After reading the Earth Beetle's stats, Shangguan Mo was pleasantly surprised. The once shiny black beetle was gone, replaced by an inconspicuous brown bug. It still had a pair of sickle-like horns on its head. Though it was still the size of his thumb, its abilities had undergone a dramatic change. The ability to control soil to form an earth wall—wasn't that basically another version of the Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall?
The Earth Beetle rested quietly in his palm, its flat, round head facing him, as if it were also observing its creator. Shangguan Mo smiled, then looked back in the direction of his classmates, his brow furrowing. He walked a little further away. He was eager to test the little guy's abilities but was worried about making too much noise.
After walking a few dozen more steps, he noticed the Earth Dragon Beast was still standing where he had left it, with the Iron Hedgehog clinging to its head, looking at him with a pitiful expression.
"Little Dragon, what are you standing there for? Little Spike, come over here!" he waved at them. The Earth Dragon Beast then lowered its raised body and quickly slithered over.
Crouching down, Shangguan Mo touched the back of his hand to the ground and said softly, "Little Shell, let me see what you can do."
The Earth Beetle seemed to understand and obediently crawled from his palm to the ground. Its slender legs hopped curiously a few times, then it looked back at him, its body trembling slightly, as if with excitement. A clear wave of happiness came from the beetle, which surprised him. He nodded at the little guy, and it began to tentatively crawl around. Its current state was like that of a newborn, with a natural affinity for the earth and a curiosity about the outside world.
"It's kind of cute. At least better looking than the Earth Dragon Beast and the Iron Hedgehog..." he thought to himself.
The beetle rolled in the dirt a few times and then fell still. In an instant, he lost sight of it. Its brown color was the same as the soil; it had blended in perfectly. "This invisibility is really not bad. Little Shell, use Earth Wall."
He nodded with satisfaction and gave a new command. The next moment, the soil beneath the beetle began to vibrate rapidly, then gather together. In a flash, a brown earth wall, as tall as a person and smelling of fresh soil, rose up before him.
"Not bad, not bad. The activation speed and scale are very nice!" He hadn't expected a casually synthesized white-quality summon to bring him such a pleasant surprise. He went up and kicked the wall, only to be pushed back two steps by a rebounding force.
Instead of being angry, he laughed and then gave an order to the curious Iron Hedgehog. "Little Spike, test the power of your quills on this wall. Just a few will do. Don't shoot them all at once." Although the Iron Hedgehog's quills could regenerate at an astonishing rate, it still took some time. With the threat of the Jashinists looming, he had to ensure his summons were always in top condition.
Shangguan Mo, trying to sneak back to the group, was still spotted immediately by his instructor. But Inoshita Rino just assumed the boy had gone to relieve himself and didn't say anything. Seeing that his squad was all present, he said, "We've walked over twenty kilometers this morning. Let's push on a bit more, and when we find a village tonight, we can get some proper rest."
"Yes, Rino-sensei."
The sun gradually disappeared below the horizon, leaving only a faint yellow glow struggling at the edge of the sky. Just then, their instructor suddenly saw the faint wisps of cooking smoke rising from the forest ahead. He looked back at his exhausted students, smiled wryly, and said patiently, "Come on, everyone, there's a village ahead. We can ask to stay with the villagers."
The few boys who had been excited earlier were now completely drained of their energy. Hearing this, they just responded with a listless, "Oh..." "Do we have to keep walking, Rino-sensei? I really can't go on..."
Shangguan Mo shook his head slightly. These guys still had a long way to go before they could become real ninja. It wasn't just about strength; their mentality was too weak. But then again, they were only ten years old. In his past life, they would still be in elementary school. He really couldn't judge them by adult standards.
But for some reason, he had a bad feeling. He turned to Li and said in a low voice, "Li, don't stray too far from me from now on. If anything happens, we can watch each other's backs." "Mhm," the girl's pretty face was taken aback for a moment, then she nodded obediently.
After all this time in the ninja world, if he had to name a friend, he felt that only the gentle girl Li could be considered half of one. But it was mostly out of pity for her circumstances, treating her like a little sister.
Just as Inoshita Rino led his eager students to the entrance of the village, his expression suddenly turned grim. His eyes sharpened as he quickly scanned the surroundings and then barked in a low voice, "There are enemies ahead! Everyone, get on your guard! Form a circle and stay alert!"
Shangguan Mo was startled, then discreetly took the Earth Beetle from his pouch and placed it on his head. He silently called for the Earth Dragon Beast underground. "Maintain formation. Stay close to me," Inoshita Rino's voice came from the front, low but heavy.
The group subconsciously held their breath and followed him cautiously into the village.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (110 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (210 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (210 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (100 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (90 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (250 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (100 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (80 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(70 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (50 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.