly. "You say that as though you expect us to cause problems."
"Inumaki looks like the type."
Inumaki stared at him blankly. "How?"
"You have an unfriendly face, and you're always so silent it makes you look like a delinquent."
"…I do?"
Yogi didn't answer and pulled a straight face, while Yoshimaru barked once beside them.
Shinra silently followed behind the group while calmly observing the surrounding streets. It appeared that shinobi aren't treated as differently as other civilians, the look they gave to them was the same gaze that someone shows to a soldier: respect and a little fear.
Yogi casually tossed a small pouch of money toward Hyori afterward.
"Go pay the entrance fees."
"…Why me?"
"Because I'm the jōnin instructor. Delegating responsibility is part of leadership."
"That sounds cheap."
"I am cheap."
Hyori stared at him silently for several seconds before eventually walking toward the counter without further argument.
Several minutes later, the group finally entered the hot spring facility.
The atmosphere inside was considerably quieter compared to the noisy streets outside. Warm steam drifted through the air while soft lantern light illuminated the wooden hallways. The smell of burning incense mixed with the steam, creating an oddly calming atmosphere after the tension of the previous mission.
Shinra quietly changed clothes before stepping into the outdoor section of the hot springs alongside Yogi and Inumaki.
The moment the warm water touched his body, the lingering stiffness throughout his muscles gradually began relaxing.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
The only sounds were the quiet flow of water and Yoshimaru paddling lazily through the edge of the spring nearby.
Yogi leaned back against the stone wall afterward while letting out a long sigh.
"…Now this," he muttered in bliss, "is true peace."
"Sensei, you seem more like a typical Nara than a Yamanaka," Inumaki commented calmly.
"Maybe." Yogi smirked afterward. "Don't tell me you've been thinking of a comeback ever since I called you unfriendly."
Inumaki's face reddened slightly.
"…I wasn't."
"Sure."
Shinra quietly lowered himself deeper into the water afterward while staring toward the steam slowly rising into the evening air above them.
"Shinra."
Yogi's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Shinra glanced toward him.
"You were using your sensory field throughout almost the entire escort mission, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"My chakra control becomes noticeably worse if I maintain the field continuously while moving," Shinra answered honestly. "Since I wasn't using any ninjutsu during the battle, I was barely able to maintain both simultaneously."
Yogi nodded lightly.
"A sensory field covering a stationary area and one moving alongside your body are completely different things." He looked toward Shinra again afterward. "Your brain has to continuously process new information every second while adjusting the field simultaneously. During combat it becomes even worse. If you become distracted for even a moment, it could be fatal."
Shinra thought about yesterday's battle briefly before nodding.
Earlier during the fight, he had indeed felt a faint sense of discomfort while maintaining the field and fighting simultaneously.
"Most sensory types eventually learn how to filter unnecessary information automatically." Yogi tapped the side of his head lightly afterward. "Otherwise they either exhaust themselves mentally or go insane."
Yogi then shifted his attention toward Inumaki.
"Your earth wall yesterday was too slow."
Inumaki frowned slightly.
"The speed of forming hand seals wasn't bad, but it seemed like you had hesitated before using the jutsu," Yogi continued casually. "Against ordinary bandits it doesn't matter much. Against actual shinobi, hesitation like that gets people killed."
Inumaki nodded quietly afterward.
Shinra silently listened to the conversation while leaning back against the stone edge behind him.
For the first time since yesterday's battle, the tension lingering within his body gradually began fading completely.
Several moments later, Hyori's irritated voice suddenly echoed faintly from the women's side of the springs.
"Yogi-sensei, stop talking so loudly."
Yogi blinked once.
"You can hear us from there?"
"Yes."
"Wow, I didn't take you for the peeping type. Who do you have your eyes on, is it me by any chance? Then I'll have to disappoint you. I'm not into little girls."
A wooden bucket suddenly flew over the divider toward his head.
Yogi tilted sideways, allowing it to miss him completely before it splashed into the water behind him.
"…I didn't expect girls from the Hyūga clan to be so violent."
"Shut up."
A while later, Yogi eventually exited the hot springs and headed off to change, leaving only two boys and a very relaxed ninken remaining in the water.
Several quiet moments passed afterward.
Then Inumaki suddenly looked toward Shinra.
"…Shinra."
"Hmm?"
"Do I actually have an unfriendly face?"
Shinra silently stared at him for several long seconds before eventually shaking his head lightly.
It appeared that this teammate of his was unexpectedly sensitive about such things.