Chapter 339: Special Training Reward Settlement

After all the fighting ended, Muyue gathered the students together and began a meeting to summarize.

However, since Sarutobi Hiruzen was present, he naturally spoke first.

Even though he hadn't prepared a speech in advance, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been Hokage for so long that he had experienced this kind of scene too many times.

First, he praised the students for their hard work and excellent performance in the practical exam, then he complimented Muyue, affirming Muyue's teaching results. After covering both the teachers and the students, he started talking about the future and ideals, and finally elevated the discussion with the Will of Fire to wrap things up.

It had to be said that Sarutobi Hiruzen's approach worked very well on Konoha's ninja; quite a few students began clapping on their own.

Next came Muyue. Muyue didn't bother with anything flashy. He simply stated the difference between the group test results and the final scores, pointed out everyone's efforts and progress, and finally offered a blessing and a reminder.

"The third phase of the holiday special training ends here. Thank you for your cooperation over this past month. I hope everyone can walk the path they wish to take. And finally, don't forget, even without the special training, keep up your training to improve your strength." Muyue said the whole thing with a gentle smile.

After Muyue finished speaking, there wasn't the same kind of applause as there had been for Sarutobi Hiruzen. Perhaps some people were clapping, but it was drowned out by the noise, because too many people were talking.

"I definitely won't forget to train. I won't let your teachings down, Teacher Muyue."

"It's us who should thank you. You've helped us improve our strength so much."

"Teacher Muyue, when does the next phase of special training start? Will you still be in charge?"

The students were all talking at once, saying all kinds of things. Some were thanking Muyue for his hard work and teaching over these days, while others were concerned about whether they could continue to participate in Muyue's special training.

Although Muyue was a powerful ninja, he couldn't communicate with over six hundred people at the same time. With all the voices mixed together, it was hard to even hear clearly.

Still, he caught a few words, so he pressed his palm downward to signal everyone to be quiet.

The students quickly quieted down. Muyue answered simply, "If nothing unexpected happens, the special training will be held again in late December. But as for who will be in charge, there will be a notice then."

Late December is when the second semester of the Ninja Academy ends. The Ninja Academy has now basically made holiday special training a regular thing, stable at twice per school year.

As for who will be in charge, Muyue wasn't sure either.

Shisui wanted to start internships in his second year, and the beginning of the special training coincides with the start of the internships. If Muyue needed to take Shisui on an internship, he wouldn't be able to handle the special training at the same time.

Hearing Muyue's answer, the students were a bit disappointed. If Muyue wasn't there, there was no point in coming to the special training.

But no matter how reluctant they were, the time to part had indeed come. The students all ran to Muyue's side to say goodbye.

Although Konoha is called a village, its scale is nothing like an ordinary village. After graduation, the students really don't have many chances to see Muyue.

Seeing this scene, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly at Muyue's immense popularity among the students. Even he, as Hokage, was not as valued in the students' eyes as Muyue.

Thinking this, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that his idea of taking Muyue as a disciple after retirement was very wise.

With Muyue's teaching methods, in seven or eight years, there would be a large number of ninjas in Konoha who would support Muyue becoming Hokage.

"Teacher Muyue, this is a gift from everyone. Take good care of it," said Anko, handing a thick notebook to Muyue.

Last year, they had pooled their money to buy a big cake for Muyue to thank him, but this year the number of people was really too large. Nearly seven hundred people—if they put candles in it, it would be quite hard to insert them.

So, on Nara Yanshui's suggestion, they bought a thick notebook. Each person wrote their name and a message they wanted to say to Muyue. If they wanted, they could even paste their photo on it.

That way, they could express their feelings, and at the same time help Muyue remember their names and faces better.

"That way, Teacher Muyue won't forget us, right?"

"I'll treasure it well. Also, I don't need this to remember you. My memory is very good. You are Asakawa Sanken, you are Nakamaru Goichi…" After putting away the gift, Muyue named the students around him one by one.

He was able to do this not because he had the Appraisal Skill like Intelligence Muyue, but because he really did memorize all the students' names and faces.

Perhaps it was due to the Shadow Clone memory, or maybe the effect of transmigration—Muyue remembered every student he had ever taught.

Many students stared at Muyue in surprise. They hadn't expected that Muyue could go to such lengths. After all, this wasn't seven or eight students, or seventy or eighty, but a full nearly seven hundred students.

Some students who had average grades at the academy and weren't particularly outstanding during the special training, and who usually had little presence, were truly moved when they heard Muyue read out their names. They received less attention, so they treasured it all the more.

【Under your teaching, the ninjutsu and taijutsu of the students attending the holiday special training improved, and their overall combat strength increased】

【Reward obtained: Chakra +1800, Chakra Nature Transformation Experience Scroll x2, Ninjutsu Draw Scroll·B (Proficient) x2】

【Chakra Nature Transformation Experience Scroll: Increases experience in any mastered nature transformation】

The reward was quite generous. Truly, more people meant more rewards. Last time, Chakra was only 800 points; this time, it gave an extra 1000 points, and there was also an item to increase nature transformation experience.

Actually, just the rewards from regular classes had already met Muyue's expectations, because through teaching, he had advanced the Earth nature transformation and Lightning nature transformation, which were at Proficient level, to Mastery level.

Mastery-level nature transformation is extremely hard to obtain. At the Mastery level itself, rewards are scarce, and on top of that, getting a nature transformation—the odds are just ridiculous.

However, Mu Yue naturally wouldn't say no to more rewards—whether it was chakra or skills, the more the better for him.

Since Sarutobi Hiruzen was still present, Mu Yue didn't draw any ninjutsu or use experience scrolls. After finishing his exchange with the students, he quickly walked over to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was listening to the other teachers' reports and impressions.

By the time Mu Yue arrived, the teachers had more or less finished speaking. Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to look at Mu Yue as he approached and said with a chuckle:

"Mu Yue, everyone highly approves of the results of your special training. I underestimated your teaching talent before. I never expected you could single-handedly train over six hundred students so excellently and even teach them your ninjutsu. If I don't promote you, it would be an injustice to your contributions."

Shimano Hisanobu's heart immediately skipped a beat. He had thought that Mu Yue might replace him as the head of the teacher corps—after all, Mu Yue was hardworking and outstanding—but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Mu Yue had only been at the Ninja Academy for a little over a year. Normally, no matter how excellent someone was, they would have to grind through a few years of seniority.

As for why Shimano Hisanobu was certain Mu Yue would take his position—it was because Mu Yue had already reached the ceiling of his position at the Ninja Academy. It couldn't be that he was going to replace Sarutobi Hiruzen as principal, could it?

"What do you all think of Mu Yue becoming vice principal?" Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and looked around at the teachers, asking.

The teachers he had brought were not ordinary teachers—they were either winners of the Outstanding Teacher award or mid-to-upper-level staff at the school.

Shimano Hisanobu breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn't the head of the teacher corps after all—just vice principal.

"Wait, vice principal?" Shimano Hisanobu replayed Sarutobi Hiruzen's words in his mind again, his expression gradually turning to surprise.

The Ninja Academy never had a vice principal position; it had always only had a principal, and the principal was always the Hokage.

"Mu Yue-sensei's teaching abilities are outstanding. His holiday special training and the intern program have broken new ground never before seen, making a tremendous contribution to the Ninja Academy. Having Mu Yue-sensei serve as vice principal would be most fitting," Shimano Hisanobu said after thinking it over.

Although there had never been a vice principal at the Ninja Academy before, if Sarutobi Hiruzen said there could be one, then there could be one.

Still, Shimano Hisanobu was quite astonished. Sarutobi Hiruzen had essentially created a position specifically for Mu Yue—this showed just how much importance he placed on him.

Even Shimano Hisanobu, who had weathered many storms, was startled. The other teachers were even more stunned—the shock on their faces was impossible to hide.

"We're both human, so why is the gap so huge?" Iketani Isamu, who shared an office with Mu Yue, couldn't even feel jealousy anymore because the gap was too vast.

He wouldn't dare to even dream about what had actually happened to Mu Yue, because he felt it was too fake to ever come true.

Once they came to their senses, the teachers gave their approval one after another. This was a position that even the previous heads of the teacher corps had never occupied.

Mu Yue also showed a surprised expression upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, then modestly said he was still young and might not be able to shoulder such a great responsibility.

Of course, it wasn't that Mu Yue really didn't want the position—a higher rank at the Ninja Academy would make it easier for him to implement various reforms—but he still had to go through the proper procedures, since he had already established that persona.

The next step was the other teachers listing his achievements, followed by Sarutobi Hiruzen speaking again, and finally Mu Yue accepting the position of vice principal.

With that, the matter was concluded. Both students and teachers went their separate ways.

"Izumo, today is the day we make our names known!" Gōzu Tetsu said excitedly, staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen's retreating back as he spoke to Kamiizuki Izumo.

Kamiizuki Izumo nodded, his expression equally excited. "Stand out with our abilities, then gain the Hokage's trust. Maybe one day we'll leave our own mark in history."

"It's just a pity about Ebisu-bro. Maybe this idea was something he kept for himself, but because our bond is so deep, he reluctantly gave it to us," Gōzu Tetsu said with an extremely regretful expression.

Kamiizuki Izumo thought Gōzu Tetsu's words made a lot of sense. Although making a name for themselves was great, they couldn't forget the elder brother who had given them so much help.

"How about this—let's create a clone in the shape of Ebisu-bro and challenge the Hokage-sama together," Kamiizuki Izumo thought of an excellent solution.

"Only you would think of that, Izumo. Even the Second Hokage couldn't have come up with a better idea. Ebisu-bro will definitely be very grateful to us when he finds out," Gōzu Tetsu said, lightly punching Kamiizuki Izumo on the chest with a beaming smile.

He could almost see himself achieving fame and success, and could almost see Ebisu's grateful smile.

The two acted on their plan immediately, jogging after Sarutobi Hiruzen in the direction he had gone.

After it was over, Mu Yue returned to his house in the main city to rest.

The rewards from these six weeks of teaching were nice, but the exhaustion was real. His body might be strong, but it wasn't made of iron, so fatigue still set in.

Pouring himself a cup of hot tea, Mu Yue opened the system panel, ready to draw a ninjutsu.

Although the level was a bit lower, the lottery interface was more or less the same.

【Ninjutsu Draw Scroll·B has been consumed. Obtained skill—Ice Beam (Proficient)】

Seeing the skill name, Mu Yue immediately recognized its origin, but since this wasn't the first time a Pokémon skill had appeared, he wasn't too surprised.

Sorting through the memories, Mu Yue found that this was an excellent Ice Release ninjutsu—clean and straightforward, without any unnecessary frills, with fairly good power.

"Is it because I already have Ice Release that I drew an ice-type skill? Or will it still award me the corresponding nature transformation like before?" The reward raised some doubts in Mu Yue's mind.

At the very beginning, Mu Yue only mastered Fire Release nature transformation. But when he received ninjutsu of other natures from teaching, he was awarded the corresponding nature transformation. So he wondered: if he drew a grass-type skill or some kind of plant magic system, would it give him Wood Release nature transformation?

With doubts in his mind, Mu Yue continued to draw ninjutsu.

【Ninjutsu Draw Scroll·b consumed. Acquired skill: Violent Pheasant Beak (Proficient)】

At first, when Mu Yue saw this name, he didn't know what it was. Only when the skill's training memory appeared in his mind did he remember that this was Aokiji's technique from One Piece. Its specific effect is to create an ice bird to attack, capable of freezing people.

He drew another Ice Release, and Mu Yue felt that he probably couldn't freeload those bloodline limits; either he would have to cultivate them himself, or squeeze the coins out of his disciples.

After all, bloodline limits are fusions of dual-nature transformations, while Fire Release and the like are single-element; it's normal for the rules to be different.

Then Mu Yue opened the Chakra Nature Transformation Experience Scroll, and the system instantly popped up many options.

【Selectable: Fire Nature Transformation (Perfect), Water Nature Transformation (Master), Lightning Nature Transformation (Master)..., Ice Release (Beginner)】

Mu Yue was a bit surprised when he saw Ice Release, but it indeed counts as a nature transformation, so there was nothing wrong.

Since all seven other natures were at Master or above, Mu Yue tried using an experience scroll on Ice Release.

Instantly, a massive amount of Ice Release nature transformation training memories flooded into Mu Yue's mind, causing him to have an illusion that he was not a novice in Ice Release, but an Ice Release ninja who had trained in it for several years.

When Mu Yue looked at Ice Release's proficiency again, Ice Release had changed from Beginner to Proficient.

【Skill: Ice Release (Proficient: 1000/3000)】

The effect was very good; not only had it reached Proficient, but it also had a decent amount of proficiency.

Mu Yue decided to save the remaining scroll, in case he acquired other bloodline limits later.

Since Kakashi and Obito's Breathing Methods had both broken through to Proficient, and they hadn't done missions for a while, plus with all of them being Chunin, they could freely accept missions below A-rank. Mu Yue had them go do missions, while Shisui and Might Guy, whose Breathing Methods hadn't broken through Proficient, continued with special training.

"I'm so nervous. Without Teacher Mu Yue or Teacher Minato, what if we run into the Substitute Raikage?" On the way to the Hokage Building, Obito raised the question.

Although being able to accept missions independently gave Obito a pleasant feeling of being recognized, Obito analyzed based on his mission experience and felt it was a bit dangerous without a teacher accompanying them.

"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't encounter a Substitute Raikage either." Kakashi replied with a helpless look.

Previously, Kakashi had indeed doubted their luck, but it had improved since encountering the Substitute Raikage with Minato. The mission difficulties were all consistent with the mission rank, with no unexpected incidents.

"But even the Chunin Exams had an accident, so what's impossible?" Obito said defiantly.

Kakashi couldn't really refute that; an accident occurring in a major village event like the Chunin Exams was indeed a bad omen.

"Alright, since we're worried about problems, let's take a C-rank mission within the country. There shouldn't be any problems." Rin Nohara stepped forward to mediate.

"How can that do? We finally have the qualification to freely accept higher-rank missions; of course we'll take missions above C-rank. If we shrink back just because of potential danger, we can never become Hokage!" Obito rejected Rin's proposal, saying that difficulties must be faced head-on.

Kakashi looked at Obito with a slightly surprised expression; he didn't expect such words to come from the simple-minded Obito. Obito actually had such resolve.

Rin looked at Kakashi. Kakashi nodded slightly and said, "Then let's take a B-rank mission. Just stay far away from the countries currently at war."

With their current strength, doing B-rank missions was very easy, because the enemies encountered in B-rank missions were usually Genin, and even Chunin wouldn't appear.

For the first time accepting a mission as a Chunin, and being able to choose missions freely, an excited Obito strutted into the Hokage Building, drawing a lot of attention.

"Uncle Sawada, you're on duty again? Good morning." Obito laughed and waved to Sawada Kazuya, deliberately puffing out his chest to make his Chunin flak jacket more prominent.

"Good morning. Congratulations on becoming Chunin." Sawada Kazuya replied with a smile.

If Obito could refrain from making requests that would get him fired, he actually quite liked this smiling, enthusiastic, and cheerful Uchiha boy.

"Hehe." Obito, his vanity satisfied, let out a chuckle.

"Uncle Sawada, is there any mission to rescue a princess? It doesn't have to be in the Land of Fire; other countries are fine too." Obito asked, still not giving up.

He still wanted to be a heroic ninja who saved a princess.

Sawada Kazuya was about to say no, but then remembered a new commission that arrived only last night, so he spoke up:

"There's no mission to rescue a princess, but there is indeed a mission related to a princess."

5k, next there will be a bit of out-of-village plot. Some people should be able to guess where they're going.