Chapter 22 The Strength of the Peak Third Generation

“Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi”

“Chakra: 170,000”

“Potential: S”

“Evaluation: Highly talented in Ninjutsu, skilled in Combination Ninjutsu. While single Nature Transformation Ninjutsu may not compare to Bloodline Limits, how would you respond if I simultaneously used five high-level Nature Transformation Ninjutsu?”

“The peak Third Hokage,” Muzuki thought, surprised and a little envious, as he left the office and saw that string of zeros in the Chakra amount.

After all, that was a full 170,000 Chakra, 130,000 more than Minato had last time he saw him.

However, Minato was only eighteen now, so comparing a Ninja in his prime middle age to a Ninja who was still growing didn’t make much sense.

“How should I write the report when I get back…” Amidst his surprise, Muzuki was already thinking about how to write the report for Danzo.

No time and needing careful consideration was just an excuse; while he wasn’t idle, he wasn’t so busy that he couldn’t spare a little time in a week to teach Asuma.

Muzuki could feel that the Third Hokage was trying to curry favor with him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned anything about an excellent teacher Special Jonin.

But the Third Hokage’s sincerity was too little; there were no benefits, just empty promises.

If the Third Hokage had directly exposed his Root identity when he entered the office and asked if he wanted to follow him, Muzuki would have definitely kicked Danzo aside and followed the Third Hokage.

But now, the Third Hokage wasn’t even hinting at his identity, which clearly showed he was still hesitating—a typical old playboy move.

If he had agreed immediately, he wouldn’t have gotten any benefit from Danzo, so it was better to use an excuse to temporarily withhold an answer and throw the problem back to Danzo.

As for whether the Third Hokage might not know his identity, Muzuki could only say it wasn’t impossible, but it was highly unlikely.

Root was, after all, an organization that couldn’t be brought into the open. If the Third Hokage didn’t even know that a Root Ninja had entered the Ninja Academy, then his position as Hokage and principal would be meaningless.

Upon returning to the office, the teachers curiously questioned Muzuki.

“Habsheng Sensei, why did Lord Third Hokage call you? Was it for an award?” Ueda Aya asked curiously.

“It should be, right? After all, the exam results were so good this time, and he’s a new teacher. Habsheng Sensei is too strong,” Ikeya Yu exclaimed, clearly impressed with Muzuki.

“He confirmed my teaching achievements, I suppose,” Muzuki said, taking out paper and a pen before thinking for a moment.

“When will I also be recognized by Lord Third Hokage?” Kimura Sugito felt that the gap between people was truly vast.

He still remembered Muzuki’s inexperience when he first arrived, and he hadn’t expected him to surpass him, an elder, so quickly in teaching achievements.

“Just do your best to teach the students,” Muzuki said while practicing calligraphy.

“Muzuki Sensei, could I trouble you to cover my class this afternoon? I have something to do,” Ikeya Yu said, pouring Muzuki a glass of water.

“Sure, I’m free this afternoon,” Muzuki nodded, agreeing.

“Habsheng Sensei, I finally understand why all the students like you,” Ikeya Yu quickly thanked him.

“Oh, Sugito, can you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back when I get my salary,” Ikeya Yu then said to Kimura Sugito.

He had originally intended to borrow from Muzuki, but he felt embarrassed since he had already asked Muzuki to cover his classes so many times.

“How much do you need to borrow?” Kimura Sugito asked. He and Ikeya Yu were old friends, so lending some money was no big deal.

“Eighty thousand Ryo will do,” Ikeya Yu thought for a moment before saying.

“Eighty thousand Ryo? What are you going to borrow it for?” Kimura Sugito’s hand, which was about to pull out money, paused.

Teachers at their Ninja Academy only earned 100,000 Ryo a month; Ikeya Yu was directly borrowing more than half of it.

While it wasn’t impossible to lend, he had to ask for clarification.

Muzuki also looked sideways. The Hokage setting was one Ryo equals ten yen, so Ikeya Yu was directly borrowing 80,000 Ryo, which was equivalent to borrowing 800,000 yen.

For powerful Ninja, it might not be much, but for a Chunin teacher, it was still a considerable amount.

“A date, of course. I can’t just invite her to eat ramen, can I?” Ikeya Yu explained.

“You’re not spending all your salary on dates, are you?” Kimura Sugito looked at Ikeya Yu with the gaze of someone looking at a big fool.

“What do you mean, ‘all on dates’? Isn’t spending on dates also for myself? It’s not like I haven’t eaten anything,” Ikeya Yu tried to defend himself.

“Stop it. If you were alone, would you be willing to eat at those high-end restaurants?” Ueda Aya retorted.

She had warned Ikeya Yu 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 Ikeya Yu see reason.

“How could that be? The day before yesterday, she even called me Brother Ikegaya,” Ikeya Yu said, a look of infatuation on his face, then retorted.

“Eighty thousand Ryo for one time, I’ll call you that too. I can call you into bankruptcy, believe it or not,” Ueda Aya said expressionlessly. Calling someone ‘brother’ wouldn’t cost her anything.

“You again…”

“Fine, I’ll lend it to you. Remember to save some money for food,” Kimura Sugito sighed and finally lent the money to Ikeya Yu.

Hearing that Kimura Sugito was willing to lend him money, Ikeya Yu didn’t even bother with the sarcastic Ueda Aya, quickly thanked Kimura Sugito, and then left the office.

Muzuki thought to himself that if the Hokage world also had short videos, filming Ikeya Yu’s office daily life as a series might gain popularity, and then he wouldn’t be short on money.

After a brief internal complaint, Muzuki quickly settled down to practice calligraphy until it was almost time for class, when he stopped writing and headed to the classroom.

As soon as Muzuki entered the classroom, the students inside began to get excited.

“Great! It’s Muzuki Sensei teaching Ninjutsu class!”

“After Muzuki Sensei’s last class, my Transformation Technique became much more refined than before. I hope he focuses on the Clone Technique this time.”

Muzuki glanced around. Good, Obito wasn’t here again.

Five minutes into Muzuki’s class, Obito burst into the classroom in a sprint.

Seeing Muzuki 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 Muzuki covering the class. Wasn’t this lowering his image in Muzuki’s eyes?

“Muzuki Sensei, I…” Obito wanted to explain something.

“Have a seat,” Muzuki gestured for Obito to sit down, then, according to most students’ requests, began teaching the Clone Technique.

“Damn you, Ikegaya Sensei! Why didn’t you tell me earlier that Muzuki Sensei was covering the class?!” Obito grumbled, clenching his fist.

During the break, Muzuki called Obito and Might Guy out to inquire about their exam results.

“We passed!” Obito and Might Guy said in unison, chests puffed out.

Muzuki asked for details and found that their passing scores were truly just barely enough; with an average score of sixty, they had just managed to get thirty.

“I don’t know why, but this time’s scores were better than before. Originally, twenty-five points were enough to pass,” Obito said, scratching his head. He also felt it was a very close call.

“It might be because Muzuki Sensei covered our classes,” Might Guy said.

Even someone like him, who found it hard to learn, could clearly feel the difference between Muzuki and the other teachers.

“Huh? Does that mean the next one will have to be even higher?” Obito was dumbfounded. If it got any higher, he wouldn’t be able to do it.

“Passing is my most basic requirement for you. If you can’t do it, then everything will have to be arranged by me,” Muzuki said with a kind smile.

If they couldn’t even pass, the reward would probably be even lower then.

Obito and Might Guy looked at Muzuki’s smile, and the terror of being overwhelmed by practice papers once again came to mind. They instantly shivered and then quickly said they would pass next time too.

Muzuki returned home, wrote the report, and submitted it. Not long after, a reply came from Root.

I give up, I was typing, and suddenly the school said that the freelance certification I got before wasn’t valid, and they needed me to get a new work certificate, which wasted time, so the update is late.