章節 18: Chapter 18

AN: Should I add Chapter titles?

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The days kept going by and by, mercilessly towards an unknown target.

After years of training, any one will go numb. Entropy, or the second law of thermodynamics, applied in this situation. Homura was getting burnt out. He needed to do something desperately.

But to ask his mom, who took time out of her life and time away from her husband, seemed wrong. On top of a system that constantly nags, Homura was in a bind.

'It's better to keep one's head down. Just shut up and train. It is for your safety after all.'

Those affirmations helped motivate him early on. But as time progressed, keeping his head down meant taking the day off. He was no longer relying on internal motivation. Rather, he required motivation from his mom and from the system.

Akira had long noticed Homura's situation. It's natural for people to feel burnt out after all. She was planning something, but didn't know how to apply it to ninja training.

She wanted to do something akin to how Jiraya trained Naruto. Go on an adventure. Discover new things, new people. Learn about the world that we live in.

Conflict, Akira determined, would be a great motivating factor. After that first scuffle they had a few years back, no one ever attacked them again, thanks to the Third Hokage.

'But how do I create conflict? Should I make him rescue a girl from some thugs? No, to generic. Should I make him fight a rouge ninja?'

'Actually, that wouldn't be bad. Get some C rank low life and pit him against Homura. If things get to messy I'll step in.'

Akira then asked Homura, "Hey sweetie, how would you like to go on a trip?"

Homura, who was feeling dejected just a second ago, started to get excited. "We can? So no more boring runs?"

"Yes that's right. We'll still run, just not as much."

Homura started to fantasize about the adventures he would go on. Yes, it was childish, but in Homura's opinion, anyone would do the same if they were in his situation.

"So where are we headed?"

Akira thought for a moment. "The land of rice!" Actually, Akira had no idea why she said it, as it was the first thing that came to mind.

Homura has a strange expression. 'The rice? That's so random!'

Homura then said, "Why can't we go on an exciting adventure, like going to the land of iron and fighting samurai, or spying on some ninjas deep in enemy territory?"

Akira chuckled. "That's so lame. Anyways, what's the point. You should get stronger slowly and methodically. Not short bursts of improvement."

Homura was shocked. 'Isn't that pretty much how every shonen character gets better? Through random gains in strength?'

Homura was so shocked about that detail, that he stopped what he was doing. Akira noticing that, said, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah sorry I was lost in thought."

"So are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready."

So Homura and Akira set off to the Country of Rice. This country was located north to the Fire country. Small in size, they are not known for their military prowess. However, as implied in their name, they are the world leading rice exporter. They supply 65% of the world's rice, and up to 40% of their citizens work in the rice fields. That is partly why a country such as the fire nation was so hesitant to attack them.

After all, imperialism is not so popular with its citizens that it conquered.

Anyways, the journey would be a long one. Or, maybe not. Homura was not exactly sure on that detail.

AN: In Naruto they never explain how big it is. But based on how long the journey it was for Naruto and company to go to the suna, I would assume it's pretty small. Who ever made the world map for Naruto was tripping. Make it normal sized :/