Chapter 18
After confirming his path as a trainer, Gouda Zixu fell asleep peacefully again, leaving his clone alone to practice the power of the Silence Fruit. Apart from anything else, the Silence Fruit significantly improved sleep quality, ensuring not only that he got a good night's rest but also helping his clone master its power.
Honestly, he worked too damn hard.
The early morning sunlight filtered through the leaves like broken gold. Even though he had woken up once due to that dream last night, he still slept soundly through the second half.
"I, Uzumaki Zixu, officially declare this the best sleep aid ever!"
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone rapped on Zixu's door just as he was finishing up in the bathroom. He didn't interact with many people regularly, and even fewer ever dropped by unannounced. The only ones who'd bother knocking this early were Aburame Hatsuizumi and Hyuga Chinano.
Spitting out his mouthwash, Zixu wiped his face with a towel and casually walked to the door.
Meanwhile, his clone—who had actually followed orders for once—was sprawled on the floor, snoring. It was hard to tell whether it had collapsed from exhaustion or just decided to be lazy again. Zixu dismissed it with a thought, then peered through the peephole.
Sure enough, it was Chinano and Hatsuizumi, plus one other person. Seeing no one else around, Zixu finally unlatched the door.
Creak.
He cracked the door open slightly, observing the situation outside.