[Name: Sawada Hagoromo] Age: 17 Spirit: 35 Constitution: 20 Strength: 20 Speed: 20 Hand Seals: 18 Ninjutsu: Three Basic Techniques, Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Flower Jutsu Taijutsu: Konoha Whirlwind Genjutsu: Fox in the Heart Technique
After looking over the stats on the panel, Hagoromo silently closed it, straightened his clothes, and pushed open the door in front of him.
Hagoromo entered the classroom and walked to the front. He looked up at the students, who had been chattering away but had fallen unusually quiet at his arrival.
Each of them was looking at Hagoromo with curiosity or nervousness.
Hagoromo picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name at the front of the classroom. Then he turned around with a warm smile and said:
"Hello, everyone. I'm your homeroom teacher, Sawada Hagoromo."
As he spoke, his gentle gaze swept over the little kids one by one. He paid particular attention to the few among them who were part of the new generation's nine little strong ones; they would be the capital he relied on to make his way in life later.
That was right. After finishing his speech, the Third Hokage had found Hagoromo and told him he would be taking charge of a new class this year.
And that class was the one Naruto and Sasuke were in. Hagoromo could only silently apologize to Iruka in his heart.
Perhaps because of the gentle look Hagoromo had just given him, Naruto did not sense the malice he had always felt from the people around him.
For some reason, Naruto felt a little braver and called out without hesitation:
"Hello, teacher! My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Hagoromo smiled and nodded, responding to Naruto in a friendly manner:
"Hello, Naruto. I look forward to getting along with you."
"Hehe, okay, teacher." Having received a response, Naruto immediately felt that his homeroom teacher was a very good person and rubbed the back of his head with a grin.
Their exchange did much to ease the other students' nervousness, and they began greeting Hagoromo one after another.
Hagoromo patiently responded to each of them. They were all his leeks... no, his little gold nuggets.
It took quite a while for the little ones to let out their enthusiasm. Only then did Hagoromo raise a hand to quiet them and say:
"Let's take it easy for our first lesson. How about we talk about everyone's dreams? That way, we can also get to know each other better. After all, we'll be spending the next six years together."
"Dreams are both the beacon ahead of us on our journey through life and the driving force that guides us forward. So, what are your dreams?"
Hagoromo narrowed his eyes, a warm smile spreading across his face as he encouraged the students in the classroom to speak up.
For a moment, the lively atmosphere in the classroom came to a halt.
Children in the Shinobi World could all be said to mature early, so they naturally understood what Hagoromo's question meant.
Only Naruto scratched his head, thinking of the old man who had always been willing to talk to him and bring him money for living expenses. The old man had once said that he was the Lord Hokage.
And when Naruto had asked him what a Hokage was, the old man had only said that a Hokage was a great person and that he hoped Naruto could become someone like that too.
But what did it mean to be great?
"Teacher, how can I become Hokage?"
As soon as he said it, the whole classroom burst into laughter. Some children from small clans and civilian families naturally knew about Naruto, the "demon fox."
To them, Naruto asking how he could become Hokage was an absolute joke.
Naruto, who had been beaming just a moment ago, instantly lowered his head.
"Quiet!"
Hagoromo's expression turned serious, and he raised his voice slightly to stop the little brats from laughing.
The few who had still been grinning immediately stopped, not daring to raise their heads.
Hagoromo looked at the somewhat dejected Naruto and nodded before speaking gently:
"Naruto, you need to raise your hand if you want to speak in class from now on, okay? As for..."
Hagoromo paused, then said slowly, "Before talking about how to become Hokage, let me first explain what a ninja is."
"A ninja is someone who can endure, and the most important thing is the perseverance to never give up."
At this point, Hagoromo narrowed his eyes and looked at the students with great gentleness.
"I sincerely hope my students can possess that quality."
"No problem, Teacher Hagoromo!"
Those words, combined with Hagoromo's youthful and handsome appearance, immediately made many of the little girls blush and respond loudly.
Having experienced scenes like this many times over the past two years, Hagoromo had to marvel once again at how early children in the Shinobi World matured before speaking again:
"As the Hokage leads all the Konoha Ninja, you can understand the Hokage to be someone who must endure pain and walk ahead of everyone else.
"To put Konoha's Will of Fire into practice, it's not that you have to become Hokage to earn everyone's recognition. Rather, only someone recognized by everyone can become Hokage."
"That is what the Third Hokage often means when he says that wherever Konoha dances, the fire burns on."
A brilliant light burst into Naruto's eyes when he heard this, as though he had found his direction.
"All right, I've decided! My dream is to become Hokage."
Seeing Naruto's reaction, Hagoromo also breathed a sigh of relief.
Good. This should be enough to preliminarily prevent the Third Hokage from possibly observing his teaching through the crystal ball from time to time later on.
"So, Naruto, becoming Hokage isn't easy, but I do approve of your dream."
Knowing when to stop, Hagoromo called on several students who had raised their hands. The dreams they shared were all manner of things.
One said they wanted to be a flower arranger, and another said they wanted to be a painter.
Another said he wanted to become someone like his older brother.
There was even a boy with spiky hair and markings on his face who said he wanted to become the strongest man.
Hagoromo expressed his appreciation for all of them and said he hoped they could achieve their dreams.
By the end of the lesson, they had barely covered any actual material. The atmosphere throughout had been harmonious and full of laughter.
Only when the bell rang did Hagoromo raise a hand and say, "All right, everyone, that's it for this lesson. I hope that by the time school ends, I won't hear any teachers saying you weren't paying attention in class."
"After all, becoming a ninja also requires basic knowledge."
"Oh, right. Starting with tomorrow's lesson, we'll officially begin covering Chakra natures and how to refine Chakra."
The little ones, whose faces had shown reluctance at Hagoromo's announcement that class was over, all looked excited when they heard the news.
After all, aside from the children of major clans, the Ninja Academy was made up almost entirely of civilian students.
Their parents might be nothing more than ordinary villagers, and attending the academy was the only way they could learn something like Chakra refinement.
Hagoromo glanced at the students, who were still caught up in their excitement, and smiled as he gathered his things and left the classroom.
He had not actually taught them anything, only inspired them to dream. He wondered whether he could still receive a reward for that lesson.
[Lesson complete. Calculating results]
[Made full use of words to earn the students' favor, created a harmonious classroom, and guided the students to identify their dreams. Overall student satisfaction is high]
[Overall evaluation: A]
[Obtained Chakra Sensing (proficient)]
[First lesson completed. Reward: +5 to all stats, +500 Chakra]