Chapter 22: Peak Third Hokage's Power

Name: Sarutobi Hiruzen

Chakra:

Potential: S

Evaluation: "High talent in ninjutsu, skilled in combination ninjutsu. Single-element ninjutsu may not be comparable to Kekkei Genkai, but if I simultaneously use five elemental transformations of high-level ninjutsu, how would you respond?"

"Peak Third Hokage, huh." Seeing that long string of zeros for chakra, Mu Yue walked out of the office, feeling both surprised and somewhat envious.

After all, that was a full 170,000 chakra, 130,000 more than the Minato he had seen last time.

But Minato was only eighteen years old now; comparing a middle-aged ninja at his peak to a growing ninja didn't make much sense.

"How should I write the report when I get back..." Aside from the surprise, Mu Yue was already thinking about how to write the report to Danzo.

Saying he didn't have time and needed to consider carefully was just an excuse. Although he wasn't idle, he wasn't so busy that he couldn't spare a little time in a week to teach Asuma.

Mu Yue could feel that the Third Hokage was trying to earn his favor; otherwise, he wouldn't have mentioned good teacher and Special Jonin.

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

If the Third had directly exposed his Root identity when he entered the office and said whether he wanted to follow him, Mu Yue would definitely have kicked Danzo to the curb and sided with the Third.

But now the Third didn't clarify his identity either; it was obvious he was still hesitating, a classic old player move.

If he had agreed directly, Danzo wouldn't have been pleased either. Better to make an excuse and not give an answer for now, throwing the problem back to Danzo.

As for whether the Third didn't know his identity, Mu Yue could only say it wasn't impossible, but it was unlikely.

Root was ultimately an organization that could not be brought to light. If the Third didn't even know that a Root ninja had entered the Ninja Academy, then his positions as Hokage and Academy Head would have been meaningless.

After returning to the office, the teachers curiously questioned Mu Yue.

"Teacher Hanyu, what did the Third Hokage call you for? Was it a commendation?" Ueda Aya asked curiously.

"Probably, since the exam results were so good, and he's a new teacher too. Teacher Hanyu is amazing," Ikegaya Isamu sighed, completely impressed by Mu Yue.

"I guess it was an affirmation of my teaching results," Mu Yue said as he sat down, took out paper and pen, thought for a moment, and spoke.

"When will I ever be affirmed by the Third Hokage?" Kimura Shito felt the gap between people was huge.

He still remembered how green Mu Yue was when he first arrived, never expecting him to surpass his senior so quickly in teaching achievements.

"Just do your best to teach the students," Mu Yue said while practicing calligraphy.

"Teacher Mu Yue, could you please cover my class this afternoon? I have something to do," Ikegaya Isamu poured a cup of water for Mu Yue and said.

"Sure, I'm free this afternoon," Mu Yue nodded and agreed.

"Teacher Hanyu, now I understand why the students all like you," Ikegaya Isamu quickly thanked him.

"By the way, Shito, lend me some money. I'll pay you back when I get my salary," Ikegaya Isamu immediately said to Kimura Shito.

Originally he wanted to borrow from Mu Yue, but considering that he had already asked Mu Yue to cover his classes so many times, he felt embarrassed.

"How much do you need?" Kimura Shito asked. He and Ikegaya Isamu were old friends, so lending some money was nothing.

"Just 80,000 ryo," Ikegaya Isamu said after thinking for a moment.

"80,000 ryo? What are you planning to do with it?" Kimura Shito's hand, about to take out money, paused.

The monthly salary for their Ninja Academy teachers was only 100,000 ryo, so Ikegaya was borrowing more than half of it.

Although it wasn't that he couldn't lend it, he had to ask clearly.

Mu Yue also glanced sideways. In the Hokage setting, one ryo equals ten yen, so Ikegaya Isamu was borrowing 80,000 ryo, equivalent to 800,000 yen.

For those powerful ninjas, it might be nothing, but for a chunin teacher, it was still quite a lot.

"For a date! I can't take someone to eat ramen, can I?" Ikegaya Isamu explained.

"You don't spend all your salary on dates, do you?" Kimura Shito looked at Ikegaya Isamu as if he were a big sucker.

"What do you mean 'all on dates'? Isn't spending on dates also for myself? It's not like I didn't eat," Ikegaya Isamu tried to defend himself.

"Stop making excuses. If you were alone, would you be willing to eat at those fancy restaurants?" Ueda Aya teased.

She had warned Ikegaya Isamu long ago, but she couldn't persuade him.

"She doesn't like you at all. She just sees you as a meal ticket." Ueda Aya tried to wake Iketani Isamu up.

"How is that possible? The day before yesterday she called me 'Brother Iketani'." Iketani Isamu's face showed an infatuated look as he retorted.

"Eighty thousand taels once—I could yell that too, and I bet it'd bankrupt you." Ueda Aya said expressionlessly. Calling someone 'brother' wouldn't cost her a pound of flesh.

"You again—"

"Forget it. I'll lend it to you. Just remember to leave yourself some food money." Kimura Sugito sighed and finally lent the money to Iketani Isamu.

Hearing that Kimura Sugito was willing to lend money, Iketani Isamu didn't even care about the sarcastic Ueda Aya anymore. He quickly thanked Kimura Sugito and left the office.

Mu Yue thought to herself: If the Hokage had short videos too, filming a series of Iketani Isamu's daily office life might actually get popular, and then they wouldn't be short on money.

After silently teasing in her mind, Mu Yue quickly calmed down and practiced calligraphy until it was almost time for class, then stopped writing and headed to the classroom.

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

"Great! It's actually Teacher Mu Yue teaching the ninjutsu class."

"Last time after Teacher Mu Yue's class, my Transformation Jutsu was much more refined. I hope this time she focuses on the Clone Jutsu."

Mu Yue swept her gaze across the room. Good, as usual, Obito wasn't here.

Five minutes after Mu Yue's class started, Obito burst into the classroom at a sprint.

Seeing Mu Yue standing at the podium, Obito was a bit dumbfounded.

He thought to himself: it wasn't like he was late every day, so why did it feel like every time he was late he ran into Mu Yue substituting? That was hurting his image in her eyes.

"Teacher Mu Yue, I..." Obito wanted to explain something.

"Sit down." Mu Yue gestured for Obito to sit, then began teaching the Clone Jutsu according to what most students had requested.

"Damn that Teacher Iketani, why didn't he notify me earlier that Teacher Mu Yue was going to substitute!" Obito clenched his fist and grumbled.

During the break, Mu Yue called Obito and Might Guy out to ask about their exam results.

"We passed!" Obito and Might Guy said together, puffing out their chests.

Mu Yue asked for details and found out that their passing grade was cutting it really close—an average of sixty points, and they had both scored exactly thirty.

"I don't know why, but this time the score was higher than before. Usually twenty-five points would be enough to pass." Obito scratched his head, also feeling it was extremely tight.

"Maybe it's because Teacher Mu Yue substituted for us," Might Guy said.

Even someone like him, who had a hard time learning, could clearly feel the difference between Mu Yue and other teachers.

"Huh? Then next time won't it need to be even higher?" Obito was stunned. If it got any higher, he wouldn't make it.

"Passing is my most basic requirement for you two. If you can't do that, then you'll have to follow all my arrangements." Mu Yue revealed a kind yet menacing smile.

If they couldn't even pass, the rewards would probably be even lower.

Obito and Might Guy looked at Mu Yue's smile and once again remembered the terror of being dominated by drill papers. They instantly shivered and quickly promised they would pass next time too.

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

Damn, I was typing away when suddenly the school said my previous freelance certification wasn't valid and I needed to redo a work certificate. That wasted time, so the update is late.