Taking a Teacher!

"Yeah, and with Akimichi's physical constitution, even if he'd been thrown to the ground, he wouldn't have ended up lying there unable to get back up like this." Jiraiya also found it rather strange.

Still, strange as it was, they could ask about it later. What mattered most right now was the match.

At that moment, Minato Namikaze was utterly powerless against Nara. Minato was certainly a genius, but he hadn't fully come into his own yet. Against a member of the Nara Clan with a secret technique, he was still outmatched.

Minato and Nara had also watched Qingyun fight the other two Chunin. By now, they knew the outcome of the match was already decided.

"Here I come!" As soon as Qingyun returned, he immediately used Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, forcing the Nara Clan's fighter back with a long-range attack.

Then Qingyun and Minato used Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and Kunai to completely block Teacher Nara's escape routes. In the end, Nara had no choice but to accept defeat.

The battle ended with Minato Namikaze and Qingyun victorious. Most importantly, both of them were prodigies under the age of ten, and Qingyun, who had played the leading role in the fight, was not even four.

As soon as the battle ended, the medical staff carried off the three Ino-Shika-Cho teachers, while Minato and Qingyun were asked to stay behind.

Teacher Ikkaku was stunned. He hadn't expected a child of only three or four to defeat three Konoha Chunin!

If anyone had told him that before, he would have thought it was an absurd fantasy. But now, he had witnessed Qingyun's terrifying ability with his own eyes.

"Very impressive! I'd only hoped you could hold out against the Chunin for ten minutes. I never imagined you two would actually defeat all three of them. Amazing!" The speaker was the Lord Third, who was quite approachable.

"Thank you, Lord Third. Qingyun deserves most of the credit for this battle. I only managed to hold Nara off." Minato wasn't being modest; everyone had seen what happened.

"All right, Minato, I know what you did. You have tremendous talent, so let me introduce you to a teacher. With him as your teacher, I'm sure your strength will improve by leaps and bounds!" The Lord Third then glanced at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya nodded at Minato Namikaze, walked over, and asked, "Minato, would you like me to take you as my student?"

"Yes, Teacher Jiraiya!" Jiraiya taking Minato as his student had always been a natural fit, so Minato agreed at once.

"Qingyun, good to see you. You certainly gave me a wonderful surprise this time! I had no idea you were so capable. This battle showed just how well you've mastered the Ninja Academy's curriculum."

"First of all, congratulations to both of you on graduating. And Qingyun, I'd like to ask: would you be willing to become a student of both Hatake Sakumo and me?" The Lord Third asked with complete seriousness.

"Both of you? I'd study under two teachers at once?" Qingyun was surprised. He knew Konoha's leaders had been keeping an eye on him, and had thought he would only become Hatake Sakumo's student this time. He hadn't expected the Lord Third to want to teach him alongside Sakumo.

"Isn't that a bit much, Old Man?" Jiraiya glanced at the Lord Third and said, "If Qingyun becomes your student, won't that make him my junior? Wouldn't Minato have to call him Uncle?"

The Lord Third said with exasperation, "They can just call each other brothers. What does seniority matter?"

"Qingyun is a rare talent in the Shinobi World. His accomplishments may be unprecedented and never surpassed. That's exactly why I need to personally teach him with all my effort."

"Besides, as the saying goes, a sage has no fixed teacher. This child is Konoha's hope, and perhaps the hope of the Shinobi World as well. He may even surpass my two teachers." Sarutobi Hiruzen had never praised anyone so highly—not even Orochimaru, whom he loved most.

"Sakumo, what do you think?" The Lord Third looked at Hatake Sakumo, the man known as the White Fang of the Leaf.

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "I have no objection. I'll teach him well."

"And you, Qingyun?"

The Lord Third looked at Qingyun kindly, making it hard for him to refuse.

Should I accept? This is an incredible opportunity for me. As a student of the Lord Third and the White Fang, my path as a ninja will surely be smooth from now on!

After a moment's hesitation, Qingyun immediately replied, "Of course I'm willing! Lord Third! Lord Sakumo!"

"If that's the case, you shouldn't address us that way anymore," the Lord Third said, pretending to be stern.

"Come on, boy. Aren't you going to call us 'Teacher'?" Hatake Sakumo smiled slightly. He didn't seem all that stern after all.

"Teachers!"

From then on, Qingyun called the Lord Third Teacher Sarutobi and Hatake Sakumo Teacher White Fang.

Qingyun and Minato had both received Forehead Protectors bearing Konoha's symbol. They had officially graduated from the Ninja Academy.

In a few days, they would need to return to the academy for the post-graduation team assignments.

As soon as he got home, Qingyun summoned his system.

The system immediately told him, "Congratulations, host! You have successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy and completed the special mission I issued!"

"Congratulations on defeating three of Konoha's Chunin! You have been awarded points."

"Hello, host! You now have one opportunity to absorb a ninja's chakra. You have enough points for two draws!"

Qingyun immediately asked, "System, how do I absorb a ninja's chakra? How long will it take?"

"Very quickly!"

"Then let's do it!"

Qingyun wasn't one to put things off. He was going to do whatever it took to increase his strength right now!

Then Qingyun felt the chakra in his body spread rapidly. He had already possessed quite a lot of chakra, and now that he was absorbing even more, his whole body felt like it was about to explode.

"What's going on?" Qingyun asked at once.

"Due to the limitations of your body's size, you cannot absorb it all. Would you like to use the excess chakra to refine your own chakra?" the system asked.

"I don't understand, but as long as it can save me, that's enough!" At that moment, Qingyun had no choice but to take a chance.

After who knew how long, Qingyun felt a cool sensation spread through his body, and the pain he had been feeling disappeared.

Qingyun suddenly felt his chakra surge throughout his body. It seemed to have reached the level of an ordinary Jonin.

"My chakra has become much purer. Is that the result of refining it?"