One Month Later

Whoosh—

A figure suddenly appeared before them.

"Teacher Furukawa!" ×3

When Qian, Ryosuke, and Mizutani Shizuko saw who had arrived, they quickly stood and greeted him.

That was right. The newcomer was none other than Furukawa.

As a Jonin, Furukawa's missions were far heavier than theirs, so naturally, he could not stay with them all the time.

Otherwise, they would not have been bullied by a few Rock Hidden Chunin just now.

"Teacher, is the fighting over?"

Qian glanced toward the gradually dying sounds of battle in the distance and asked.

"Mm."

Furukawa nodded. His gaze swept over the three of them, and there was a note of relief in his voice as he said, "You're all still alive. Not bad!"

However, after hearing his praise, Qian and the others said nothing.

Furukawa did not mind.

He had been through this before and knew what they were feeling right now.

Even so, he still did not choose to comfort or guide them.

In Furukawa's view, a ninja had to endure what ordinary people could not. Otherwise, they were not worthy of being called ninja.

It was precisely because of this belief that he never guided his students mentally. Survival of the fittest was his principle.

After a moment of silence, Furukawa spoke again. "Pack up. The convoy will set out in about half an hour. If we're lucky, we'll reach the Main Camp before dark. Then you can get some proper rest."

With that, he hurried away.

"All right, let's pack up."

After he left, Qian said this, then began searching for his bundle.

Because they would be staying outside for a long time this time, when they set out, aside from equipment and tools, he had also brought quite a few daily necessities, such as changes of clothes.

However, during the battle just now, he had found them in the way and tossed them aside.

Fortunately, they were the victorious side, so they could search for their belongings at ease.

Seeing Qian start moving, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko gathered themselves and also began looking for their things.

About half an hour later.

The convoy set out again.

Only a small portion of people were left behind to continue cleaning up the battlefield.

That night.

In the center of a Dense Forest.

Inside a tent.

Qian sat cross-legged, calmly meditating and refining Chakra.

At this moment, he had already arrived at Konoha's Main Camp in Rain Country.

According to Furukawa, for the next period of time, their main task was to adapt to the battlefield environment and adjust their mindset.

During that time, they would not be given any heavy missions.

Without a doubt, this was a rare opportunity for Qian.

He could take advantage of this period to raise his own strength another level.

Judging from today's battle, without activating his Sharingan, his strength was only somewhat higher than that of an average Chunin.

One-on-one was fine, but if he ran into two or more enemies at the same time, it would be somewhat dangerous.

In fact, if the enemy had no misgivings and brought out their full strength, even one person would be enough to pose a slight threat to him.

Although the threat was not great, there was still a possibility they could injure him.

And if he used his Sharingan, then his strength should surpass the vast majority of Chunin.

But Chunin were nothing special on the overall battlefield.

Only by becoming a Jonin would he possess a certain ability to protect himself.

But with his current strength, even if he went all out, it was impossible for him to reach the level of a Jonin.

In fact, even against the next tier down, a Special Jonin, as long as they were not a purely support-type ninja, there was a high chance he would not be their match.

Unless he could evolve his Sharingan to the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

But that would require at least several months.

He could wait, but the enemy would not.

Relying on this to improve his strength was clearly not very realistic.

So Qian planned to set aside a portion of his Chakra to raise the levels of several Fire Release Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.

That way, he could increase his combat power within a relatively short time.

With that, his ability to protect himself would naturally increase.

Although doing this would slow the Evolution Speed of his Sharingan, if he lost his life, then what did the Sharingan even matter?

Only by preserving his life first would he have a chance to talk about the future.

Otherwise, anything he said would be futile.

One month later.

The outskirts of the Main Camp.

Four figures, one large and three small, were moving through the forest.

It could be seen that they were extremely cautious. Not only did they constantly observe the movements around them, they would also stop from time to time to inspect hidden traps and markers.

These four were none other than Class 17, made up of Furukawa, Qian, Ryosuke, and Mizutani Shizuko.

At this moment, they were carrying out a patrol mission to guard the Main Camp.

Or rather, for the past month, they had all been carrying out this mission. It was just that as time passed, the defensive area they were responsible for had become increasingly important.

Of course, importance also meant danger.

At first, they might not encounter an enemy even once in ten days or half a month, so the mission was relatively easy.

But after they adapted to the battlefield environment and the area they were responsible for changed, the mission was no longer that easy.

Now, almost every few days, they would discover traces of enemy infiltration.

Although most of the time, by the time they arrived, the enemy had already fled, there had been a few occasions when the enemy had not managed to retreat in time.

At times like that, they had to fight with their lives on the line.

None of the enemies who could be sent to carry out covert infiltration missions were easy to deal with.

So every encounter could be described as dangerous.

It was only because their team-leading teacher was a true jonin that he could cover for them to a certain extent.

Otherwise, Class 17 might already have suffered casualties.

But it had to be said that this kind of environment tempered people well.

Whether it was Qian, Ryosuke, or Mizutani Shizuko, after this month of missions, the student air about them had vanished completely, leaving only competence behind.

Just like now, when the four of them stopped, Qian and the other two tacitly got to work without Furukawa needing to give instructions.

Qian was in charge of keeping watch, while Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko were responsible for checking the nearby traps and markers.

Everything was so orderly.

A moment later, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko returned to the group and reported, "Teacher, no problems."

"Good."

Furukawa nodded and said, "Let's go to the last point."

"Yes, Teacher!" ×3

The group of four hurried toward the final mission point.

Along the way, no one spoke unless necessary. All four pairs of eyes were focused on their surroundings, alert for any possible danger.

Fortunately, their luck was good today.

After checking the final mission point, they still found no trace of the enemy.

Qian and the others all unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

After waiting for a short while and completing the handover with the patrol squad that had come to relieve them, they returned to the Temporary Garrison.

Late at night.

Inside the Temporary Garrison.

Qian once again completed the use of the "Mind Reflection Technique." A moment later, he opened his eyes, and a trace of realization flashed through them.

"So this is Lv4."

Murmuring to himself, Qian raised his hands again and began forming seals to cast the "Mind Reflection Technique."

The next moment, his hands blurred, and he had already finished forming the seals. The speed was unimaginably fast.

Not only had the casting speed improved; after the "Mind Reflection Technique" rose to Lv4, its effect in promoting the evolution of the Sharingan had also increased by quite a bit.

Qian closed his eyes and carefully sensed the process of that special Chakra in his brain nourishing both eyes.

A moment later, once it disappeared, he formed seals again and cast the "Mind Reflection Technique."

Just like that, again and again.

Only after a full five times did Qian stop casting it.

And now, he could only feel that his Sharingan had taken another step forward from Single Tomoe toward Double Tomoe.