The Ninja Scholar System was immensely important to Gong Yi, especially the Scholar Skills it provided!
Even a low-level Recovery Technique could be extremely effective during training.
Gong Yi was eager to find out what other Scholar Skills he might obtain if he had enough Scholar Points.
Of course, obtaining each skill was no easy feat.
He had to complete missions or successfully solve research problems to earn Scholar Points, which he could then use to exchange for Scholar Skills or upgrade them.
Gong Yi looked at the first research problem and frowned unconsciously.
"Can I halve the Chakra required to cast the C-rank Ninjutsu Earth Style Wall?"
Strictly speaking, a Ninjutsu's power depended on the amount of Chakra it contained.
But this task required him to reduce the amount of Chakra without reducing the Ninjutsu's power.
That was no simple matter.
After his initial excitement, Gong Yi fell into deep thought.
Classes at the Ninja Academy continued through the uneventful days, while an air of an approaching storm hung over the village.
Gong Yi ran to school, panting. He had gotten up early that morning.
Then, gritting his teeth, he completed one full round of the daily training for the Undying Xiaoqiang mission.
Gong Yi planned to complete another round after school, giving himself extra practice!
Before entering the school, he passed some parents who had brought their children to class. As he walked by, he instinctively slowed down.
"I heard Lord White Fang has stepped down as Konoha's commander."
"Now that there's peace, the position isn't much use anyway."
"That can't be the reason. I suspect it has something to do with Lord White Fang's last failed mission! What do you think?"
"The failed mission caused huge losses for the village. In the end, Lord White Fang was the one who made the mistake."
Gong Yi blinked, pressed his lips together, glanced at them, and walked into the school.
He had never met Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha, but he knew all too well how this Konoha hero's story ended.
Suicide!
That was all there was to it!
But the things going on behind the scenes were far more complicated.
The White Fang of Konoha had been a war hero during the Second Shinobi World War, and his influence still surpassed that of the Sannin!
How could such a great man kill himself because of rumors?
And without the Konoha High Command's approval, how could those rumors have spread through the village?
Gong Yi murmured, "The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi! Shimura Danzō!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting old. He had held the office of Hokage for far too long, and it was likely that he would choose a Fourth Hokage before long.
As things stood, White Fang was undoubtedly the most likely candidate to succeed him.
But looking back at Konoha's history, the First aside—
The Second had been the First's younger brother!
The Third had been the Second's student!
And in the later story, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was the student of the Third's student, Jiraiya!
The Fifth, Tsunade, was the First's granddaughter and the Third's student.
The Sixth, Kakashi, was the student of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
The Hokage position wasn't exactly hereditary, but it was certainly a seat held by a representative chosen by an interest group.
White Fang was the head of the Hatake Clan, standing outside the Hokage faction.
The Third definitely wouldn't want to hand the Hokage Position to him.
Even if the rumors in the village hadn't been started by the Third, Danzō coveted the Hokage Position and was manipulating things behind the scenes. The Third Hokage had certainly allowed it to happen!
Once White Fang's reputation was ruined and he lost the village's respect, there would be no need to say more. The only suitable successors for the Fourth Hokage would be Hiruzen Sarutobi's three students.
The Konoha Sannin!
Gong Yi knew exactly what was going on, but he wasn't going to do anything about it.
With his current strength, he couldn't get involved in affairs of this magnitude. All he needed to do now was grow stronger—constantly grow stronger!
After morning classes ended, Gong Yi left the classroom and headed for the school library.
At his current level, he still wasn't skilled enough to solve the first research problem.
He needed more knowledge of Ninjutsu to work on it.
As he was about to enter the library, Gong Yi ran into Kakashi.
A few days earlier, Kakashi would have spoken to him and even invited him out for a spar.
But now, Kakashi was silent and withdrawn. He only nodded at Gong Yi before turning away.
Gong Yi stood at the library entrance, watching Kakashi leave with sympathy.
"He must be worried about his father."
That was what Gong Yi thought, but he didn't offer any comfort. He wasn't in a position to pity anyone.
Or rather, in many people's eyes, an orphan like Gong Yi was the one who deserved their pity.
Another month passed. Outside Gong Yi's home, two identical copies of him sat on the ground, continuously performing Ninjutsu.
The orthodox Shadow Clone Technique wasn't particularly rare, and it was much better than Gong Yi's knockoff version.
After showing Ishii Kawa his progress in training the Earth Style Wall, Gong Yi had learned the real Shadow Clone Technique from him.
With his current strength, he could only maintain one Shadow Clone for an extended period. Even then, he sometimes needed the Recovery Technique to replenish the Chakra he had used up.
Still, that was enough for Gong Yi.
With the Shadow Clone Technique, his training progress had nearly doubled!
Feeling the Chakra flowing through his body, Gong Yi recalled what he had learned at school and from his other teachers.
"The ranking of Ninjutsu isn't based on power alone. Shape transformation and nature transformation are also important factors."
"If you can fully master shape transformation, the Ninjutsu can be classified as an A-rank technique."
"But that doesn't mean only A-rank Ninjutsu involves shape transformation. Take the A-rank Rasengan, for example. Its shape transformation has simply reached the extreme, and it requires no Hand Seals."
"Most C-rank and B-rank Ninjutsu also contain some degree of shape transformation."
Gong Yi frowned. If that was the case, then the Earth Style Wall he had mastered must involve shape transformation, too.
Only a little, but it had to be there.
But this sort of low-level defensive Ninjutsu didn't rely much on shape transformation. If he gave up that part, could he reduce the amount of Chakra required?
Gong Yi looked at the square, rectangular wall he had just created, and his eyes lit up.
Chakra surged through his body. Following the established sequence of Hand Seals, Gong Yi gave a low shout.
Earth Style, Earth Style Wall!
A soft rumble sounded as an irregular earthen wall rose from the ground and blocked Gong Yi's path.
It was uneven, even downright ugly—enough to make anyone frown at the sight of it.
But there was no denying that it was just as hard and thick as before.
After sensing how much Chakra had surged out, Gong Yi felt reassured!
"One-fifth less than before. I was right!"
PS: It's a new day, and I'm still going for five updates today—10,000 words in total! I hope you'll leave ratings, comments, and tips, too. Let me know I'm not the only one...
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