White Fang's Teachings

"Indeed, Danzo acted with good intentions. We can only hope this doesn't lead to the cultivation of another Uchiha Madara."

The speakers were Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. Naturally, they were pleading on Danzo's behalf. The Third Hokage pondered for a moment before saying, "Danzo, return. As for this matter, I believe Qingyun will not take it to heart."

"Sarutobi! Watch yourself. And you, little brat—remember this." Danzo sneered, glared at Qingyun, and turned to leave.

"That fellow is just like that; don't hold it against him," Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu added before departing immediately.

Qingyun looked at the Third Hokage with some confusion. The Third replied, "Qingyun, I trust you. Danzo wants to eliminate you simply because he hopes to remove a rival. You are too outstanding, so he wishes to finish you before you fully mature."

"You and Minato are the only candidates for Hokage. I hope you can grasp this point."

"Since the Great Ninja War, Orochimaru has guarded the front lines almost every day to protect Konoha. However, he is cold and mysterious, making it impossible to fathom what he is truly planning."

"Therefore, you and Minato are likely to compete for the position of Hokage. If both of you were to meet with an accident, Orochimaru and Danzo would be the most likely successors."

"Danzo is a hardliner who advocates for preemptive strikes against other ninja villages, yet Konoha needs stable development. As for Orochimaru, he is not particularly adept at governing the village."

"Thus, you and Minato are the best candidates for the Fourth Hokage. I lean more toward you; although you are young, you are steady and experienced, with astonishing strength and potential. I hope you can spend a few years refining yourself. Do you understand what I mean?"

The Third Hokage looked at Qingyun very seriously, and Qingyun instantly understood his intent.

The Third did not want him to pursue Danzo's responsibility. If he continued to harp on it, he would appear petty, for he was a candidate for the next Hokage! He needed to possess that level of magnanimity.

"Very well, Teacher Sarutobi. I understand your meaning." Qingyun smiled slightly and did not hold a grudge.

Once he truly became Hokage, it would be simple to deal with Danzo. For now, Qingyun needed to focus on improving his strength and expanding his influence. After all, Root was an entire organization; killing Danzo was easy, but dismantling Root was difficult.

This time, the Third Hokage classified the mission as A-rank, so Qingyun had officially completed an A-rank mission.

Qingyun had been sparring with the Third to improve his strength during these days, and the C-rank and D-rank missions issued by the system had remained unfinished. Since the Third told him to refine himself, Qingyun naturally began to do so.

Aside from his daily training, Qingyun continued to take on C-rank and D-rank missions.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

A figure darted rapidly through the forest.

"Fall!" A voice rang out, and the giant wild boar before him collapsed to the ground.

Qingyun quickly completed the mission and finally received the notification of success!

Qingyun was nearly driven mad. During this period, he had turned mission-running into a daily necessity without a single day off, completing at least two missions a day. He snatched up so many missions that other Genin began to complain.

"Finally finished! 500 D-rank missions and 100 C-rank missions in one year!" Qingyun was so excited he felt like jumping for joy.

The system then stated: "Congratulations to the host for completing the mission! You have obtained one Chakra Purification! Would you like to begin the purification now?"

Qingyun immediately asked, "How long will it take?"

"One afternoon," the system replied.

Qingyun then went home and used the Chakra Purification. Shortly after, he discovered that he had undergone an unprecedented transformation.

After completing the tree-climbing mission, Qingyun had devoured the chakra of a Jonin, but due to physical limitations, he had been unable to absorb all of it into his body.

He had been unable to purify it directly back then; although he hadn't absorbed the Jonin's chakra directly, the quality of his own chakra had improved significantly.

This time, having completed the mission, he began the purification immediately.

The process went very smoothly. Qingyun's quasi-Kage level chakra became much higher in quality after the purification.

Where he previously needed two units of chakra to perform a technique, he now only needed one. Although the total quantity of his chakra remained unchanged, its quality had nearly doubled.

"Now, using any ninjutsu has become much smoother." Qingyun could execute techniques with ease.

Once Qingyun had fully adapted to his chakra, the system issued another mission.

"Congratulations to the host! A new mission has been triggered! This mission is to complete ten B-rank missions. The reward is a surprise ten-pull draw."

Seeing the new mission, Qingyun immediately found his squad and began participating in missions with great enthusiasm.

Qingyun had completed B-rank missions before, so the Hokage would naturally make an exception to allow him to take on such tasks.

However, there were not many B-rank missions in all of Konoha, and they were always prioritized for Jonin. Thus, three months passed before Qingyun completed a single B-rank mission.

Qingyun did not complain, as there was no time limit on the mission, allowing him to use his spare time to learn from the Third Hokage.

One day, the Third told Qingyun to go learn from the White Fang, so Qingyun specifically sought out the residence of the Hatake clan to find the White Fang's home.

"Qingyun? Are you here to find me for a mission?" the White Fang asked.

"No, Teacher White Fang. I came to learn from you," Qingyun said truthfully.

"Learn from me?" The White Fang smiled.

"Yes. You only finished half of your lecture on chakra theory before. My chakra attributes are Wind, Fire, and Lightning, and I hope to be like you—to integrate chakra attributes into combat." Qingyun stated his purpose.

Chakra nature and shape transformation were the most critical stages for a ninja to become stronger. Even Naruto had undergone grueling training to master the Rasenshuriken.

The White Fang said, "Before that, I want to analyze your combat style."

"At medium range, you use ninjutsu to attack your opponent, and at close range, you utilize your Chakra Enhanced Strength. Therefore, you are a mid-to-close-range ninja."

"Your close-quarters combat doesn't incorporate any chakra attributes, so the most important thing right now is to learn a technique that does."

"Only after mastering attacks infused with chakra attributes can you potentially execute ninjutsu involving nature and shape transformation," the White Fang said honestly.