[Name: Hiruzen Sarutobi]
[Chakra: 170,000]
[Potential: S]
[Evaluation: High talent in ninjutsu, adept at combination techniques. While single nature transformations may not match those of Kekkei Genkai, if I simultaneously use high-level jutsu of five nature transformations, how would you counter it?]
“Third Hokage at his peak, huh?” Seeing the massive amount of chakra, Mokutsuki felt both surprised and a bit envious as he left the office.
After all, it was a whole 170,000 chakra, which was 130,000 more than he had seen with Minato last time.
But Minato was only 18 years old now. Comparing a peak middle-aged ninja to a still-growing one didn’t make much sense.
“How should I write this report…” Amidst his surprise, Mokutsuki was already thinking about how to write the report to Danzo.
Needing time to consider carefully was just an excuse. While he wasn’t exactly free, he could indeed find some time during the week to teach Asuma.
Mokutsuki could sense that the Third Hokage was trying to gain his favour. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned things like the Excellent Teacher Award and promotion to Special Jounin.
But the Third Hokage’s sincerity was lacking—no tangible benefits, just empty promises.
If the Third Hokage had directly pointed out his affiliation with Root when he entered the office and asked if he wanted to work with him, Mokutsuki would have kicked Danzo aside and followed him.
But now the Third Hokage didn’t make his intentions clear, which meant he was still hesitating, playing the old ambiguous game.
If Mokutsuki had agreed right away, he wouldn’t get any benefits from Danzo either. So it was better to find an excuse for the delay and toss this problem to Danzo.
As for whether the Third Hokage knew his identity, Mokutsuki thought it was possible but unlikely.
Root was ultimately a shadowy organisation. If the Third Hokage didn’t know a Root ninja had infiltrated the Ninja Academy, he wouldn’t deserve to be the Hokage or the principal.
Back at the office, the teachers were curious and asked Mokutsuki questions.
“Habu-sensei, why did the Third Hokage summon you? Was it to commend you?” Ayaka Ueda asked curiously.
“It must be. Given this exam’s results and being a new teacher, Habu-sensei is amazing,” Isamu Ikeya said, expressing his admiration for Mokutsuki.
“It was to acknowledge my teaching achievements,” Mokutsuki said, sitting down and taking out some paper and a pen, thinking for a moment.
“When will I be acknowledged by the Third Hokage?” Sanjin Kimura lamented, feeling the gap between himself and others.
He remembered Mokutsuki’s initial inexperience when he first arrived, but now he had quickly surpassed Kimura in teaching accomplishments.
“Just do your best to teach the students,” Mokutsuki said while practising calligraphy.
“Habu-sensei, could you please cover my class this afternoon? I have something to attend to,” Isamu Ikeya asked, pouring a cup of water for Mokutsuki.
“Sure, I’m free this afternoon,” Mokutsuki nodded and agreed.
“Habu-sensei, now I understand why the students like you so much,” Isamu Ikeya said, thanking him profusely.
“By the way, Sanjin, can you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back when we get our salaries,” Isamu Ikeya then asked Kimura.
He had initially planned to borrow from Mokutsuki, but since he had already asked him to cover his class multiple times, he felt embarrassed.
“How much do you need?” Kimura asked. He and Ikeya were old friends, so lending money wasn’t an issue.
“80,000 ryo will do,” Ikeya replied after thinking.
“80,000 ryo? What do you need it for?” Kimura paused. Their salary as teachers at the Ninja Academy was 100,000 ryo a month, so Ikeya was borrowing a significant portion.
Though it wasn’t impossible to lend, he needed to know why.
Mokutsuki was also a bit taken aback. In the Naruto setting, one ryo was equivalent to ten yen, so 80,000 ryo was equivalent to 800,000 yen.
For powerful ninjas, this might not be much, but for a chunin teacher, it was a considerable amount.
“A date, of course. I can’t just take someone to eat ramen,” Ikeya explained.
“Are you spending your entire salary on dates?” Kimura looked at Ikeya as if he were a fool.
“What do you mean, spending it all on dates? It’s still for me, isn’t it? It’s not like I’m not eating,” Ikeya tried to justify.
“Don’t be ridiculous. If you were alone, would you go to those fancy restaurants?” Ayaka Ueda retorted.
She had warned Ikeya before, but he wouldn’t listen.
“She doesn’t like you; she’s just using you as a meal ticket,” Ayaka Ueda tried to wake him up.
“Impossible, she called me ‘Ikeya-san’ just the other day,” Ikeya said, his face showing infatuation.
“For 80,000 ryo, I’d call you that too. Do you believe I can call you into bankruptcy?” Ayaka Ueda said expressionlessly.
“You…”
“Forget it; I’ll lend it to you. Just make sure to save some for your own meals,” Kimura sighed, ultimately lending the money to Ikeya.
Hearing that Kimura was willing to lend him the money, Ikeya ignored Ayaka’s sarcastic comments and quickly thanked him before leaving the office.
Mokutsuki thought to himself that if Hokage’s office had short videos, recording Ikeya’s daily antics could probably go viral and solve his money problems.
After a brief internal rant, Mokutsuki quickly focused on practising calligraphy until it was almost time for class.
As Mokutsuki entered the classroom, the students inside became excited.
“Great, it’s Mokutsuki-sensei teaching the jutsu class.”
“After Mokutsuki-sensei’s last class, my Transformation Jutsu became much better. I hope this time he focuses on the Clone Jutsu.”
Mokutsuki scanned the room, noting that Obito was absent again.
Five minutes into the class, Obito rushed in, sprinting.
Seeing Mokutsuki at the podium, Obito was a bit dumbfounded.
He thought he wasn’t always late, but every time he was, it seemed to coincide with Mokutsuki’s substitute classes, lowering his image in Mokutsuki’s eyes.
“Mokutsuki-sensei, I…” Obito tried to explain.
“Sit down,” Mokutsuki indicated for Obito to take his seat, then began teaching the Clone Jutsu as most students had requested.
“Damn, Ikeya-sensei, why didn’t he notify us earlier that Mokutsuki-sensei would be substituting?” Obito grumbled, clenching his fists.
During the break, Mokutsuki called Obito and Might Guy out to ask about their exam scores.
“We passed!” Obito and Might Guy said proudly.
Mokutsuki inquired further and found that they had just barely passed, with an average score of 60, and they had scored exactly 30.
“I don’t know why, but this time, the scores were better than usual. Normally, 25 points would be enough to pass,” Obito said, scratching his head.
“Maybe it’s because Mokutsuki-sensei substituted for a class,” Might Guy suggested.
Even someone like him, who struggled with academics, could clearly feel the difference between Mokutsuki and other teachers.
“Huh? Then will the passing score be higher next time?” Obito was dumbfounded. If it got any higher, he wouldn’t make it.
“Passing is my basic requirement for you. If you can’t manage that, you’ll have to follow all my arrangements,” Mokutsuki said with a gentle smile.
If they couldn’t even pass, the rewards would be lower.
Obito and Might Guy, recalling the terror of being tested, quickly promised they would pass next time.
Returning home, Mokutsuki wrote the report and submitted it. It didn’t take long for Root to respond.
(End of Chapter)
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