Research Progress (First Update)

Gong Yi valued his Ninja Scholar System quite highly, especially the Scholar Skill granted by the system.

A low-level Recovery Technique could already produce excellent results during training.

Gong Yi was very much looking forward to seeing what other Scholar Skill he could obtain if he possessed enough Scholar Points.

Of course, obtaining every skill was not that easy.

He had to complete missions or successfully resolve research topics to earn Scholar Points, which could then be used to redeem or upgrade Scholar Skills.

Gong Yi looked at the first research topic and subconsciously frowned.

"Reduce the chakra required to release the C-rank Ninjutsu Earth Style Wall by half?"

Strictly speaking, the power of a Ninjutsu is determined by the amount of chakra it contains.

However, this mission required reducing the amount of chakra without lowering the power of the Ninjutsu.

As such, it was not that simple.

After his initial excitement, Gong Yi fell into deep thought.

Classes at the Ninja Academy proceeded through the mundane days, while in the village, there was a faint sense of a storm brewing.

Gong Yi ran to school panting; he had woken up early this morning.

Then, gritting his teeth, he completed the daily training volume for the Undying Xiaoqiang mission once.

Gong Yi planned to complete it once more after school to add extra training for himself.

Before entering the school, parents were dropping off their children for class. As he passed by them, Gong Yi subconsciously slowed his pace.

"I heard that White Fang of Konoha has already stepped down from his position as commander of Konoha."

"It's peaceful now, so that position isn't of much use anyway."

"That's definitely not the reason. I suspect it has to do with White Fang of Konoha's last failed mission! What do you think about this?"

"The mission failed, bringing huge losses to the village. In this matter, White Fang of Konoha was ultimately in the wrong."

Gong Yi blinked, pursed his lips, glanced at them, and stepped into the school.

He had never met White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, but he was very clear about the final fate of this Konoha hero.

Suicide!

It was that simple!

But the things happening behind the scenes were very complex.

White Fang of Konoha was a Konoha war hero during the Second Shinobi World War, and his influence was even greater than that of the Sannin today!

How could such a big figure commit suicide because of rumors?

Moreover, if these rumors did not have the permission of the Konoha high-ups, how could they possibly spread through the village?

Gong Yi muttered softly, "Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi! Shimura Danzō!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting old and had held the high position of Hokage for far too long. He believed that before long, the Fourth Hokage would be chosen.

And as things stood, White Fang of Konoha was undoubtedly the most likely candidate to succeed him.

But looking at the history of Konoha, not counting the First.

The Second was the younger brother of the First!

The Third was the disciple of the Second!

And in the subsequent plot, the Fourth, Minato Namikaze, was the student of the Third's disciple, Jiraiya!

The Fifth, Tsunade, was the granddaughter of the First and a disciple of the Third.

The Sixth, Kakashi, was the student of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

The entire Hokage position, if not hereditary, was definitely a representative pushed forward by an interest group.

White Fang of Konoha was the head of the Hatake Clan, drifting outside the Hokage's inner circle.

The Third certainly would not want to hand the Hokage position over to him.

Even if the rumors in the village were not actively spread by the Third, with Shimura Danzō—who coveted the position of Hokage—pulling strings in the dark, there was absolutely the tacit indulgence of the Third Hokage involved!

Once White Fang of Konoha's reputation was tarnished, he would no longer be held in such high esteem in the village.

Then, it went without saying that the only ones left suitable to succeed as the Fourth would be the three disciples of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Sannin!

Gong Yi understood this clearly, but he would not do anything about it.

With his current strength, he could not participate in these major events at all. What he needed to do now was to become stronger, constantly becoming stronger!

After the morning classes ended, Gong Yi left the classroom and headed toward the school library.

To complete the first research topic, Gong Yi's current level was not quite enough.

He needed more knowledge of Ninjutsu to conduct this research.

Just as he was about to step into the library, Gong Yi ran into Kakashi.

If this had been a few days ago, Kakashi would have taken the initiative to speak a few words to him, or even invited Gong Yi out for a spar.

But at this moment, Kakashi was reticent; he merely nodded at Gong Yi before turning to leave.

Gong Yi stood at the entrance of the library, looking at Kakashi with a hint of sympathy.

He must be worried about his father!

Thinking this to himself, Gong Yi did not offer any words of comfort; he was in no position to pity others.

Or rather, in the eyes of many, an orphan like Gong Yi was the one who should be pitied.

Another month passed. Outside Gong Yi's residence, two identical Gong Yis sat on the ground, continuously casting Ninjutsu.

The orthodox Shadow Clone Technique was not particularly rare, and its effects were far superior to the knock-off version Gong Yi had been using.

After demonstrating his progress in Earth Style Wall, Gong Yi had learned the true Shadow Clone Technique from Ishii Kawa.

With his current strength, he could only maintain one shadow clone for an extended period, and he even needed the Recovery Technique midway to compensate for the loss of chakra.

However, for Gong Yi, this was enough.

With this Shadow Clone Technique, his training progress had nearly doubled!

Feeling the flow of chakra within his body, Gong Yi recalled the knowledge he had gained from the academy and other teachers.

"The classification of Ninjutsu is not based solely on power. Shape transformation and nature transformation are also very important reference points."

"If one can fully master shape transformation, then that Ninjutsu can be classified as an A-rank Ninjutsu."

"But this does not mean that only A-rank Ninjutsu involve shape transformation. For instance, an A-rank Ninjutsu like the Rasengan is simply the pinnacle of shape transformation, and it requires no hand seals."

"In fact, the vast majority of C-rank and B-rank Ninjutsu also contain elements of shape transformation."

Gong Yi frowned. If that was the case, then the Earth Style Wall Ninjutsu he currently mastered should also contain shape transformation.

Although minimal, it was certainly there.

But for low-level defensive Ninjutsu like this, the requirement for shape transformation was not high. If he were to discard some of that, could he reduce the amount of chakra required?

Looking at the square, rectangular wall he had just created, Gong Yi's eyes lit up.

Chakra surged within his body, and following the established sequence of hand seals, Gong Yi let out a low shout.

Earth Style, Earth Style Wall!

Hum.

With a soft sound, an irregular wall of earth and stone rose from the ground, blocking the path in front of Gong Yi.

It was not very regular; in fact, the wall was so unsightly that it would make anyone frown upon seeing it.

But there was no denying that its hardness and thickness were in no way inferior to the previous version.

Feeling the amount of chakra he had just expended, Gong Yi felt a sense of certainty!

"It's one-fifth less than before. My approach was correct!"