Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

He looked at Qingwu, "But it's still a potential problem, which is why I suggested you stay in the hospital."

"..." Qingwu appeared calm on the surface, but her heart was in turmoil.

If the Third Hokage is correct about the timing, then it must have been when he built the Magic Tower.

Is it...

Thinking of this, he wanted to go back even more immediately.

"Let Kakashi-senpai accompany me. I need to recover my mental and energy levels quickly in order to prepare for the exam."

"Alright." The Third Hokage did not force the boy in front of him.

Moreover, the tower is some distance from Qingwu's "home," and there has been no movement since. Sending people inside to check has not revealed anything unusual.

"Clap!"

The third generation clapped his hands.

Whoosh!

Kakashi appeared instantly.

The Third Hokage didn't say much, just nodded to Kakashi and Qingwu, and then turned and left.

Kakashi turned his head to speak to Qingwu, but suddenly disappeared from Qingwu's sight with a 'whoosh'.

"..." Just as Qingwu was in a daze, there was a knock on the ward door.

Hongdou pushed open the door and entered.

She looked somewhat haggard and was still wearing a hospital gown.

"Qingwu..."

Hongdou cried out, and tears streamed down her face.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know... I really didn't know that the teacher would..." she stammered, her voice broken.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Qingwu had never seen a red bean like this before.

Is this still the same "Azuko Mitarashi" who was fearless in school?

"I'm sorry!" Hongdou covered her face with her hands, her shoulders trembling.

Qingwu began to realize what was going on.

Anko probably felt guilty not only because Orochimaru suddenly intervened.

A deeper reason... most likely, is the blow Orochimaru's defection dealt her.

"Sigh..." Qingwu sighed silently and said, "Hongdou, I have never blamed you."

"Waaah—"

“I know you didn’t bring the person. That scoundrel is plotting against people. How could someone as naive as you defend yourself against him?”

"Waaah—Qingwu, are you saying I'm stupid?"

"..." After all, she's still just a teenage girl. Qingwu pouted, "No, if I were smart enough, I should have been on guard against that rascal snake from the moment you joined the team."

"Waaah—you still blame me."

"..." Qingwu chuckled, "No, Hongdou, look, before your teacher defected, who would have thought he would take action?"

"Waaah—"

"Even the Hokage didn't expect this. When it comes to understanding someone, who understands him better than Snake's teacher?"

"Waaah—I don't have a teacher anymore, waaah—"

"..." Qingwu patted his forehead in exasperation. No wonder Kakashi ran so fast.

This girl's crying is truly heart-wrenching.

"Alright!" he raised his voice and shouted, "I'm a patient, I need to rest."

"..." Hongdou gradually stopped crying. "Qingwu, you really don't blame me?"

"The Hokage has left?" Iruka returned at this moment and was also stunned for a long time when he saw Anko's appearance.

After learning the truth, Iruka became Seigo's "mouth substitute".

When it comes to comforting people, the warm-hearted Iruka is clearly superior to Qingwu.

After sharing her innermost thoughts, Hongdou finally calmed down.

However, it was the two of them who "escorted" them home.

Of course, Kakashi was probably following from the shadows.

Return to territory.

Using the excuse of recovering energy by getting close to the ancient tree, Qingwu leaped alone into the wooden house and closed the doors and windows.

He first confirmed the casualties of the military personnel yesterday.

Centaurs, now there are 48 left.

He originally had 76 and a half centaurs, but lost 28 in yesterday's battle.

The remaining statuses all indicate that the character is ready to fight.

These basic cannon fodder units are hard to get hurt... because they're instantly killed when they encounter powerful enemies.

The dwarves suffered the least loss; they originally had 60, but now they have 51 left.

Although 14 of them were marked as unavailable for battle, only 9 actually died in the battle.

From another perspective, sometimes having short legs has its advantages... it means you're slower to die!

The loss of the Wood Elves was the most heartbreaking for Qingwu among the basic unit types.

There were 45 wood elves, and 25 remained.

When fighting the Ten Thousand Snakes, the Wood Elves suffered zero casualties.

The 20 who died were all killed instantly by the Kusanagi Sword during close combat with Orochimaru.

"call……"

Finally, Qingwu took a deep breath and focused his gaze on the withered wood guardian.

The status is displayed as a dark red color indicating severe injury.

Keep in mind that the two dwarves who were previously reduced to low health by Kakashi only showed red.

Given the withered tree's current state, Qingwu doesn't know when it will fully recover...

Just then, he felt something and looked up towards the center of the Death Forest.

There……

Pushing open the window, the top of the tower shimmered with a pale blue light.

"Magic Tower!"

Qingwu leaped out of the window and raced towards the tower...

Chapter 53 Upgrade of the Deadwood Guardian

It's amazing.

Upon returning to his territory, Qingwu did not find any new buildings in his land.

But when he saw the light shimmering on the central tower, he immediately recognized it as his magic tower.

It's unclear how the system "did" it.

"Qingwu, where are you going?"

Iruka and Red Bean were chatting under the ancient tree when they saw Qingwu run out, so they quickly followed.

"Revisiting an old haunt" - the tower I didn't reach during yesterday's exam.

Today is right before our eyes.

Two squads of secret agents were stationed around the tower.

Furthermore, they set up a barrier around the tower, with two teams of ANBU taking turns channeling chakra into it.

When Qingwu arrived, he was stopped outside by the Dark Guard.

"The Hokage has ordered that no one is allowed to approach the tower."

The tower has been built for decades, using ordinary materials, and no strange phenomena have ever occurred before.

Its purpose is simply to serve as a landmark building in the center of the Death Forest.

But many people saw the soaring light last night.

The ANBU guards this place partly because they are worried about what might happen next, and partly to prevent spies from spreading the news and attracting investigations from other ninja villages.

Just as Qingwu was hesitating about how to get in, Kakashi appeared.

"Let him in!"

Before the ANBU member who was trying to stop him could speak, Kakashi added, "The Hokage has ordered that Qingwu may move freely in any area of ​​the Forest of Death."

"..." The squad leader hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside.

At this moment, Qingwu experienced the benefits of "power" for the first time.

Perhaps... we could give that damn Shadow Guard team a try?

While pondering, he nodded his thanks to Kakashi and ran towards the tower in a hurry.

Iruka and Anko followed behind.

Qingwu didn't speak, but pushed open the heavy door at the bottom of the tower.

【Ding! 】

[First time entering the Magic Tower!]

[Reward: 1 Magic Upgrade Speed-up!]