[Congratulations, Lord Qingyue. Following your Sword God Style swordsmanship, both your Water God Style and North God Style have finally reached advanced level. To reward Lord Qingyue for your diligent training and mission outings during this time, a special reward will now be issued!]
A special reward!
[Really, Teacher Hill? There's really a special reward?]
This was the first time. For an entire year, I had trained five days a week without missing a single day while completing countless commissions.
30 D-rank missions, 40 C-rank missions, 60 B-rank missions, 82 A-rank missions, and 10 S-rank missions.
That old Sakumo really treated Kakashi and me like workhorses. Whatever mission came in, he handed it to us. He even freaking tossed S-rank missions he'd accepted himself our way...
Of those ten S-rank missions, nine involved fighting Elite Jonin from enemy nations... and one nearly had me throwing down with a jinchuriki.
Still, thanks to all that real combat experience, my Battle Aura and swordsmanship had improved tremendously. But I still had no clue how to awaken Armament Haki or Conqueror's Haki.
[The reward is a crucial piece of information that may determine the fate of the rest of Lord Qingyue's life.]
Information that could determine my fate? This was huge!
[That information is... by altering this world's original timeline, Lord Qingyue can obtain the Power of Fate. This Power of Fate has accumulated considerably over the past few years and can now be exchanged for one of the following three items—]
[First: directly unlock Lord Qingyue's Armament Haki.]
Directly unlock Haki? That would save me a lot of trouble!
[Second: immediately obtain Kage-level chakra, calculated from the average chakra capacity of the eight Hokage, including future generations.]
The average of eight Hokage... The one with the least chakra was probably Shikamaru, who temporarily filled in during Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, followed by Kakashi.
Neither of them had much chakra, but Hashirama and Naruto were massive safety nets. Tobirama and Tsunade also had chakra reserves above those of an ordinary Shadow Level ninja.
That was pretty tempting. With that, I could start learning more ninjutsu and integrating it into my combat.
[Third: temporarily retain the Power of Fate and increase it by 1.5 times, storing it for the next exchange. The exchange shop will refresh every three months, offering items of corresponding value based on the Power of Fate you currently possess.]
[I'm picking number three without hesitation. Investment is the greatest!]
[Understood. Selecting the third item for Lord Qingyue. Power of Fate retained and multiplied by 1.5.]
The Power of Fate... It seemed I had already greatly altered the course of history.
First, the survival of Hatake Sakumo, a key figure. Then there were the changes in the relationships between Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.
In a sense, the relationships between those people could also be considered factors that changed the world.
Then the Third Shinobi World War... Was I going to save this stuff up and directly unlock something like Kamen Rider or Ultraman later on?
By changing the course of history, I might directly rewrite the history books during the Third Shinobi World War.
On June 9th, Year 46, the Uchiha Clan held a grand banquet to celebrate the birth of a son to clan head Fugaku Uchiha. He was named Itachi.
Another moment of history witnessed. This time, Minato absolutely would not die on the day his own child was born.
Danzo would have no chance to act, and with Minato firmly protecting the Uchiha, perhaps the tragedy of their extermination would never occur. That would be another major change to history.
"Qingyue, stop spacing out. The targets are here!"
I had nearly forgotten that we were on a mission right now. An S-rank mission: eliminate four A-rank rogue ninjas from Konoha, each estimated to possess Jonin-level strength.
"I know. What's the plan?"
"Today's your squad-leading training, Qingyue. You'll command the entire operation. I'll follow your orders."
Come to think of it, that had been today's arrangement. My conversation with Hill and the flood of new information had made me forget.
"None of the enemy profiles mention anyone skilled at concealment. The four of them are gathered together right now, so this is the perfect chance to catch them all at once. I'll rush in first and disrupt their formation. Brother Sakumo, you finish them off."
"Understood."
After settling on the plan, I let out a long breath. I looked at the sword guard Rin had given me on my ninja blade, then closed my eyes and prayed.
Bless me, Rin.
Once I had prepared myself, I fixed my eyes on the four Jonin gathered together, gripped my ninja blade tightly with both hands, and kicked off the ground.
The Sword God Style's Silent Sword activated. My sudden, lightning-fast slash instantly broke apart their formation and severed the arms of two of them.
Bright red blood splattered across my face, but after countless missions and battles, I no longer felt sick to my stomach.
"Damn it, an enemy attack?"
"There's only one enemy, but he's incredibly fast! Spread out!"
They were Jonin, after all. The agony of having their arms severed, enough to make most people pass out, did not rob them of their judgment. Instead, they pinpointed Qingyue's location in a very short time.
But Qingyue was only a distraction. Sakumo, hidden in the shadows, seized the opportunity and charged in with his blade. A flash of cold light passed, and the two armless ninjas had their throats slit, dying on the spot.
"You're... the White Fang!"
One of the survivors had only just recognized Sakumo when a chilling whistle of a blade slicing through the air came from beside him—
Qingyue's ninja blade flashed past. The Jonin, still stunned and unable to react, had his neck carved open by a deep bloody gash and lost his life.
The last man tried to flee, but Qingyue rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed an Earth Release technique. Yellow Springs Swamp spread a mass of wet mud beneath him, trapping both his legs firmly in place.
Then came another flash of cold light. In just ten seconds, Qingyue and Sakumo had taken down all four Jonin together.
Though they were all Jonin, Sakumo stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Qingyue was still far weaker than Sakumo, but the instantaneous burst of his Battle Aura could even threaten a Kage's life.
Caught off guard and crippled by the information gap, the four Jonin died on the spot without even understanding what had happened.
"Excellent work, Qingyue. Mission complete. Your blade really is fast. If I were suddenly ambushed by a sword that fast, I might have trouble reacting too."
"Don't be modest, Brother Sakumo. Your speed is far beyond mine!"
Silent Sword was fast, but it still fell far short of Sakumo's speed. He was, after all, an assassin who truly fit the role of a ninja.
After spending more than a year with him, I wouldn't even find it strange if someone told me Sakumo could react to Minato's Flying Thunder God.
This guy's reflexes and speed were genuinely monstrous. Without using any ninjutsu at all, relying solely on the Hatake Clan's swordsmanship and movement techniques, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the shadow of an entire village.
Hatake Sakumo was truly powerful. His only weakness was his lack of large-scale destructive techniques; against Susanoo, he might seem helpless.
The techniques he wielded were very similar to Battle Aura. They both relied on condensing chakra for explosive bursts, allowing him to move at high speed and dart freely across the battlefield.
"All right, the mission's complete. Let's hurry back to the village and report."
After returning to the village, the ninjas we passed along the way applauded us and greeted us with smiles.
It was as though what had happened to Hatake Sakumo a year ago had never occurred. Everyone still respected him deeply.
"Hey, kid Qingyue, you've really been shining lately!"
Quite a few ninjas also began currying favor with me. Even though I was only nine years old, I had completed ten... eleven S-rank missions, after all.
I was the youngest Jonin since Konoha was founded, and I came from a civilian background. I had earned Sakumo's recognition through swordsmanship alone.
Sure, some children from great clans disliked me, but with Sakumo backing me and the support of the most numerous civilian ninjas, my reputation would only continue to rise.
"It's all thanks to Brother Sakumo's support."
Being modest at a time like this would only backfire and make people dislike me. Using Sakumo as a shield was the best choice.
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