[Ding! Fusion failed.]
…
Qingqiu Guang wasn't surprised by the result. Honestly, he'd failed more than enough times to be used to it by now.
Calmly, he continued feeding materials into the fusion interface.
Another Clone Jutsu and Body Flicker Jutsu.
Once ready—
[Ding! Fusion failed.][Ding! Fusion failed.][Ding! Fusion failed.]
…
More failures.
But Qingqiu Guang's expression remained calm as ever. Without missing a beat, he threw in another set of materials and hit "Fuse."
[Ding! Fusion successful. Obtained: Multi-Shadow Flicker Technique (Green).]
His eyes instantly widened, and he nearly jumped to his feet.
Surprise!
Total, utter surprise.
It wasn't the fusion success that shocked him.
It was the fact that—
He'd hit the 1% chance of a grade increase, bumping the result from white to green!
"I knew it! Washing my face, hands, and feet beforehand really does work!"
With a bright smile, Qingqiu Guang was thrilled.
He'd just earned a green-tier ability—that's basically a B-rank jutsu!
Naturally, he hurried to read the skill's description:
[Multi-Shadow Flicker Technique (Green)]
When activated, the user moves at blinding speed, creating multiple highly realistic afterimages that launch simultaneous attacks to mislead and overwhelm the enemy.
After reading it—
Qingqiu Guang's eyes lit up with excitement.
This was clearly an upgrade to his previous Residual Shadow Flicker Technique.
Not only did it leave behind a phantom image—it left behind multiple that could actively attack.
By the time the enemy was busy defending against fake attacks—
Bam!
He'd already used the real Body Flicker to sneak behind and stab their kidneys.
In the shinobi world…
Just one or two seconds is enough to decide life or death.
So yeah, this move was insanely valuable.
And if he could gather more green-tier copies of it—
He might be able to combine them again and push it to blue or even purple-tier.
"That wouldn't be so strange at all," he thought.
Without hesitation, he consumed the new jutsu.
In one second, the skill was learned.
So clean. So fast.
"This system is the best."
Still, even after learning Multi-Shadow Flicker, Qingqiu Guang didn't remove the older Residual Shadow Flicker.
Why?
Because there was no need to.
Residual Shadow Flicker was still a useful trump card.
Besides—
He'd used it publicly during his challenge to the second-year students. Everyone probably knew about it by now.
"They think I didn't notice them hiding in the woods?"
Ha.
With Kagura's Mind Eye (Purple) active the whole time, he had a crystal-clear count of every onlooker.
Upperclassmen. Teachers. ANBU.
"None of them escaped my notice."
This secret art?
Deserved 100 thumbs up.
Time to Keep Fusing...
Next up: Chakra materials.
He began combining the massive stack of Chakra (White) into Chakra Fruits.
One after another, the notifications chimed in:
[Ding! Fusion successful. Obtained: Chakra Fruit (White).][Ding! Fusion successful. Obtained: Chakra Fruit (Green).][Ding! Fusion failed.]…etc.
After 36 attempts, fusion was complete.
Final tally:
15 Chakra Fruits (White)
2 Chakra Fruits (Green)
Then he snuck into his usual secret spot.
Kagura's Mind Eye—activate.
All clear.
Safe and secure.
And so—
He started chugging Chakra Fruits one by one, feeling his chakra reserves surge with every bite.
Though he was grinning ear to ear, the image of him hiding in a dark corner while quietly eating glowing fruit…
Was a bit weird.
But who cared?
"What matters is power."
Each Chakra Fruit (White) gave him the equivalent of 10 days of hard chakra training.
With 15 of them, that was 5 months of effort.
Add 2 more Green Fruits, worth another 2 months total…
That's 7 months of chakra training in one go!
Not to mention—
He'd already had 3 months worth from his last fusion binge after reaching the Chūnin tier.
All in all—
He now had 10 months' worth of chakra training under his belt since breaking into Chūnin level.
All this in a ridiculously short time.
"At this rate, I'll reach Jōnin-level chakra in no time."
No wonder he was so hyped.
This second-year challenge had been a huge win.
In fact—
He was already itching to send a challenge letter to the third-years.
But…
Nope.
That would have to wait.
He wasn't stupid.
Normally, he'd have been dragged away and scolded by teachers for causing such a commotion.
But during his time in the woods using Kagura's Mind Eye…
He'd sensed his own homeroom teacher, Ishiki Mori, among the spectators.
So why hadn't the man stopped him?
"Someone must've stepped in to stop him from interfering."
Who exactly?
He didn't know.
But if someone had enough power to silence a teacher like Ishiki Mori…
Then it didn't matter who it was.
If they were watching him, there was nowhere to hide.
So—
Why worry?
"No point stressing over it. Waste of brain cells."
After that—
Qingqiu Guang walked out of the bathroom, finally done with his fusion session.
As for whether he should start fusing his remaining materials?
Nah.
He'd wait until he stockpiled more.
Then go for something bigger.