Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Now his biggest concern is the construction needs.

I still have a "resource powerhouse," the level 4 barracks [Magic Spring], that I haven't built yet.

However, when he opened the panel, what he saw was...

[Magic Tower]: A special building

[Construction Cost]: Natural Energy * 1000

[Function 1]: Unlocks magic level upgrades

[Function 2]: Unlock troop level upgrades

"Hmm? Only natural energy is needed?"

And coincidentally, his upgraded natural energy was just enough.

You will see a system prompt that says "[Yes]/[No] Build Now".

Qingwu was a little confused. Wasn't it only possible to build new buildings in the territory before?

Considering that the current status of the withered tree guards indicates they are unable to fight, and that they are at least safe at Konoha Hospital without requiring any other resources, Qingwu decisively chose "Yes"!

After his battle with Orochimaru, he urgently needs to improve his strength.

【Ding! 】

[The Magic Tower is complete!]

"???"

So fast? Qingwu was dumbfounded...

at the same time--

At the top of the tower in the center of the Death Forest, a pale blue beam of light shot into the sky.

A piercing alarm sounded.

Many ninjas from the Anbu and Security Department who were on night watch rushed over.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was awakened from his sleep.

Seeing the beam of light quickly dissipate, the Third Hokage solemnly ordered all departments to take defensive measures and prohibited unauthorized personnel from entering or leaving.

While the entire Hidden Leaf Village was on high alert, Qingwu, with only 10 points of natural energy left, drifted off to sleep again.

Silent all night.

Mental exhaustion allowed Qingwu to sleep soundly until dawn.

After Konoha had been on guard all night and found nothing around the tower, they left two teams of ANBU to keep watch, while the rest dispersed for the time being.

Early in the morning, the Third Generation arrived at Qingwu's hospital room with large bags under his eyes.

Qingwu was eating the breakfast that Iruka had brought.

"Lord Hokage!"

Iruka bowed and withdrew.

The Third Hokage summoned the vice president of Konoha Hospital.

After reviewing all the data, the vice dean exclaimed in surprise, "Did he really fight Orochimaru?"

The third generation nodded noncommittally.

Orochimaru's defection was no secret within Konoha.

Of course, most people still don't know the reasons for the defection.

The Third Hokage guessed that there would be many rumors circulating in Konoha in the coming period, and some of these rumors would even point directly to him, Orochimaru's teacher.

But he doesn't intend to interfere.

The more speculation and rumors there are about this matter, the safer Qingwu will be for the time being.

"Qingwu, you've become famous in the village." The third generation leader said with a smile as only the two of them remained in the ward.

Qingwu smiled bitterly: "It's better not to have this kind of reputation."

Let's not talk about the cost of basic units; you can gradually replenish them as long as you have the money.

The most important thing is the status of the Deadwood Guardian.

The Deadwood Guardian has a strong vitality, but correspondingly, his water-based magic [Healing] is not very effective.

As long as this biggest trump card cannot be used, Qingwu feels very insecure.

Thinking of this, Qingwu said, "Since the test results are all fine, I should go home and rest."

Within the territory, natural energy regenerates much faster.

As for how to restore the withered tree guardian, it's hard to say; we'll have to go to the territory to find the answer.

Moreover, the panel showed that the [Magic Tower] had been successfully built, and he urgently needed to go back and check it out.

The third generation leader shook his head and said, "Let's stay in the hospital for now. Something has happened in the Death Forest. We'll wait until it's safe to do something else."

Qingwu asked curiously, "After what happened yesterday, the second round of the Chunin Exams should have ended ahead of schedule, right?"

“That’s right!” the Third Hokage said. “Well… after that wicked disciple left, the exam ended early. By the way, that’s exactly what I was going to tell you.”

After a moment's thought, the Third Generation said seriously:

"The remaining genin from the Forest of Death all passed the exams yesterday. Qingwu, I need you to participate in the remaining chunin exams. You have no objections, right?"

"The rest..." So all that's left is 1v1, right? Qingwu said, "Yes, Lord Hokage, I was going to pass the exam anyway."

"Very good." The third generation smiled and said, "In the remaining preliminary rounds and the main tournament, I hope you will give it your all. I intend to..."

After a pause, the Third Hokage said, "Yes, I plan to hold a formal meeting to promote you to Jonin after you pass the Chunin Exams."

"!!" Qingwu exclaimed in shock, "Lord Hokage, this..."

"Don't worry," the Third Hokage chuckled, "If anyone has any objections, let him go and fight my traitorous disciple!"

Is that what I'm worried about...? Qingwu remained silent.

He felt that the improvement was a bit too fast.

In terms of combat power, especially if the Drywood Guardian were to be deployed, many Jonin would probably be no match for him.

This can be seen from the fact that he used the Dryad Guardian to fight Kakashi and injured the latter.

However, if he is promoted to Jonin at the age of 13, he is likely to become a target of public criticism.

He doesn't want to appear in the public eye too early.

"Qingwu, your father and mother passed away early. Becoming a Jonin can be considered a consolation to their souls beneath the memorial stone."

The Third Hokage continued, "Furthermore, a 13-year-old Jonin can boost the village's currently somewhat low morale. And also, do you remember what you promised?"

"Ah~!?" Qingwu was speechless and responded blankly.

"After the exam, I will officially join the Dark Division and become a member of the Shadow Guard!"

The third generation sighed:

"When Minato succeeded as Hokage two years ago, he had no one to rely on, so he established the Shadow Guard based on the Anbu."

"Now I intend to follow the example of Watergate and formally establish the Shadow Guard."

"And Qingwu, you are the first member of the Shadow Guard!"

"..."

Chapter 52 Who can withstand this?

Qingwu was confused by the series of information in the third generation's words.

Jonin?

Shadow Guard?

When the Third Hokage said he would recruit him into the Shadow Guard to train him, he thought it was too early and didn't take it seriously.

I didn't expect this old man to be serious!

"Lord Hokage~" Qingwu politely declined, "I am still too young to shoulder the responsibilities of a Jonin, and the Shadow Guard is also..."

"Eh~!" The Third Hokage laughed, "If I was worried before that you wouldn't be able to handle it, all those concerns have disappeared since yesterday."

"..." Qingwu opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Who would have thought that a battle with Orochimaru would have so many "aftereffects"?

“No one is more suitable than you!” the Third Hokage said. “Qingwu, Konoha needs you, I… I need you!”

Who could withstand this... If I hadn't awakened my innate wisdom, I probably would have already bowed down in worship by now!

Qingwu sat back on the hospital bed and remained silent for a moment before saying:

"Lord Hokage, I still want to go home first. Yesterday's battle consumed a lot of my natural energy, and I can recover much faster at home."

"As for... the Shadow Guard, let's talk about that after the Chunin Exams."

At this moment, he even had some thoughts of deliberately slacking off, wondering if losing to a mere genin in the exam would cause the Third Hokage to rescind his appointment.

The Third Hokage paused for a moment, then smiled again. "Child, don't worry, I, the Hokage, am here for you."

He assumed that Qingwu's reluctance to take on this important task stemmed from a commoner's habitual inferiority complex, and expressed his understanding.

"Genin, Chunin, and Jonin are completely different for the village. Only by becoming a Jonin can you contribute more to the village, and even..."

The third generation leader stopped himself in time and didn't continue.

It's too early to say things like "even becoming Hokage".

Anyway, once he joins the Shadow Guard, Qingwu will gradually understand on his own.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage said, "The preliminary rounds start the day after tomorrow. If you insist on going back, I'll have someone accompany you."

Qingwu finally found an opportunity to ask the question that had been bothering him earlier, "What was the change that the Hokage-sama mentioned?"

"That's how it is..." The Third Hokage briefly explained the unusual situation at the tower last night, "The current investigation has found nothing."