Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic

Chapter 38 New Teammates

The next morning.

At the edge of the Death Forest.

Iruka led the way, carrying breakfast in his hand.

A girl of similar age followed behind him.

A dark ponytail swayed behind her head, and the girl wore a mesh bodysuit and shorts, with a bamboo skewer of meatballs dangling from her mouth.

She looked around curiously: "Iruka, Qingwu actually lives in the forest?"

"Ah," Iruka responded, "Red Bean, you've been away from the village for half a year. Are you back now just to take the exam?"

The girl was none other than Mitarashi Anko.

I graduated last year in the same year as Qingwu and Iruka, but after the New Year, I heard that he left the village to do a mission and just came back not long ago.

"Hehehe," Hongdou said casually, "With my current abilities, taking the exam is just a formality. You'd never guess who my teacher is."

Faced with his smug old classmate, Iruka opened his mouth, "..."

He really didn't know, but he envied his classmates who still had teachers to guide them after graduation.

"You mean Qingwu has improved a lot?" Hongdou pouted. "I don't think he's that great, otherwise he wouldn't be living here."

"Huh?" Iruka asked, puzzled.

"Look, that guy's staying here is just to familiarize himself with the Death Forest environment beforehand, isn't it?"

Mitarashi Anko, with a 'everything under control' expression, said, 'The Forest of Death is usually set up as the test site for the second round of exams.'

"!!" Iruka hadn't really thought of that.

However, he shook his head and said, "Red Bean, didn't I tell you? Qingwu is no longer an ordinary ninja. He has awakened Wood Release."

"Tch, really?" Red Bean pretended not to care, but her eyes darted around cleverly as she probed, "He didn't seem to have changed much when I saw him that day."

"You'll understand when you see Qingwu's new home." Iruka didn't say anything more and led the way in silence.

"Tch, still playing the mystery game?" Red Bean curled her lip in disdain.

As an old classmate, she knew Qingwu very well.

The teacher asked her to appear at the right time and join Qingwu's team, and also gave her a task: to collect information about Qingwu's Wood Release ability.

Red Bean didn't understand why the teacher of one of the "Three Ninjas" would pay attention to a 13-year-old boy.

Is it because of Wood Release?

How much better can he be? No matter what, he was just an ordinary classmate before. How much could he have changed in half a year?

however……

The moment Red Bean followed Iruka into the territory, she was shocked.

An ancient tree, about eight meters tall and exuding an extraordinary aura, stands quietly with its canopy like a canopy.

Scattered around are several buildings of different styles.

The long, shed-style stables and the low, sturdy stone and wood fortresses.

There is also an exquisite wooden house that seems to blend into the trees, with vines entwining it and leaves serving as windows, exuding a tranquil and natural atmosphere.

"The air here..."

Hongdou closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "How special."

"Of course!" This time it was Iruka's turn to be proud.

The natural energy within the territory is abundant. Iruka has been coming here to cultivate every day for the past two months. He feels that not only has his physical and mental health improved a lot, but he has even grown taller.

"What... what exactly happened?" Hongdou asked in surprise. "Did Qingwu do this? The inside and outside of the walls are completely different worlds."

Although the Death Forest has a large number of trees, its ecosystem is well preserved.

But beneath the tranquility, there is always an unsettling stillness.

But here, even though it's located deep in the Death Forest, everywhere you look there's... the scent of life.

"You've arrived."

Qingwu emerged from behind the ancient tree, dressed in simple training clothes, his body still damp with sweat.

"Qingwu, have you started training yet?" Iruka greeted him.

"I warmed up."

Qingwu took the breakfast Iruka handed him and asked the girl who was looking around, "Red Bean, is everything alright here?"

Anko snapped out of her daze and asked in surprise, "How did you do that? Is it really as Iruka said, that it was all built using your Wood Release techniques?"

"Of course!" Qingwu joked with a smile, "Hongdou, don't judge people with old eyes."

"Pah!" Hongdou punched Qingwu without hesitation. "You eat first, and we'll spar later."

"You want to spar with me?" Qingwu asked with a strange expression.

Although he knew that Anko was Orochimaru's student, with his current strength, it would be a miracle if he didn't make her cry.

"Is that not allowed?" Hongdou glared at him defiantly.

She always remembered the task her teacher had given her: to gather information about Qingwu's Wood Release techniques.

"Okay~!" Qingwu didn't say anything and sat on the tree stump to eat breakfast.

After what happened to Yakushi Nonou, Anko's appearance did not surprise him.

He had learned about Orochimaru from Kakashi.

Orochimaru has not yet defected.

That means Orochimaru cannot bypass the Third Hokage to harm him.

If he was just there to gather information about him, Qingwu felt there was nothing to hide.

No one will know that the system exists.

Their abilities will be revealed sooner or later.

Besides, Anko is an old classmate, and he and Iruka happen to be short of people, so there's no reason to refuse Anko's joining.

After breakfast, Hongdou got into position and said, "Come on, Qingwu, let me see your progress."

The girl seemed somewhat excited.

She followed her teacher, completing tasks while practicing, and felt she had made tremendous progress. She couldn't wait to amaze her old classmates.

"Come on!" Qingwu said lazily, putting on a coat.

Hongdou scoffed, thinking her old classmate was... a bit pretentious.

"Clone Technique!"

Thud! Thud!

Red Bean splits into two clones, which, together with the main body, launch an attack from three directions.

Iruka stood on the periphery, his eyes fixed on the scene.

He had some understanding of Qingwu's strength, but he was unsure of how much Hongdou had grown.

However, Hongdou was a genius at school back then, she should...

Iruka's thoughts were interrupted as the battle on the field had already been decided.

"..." Hongdou's expression was somewhat complicated. She lowered her head slightly, signaling Qingwu to remove the kunai that was placed in front of his neck.

"What the hell is that?" Hongdou looked at the two wood spirits behind Qingwu. "A puppet?"

She didn't even have time to use any other techniques before two of her clones were blasted apart by arrows. Before she could react, Qingwu had already swiftly stopped her with a kunai.

"It's a summoned creature," Iruka explained on Qingwu's behalf. "Qingwu's Wood Release can summon various combat units."

Hongdou looked over.

Iruka continued with a proud tone, "There are speed-type, defensive-type, strength-type, and ranged attack types."

Iruka, who considers himself to have witnessed the rise of Qingwu, knows it all like the back of his hand.

"What…" Anko shook her head, her ponytail swaying wildly behind her. "What nonsense is this? Is this supposed to be Wood Release?"