Naruto: Strength Through Teaching

Hiruzen quickly calmed down. As the current Hokage, he could not take on disciples casually.

The reason was simple: if his disciples had strength and achievements, they would be qualified to compete for the position of Hokage.

Taking Mutsuki as a disciple at this time would send the wrong signal. Mutsuki was no child; he was already a Jonin who had made significant contributions on the battlefield.

Hiruzen could take Mutsuki as a disciple after retirement, which would make things less complicated.

Hiruzen hoped to have a disciple who could inherit his legacy and pass on his skills. Mutsuki was indeed the most suitable candidate, both in terms of talent and character, which made Hiruzen very satisfied.

"I agree with your plan; there is no problem," Hiruzen accepted Mutsuki's proposal.

With Mutsuki's level of Nature Transformation, teaching Academy students is completely feasible. As for teaching so many students at once, Mutsuki has ample experience in this regard, so Hiruzen chose to trust first and question later.

"Then I won't disturb you and Danzo-sama with important matters," Mutsuki, having achieved his goal, chose to leave promptly.

He had exceeded his initial goal; he originally just wanted to get the special training plan approved and solidify his position with Hiruzen. However, with Danzo showing up, Mutsuki further secured his position.

When using Water Release, he intentionally used the Great Waterfall Jutsu taught by Hiruzen, highlighting Hiruzen's guidance and presenting himself as frequently receiving Hiruzen's instruction. This made his growth appear more reasonable from Danzo's perspective.

Mutsuki still needs to rely on Konoha for development; while he can be strong, he must not deviate too much from what is reasonable.

Initially, Mutsuki thought his identity in ROOT was a hassle, but now he realizes that being part of ROOT is actually beneficial. Otherwise, rationalizing his strength would be very difficult, especially since he is not an Uchiha who experiences a surge in power simply by awakening their eyes.

ROOT has indeed brought him many benefits. As a Ninja trained by ROOT, Danzo naturally has a certain level of trust in him, having been brainwashed from a young age.

Hiruzen nodded and then told Asuma to return to the room.

"Yumi-sensei, I've encountered some issues with my Wind Release recently," Asuma said, immediately following Mutsuki and taking the opportunity to ask him some questions.

Mutsuki took Asuma to a relatively open area for guidance.

"A Ninja like Mutsuki Yumi should not be a sensei at the Academy. He should return to ROOT to maximize his potential. With the ongoing wars, ROOT needs Ninja like him," Danzo said, watching Mutsuki leave.

Although Danzo wanted Mutsuki to go to the battlefield and help Orochimaru achieve great accomplishments, he knew that Hiruzen would never agree to that directly. So, Danzo proposed a plan that Hiruzen would definitely refuse.

"Don't bring this up again; Mutsuki will not return to ROOT," Hiruzen said firmly.

Based on his observations of Mutsuki, Hiruzen felt that Mutsuki was not suited for the dark environment of ROOT. He hadn't even considered assigning Mutsuki to ANBU.

Hiruzen thought Mutsuki was doing well as he was contributing to Konoha by doing what he liked while not neglecting his own training.

"Hiruzen, he is one of my own trainees!" Danzo emphasized with an unhappy expression.

"Do you really need to bring up the fact that you illegally conscripted the descendant of a war hero into ROOT?" Hiruzen's gaze became sharp.

Danzo fell silent for half a minute; he indeed had nothing more to say, as what he did was illegal.

"Even if he doesn't return to ROOT, he shouldn't be teaching at the Academy. With his strength, he could make a greater impact on the front lines. Send him to the front lines as Orochimaru's deputy. The Hidden Cloud is much tougher to handle than the Hidden Rock," Danzo stated his ultimate goal.

"I have my own arrangements for the Hidden Cloud battlefield," Hiruzen still did not agree to Danzo's proposal.

He was well aware of Danzo's little schemes, so he rejected any request related to Mutsuki made by Danzo.

"Hiruzen, what are you thinking? The Academy doesn't need such a strong sensei!" Danzo, surprised that his efforts were in vain, couldn't help but say.

"You simply don't know about Mutsuki's teaching achievements. His results could be considered the best in the Academy's history. His classes significantly outperform those of the same grade, and his special training has improved the students' graduation levels," Hiruzen said, releasing a puff of white smoke.

Mutsuki first caught his attention because of these unique teaching achievements.

Currently, Konoha is not lacking in combat power. With the situation in Konoha being quite favorable, Hiruzen naturally would not replace this unique sensei and send him to the battlefield.

Danzo looked at Hiruzen with suspicion. Although he had previously required Mutsuki to report regularly while he was in ROOT, the reports did not include teaching achievements.

Since Danzo had sent Mutsuki to the Academy not with the intention of focusing on teaching, he had a limited understanding of Mutsuki's teaching abilities, only knowing that his teaching was good.

Hiruzen pulled out the materials Mutsuki had previously submitted and handed them to Danzo. Although Danzo wasn't very knowledgeable about the Academy, he could understand the data. Seeing that the average scores of the classes Mutsuki led were significantly higher, Danzo realized that Hiruzen wasn't exaggerating.

Hiruzen, as the Hokage, did not give in at all, and Danzo had no choice but to accept it, as his authority came from Hiruzen.

"The more you value Mutsuki, the more assistance he will provide to me in the future," Danzo comforted himself inwardly.

Danzo then stopped mentioning Mutsuki and turned to discuss his true purpose for coming—regarding the compensation issue with the Mist Village.

Danzo had prepared thoroughly for this meeting, presenting extensive documentation to argue that having the Mist Village provide more compensation would be more beneficial than harmful.

Hiruzen refuted Danzo's arguments point by point and did not accept Danzo's proposal.

In the end, the conversation concluded with a firm "I am the Hokage, and you will regret this," and the only thing injured was the heavily closed door.

...

[Disciple Uchiha Shisui achieved a perfect score in his academic assessments and received rewards: Chakra +300, Ninjutsu Proficient Scroll]

The end-of-term exams concluded, and the system rewards were issued as usual. However, with only Shisui remaining as a disciple in the Academy, it seemed a bit sparse.

Nevertheless, the rewards created by Obito, Guy, and others outside the school were not less than those from the Academy, but they no longer appeared as simultaneous notifications.

"Yumi-sensei, could you give me a farewell reward? I'll miss you during the break. Also, I recommend Dango as a reward—cheap and delicious," Anko said, quietly covering her test paper and giving Mutsuki a bright-eyed, hopeful look.

"Yumi-sensei, Anko only scored 81 this time, which is a decline," her good friend Hagane Kotetsu quickly reported.

"Yumi-sensei, you spoil Anko too much. I think there should be a standard—no Dango for anyone scoring below 95. This way, Anko's scores might improve," strategist Kamizuki Izumo suggested ways for Mutsuki to help improve Anko's performance.

Since he always scored above 95, this standard was quite easy for him.

Mutsuki appeared thoughtful. Anko did show a lack of enthusiasm for theoretical studies.

With his teaching methods and extraordinary teaching skills, and Anko being not unintelligent, maintaining a score around 80 was indeed somewhat underwhelming.

Kotetsu's report made Anko feel disheartened, but Izumo's suggestion made her even more terrified. If such a standard were implemented, she could forget about getting Dango from Mutsuki.

Seeing that Mutsuki seemed to be seriously considering it, Anko quickly punched Kotetsu and kicked Izumo, then hurriedly said:

"Yumi-sensei, don't listen to them. Studying is something that takes an entire semester, while there are only a couple of exams. If I studied hard but didn't perform well and thus didn't get any Dango, it would cause a great emotional wound."

Anko looked at Mutsuki with a pained expression, as if trying to prevent a loyal minister from being swayed by false accusations.

Smack!

A burst of air pressure struck Anko's forehead, making her instinctively clutch her head.

"Failing one exam can be understood, but you haven't scored above 90 even once. Was your performance poor every time?" Mutsuki retracted his hand.

"Hmm, I heard there's a condition called exam anxiety. Maybe I have it—I get nervous during exams, which is why I always do poorly," Anko said seriously.

"Well, that's quite a coincidence. Today, I'm determined not to give Dango to someone with a 'Dango illness'—I simply don't want to give you Dango," Mutsuki said with a smile.

Anko: ...

When the time was right, Mutsuki gave Anko a light tap on the head and handed her the Dango that was rightfully hers.

"Next time, at least don't decline," Mutsuki said, patting Anko's head.

"Hehe, I'll do my best," Anko said, instantly beaming with joy upon receiving the Dango.

"Yumi-sensei, will this special training be like the first time, with just you?" Anko asked while eating the Dango.

"Yes, and this time the training will cover things that you can't learn at the Academy," Mutsuki nodded and answered.

"Things we can't learn at the Academy, what are they?" Anko asked, very curious.

"You'll find out next Monday," Mutsuki said without revealing more.

"It's a shame that Ebisu-senpai has already graduated; we can't train with him anymore," Kotetsu said with a look of regret.

"Yes, it's indeed a pity," Izumo agreed with a sympathetic expression.

For them, Ebisu wasn't just an ordinary senpai but a guide to a new world.

"Well, it's not necessarily the case," Mutsuki said with a smile, shaking his head.

This time, he will be teaching Nature Transformation. With his growing reputation in Konoha, the number of Genin attending this special training should be even higher than the first time.

With Mutsuki saying this, not only Anko but also Izumo and Kotetsu were incredibly excited for next week's special training.

The fact that Mutsuki will be teaching alone and the addition of significant new content were already enough to make the training highly appealing.

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