NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 22: The Third Hokage at His Peak
[Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi]
[Chakra: 170,000]
[Potential: S]
[Evaluation: High aptitude for ninjutsu, skilled in combination jutsu. While single-nature ninjutsu may not compare to Kekkei Genkai, how would you fare if I simultaneously unleashed five advanced nature transformation ninjutsu?]
"The Third Hokage at his peak, huh?" Muyue thought, walking out of the office, surprised and a little envious at the string of zeroes in the chakra display.
After all, that was a full one hundred and seventy thousand chakra, one hundred and thirty thousand more than Minato had when he last saw him.
However, Minato was only eighteen years old, so comparing a growing ninja to a middle-aged ninja in his prime wasn't very meaningful.
"How should I write the report when I get back...?" Amidst his surprise, Muyue was already thinking about how to write his report to Danzo.
"No time" was just an excuse; while he wasn't idle, he wasn't so busy that he couldn't spare some time in a week to teach Asuma.
Muyue could sense that the Third Hokage was trying to curry favor with him, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned "excellent teacher" or "Special Jonin."
But the Third Hokage's sincerity was too little; there were no real benefits, just empty promises.
If the Third Hokage had directly exposed his Root identity the moment he entered the office and offered him a position, Muyue would have undoubtedly ditched Danzo and followed the Third.
But now, the Third Hokage still hadn't revealed his identity, which clearly showed he was still hesitating – typical old scumbag behavior.
If he had directly agreed, he wouldn't have gotten anything good from Danzo's side, so it was better to find an excuse to temporarily withhold an answer and throw the problem back to Danzo.
As for whether the Third Hokage knew his identity, Muyue could only say it wasn't impossible, but it was highly improbable.
Root was, after all, an organization that couldn't be brought into the open. If the Third Hokage didn't even know about Root ninjas entering the Ninja Academy, then his role as Hokage and principal would be meaningless.
Back in the office, the other teachers curiously questioned Muyue.
"Teacher Hanyu, what did the Third Hokage call you for? Was it an award?" Ueda Aya asked curiously.
"Probably, given the excellent test scores, and he's a new teacher, Teacher Hanyu is just too good," Ikegaya Yuu sighed, completely convinced by Muyue.
"It was an affirmation of my teaching results, I suppose," Muyue said, sitting down, taking out paper and a pen, and then pondering for a moment.
"When will I ever get affirmation from the Third Hokage?" Kimura Shujin felt the huge gap between people.
He still remembered Muyue's awkwardness when he first arrived, and he hadn't expected him to surpass him, a senior, in teaching achievements so quickly.
"Just do your best to teach the students," Muyue said while practicing calligraphy.
"Teacher Muyue, could I trouble you to cover my class this afternoon? I have something to do," Ikegaya Yuu said, pouring Muyue a glass of water.
"Sure, I'm free this afternoon," Muyue nodded, agreeing.
"Teacher Hanyu, I finally understand why all the students like you," Ikegaya Yuu quickly thanked him.
"Oh, by the way, Shujin, could you lend me some money? I'll pay you back when I get my salary," Ikegaya Yuu then said to Kimura Shujin.
He had originally thought of borrowing from Muyue, but he had already asked Muyue to cover his classes so many times that he felt embarrassed.
"How much do you need to borrow?" Kimura Shujin asked; he and Ikegaya Yuu were old friends, so lending some money was no big deal.
"Eighty thousand ryo should be enough," Ikegaya Yuu said after thinking for a bit.
"Eighty thousand ryo? What are you planning to do with it?" Kimura Shujin's hand, which was reaching for his money, paused.
Their monthly salary as ninja academy teachers was only one hundred thousand ryo; Ikegaya Yuu was borrowing more than half of it directly.
While it wasn't impossible to lend, he needed to know why.
Muyue also looked sideways; in the Hokage setting, one ryo equaled ten yen, so Ikegaya Yuu was borrowing eighty thousand ryo, equivalent to eight hundred thousand yen.
It might not be much for powerful ninjas, but for a Chunin teacher, it was a considerable amount.
"A date, of course. I can't just treat her to ramen, can I?" Ikegaya Yuu explained.
"You didn't spend all your salary on dates, did you?" Kimura Shujin looked at Ikegaya Yuu with a look of someone who had been severely wronged.
"What do you mean 'all on dates'? Is spending it on dates not spending it on myself? It's not like I haven't eaten," Ikegaya Yuu tried to defend himself.
"Don't even start. If you were alone, would you be willing to eat at those high-end restaurants?" Ueda Aya retorted.
She had warned Ikegaya Yuu a long time ago, but he wouldn't listen.
"She doesn't like you at all; she's just using you as a meal ticket," Ueda Aya tried to make Ikegaya Yuu see the light.
"How can that be? She even called me 'Brother Ikegaya' the day before yesterday!" Ikegaya Yuu argued, a look of infatuation on his face.
"Eighty thousand ryo a pop, I'd call you that too. I could call you bankrupt, believe it or not," Ueda Aya said expressionlessly. Calling someone 'brother' wouldn't cost her a thing.
"You again..."
"Fine, I'll lend it to you. Just remember to save some money for food," Kimura Shujin sighed and finally lent the money to Ikegaya Yuu.
Hearing that Kimura Shujin was willing to lend him money, Ikegaya Yuu didn't even care about Ueda Aya's sarcastic remarks anymore. He quickly thanked Kimura Shujin and left the office.
Muyue thought to himself, if only there were short-form videos in the Naruto world, filming Ikegaya Yuu's daily office life as a series might gain popularity, and then he wouldn't be short on money.
After an internal chuckle, Muyue quickly settled down to practice calligraphy until it was almost time for class, when he finally put down his brush and headed to the classroom.
As soon as Muyue entered the classroom, the students became excited.
"Awesome, it's Teacher Muyue for ninjutsu class!"
"After Teacher Muyue's last class, my Transformation Jutsu became much more refined. I hope he focuses on Clone Jutsu this time."
Muyue scanned the room; good, Obito still wasn't here.
Five minutes into Muyue's class, Obito burst into the classroom, sprinting.
Seeing Muyue standing at the podium, Obito was a bit dumbfounded.
He wondered why he wasn't late every day, yet it felt like every time he was late, he ran into Muyue covering the class. Wasn't this lowering his image in Muyue's eyes?
"Teacher Muyue, I..." Obito wanted to explain something.
"Have a seat," Muyue gestured for Obito to sit down, then began teaching Clone Jutsu as requested by most of the students.
"Damn you, Teacher Ikegaya, why didn't you tell me earlier that Teacher Muyue was covering the class!" Obito grumbled, clenching his fist.
During the break, Muyue called Obito and Might Guy out to inquire about their exam results.
"We passed!" Obito and Might Guy said in unison, chests puffed out.
Muyue asked for details and found that their passing grade was extremely tight; with an average score of sixty, they had just managed to scrape by with a thirty.
"I don't know why, but this time our scores were better than before. Usually, twenty-five points is enough to pass," Obito scratched his head, feeling it was very close.
"It might be because Teacher Muyue has been covering our classes," Might Guy said.
Even someone like him, who found it difficult to learn, could clearly feel the difference between Muyue and other teachers.
"Huh? Does that mean it'll be even higher next time?" Obito was stunned; he couldn't handle it if it got any higher.
"Passing is my most basic requirement for you. If you can't do that, then everything will be arranged by me," Muyue showed a "kind" smile.
If they couldn't even pass, the rewards would probably be even lower.
Obito and Might Guy looked at Muyue's smile, once again remembering the terror of being dominated by endless practice papers, and instantly shivered, then quickly promised to pass next time too.
Muyue returned home, wrote his report, and submitted it. Not long after, a reply came from Root.
Damn it, I was writing, and suddenly the school said that the freelance certification I got earlier wasn't valid and I needed to get a new employment certificate, which wasted time, so the update is late.