But since the others didn't accept the challenge, there was nothing Qingqiu Guang could do about it.
He could only sigh—
He'd missed out on a few materials… maybe even a few special material fragments.
Still—
Taking on most of the second-year students at once had been incredibly fruitful for him.
"Guang, as expected of my good friend! Great performance out there. Keep it up next time."
Uzumaki Kushina beamed as she patted his shoulder.
And just like that—his badass, cool-guy performance from earlier was instantly robbed of at least 30–40% of its shine.
Worse—
Her words sounded suspiciously like a dad telling their son: "Not bad, son. Let's aim even higher next time!"
Damn it!
Not only did she steal his thunder, now she was stealing his dignity?!
Qingqiu Guang glared at her smug little face but decided to let it go.
"Fine... One day, I'll make you call me Daddy with tears in your eyes!"
"Let's go home."
Having no interest in lingering, Qingqiu Guang left with Kushina.
This fight had given him a massive haul, and he was eager to return and start combining materials—to see the results firsthand.
The rest of the onlookers watched them leave.
The hidden observers quietly slipped away as well.
And the second-year students—some beaten to tears, others dazed—also began to retreat, one by one.
Later, at the orphanage...
After parting ways with Kushina, Qingqiu Guang returned home.
First thing he did?
He activated Kagura's Mind Eye, scanning the surroundings.
Good news:
Same as always—no one was spying on him.
Perfect.
Now, he could review his loot in peace.
Here's what he'd collected:
64x Chakra (White)
7x Clone Jutsu (White)
4x Substitution Jutsu (White)
5x Transformation Jutsu (White)
5x Body Flicker Jutsu (White)
1x Uchiha Bloodline (Green)
1x Fireball Jutsu (White)
That was everything.
While the drop rate didn't quite hit 90%, he was more than satisfied.
Of all the loot, the most important was still the Chakra materials.
"This stuff is the foundation of power. The more chakra I have, the stronger I get."
It had taken him about 3 years' worth of chakra refining to reach the Chūnin level.
And based on his estimates, to reach Jōnin level, it'd take at least 10 years of hard work.
So yeah—more Chakra materials = good.
That's the only way to survive in the murky depths of Konoha.
As for the other materials like Clone, Substitution, Transformation, and Body Flicker—they were fairly common.
He'd gotten those from second-year students whose parents were likely ninja themselves. These low-rank jutsu weren't exactly secrets. Most shinobi parents would gladly teach them to their kids.
Then there were the gems of this haul:
Uchiha Bloodline (Green)
Fireball Jutsu (White)
These clearly came from Uchiha clan students.
Unfortunately, none of them had awakened the Sharingan, otherwise he might've gotten that as a material too.
"Too bad. Common materials can only drop what already exists in the target. No Sharingan, no Sharingan drop."
Special materials, though?
Totally different game.
They could drop unique powers, even if the person hadn't awakened them yet.
For example:
From Kushina, he'd gotten:
Nine-Tails Chakra (Black)
Genin Forehead Protector (Green)
From Minato:
Flying Thunder God Kunai
Yellow Flash
So yes—special materials were definitely more valuable.
The problem?
They were extremely rare, and usually only dropped in fragments, which was painfully slow.
After reviewing everything…
Qingqiu Guang got ready to start fusing.
But just as he was about to—
He stopped.
And rushed off to the bathroom.
Why?
Because he almost forgot the sacred ritual:
Wash your hands before combining materials.
He didn't just wash his hands.
He scrubbed his face.
He even washed his feet—just in case.
Why?
"Face black, hands black, feet black… you're just asking for failure!"
He wasn't about to let superstition screw him over.
Once he returned, he activated Kagura's Mind Eye again for one final check.
All clear.
Time to begin.
He opened the fusion interface and selected:
1x Body Flicker Jutsu (White)
1x Clone Jutsu (White)
Just one of each.
Why?
Because he was gambling.
This was a 20% success chance fusion.
But he already had one success under his belt—Residual Shadow Body Flicker.
If this succeeded, chances were high he'd get another copy of that same jutsu.
Currently, he had:
7 Clone Jutsu materials
5 Body Flicker materials
That meant 5 attempts total.
Now, if he wanted to be safe…
He could pull the Residual Shadow Body Flicker off his panel, and use it in a 100% fusion.
But that would require 9 materials of either type per attempt.
Too costly.
"All that, just for a 1% chance to upgrade the jutsu's rank?"
Yeah, no thanks.
He remembered that Chakra Fruit (Green) had dropped before when fusing only White materials.
So… why not try his luck here?
"If I succeed, I might even get a Green-rank Residual Shadow Flicker. Worth the risk."
If he failed?
Meh.
He'd only lose 2 white materials per attempt. Not the end of the world.
Qingqiu Guang took a breath.
"Combine."
The interface trembled slightly as it began the process.
And then…
[Ding…]