Chapter 118 The New Semester Begins (15)

The next morning, Muzuki sensed some movement and immediately used his Perception Ninjutsu, discovering that a person with considerable Chakra had entered his courtyard.

Muzuki calmly got up and walked out, seeing a Root Ninja wearing a Root uniform and a mask in the courtyard.

“The organization’s latest directive,” the Root Ninja said coldly, handing two scrolls to Muzuki.

After completing the mission, the Root Ninja did not linger for another second, directly disappearing in a flash.

“Name: Yamanaka Long Ye”

“Chakra: 6400”

“Skills: Mind Transfer Jutsu (Proficiency: 1200/3000)…”

“Evaluation: A Jonin with good support abilities”

The Root Jonin who once made Muzuki uneasy was now completely outmatched by Muzuki on the status panel.

Muzuki’s Chakra was more than double that of Yamanaka Long Ye, and his skills were even more overwhelming; Muzuki had multiple proficient-level Nature Transformations and secret techniques, while Yamanaka Long Ye didn’t even have a single proficient-level skill.

“There’s no point comparing myself to an ordinary Root Jonin like this. What level would Danzo’s panel be?” Muzuki thought silently to himself.

If this were a cultivation world where Genin, Chunin, and Jonin were cultivation levels instead of ranks, he thought Danzo should be considered Kage-level, though not strong among Kage-level individuals, incomparable to powerhouses like Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Raikage, and Ōnoki.

Muzuki opened the scrolls; the first scroll contained Danzo’s latest orders.

Danzo was very pleased that Muzuki was able to be promoted to Special Jonin based on his abilities, but Danzo instructed Muzuki to never expose his identity as a Root member and to continue diligently carrying out missions on that basis.

Muzuki summarized the useful content as just that much; the rest was all brainwashing rhetoric, which Muzuki directly ignored.

He could feel that Danzo was somewhat surprised and pleased by his progress; Danzo sending him to the Ninja Academy was likely just a casual move, as the original owner was not outstanding in all aspects.

The other scroll was Danzo’s reward for him, but it wasn’t Ninjutsu or money; it was a cultivation secret medicine.

Muzuki burned the mission scroll but put away the secret medicine.

He dared not consume the secret medicine given by Danzo, but cultivation secret medicines are valuable, so Muzuki didn’t directly burn it.

Today was Sunday, and the summer special training had just ended yesterday, so Muzuki gave the students half a day off; they didn’t need to train in the afternoon, only needing to train for the morning, which was perfect since he would go teach Asuma in the afternoon.

“If we’re off in the afternoon, where should we go play?” Before training even began, Obito was already planning where he and Rin Nohara should go.

“Sorry, Obito, I need to look at material at home today,” Rin Nohara said apologetically.

Recently, she had been studying knowledge related to Medical Ninjutsu and temporarily had no time to play with Obito.

“Obito, you can go play with Kakashi,” Rin Nohara suggested.

“Thinking about it, I can sense the ‘Qi’ inside my body more clearly recently. Maybe Flame Breathing is about to break through, so I should train hard this afternoon,” Obito decided after some thought.

He would be out of his mind to go find Kakashi alone, unless Obito achieved something worth showing off to Kakashi; then he might go notify Kakashi.

“Training is also good. We’ll be graduating soon, and then we’ll be Ninja,” Rin Nohara said with a gentle smile.

Two semesters aren’t that long, about seven months including holidays.

“Ninja, huh? That’s exciting! Then I can do missions and earn money, without needing grandma’s allowance, and I can even buy her gifts,” hearing Rin Nohara’s words, Obito began to fantasize about his Ninja career.

“To earn money, you need strength first. The higher the mission’s value, the more difficult it is,” Muzuki tapped Obito, interrupting his fantasy.

Being a Ninja was indeed a quick way to earn money.

Excluding S-rank missions, which ordinary Ninja couldn’t access, the commission amounts for D, C, and B-rank missions were already quite substantial.

D-rank ranged from a minimum of five thousand Ryo to a maximum of fifty thousand Ryo, C-rank from thirty thousand Ryo to one hundred thousand Ryo, and B-rank missions could yield up to two hundred thousand Ryo in commission.

This is why capable Ninja wouldn’t become Chunin teachers; ten thousand Ryo a month isn’t much, and doing two C-Rank Missions would earn more than that.

Not every C-Rank Mission involves facing a Jonin opponent; in fact, normal C-Rank Missions do not involve Ninja enemies. If Ninja enemies appear, the mission rank would be B or higher.

Ninja earn a lot but also spend quickly; good quality Shuriken and Kunai are not cheap, and advanced Ninja tools like explosive tags are even more expensive. Cultivation secret medicines are also very costly.

With a fixed salary of one hundred thousand Ryo a month, don’t even think about using money for cultivation; you simply can’t afford the cost of becoming stronger.

However, for those who want to slack off, being a Ninja Academy teacher is still a good choice.

Because if one’s ability isn’t strong enough, C-Rank Missions can’t be completed quickly, meaning not much money can be earned in a month, and one also has to run around, which is not easy at all. It’s better to comfortably stay at the Ninja Academy and earn a monthly salary of one hundred thousand Ryo, with bonuses for classes that achieve good results.

Moreover, after stopping Ninja training, these one hundred thousand Ryo can be entirely used for enjoyment, making life quite comfortable.

Obito chuckled twice and began his Flame Breathing practice for the day.

In the afternoon, Muzuki went to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s house as usual to pick up Asuma for instruction.

Muzuki noticed that Asuma seemed to be in a bad mood, so he gently asked him why.

Because it was Muzuki asking, Asuma recounted what had happened yesterday, even growing more agitated as he spoke.

“He’s always like this, as if I’m worthless in his eyes. When I ask him about my performance, it’s always ‘not good enough,’ always ‘too many mistakes.’ He won’t even say ‘it’s okay.’ Was my performance in that battle really so bad it couldn’t get any worse?”

Asuma’s voice gradually choked up as he spoke, his eyes clouded with tears.

Muzuki could only say that Asuma still had deep feelings for Hiruzen Sarutobi, otherwise he wouldn’t be like this.

“Don’t worry about it. You did your best in that battle; it’s just that Obito was stronger,” Muzuki said, patting Asuma’s head to comfort him.

Actually, he could deeply understand Asuma’s current state of mind because his own parents in his previous life were also unusually strict about his grades.

Muzuki’s grades in elementary and middle school were quite good; he often scored high in math and Chinese, with math often being perfect. But when Muzuki scored full marks, his parents would tell him that the test was easy, or that the teacher was lenient in grading. In short, it was never Muzuki’s own ability.

But if he didn’t get full marks, then Muzuki was simply not studying hard enough and had regressed.

Over time, Muzuki gradually lost confidence in himself. Later, due to an accident, he was left to his own devices for two years and completely fell into decline, only realizing his mistake in his second year of high school.

Did his parents not want him to do well? No, he could see that his parents loved him very much. It was just that his parents were very rough in teaching, and they worried that Muzuki would become complacent and regress, hoping he would maintain a humble and eager-to-learn attitude.

“Teacher, even you can see it, so why can’t he, a Hokage, see it?” Asuma’s resentment was still considerable.

Fortunately, Muzuki had built up enough goodwill with Asuma; after some comforting and mentioning things like Hiruzen Sarutobi waiting for him on the path as a father, Asuma’s emotions were somewhat stabilized.

After the emotional release and an afternoon of training, Asuma’s mood visibly improved.

“Hiruzen Sarutobi, you need to step up and not disappoint me,” Muzuki said to himself. As a tutor, he even had to help maintain family relationships; he truly went above and beyond.

On Monday, Muzuki went to the Ninja Academy to attend a faculty meeting.

This chapter was written with some personal emotion; the protagonist’s experience is exactly the author’s own experience. How to put it, it’s quite melancholic.