Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic

Chapter 24 The Gift of the Third Generation

The Hokage's office was shrouded in smoke in the early morning.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his large desk, the smoke rising from his pipe slowly swirling in the morning light.

"Sit down." The Third Hokage gestured to the chair opposite him.

Qingwu sat down as instructed, straightening his back and placing his hands on his knees.

He could feel the Third Hokage's gaze, sharp and profound.

The third generation leader did not speak immediately, but picked up the report next to him and began to read it.

The sound of pages turning was particularly clear in the quiet office.

"You did a great job."

After a long while, the Third Hokage spoke up: "The Cloud Ninja prisoners handed over this time, along with the previous one, are enough to extract a lot of information about the Cloud Village."

Qingwu declared righteously, "To serve Konoha!"

The third generation head put down his pipe and leaned forward slightly:

"Two Cloud Village teams, all Chunin-level, one of whom was extremely strong, and you wiped them out in less than 10 minutes?"

"Uh..." Qingwu replied, "My mastery of power is becoming more and more proficient."

"Kakashi said your Wood Release is very different from the First Hokage's?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"Primarily focused on summoning... that's a strange Wood Release technique. And... I've heard you can use natural energy?"

So that's why... Qingwu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"Can you show me?"

"No problem, Hokage-sama!"

With that, Qingwu spread her fingers, and a bright green "magic arrow" appeared in her palm.

"Unsealed Ninjutsu!" The Third Hokage also showed a shocked expression.

However, he immediately realized that... he had never seen the First Hokage use ninjutsu without needing to form hand seals.

Perhaps... that forest of death, born from the Wood Release of the First Hokage, is a gift to this descendant with the bloodline of the Senju.

In a short while, Hiruzen Sarutobi had imagined many things.

Firstly, the bloodline of Senju Seiwu is genuine; secondly, he couldn't find any other explanation.

He doesn't even understand natural energy.

Well, his disciples do know a bit, but Jiraiya... hasn't been back to the village for a long time.

"Knock knock knock!"

The third generation tapped his pipe lightly on the table and said silently, "Qingwu, your power is strong, but... it's too conspicuous."

Qingwu's heart tightened... What does that mean?

"Kumakure has lost three squads in succession," the Third Hokage said slowly. "They will definitely investigate to the end, and the Death Forest area can't be kept secret for long."

At this point, Qingwu asked the question that had been puzzling him: "Lord Hokage, why can Kumogakure enter the Forest of Death so easily?"

The Third Hokage paused, then said, "Child, aren't ninjas skilled in assassination and infiltration?"

"Could we... set up more outposts? They've been infiltrated far too easily, haven't they?"

"Heh... It's not as easy as you make it out to be." The Third Hokage said kindly.

"Our Konoha ninjas have infiltrated other ninja villages as well."

"Therefore... it's impossible to completely prevent enemy ninjas from entering; we can only set up sentry posts at key locations."

Qingwu curled her lip and said, "And the vast Death Forest is obviously not included in this category, right?"

The third generation head nodded: "That's right, child. Perhaps... you could relocate for now? I heard you're already planning to live there?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"It's too inconvenient to be alone. Let's move out, at least until the war with Kumogakure is over. You can go back whenever you want after the war is over."

"..." Qingwu scratched his head.

How can this be explained? Moving it is impossible; the ancient tree of life has already taken root.

Seeing Qingwu remain silent, the Third Generation asked again, "Was it in the Forest of Death that you made such rapid progress?"

Qingwu nodded hurriedly: "Lord Hokage has hit the nail on the head. That place feels like a mother's embrace, and I feel very comfortable there."

"Hmm..." Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered, "Natural energy... does indeed need to be cultivated in an environment far removed from worldly affairs."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage looked at the boy in front of him seriously. Perhaps... next time, he could let Jiraiya try to take him to Mount Myōboku?

"Since you don't want to move, then you can stay there for now."

The third generation's words relieved Qingwu.

After a pause, the third generation leader added, "I'll keep a close eye on things there. And one more thing... I heard... you're short of money?"

Qingwu looked up... Kakashi even mentioned borrowing money? Is he worried that I won't pay him back since I didn't write an IOU?

"Hehe... It's alright." The Third Hokage waved his hand. "Cultivation naturally requires money. You've done a good job handing over two Cloud Village prisoners this time, hmm..."

The third generation leader looked thoughtful.

"The mission can be classified as Rank A. Hmm, that's fine. If you hadn't stopped them, the two Cloud Village teams might have suffered huge losses."

"An A-level mission reward?" Qingwu's lips unconsciously parted into a grin, his eyes gleaming with golden light.

The third generation chuckled, finding the boy's greed amusing.

Qingwu has indeed performed meritorious service, but how much money he will be paid depends on his judgment.

In fact, the Cloud Ninja's ability to infiltrate the Forest of Death was already at its limit. If they tried to enter Konoha Village in the middle of the night, the guards and ANBU would teach them a lesson.

Of course, the intelligence obtained from capturing prisoners alive was indeed valuable.

Under Qingwu's expectant gaze, the Third Hokage smiled and said, "How about... I'll give you 30 taels?"

The reward for a Level A mission is usually between 20 and 50 taels of silver.

Qingwu was very satisfied; this was for him alone.

At the same time, he could vaguely sense that the Third Generation was clearly giving him money.

"Thank you, Hokage!"

Qingwu expressed his sincere gratitude.

A full 30 taels was enough for him to do many things.

Go back and speed up resource gathering. We don't have enough Magic Springs right now, but we can build the ranged units' Wooden Huts first.

"There's one more thing!"

The third generation leader chuckled and said, "With your strength, I allow you to leave the village to carry out missions. You're right, experience is a necessary condition for growth."

Having received the Hokage's personal approval, Qingwu showed a joyful expression.

"You'll have to find your own team members." The Third Hokage jokingly added, "Yugao won't be able to do missions with you."

"Yes!" Qingwu thought of familiar faces in his mind.

It would be best to find a teammate who is a Chunin, so that you can take on B-rank missions with higher rewards.

He decided to bring out the wood elf so he could go out and earn money and experience.

"Kakashi should have told you that you can't go to the battlefield for the time being, Qingwu. You need to understand how important you are to Konoha."

"Understood, Hokage-sama!"

Qingwu understood the bottom line of the third generation.

However, it doesn't matter for now, as long as we don't accept any missions related to the Cloud Hidden Battlefield.

"Alright, you can go now."

Qingwu bowed and turned to leave.

He can't wait to go to the mission center to collect his money and then go back to continue "construction".

Watching the office door close, the Third Hokage walked to the window, watching Qingwu leave the Hokage Building and walk into the morning sunlight.

"What do you think?" he suddenly asked.

From the shadows of the office, Shimura Danzo slowly emerged. "Hiruzen, you've gotten old, and your heart has softened..."