Chapter 318 New special training, sprint to higher rewards

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly calmed down. As the current Hokage, he couldn’t just take on disciples casually.

The answer was simple: as long as his disciples had strength and achievements, they would be qualified to contend for the Hokage position.

Suddenly taking Muzuki as a disciple at this point in time would send a wrong signal.

Muzuki was not a child; he was already a Jonin who had achieved certain merits on the battlefield.

He could take Muzuki as a disciple after he retired, which would be much less troublesome.

Hiruzen Sarutobi truly hoped to have a disciple who could inherit his mantle, allowing his skills to be passed down. Muzuki was indeed the most suitable candidate; Hiruzen Sarutobi was very satisfied with Muzuki, both in terms of talent and character.

“I agree with your plan, there are no issues,” Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to Muzuki’s proposal.

Muzuki’s Nature Transformation level was perfectly fine for teaching Ninja Academy students.

As for one person teaching so many students at once, Muzuki had ample experience in this regard. Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to trust first, then question.

“Then I won’t disturb your important discussion with Danzo-sama.” Muzuki, having achieved his goal, chose to leave promptly.

He could be said to have exceeded his goal this time. Originally, he just wanted to get the special training teaching plan approved and consolidate his genius persona. Unexpectedly, Danzo also came, so Muzuki further solidified his position.

When using Water Release, he deliberately used the Great Waterfall Technique that Hiruzen Sarutobi had taught him, then pointed out Hiruzen Sarutobi’s guidance as being instrumental, appearing as if he frequently received guidance from Hiruzen Sarutobi. This made his growth more reasonable from Danzo’s perspective.

He still needed to rely on Konoha for development. Muzuki could be strong, but not too far beyond common sense.

At first, Muzuki thought his identity as a Root member was troublesome, but now Muzuki realized it was fortunate he was from Root; otherwise, it would be truly difficult to rationalize his strength, after all, he wasn’t an Uchiha who could gain a massive power boost by awakening their Sharingan.

The benefits Root brought him were indeed numerous. As a Ninja trained by Root, Danzo naturally had a certain trust in him, as he had been brainwashed since childhood.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, then told Asuma to return to his room.

“Muzuki-sensei, I’ve encountered a problem with my Wind Release recently.” Asuma followed Muzuki without any hesitation, taking the opportunity to ask Muzuki some questions.

Muzuki simply took Asuma to a more spacious area for guidance.

“A Ninja like Hayate Mugetsu shouldn’t be a teacher at the Ninja Academy. Letting him return to my Root is where he can be most effective. With wars breaking out everywhere now, Root needs a Ninja like him,” Danzo said as he watched Muzuki leave.

Although he wanted Muzuki to go to the battlefield to help Orochimaru achieve merits, Hiruzen Sarutobi would obviously not agree if he said so directly, so Danzo first proposed a plan that Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely not agree to.

“Don’t bring that up again. Muzuki cannot return to Root,” Hiruzen Sarutobi stated emphatically.

Based on his observation of Muzuki, Muzuki was not suited for a dark place like Root. Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t even plan to assign Muzuki to Anbu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that Muzuki was doing very well now, contributing to Konoha by doing what he liked, and not neglecting his own training.

“Hiruzen, he was trained by me!” Danzo emphasized with an unhappy expression.

“Are you trying to bring up the matter of you illegally conscripting the descendant of a war hero into Root?” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes sharpened.

Danzo was silent for half a minute. He really couldn’t continue this, as what he did was illegal.

“Even if he doesn’t return to Root, he shouldn’t be teaching at the Ninja Academy. With his strength, he can be more effective on the front lines. Send him to the front lines as Orochimaru’s deputy. Kumogakure is much harder to deal with than Iwagakure,” Danzo stated his ultimate goal.

“I have my own arrangements for the Kumogakure battlefield,” Hiruzen Sarutobi still did not agree to Danzo’s proposal.

He knew Danzo’s little schemes too well, so he refused any request related to Muzuki that Danzo made.

“Hiruzen, what are you thinking? The Ninja Academy doesn’t need such a strong teacher!” Danzo, surprised that his groundwork was useless, couldn’t help but exclaim.

“It’s just that you don’t know about Muzuki’s teaching achievements. Muzuki’s teaching achievements can be called the best in the entire history of the Ninja Academy. His class far surpasses other classes of the same grade, and his special training improves the level of graduates,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, exhaling a puff of white smoke.

Muzuki first came into his sight because of this unique teaching achievement.

Currently, Konoha’s front lines do not lack combat power. The situation in Konoha is very good now, so Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wouldn’t replace Muzuki, this unique teacher, and send him to the battlefield.

Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with suspicious eyes. Although Danzo had Muzuki report regularly when he was in Root, the reports did not include teaching achievements.

Because Danzo sent Muzuki to the Ninja Academy not to genuinely teach well, Danzo didn’t have a very clear understanding of Muzuki’s teaching ability, only knowing that he taught well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi found the data Muzuki had submitted to him earlier and threw it to Danzo.

Although Danzo didn’t know much about the Ninja Academy, he could understand tables. Seeing that the average score of the class led by Muzuki was significantly higher, he knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was not exaggerating.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, not budging an inch, Danzo had no choice, after all, he was only the Hokage Assistant, and his authority originated from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“The more you value Muzuki, the greater Muzuki’s help will be to me in the future,” Danzo comforted himself internally.

Then Danzo stopped mentioning Muzuki and began discussing his true purpose for coming, which was about the Hidden Mist compensation issue.

This time, Danzo came prepared. He presented a lot of data to argue that making Hidden Mist pay more would be more beneficial than detrimental.

Hiruzen Sarutobi refuted each point, still disagreeing with Danzo’s plan.

Ultimately, the conversation ended with me being the shadow and you regretting it, with only the heavily slammed door being hurt.

…

【Disciple Uchiha Shisui diligently cultivated and achieved perfect scores in the academic assessment, receiving rewards: Chakra +300, Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll】

The final exams ended, and system rewards were distributed as usual. However, since only Shisui remained as a disciple at the Ninja Academy, it seemed a bit less.

However, the rewards Obito and Might Guy created outside the school were no less than those from the Ninja Academy, it’s just that the information no longer popped up simultaneously.

“Muzuki-sensei, can you give me a parting gift? I’ll miss you during the holiday. Also, I recommend dango as a reward; it’s cheap and delicious,” Anko whispered, covering her test paper, her big eyes twinkling as she spoke to Muzuki.

“Muzuki-sensei, Anko only scored eighty-one points this time. She’s regressed,” her good friend Kotetsu Hagane quickly raised his hand to report.

“Muzuki-sensei, you spoil Anko too much. In my opinion, you should set a standard: no dango for anyone below ninety-five points. That way, Anko’s grades might improve,” the strategist Izumo Kamizuki offered advice to Muzuki on how to improve Anko’s grades.

Anyway, he always scored above ninety-five, so this standard was still very easy for him.

Muzuki showed a thoughtful expression. Anko indeed wasn’t very enthusiastic about theoretical studies.

He had both teaching methods and cheat-like teaching skills, and Anko herself wasn’t stupid, so maintaining around eighty points was indeed a bit disappointing.

Kotetsu Hagane’s report certainly made Anko feel disheartened, but Izumo Kamizuki’s suggestion made Anko even more terrified. If that were truly implemented, she couldn’t expect to get any dango from Muzuki.

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

“Muzuki-sensei, don’t listen to their nonsense. Learning is a whole semester’s worth of effort, while exams only happen twice. If you studied but didn’t perform well and thus couldn’t get dango, it would cause great trauma to your heart.”

Anko looked at Muzuki with a pained expression, as if she were a loyal minister trying to prevent an emperor from believing slander.

Smack!

A precise burst of energy hit Anko’s forehead, making her instinctively hug her small head.

“It’s understandable to not do well once, but you haven’t even scored above ninety once. Do you fail to perform well every time?” Muzuki said, retracting his hand-chop.

“Mmm, mmm, I heard there’s a disease called exam anxiety. Maybe I have that disease, so I get nervous during exams and always do poorly,” Anko said, looking serious.

“What a coincidence then, today I’ve contracted the ‘Absolutely-Will-Not-Give-Anko-Dango’ disease. My heart just doesn’t want to give you dango, Anko,” Muzuki said with a smile.

Anko:…

When it was about time, Muzuki tapped Anko’s small head, and still gave her her share of dango.

“At least don’t regress next time,” Muzuki said, stroking Anko’s small head.

“Hehe, I’ll try my best!” Anko instantly beamed with joy after getting the dango.

“Muzuki-sensei, will this special training still be just you, like the first time?” Anko asked while eating her dango.

“Yes, and this special training will teach you things you can’t learn at the Ninja Academy,” Muzuki nodded in reply.

“Things you can’t learn at the Ninja Academy? What are they?” Anko was very curious.

“You’ll find out next Monday,” Muzuki did not reveal it.

“What a pity, Ebisu-senpai has already graduated, so I can’t train with him,” Kotetsu Hagane said with regret.

“Yeah, that’s really a shame,” Izumo Kamizuki said with a look of agreement.

For them, Ebisu wasn’t just an ordinary senior, but a guide who opened the door to a new world.

“Well, that’s not necessarily true,” Muzuki said with a smile, shaking his head.

This time, he was going to teach Nature Transformation, and coupled with his growing reputation in Konoha, there should be more Genin attending this special training than the first time.

With Muzuki saying that, not only Anko, but Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane were all eagerly anticipating next week’s special training.

Being taught by Muzuki alone, and with significant new content, these two points alone made it incredibly appealing.

This chapter is 3k, I wrote 8k today.