Madara: You Go Deliver Qingyu and Izuna's Swordsmanship

However, to change the fate of Hatake Sakumo, the most important factor remains his own state of mind.

If Hatake Sakumo possessed the same resilience as Sasuke—who endured the annihilation of his entire clan and awakened a Sharingan tomoe in his rage—then mere gossip and rumors would have had no power over him.

At this moment, Kakashi suddenly sought out Qingyu.

"I have decided to graduate early."

Qingyu was not surprised to hear this from Kakashi.

Instead, he replied:

"Then I shall accompany you when the time comes."

Remaining at the Ninja Academy was a waste of time for Qingyu as well.

It would be far better to accompany Kakashi on missions and trigger more traits.

These traits provided percentage-based bonuses; once Qingyu's base stats grew, he would be able to snowball his growth.

"I knew you would."

There was a hint of pleasant surprise in Kakashi's tone.

In his eyes, the only person in the entire Ninja Academy capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him as a genius was Qingyu.

As for Might Guy, he counted as half a genius at best.

Although he felt that Might Guy's taijutsu was indeed strong and he was a decent person, the fact that he specialized solely in taijutsu would, no matter how one looked at it, become a massive flaw in the future.

But Qingyu had absolutely no shortcomings.

"Right, there is one more thing."

Kakashi pulled a folded piece of paper from his ninja pouch. Upon unfolding it, it was densely covered with sketches of jutsu formulas.

Qingyu leaned in to take a look and discovered that it was all research regarding the nature transformation of Lightning Style chakra.

"I recently discovered that I seem to have a bit of talent for Lightning Style."

Kakashi pointed to a spot on the diagram that had been circled several times, a rare trace of excitement in his voice.

"I am attempting to generate a large amount of Lightning Style chakra at once to stimulate these cells, thereby exciting the body's vitality. In this way, the activated cells will be able to contain a much larger volume of chakra."

Qingyu listened to Kakashi's words.

It sounded a bit like trying to lift oneself by pulling on one's own boots, but in reality, this was the prototype for the Chidori!

Lightning Style chakra was more unique than the other basic elements of Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth because it could stimulate the body's cells!

Kumogakure's "Lightning Chakra Mode" operated on a similar principle: using Lightning Style chakra to stimulate cells, thereby increasing physical vitality to drastically enhance speed and strength.

In the original story, Kakashi didn't develop the Chidori until he was twelve or thirteen. How old was he now?

Qingyu suddenly realized a possibility: could it be that his own existence had placed greater pressure on Kakashi, causing his talent for Lightning Style to be triggered ahead of schedule?

"I think this direction is very promising."

Qingyu patted Kakashi on the shoulder, his tone as sincere as it could possibly be.

"Kakashi, I fully support this decision of yours."

Qingyu was thinking that once Kakashi mastered it, he could simply copy it—wouldn't that mean he would master it as well?

[Trait collectible detected: Lightning Style Genius]

[D-rank trait: Lightning Style Genius]

[Effect: Possess Lightning affinity; training speed for Lightning Style ninjutsu increased by 40%.]

Looking at the text floating before his eyes, the smile on Qingyu's face became even more genuine.

Kakashi looked at Qingyu with some confusion, not understanding why the other had suddenly become so happy.

He looked down at his messy sketches, then back up at Qingyu's smiling face, feeling that something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Regardless, Kakashi was happy to have a close friend like Qingyu.

"Once I develop this jutsu, you will be the first person I spar with."

"I shall await it at any time."

Qingyu withdrew his hand and watched as Kakashi departed.

Lightning Style Genius—this trait had come at just the right time. He possessed the Sword of the Thunder God left behind by Senju Tobirama, and with his Lightning affinity chakra, he should be able to wield it much more smoothly.

Graveyard Mountains.

In the dim underground space, Madara Uchiha sat upon a massive wooden chair.

A White Zetsu emerged from the ground and, as it did daily, began reporting intelligence from the ninja world to Madara Uchiha, much like a daily news briefing.

Among the reports, the White Zetsu focused heavily on the section regarding Qingyu.

Over the past six months, from Qingyu following Maruboshi Kosuke to train in Konoha-Style Swordsmanship, to his grades at the Ninja Academy, and his daily sparring sessions with Kakashi, Might Guy, and others—every detail was reported.

After listening, Madara Uchiha remained silent for a long moment.

The speed at which Qingyu's swordsmanship was developing was even faster than he had anticipated.

Although that commoner Maruboshi Kosuke was only a Genin, his actual strength was quite decent, making him more than qualified to teach the current Qingyu.

Suddenly, Madara Uchiha felt a stir of intent.

Izuna's swordsmanship had remained dormant in his hands for far too long.

Those exquisite sword techniques had not appeared under the sunlight of the ninja world since the day his younger brother died.

Now, he had found a suitable successor.

The way Qingyu held his blade, those black eyes—all of it made Madara Uchiha unable to help but take a few extra looks.

He wanted to pass on a portion of Izuna's swordsmanship to Qingyu to see if this child could truly comprehend it.

This could also be considered early cultivation.

As the one who controlled a massive intelligence network across the ninja world, Madara Uchiha knew very well that war was approaching.

Friction between the Five Great Nations was becoming increasingly frequent, and small-scale conflicts at the borders had been ongoing for quite some time.

A true, full-scale war would arrive within these few years at most; it was not far off.

He certainly did not want Qingyu to die on the battlefield just like that.

Moreover, reviving Izuna's swordsmanship could be considered a way to let Izuna live once more in the ninja world.

With that, Madara Uchiha took a scroll from his robes.

That scroll was already quite old, with no markings on the cover, but he could recite its contents from memory even with his eyes closed.

Inside were some of the sword techniques Izuna had used during his lifetime.

"Black Zetsu."

Madara Uchiha called out.

Black Zetsu emerged from the shadows, took the scroll handed over by Madara Uchiha, looked down at it, and then looked back up at Madara Uchiha's aged face.

Black Zetsu was also left speechless.

He, the dignified third son of Kaguya Otsutsuki, the greatest mastermind behind the scenes of the ninja world, an old monster who had lived for over a thousand years, was now reduced to delivering packages for a brat.

But since this unscrupulous boss, Madara Uchiha, had issued the task, he had no choice but to accept it.

Besides, to be honest, Black Zetsu himself was quite curious about Qingyu's existence.

A child who naturally fused the bloodlines of the Senju and the Uchiha was almost unique in the history of the ninja world.

He wanted to see with his own eyes exactly what was so special about this child.

"Find a way to get it into his hands without exposing yourself."

Madara Uchiha instructed indifferently.

"Understood."

Black Zetsu replied, his figure sinking back into the shadows.

On the first day of the break, Qingyu had just returned home after finishing his morning run and hadn't even had the chance to change out of his sweat-soaked clothes when the courtyard gate was knocked upon.

He pulled open the door to find Yūhi Kurenai standing there.

She wasn't wearing her usual skirt today, having changed into casual attire, her hair loosely tied back with a red ribbon.

"Classmate Qingyu, I heard from Shizune that you want to go out and carry out missions during the break?"

There was a hint of anticipation in Yūhi Kurenai's tone.

"I do have that intention."

Qingyu nodded.

"Staying at the academy is a waste of time; going out to experience what real missions are like will be beneficial for the future."