Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Fifty meters...

One hundred meters...

150 meters...

Two hundred meters...

Qingwu "stood" in front of the light spot.

It was larger than Qingwu had imagined, and it was different from the "cocoon of light" that had formed on the ancient tree of life.

About the size of a fist, it is emerald green all over, with fine, leaf-vein-like golden patterns flowing slowly inside. Around the essence, countless slender, almost transparent energy threads are wrapped.

These threads extend from all directions and eventually converge at the top of the essence.

Qingwu was able to easily sense it, thanks in no small part to these subtle energy threads.

"Those two fought several battles in the Valley of the End, spanning several decades."

"Tsk tsk, even residual energy can form natural essence. Just how powerful was Hashirama Senju at his peak!"

Just by getting close, Qingwu felt the natural energy within her body cheering and leaping with joy, as if a long-awaited rain had come after a drought.

Suppressing the urge to absorb it, Qingwu's hand touched the "light spot".

【Ding! 】

[Obtain Natural Essence*1]

A smile appeared on Qingwu's lips. "Just as I expected!!"

"Now that we have two, we only need one more to build the most crucial resource in the Forest Sanctuary."

"The Forest Sanctuary also needs many other resources, such as gold coins... I already have some ideas, and we also need to accumulate timber and stone ore."

"No rush, we should be able to find some information about the 'holy land' by then."

As it pondered, the green wutong tree slowly rose upwards using its roots.

If all goes as expected, the final ultimate barracks, Dragon Cliff, will also use 'Natural Essence'.

With this experience of obtaining the 'essence of nature', he believed that he would be able to find the answer once he reached the sacred place!

Back on the ground, Tianzang greeted him: "You got it?"

"Yes!" Qingwu nodded, looking at the stone statue of Hashirama Senju with a hint of respect in his eyes.

It seems... I still have a long way to go.

"Let's go back!"

The two took one last look at the Valley of the End, then turned and left.

The roar of the waterfall gradually faded into the distance behind us...

……

The next day, Qingwu found the Third Hokage and asked him directly about Jiraiya's whereabouts.

"What do you want with Jiraiya?"

"I've hit a roadblock regarding the application of natural energy, and I'd like to ask Jiraiya-sama for some advice."

"Hmm... I see. I can help you contact Jiraiya, but I can't guarantee he'll come back."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

"Don't thank me yet. In fact, I haven't seen him for several years. Sometimes he sends messages back on his own initiative. Although he left the village's contact information for him, Jiraiya's whereabouts are unpredictable, so it may not be easy to find him."

"I'll leave it to fate. Whether I can receive guidance from the Sannin depends on my luck," Qingwu said with a grin. "There's another matter I'd like to ask the Hokage."

“You’re already a Jonin in the village. Even without the title of Shadow Guard, you can still give me advice at any time.”

"Well, because of my identity as a member of the Shadow Guard, what I want to ask is... when I'm not on a mission, can I temporarily leave the village?"

"..."

"Uh..." Qingwu asked cautiously, "Is it not allowed?"

“It’s not that I’m restricting your freedom,” the Third Hokage sighed. “I’m worried about Orochimaru, Onoki, and even others…”

"..."

"..."

Both Qingwu and the Third Generation fell silent.

Long ago, the third generation knew that Qingwu always wanted to leave the village, and he understood this: young people, how could they not be restless?

However, as Qingwu became more and more important in the village, he had no choice but to use the "Shadow Guard" to temporarily restrain him.

However, the Third Hokage also knew that as the boy in front of him grew stronger, he would eventually be unable to bear such... constraints.

...As for Qingwu, although he has obtained a lot of resources in the village... well, so far, whether it is gold coins, wood, or stone ore, they all come from Konoha.

Sometimes he felt like a "giant leech," rapidly "growing" by absorbing nutrients from the leaves.

Therefore, he never thought of falling out with the village—the third generation had treated him well!

However... the gold coins needed to build new barracks are increasing, and relying solely on the Shadow Guard's wages... it will take a long time to save up.

As his strength increased, Qingwu felt that... the underground gold exchange was a good place to go.

"Qingwu, if you want to leave the village to clear your mind, there is an opportunity right now."

The third generation broke the silence.

"What opportunity?" Qingwu looked up.

"To the capital!" The Third Hokage tossed a document over:

"In fact, the daimyo's envoy invited you before the new year, but because he wanted to promote you to Jonin at the time, I temporarily put it aside..."

Chapter 110 The Twelve Guardian Ninjas

The third generation did not hide anything.

Instead, it was a very frank narration:

The daimyo had previously extended invitations to some Konoha ninjas to attend a New Year's banquet before the New Year.

This includes the recently famous "Shadow Guards," with particular emphasis on the name "Qingwu."

However, the Shadow Guard belongs to the Hokage, so they can only be invited through the Hokage first.

As a result, the third generation leader politely declined, citing "having other matters to attend to."

The Hokage and the Daimyo... are inherently in a "cooperative" relationship, with neither being superior to the other.

Daming Prefecture never mentioned this again.

As for the third generation, he wasn't worried about any daimyo trying to win him over.

The profession of ninja... especially for powerful ninjas, is one that no one would choose to serve a daimyo—because the daimyo can't offer much.

Money? For many ninjas, it's just a number.

Promotion channels, ninjutsu, guidance, and growth are the most direct needs of a ninja.

Of course, what the Third Hokage didn't know was that if the Daimyo were willing to offer Qingwu a sufficiently high "salary," Qingwu might actually be tempted...

Qingwu opened the document and glanced at it, then said softly, "Guardian Ninja...selection?"

The Third Hokage chuckled, “That’s right. The New Year’s banquet is over, but the Guardian Ninja Selection is quite a grand event. If you’re interested, you can go and take a look.”

"Uh..." Qingwu was actually quite tempted. The capital city... he had never been there before.

However, he didn't know in what capacity he would go.

As if guessing his thoughts, the Third Hokage said, "The Shadow Guard doesn't have any missions lately, so you can all go."

Having already become quite familiar with the Third Hokage, Qingwu jokingly said, "If the Daimyo invites our Shadow Guard to join the Guardian Ninja, we..."

"Hahaha..." The third generation leader laughed heartily, pointing to the document and saying:

"The official letter from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire originally requested that Konoha recommend young, promising ninjas to participate in the selection."

"If you are not a member of the Shadow Guard, you will definitely be invited to fill the 'Twelve Guardian Ninjas' selection held in the capital this time."

"Because... the Daimyo is very interested in your performance in the Land of Grass and the Land of Tea, especially... your defeat of the Tsuchikage..."

The third daimyo casually raised an eyebrow at Qingwu, "After the news reached the capital, the daimyo personally inquired about it with me several times."

"Rumors...that's really ridiculous," Qingwu said sheepishly.

"Hehehe," the Third Hokage said with a smile, "It's a good thing to go and broaden your horizons. If your Shadow Guard is present, you are representing the Hokage."

“Of course,” the Third Hokage changed the subject, “if you feel it is more advantageous for you to become Guardian Ninjas, I will not stop you.”

The Third Daimyo wasn't worried about this at all. Any Daimyo with a brain wouldn't have any designs on his personal Shadow Guard.

“This time… there will be Root ninjas going along,” the Third Hokage suddenly said meaningfully.

"Hmm?" Qingwu looked up at the old man, guessing the purpose of his words.

"Go ahead," the Third Hokage said with a smile.

"After the battle with Iwagakure, your reputation is known throughout the entire ninja world."

"Konoha needs to demonstrate the power of its new generation to the Daimyo."

"And the daimyo also needs a 'hero' to boost domestic morale and deter neighboring countries, and you are the most suitable candidate."

"What are the selection criteria?" Qingwu asked curiously.

"The routine consists of three parts: a combat test, a mission simulation, and a loyalty assessment!"

"The Root... Will Danzo get involved?"

The Third Hokage had clearly anticipated that Qingwu would show Danzo no respect whatsoever.

“Indeed, Danzo… always likes to meddle in everything.”

This time, the Third Hokage didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I hope you can ruin his plan."

Danzo certainly liked to meddle in everything.