Childhood Arc: Duo

[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 missions during this time, a special reward will now be issued!]

A special reward!

[Really, Teacher Hill? There's really a special reward?]

This was a first. 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 used me like a workhorse. Whatever mission came in, he handed it to Kakashi and me. He even fucking dumped the S-rank missions he accepted onto me...

Of those ten S-rank missions, nine involved fighting elite Jonin from enemy nations... and on one occasion, I had nearly come to blows 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 about Armament Haki or Conqueror's Haki.

[The reward is a crucial piece of information. It 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 changing this world's original timeline, Lord Qingyue can gain the power of destiny. This power of destiny 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 of the eight Hokage across the future.]

The average of eight Hokage... The one with the least chakra should be Shikamaru, who temporarily filled in during Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, followed by Kakashi.

Although those two did not have much chakra, Hashirama and Naruto provided an enormous safety net, while Tobirama and Tsunade also possessed chakra above the level of ordinary Kage.

It was quite worthwhile. That way, I could start trying to learn more ninjutsu and incorporate it into combat.

[Third, temporarily retain the power of destiny 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 destiny you currently possess.]

[I decisively choose the third option. Investment is the greatest!]

[Understood. The third item has been selected for Lord Qingyue. The power of destiny will be retained and multiplied by 1.5.]

The power of destiny... It seemed I had already changed the course of history enormously.

First was the survival of Sakumo Hatake, a key figure. Then there were the changes in the relationships between Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

In a sense, the relationships among those people were also factors that changed the world.

Then, during the Third Shinobi World War... Would I save this stuff until later and directly unlock something like Kamen Rider or Ultraman?

By changing the history of the world, 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 Fugaku Uchiha's son, who was named Itachi.

Another moment in history witnessed. This time, Minato absolutely would not die on the day his child was born.

Danzo would be unable to make a move. If Minato protected the Uchiha Clan, perhaps the tragedy of their massacre would not happen. That would be another major change to history.

"Qingyue, stop spacing out. The targets are here!"

I had nearly forgotten that I was on a mission. An S-rank mission: eliminate four A-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, each estimated to possess the strength of a Jonin.

"I know. How are we acting?"

"Today is leadership training for you, Qingyue. You'll command the entire operation. I'll act according to 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 intelligence indicates that they specialize in stealth. All four are gathered together now, so this is the perfect chance to catch them all in one sweep. I'll rush out first and break up their formation. Brother Sakumo, you take them down."

"Understood."

After finalizing the plan, I let out a long breath, looked at the sword guard Rin had given me on my ninja blade, and closed my eyes in prayer.

Bless me, Rin.

After mentally preparing myself, I fixed my gaze on the four Jonin gathered together, gripped my ninja blade tightly with both hands, and kicked off the ground.

The Silent Sword of the Sword God Style activated. My sudden, lightning-fast slash instantly shattered their formation and severed the arms of two of them.

Bright red blood splattered across my face, but after countless missions and trials, I no longer felt sick to my stomach.

--

"Damn it, an enemy attack?"

"There's only one enemy, but he's incredibly fast! Scatter!"

They were Jonin, after all. The agony of having their arms severed, enough to make anyone lose consciousness, did not rob them of their judgment. Instead, they identified Qingyue's position in a very short time.

But Qingyue was merely a distraction. Sakumo, concealed in the shadows, seized the opportunity and charged in with his blade. A cold glint flashed, and the two armless ninja had their throats slit, dying on the spot.

"You're... the White, White Fang!"

One of the survivors had only just recognized Sakumo when the chilling sound of a blade slicing through the air came from beside him—

Qingyue's ninja blade flashed past. Before the startled Jonin could recover, a deep bloody gash was carved across his neck, ending his life.

The last man tried to flee, but Qingyue swiftly formed hand seals with both hands and used an Earth Release technique. Yellow Springs Swamp spread a mass of wet mud beneath him, firmly trapping his legs.

Then came another cold flash. In just ten seconds, Qingyue and Sakumo had jointly dealt with all four Jonin.

Though they were all Jonin, Sakumo stood leagues above the rest.

Qingyue's strength was still far inferior to Sakumo's, but the instant explosive power of his Battle Aura could even threaten a Kage's life.

Caught by a surprise attack and an information gap, the four Jonin died on the spot without ever understanding what had happened.

--

"Well done, Qingyue. The mission is complete. Your blade really is fast. If I were suddenly ambushed by such a fast sword, I might have difficulty reacting too."

"Don't be modest, Brother Sakumo. Your speed is far beyond mine!"

The Silent Sword was indeed fast, but it was still far inferior to Sakumo's. After all, he was a true assassin perfectly suited to the role of a ninja.

After more than a year together, I would not even be surprised if someone told me Sakumo could react to Minato's Flying Raijin.

That guy's reflexes and speed were truly monstrous. Without using any ninjutsu, he could rival the Kage of an entire village solely through the Hatake Clan's swordsmanship and movement techniques.

Sakumo Hatake was genuinely powerful. His only weakness was his lack of large-scale destructive techniques. Against Susanoo, he might seem powerless.

The techniques he wielded were very similar to Battle Aura. He relied on highly condensed chakra for extreme bursts of power, moving at high speed and weaving freely through the battlefield.

"All right, now that the mission is complete, let's quickly bring them back to the village and report."

After returning to the village, the ninja who greeted us along the way offered applause and smiling faces.

It was as though what had happened to Sakumo Hatake a year ago had never occurred. Everyone still respected him greatly.

"Hey, Qingyue! You've really been shining lately!"

Quite a few ninja 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's founding. I was also a commoner who had earned Sakumo's recognition through swordsmanship alone.

There were certainly heirs of major clans who could not stand me, but with Sakumo backing me and the support of the most numerous group, the commoner ninja, my reputation would only rise.

"It's all thanks to Brother Sakumo's promotion."

Being modest at a time like this would only backfire and make people dislike me. Using Sakumo as a shield was the best choice.