Mission Rewards? (Third Update)

The death of White Fang caused a massive uproar in the village, leading to endless speculation.

However, for Gong Yi, it had no impact whatsoever; he continued his routine of attending school and performing basic training as if nothing had happened.

If there was one solitary consequence, it was that White Fang's death led Gong Yi's classmate, Kakashi Hatake, to apply for early graduation a month later.

Five years old!

At only five years old, Kakashi Hatake applied to the Ninja Academy for early graduation.

This request was approved by his teachers, and the relevant graduation examination was arranged shortly thereafter.

Given Kakashi Hatake's strength, he passed the assessment for a mere genin with ease.

On the day of graduation, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, came to the school in person.

He placed the Konoha Ninja Headband on Kakashi Hatake.

Peers like Hayate Gekko, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma all went to witness Kakashi Hatake's graduation ceremony.

Gong Yi went as well, standing behind the crowd, watching the lost expression on Kakashi Hatake's face with a sigh of regret in his heart.

His father's suicide had dealt a massive blow to Kakashi Hatake's mental state.

He had become sorrowful, depressed, and gradually lost.

His own father, known as White Fang, was so powerful and renowned throughout the ninja world; why would he commit suicide at home like a coward?

Even if he had died on the battlefield or at the hands of a powerful enemy, it would not have left Kakashi Hatake so bewildered.

Kakashi Hatake needed an answer!

And this answer, clearly, was not something he could find within the school.

"I hope you can find the answer outside the school, rather than numbing yourself through missions!"

Gong Yi sighed, shifted his gaze to the kind face of the Hokage, shook his head, and left the graduation ceremony to enter the library in solitude.

For Gong Yi, who knew the plot well, Kakashi Hatake's early graduation did not come as a surprise.

But to the other students, it was incredibly shocking.

Especially after Kakashi Hatake passed the exam without difficulty, demonstrating his formidable strength, it drew many gasps of amazement.

It was at this moment that some students began to discuss: now that Kakashi Hatake was gone, who was the strongest in the school?

After some deliberation, everyone's attention almost entirely shifted to Gong Yi.

"Gong Yi has defeated Asuma, Hyuga Hirata, and Aburame Ma; he must be the strongest now!"

"Before he left, even Kakashi Hatake believed that only Gong Yi was his true rival. Actually, I don't think Gong Yi is any weaker than Kakashi Hatake!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Kakashi Hatake has defeated upperclassmen, while Gong Yi has no such record."

"I agree. After all, Kakashi Hatake is the son of White Fang and a genius of the Hatake Clan. Gong Yi is just a war orphan; how can he be mentioned in the same breath as Kakashi Hatake?"

"Fine, so Gong Yi isn't as good as Kakashi Hatake, but at least he's the strongest among us right now. No one disagrees with that, right?"

"Heh, I'm going to challenge him in the next combat class!"

Gong Yi paid no mind to these discussions.

He felt even more disdain for the idea of challenging upperclassmen.

As long as one remained in the Ninja Academy and had not graduated, they were all in the genin category!

Unless it was someone like the future Kabuto who lingered on, no one else—whether they were in the first year or the fifth—was worth Gong Yi's notice.

Gong Yi's current focus was no longer on competing with these children.

He placed more of his attention on acquiring ninja knowledge.

This was the reason he frequented the school library and the Konoha library.

The Ninja Scholar System did not grant him some world-destroying, one-punch-invincible cheat; it merely gave him the possibility to become stronger!

But within this possibility, he needed the support of vast amounts of foundational knowledge to complete more research projects, obtain more Scholar Skill, or earn mission rewards.

Precisely because of this, Gong Yi, who already possessed strength beyond a genin and the combat capabilities of a chunin, did not graduate early like Kakashi Hatake.

The initial stage of being a ninja was extremely important!

This was a period for laying foundations; what was needed was not a massive amount of combat experience, but the refinement of chakra, the absorption of Ninjutsu knowledge, and the strengthening of the physical body.

Once graduated, one had to contribute to the village and accept missions.

While on missions, there wouldn't be much time left to build one's foundation.

The reason Kakashi Hatake ended up neither here nor there in the future, earning only the title of Hatake Five-Five Split, was precisely because his foundation was not solid.

A child so young going out to execute missions, walking on thin ice between life and death—even with a rich array of combat techniques, his raw strength was truly limited.

Sitting cross-legged at the top of a tree, Gong Yi finished another day of training and immersed his mind into the system.

Age: Five years old
Ninja Rank: Chunin
Physique: 30 points

Mental Energy: 35 points

Chakra Basic Attributes: Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, Earth; Strongest Attribute--Earth

Weapon: Iron Kunai

Scholar Points: 30 points (Scholar Points can be used to redeem Scholar Skill or upgrade Scholar Rank.)

Scholar Rank: Level 1 (Can possess a maximum of three Scholar Skill)

Scholar Skill: Low-level Recovery Technique

Current Research Projects: 0

Completed Research Projects: 3. (Reduced the chakra required for C-rank Ninjutsu Earth Style Wall by half!) (Reduced the chakra required for C-rank Ninjutsu Headhunter Jutsu by half!) (Reduced the chakra required for Rock Pillar Spear Ninjutsu by half!)

Mission: Undying Xiaoqiang mission completed, reward pending collection!

Gong Yi curled his lips into a smile. He had completed a total of three research projects, each granting ten Scholar Points, leaving him with thirty Scholar Points in total.

As for these Scholar Points, Gong Yi had gained some understanding through the system.

They had many uses: they could upgrade Scholar Skill, upgrade the system Scholar Rank, or even be invested into projects to accelerate research progress.

However, Gong Yi did not use them immediately in the early stages.

Upgrading a Scholar Skill once required at least one hundred Scholar Points!

And upgrading the Scholar Rank required even more.

Gong Yi's plan was to wait until he had accumulated more Scholar Points to upgrade his Recovery Technique.

The current Recovery Technique only served a good purpose during the auxiliary training phase, but it had too many limitations.

As for the Scholar Rank, he was powerless to do anything about it for now.

However, the Scholar Rank only limited the maximum number of Scholar Skill he could possess, and since he didn't have many system skills yet, there was no need to upgrade it.

He was currently very interested in the reward for completing the "Undying Xiaoqiang" mission.

He had trained with his life on the line to finally complete this mission; what kind of reward would the system bestow upon him?