Naruto: Our Goal Is To Dig Every Corner of Konoha

After the near-disaster in the dungeon, Finn decided that everyone should take a break. He figured that, with some luck, they might even level up soon. The double-upgrade standard was exhilarating.

While using soul strengthening, they could also boost their other stats, leading to a wave-like progression that allowed for double the improvement.

The members of Loki Familia returned to Orario, while the members of Freya Familia, red-eyed, continued their rampage. After all, for them, the feeling of soul strengthening was simply too addictive, and they believed that surpassing Ottar was just a matter of time.

They didn't want to stop, figuring they'd return once they had their fill. These guys were losing their sense of reason. They failed to realize that once they reached a certain level of experience, they'd hit a hard cap. No matter how much they pushed their limits, they couldn't exceed this threshold by too much.

Plus, without updating their statuses with their god, it was impossible to continue improving. While they could grow stronger using souls, it wasn't as efficient as how Loki Familia operated, which meant they were bound to fall behind eventually.

After returning to the Loki Familia's base, Finn admitted his mistakes to Loki. As the leader, he felt responsible for the missteps they had made.

Regarding this, Loki didn't scold him too harshly. She knew it wasn't intentional on Finn's part. Still, Finn had been right. His role as the leader carried enormous weight, and his decisions had the potential to determine the fate of the entire Familia.

Especially when expeditions were launched in phases, any mistake on his part could lead to bigger problems. The role of a captain wasn't just about strength but also strategy.

Finn's ability to quickly reflect on his mistakes impressed Loki. She knew he wouldn't rest until she gave him a few scoldings, so she obliged, but it was more of a formality. Meanwhile, Asahi unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.

"So, the rabbit finally showed up. Should I say as expected of someone raised by Zeus? Down the line, he's bound to neglect Ais and the Xenos, and he'll end up being just like Zeus!"

Asahi has a bad impression of Bell, especially due to the Xenos arc.

In Asahi's eyes, maintaining relationships with girls while keeping them from being disappointed was a skill, a skill Asahi himself had mastered. But Bell's habit of moving on to the next thing was too much.

Now that Bell had arrived, Asahi thought he could lend a hand. Earlier, Bell had been turned away by several Familias.

Bell had always felt insecure about his lack of strength. He never dreamed of joining top-tier Familias like Loki Familia or Freya Familia. In fact, he didn't even attempt to join many powerful ones.

For example, Apollo Familia. Although they weren't particularly strong, with their highest member only at LV3, Apollo himself was manipulative and unrelenting when it came to achieving his goals.

Yet, Apollo still operated within the rules, managing to poach many valuable items and members from other Familias.

With Apollo Familia being prominent, Bell hadn't dared to try joining them either.

Bell's low self-esteem led him to only seek out smaller Familias, but this was counterproductive. But he didn't know that only large Familias had the resources to nurture new talent, and they actively sought out recruits with potential. Joining one of these wouldn't guarantee acceptance, but they wouldn't outright reject him without consideration.

Instead, Bell approached smaller Familias, which were struggling just to survive and had no time or resources to train new members. His strategy was backward, to say the least. Asahi couldn't help but smile faintly as he observed Bell's misguided approach.

'It seems like Bell joining Freya Familia wouldn't be the best move, it's better to give him to Apollo Familia.'

Apollo, with his distinct interest in men and women, could create an intriguing dynamic if Bell were to join his Familia. Asahi also has the idea of Bell joining the more unconventional Ishtar Familia, which could lead to him being targeted by the frog-like leader. It's definitely a different path, but still interesting.

At least, anything seems better than Bell being taken into Freya Familia and catching Freya's eye. Even though Asahi admits that Freya is gorgeous and Bell might benefit from that, he finds it a bit much.

Perhaps having Bell engage in philosophical discussions with Apollo would be a more amusing scenario.

Asahi didn't step in directly, as there was no need to do so. Instead, he subtly guided Bell in the direction of Apollo Familia, not controlling him, but leading him to seek out Apollo Familia on his own.

And, as expected, Apollo Familia was in need of new, talented blood. Like other major familias, Apollo's needed approval from the gods to select their members, and when Bell was brought before Apollo, the god immediately took a liking to the handsome Bell. It didn't help that Bell's timid nature made him seem even more delicate.

Apollo found Bell to be a perfect fit, and Bell, unaware of what kind of Familia he was joining, ended up becoming part of Apollo Familia. Hopefully, he wouldn't be picking up any soap too soon.

Asahi was pleased with this outcome, as it kept Bell occupied in Apollo Familia, away from any troubling developments, and from catching Freya's dangerous attention.

Meanwhile, Ais and the others were busy with their own adventures, running between the new world and the Loki Familia, which reduced the chances of them crossing paths with Bell.

With no damsel-in-distress plotline to save the main character, Bell's Argonaut skill would likely have fewer opportunities to manifest, and his growth would slow. While he still held the protagonist role, Asahi was sure that without those plot-driven moments, Bell's progression wouldn't be as fast, leaving him in Apollo Familia for the foreseeable future.

Therefore, the speed of upgrading and so on will be slowed down. Although as a protagonist, he is still a cheating existence, but this connection cannot be generated out of thin air.

In another twist, Asahi himself decided to approach Soma Familia. Since Bell couldn't deal with everything he handled in the original story, Asahi figured he'd need to step in for some matters personally.

And with Bell now under Apollo's leadership, he wouldn't be involved in other major events, leaving Asahi to take care of things like Liliruca's situation.