บท 55: Chapter 55: Return
Upon hearing his inquiry, Mizutani Seiko cried even more sorrowfully. From her fragmented recounting, Qingming learned that Furukawa had sacrificed himself to cover the retreat of the entire team, ultimately being killed by two Iwagakure Jonin working together.
As for Ryoukai, he had died simply to protect Mizutani Seiko.
During the retreat, they had the misfortune of encountering a squad of Iwagakure Chunin. In order to protect Seiko, Ryoukai fought to the death, but the difference in strength was not something mere desperation could easily bridge.
In the end, they were outmatched by four opponents, leading to Ryoukai's immediate demise. If not for a passing Leaf Jonin who happened to rescue Mizutani Seiko, she would have likely perished as well.
Qingming glanced at Mizutani Seiko and noticed that she indeed bore many injuries. The visible wounds made it clear just how dire the situation had been at the time.
At that moment, Qingming thought to himself, if he hadn't been carrying out the infiltration mission at the Iwagakure stronghold, would it have been better to stay by their side?
After contemplating for a moment, he arrived at an answer—by the results, it certainly would have been better.
Given his current strength, he couldn't guarantee he could save Furukawa; that would be too difficult, considering the enemy comprised two real Jonin.
However, saving Ryoukai and Mizutani Seiko's lives would have been more than feasible. Those mere four Iwagakure Chunin were no match for him, even if they worked together.
On the other hand, he couldn't be their caretaker for life.
Not to mention the daily tasks he undertook to look after them, just recalling the times he had put himself at risk to save them during the Iwagakure ambushes and nighttime raids was enough.
Qingming felt he had done enough. If something had gone wrong under those circumstances, it could only be blamed on their bad luck.
Therefore, regarding the deaths of Ryoukai and Furukawa, Qingming didn't feel guilt, only a sense of regret.
"Strength, I need to improve my strength as soon as possible!"
Qingming resolved inwardly.
Ryoukai's death ultimately stemmed from a lack of strength. Otherwise, even if they faced danger, they could have safely navigated through it.
Thus, strength was the fundamental aspect of everything.
With that thought, Qingming no longer wasted time. He comforted Mizutani Seiko for a moment, sent her to the medical ninjas for preliminary treatment, and then began his own training.
A few hours later.
The dawn was just breaking.
Accompanied by the sound of rolling wheels, the ninjas sent to replace them arrived at the small town base.
After both sides completed the handover, Qingming and the others began their journey back to the headquarters.
They had started with 120 people but returned with fewer than 50, with a casualty rate approaching 60%. It was undeniably brutal.
Among the surviving ninjas, most were Chunin and Jonin, with very few Genin left.
This was why Genin were often referred to as cannon fodder on the battlefield.
Of course, this time had special circumstances.
Under normal circumstances, the casualty rate for ninjas on the front lines wouldn't reach 60%.
At the very least, a single rotation wouldn't see such extreme numbers.
On the road.
The atmosphere in the team was somewhat heavy.
Qingming glanced at Mizutani Seiko beside him.
After several hours of recuperation, she seemed to be in much better condition, but from her expression, it was clear she hadn't fully recovered from the shadow of her teacher and companion's deaths.
Qingming didn't have a good solution for this and could only hope that time would help diminish her pain.
Time passed slowly, and the team advanced at a steady pace.
Without any supplies to escort, their speed could have been faster, but due to the number of injured individuals in the group, they had to slow down.
Even so, they managed to return to the headquarters before nightfall.
The task report didn't require a lowly Genin like him to handle, so after returning to the headquarters, Qingming immediately resumed his training.
Fortunately, there was a substantial break ahead, allowing him to focus on leveling up the "Chakra Refinement Technique" to level 4.
Two days later.
In the deep of night.
Inside the tent.
Qingming suddenly opened his eyes, unable to hide the joy in his gaze.
After two days of training, his "Chakra Refinement Technique" had finally progressed from level 3 to level 4.
"Next, let's see how effective it is," he murmured, closing his eyes again to begin meditating and refining his chakra.
This refinement process revealed a noticeable difference.
If level 3 had him operating the "Chakra Refinement Technique" as if he were using a small pipe to siphon the energy and mental power contained within his body,
then now, it felt as if he had added a high-pressure pump to that pipe, significantly increasing the extraction speed.
An hour later.
Qingming opened his eyes and glanced at his status panel—his chakra had increased by 800 points.
In level 3, that number had been 400 points.
This meant that with the "Chakra Refinement Technique" upgraded to level 4, his chakra recovery speed had doubled.
As a result, he could dedicate more time to practicing ninjutsu and other skills.
Previously, when he had not learned the "Konoha Style Swordsmanship," he didn't have to worry about time constraints since casting ninjutsu didn't take much time.
His only concern was whether he had enough chakra.
However, after learning the "Konoha Style Swordsmanship," especially after leveling it up to level 3, he had to be mindful.
While practicing this technique didn't consume much chakra, accumulating proficiency required repeated practice.
And that process necessitated a significant amount of time.
Therefore, for Qingming, this time-saving effect was just right.
Furthermore, there was the critical aspect of chakra recovery.
Before his physical attribute surpassed 8 points, he could use a maximum of 3500 chakra per day, and once it broke through to 8 points, that number increased to 4200.
Qingming had estimated that with the "Chakra Refinement Technique" upgraded to level 4, this figure would also rise, and now it seemed his estimation was correct.
Although he hadn't conducted a detailed test, based on the previous hour of training, he could already approximate a rough value—5500.
Yes, exactly 5500 points.
This number was a full 1300 points higher than before.
If he were to use all this chakra in practicing the "Mind Reflection Technique," he would gain 7.6 proficiency points.
And five proficiency points would increase the evolution level of his Sharingan by one.
In other words, moving forward, his Sharingan could gain an additional average of 1.5 proficiency points each day.
This would undoubtedly accelerate the evolution of his Sharingan.
The only regret was that his base attributes hadn't changed. His potential had already been fully tapped, and his chakra upper limit could only slowly grow over time.
Otherwise, he would know how much his chakra upper limit would increase per hour using the level 4 "Chakra Refinement Technique."
Following the previous pattern of three rounds of doubling, it should rise from 8 points per hour to 16 points.
Thus, if his base attributes increased, he could realize his potential in the shortest time possible.
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