Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

"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 this?" 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 considered Wood Release?"

Chapter 39 Mitarashi Anko

"if not?"

Iruka pointed around, "These were all created by Qingwu using Wood Release."

Qingwu chuckled to himself.

With Iruka as a witness, he didn't need to explain much more.

"This doesn't count!"

Red Bean rolled her eyes and said cheekily, "I wasn't on guard just now, let's do it again."

Qingwu remained noncommittal: "Whatever."

Iruka hurriedly backed away.

Hongdou struck a pose again, "Qingwu, this time I'm serious."

Qingwu gestured for him to enter.

"hateful!"

Red Bean was a little flustered. Her teacher was Orochimaru, how could he possibly lose to someone his own age?

"Yin-zi-wei-zi-yin!"

She quickly formed hand seals, and several giant pythons flew out from Hongdou's sleeves, biting at Qingwu.

"Watch out!" Iruka exclaimed in alarm.

He had never seen such a ninjutsu before, and the speed of the technique was extremely fast.

However, while he was worried about Qingwu, he saw Qingwu laugh and say, "You want to experience Wood Release? I'll grant your wish!"

boom!

A withered tree guardian, several meters tall, appeared before Qingwu, its numerous roots completely engulfing Hongdou's giant python.

"This, this..."

Red Bean was stunned again.

At close range, the massive, withered tree guardian exudes an intense sense of oppression.

Under Qingwu's control, the dense roots formed a huge 'wooden spear' that stopped in front of Hongdou.

"..." Hongdou was somewhat incredulous and also felt a bit shocked.

I... seem to have absolutely no ability to resist.

Sparring... Sparring my ass!

"Hmph!" Red Bean turned her head away unhappily. "I'm not fighting anymore."

Qingwu smiled and ignored her.

He asked Iruka about the latest news.

He remained in his territory and rarely visited the village; his intelligence came from Iruka, who made daily round trips.

Iruka enthusiastically reviewed the most popular candidates for this year's Chunin Exams.

In the past few days, ninja squads from several villages have entered Konoha.

As a test taker, Iruka gathered a lot of information.

“The smaller ninja villages like Takigakure, Kusagakure, and Yugakure were the first to arrive, and people from Iwagakure and Sunagakure also came. Strangely, no one from Kirigakure came to take the exam this year.”

Qingwu's mind raced. Wuyin... it's probably been completely destroyed by the vengeful Uchiha Obito by now.

"And another thing, Qingwu, you would never guess that Yunyin also sent someone to take the exam."

"Huh? Aren't we currently at war with the Hidden Cloud Village?"

“You’re making a fuss over nothing,” Red Bean finally found a chance to interject, “It’s precisely because it’s wartime that Cloud Village is here.”

Qingwu looked at her with amusement, "You know all this?"

"Tch!" Anko said, "Nominally it's the Chunin Exams, but in reality... it's a stage for countries to flex their muscles, gather intelligence, and test each other's strengths."

Qingwu nodded. Beneath the glamorous surface of the Chunin Exams, this has always been the case.

"Our battle with the Cloud Village isn't on a large scale right now; it's not a life-or-death situation," Red Bean continued.

“Sending the younger generation here will not only showcase the strength of the new generation of Kumogakure, but also allow us to openly gather intelligence on Konoha and test Konoha’s attitude…”

"It kills three birds with one stone. Moreover, if a genin from Kumogakure 'accidentally' dies or is seriously injured during the Konoha Exams, Kumogakure will have an excuse to escalate the conflict."

"Political games are disgusting!"

Ha, Qingwu was amused, "So you really do know about politics."

Iruka frowned deeply, realizing how complex the exam was after hearing what Red Bean said.

This is a matter of perspective.

Anko comes from a ninja family and has seen a lot of the world by following Orochimaru, so she understands some things after a little thought.

"Don't overthink it." Qingwu patted Iruka on the shoulder:

"For us, this is a test, a chance to demonstrate our strength and pass the assessment. As for the intricacies... that's for those in higher positions to worry about."

"Well said!" Hongdou praised, "Forget about Kumogakure and Iwagakure, we'll take them down one by one, two by two, and show them the power of Konoha!"

Qingwu chuckled to himself. This was the Hongdou he knew. It seemed that her analysis just now was just something she'd heard somewhere and was just for show.

The three chatted for a while before heading out of the territory.

The second round of the Konoha Chunin Exams usually takes place in the Forest of Death.

The fact that Qingwu lived here made it convenient for them to familiarize themselves with the terrain in advance.

The so-called special training involves constantly scouting the area to gain a thorough understanding of the terrain of the Death Forest, which has a diameter of 10 kilometers.

……

Two days later.

The Chunin Exams have officially begun.