"Yes, that's right." Hagoromo nodded matter-of-factly.
Consider this a test for you.
Although Mizuki himself will be by her side to resolve the situation, Hagoromo will not appear unless absolutely necessary.
Hagoromo naturally understood Shikamaru's personality: his intelligence and talent were off the charts, but he was lazy—or perhaps that was a common flaw among geniuses?
This opportunity will allow Shikamaru to realize some things, which will also be more beneficial to his growth.
Moreover, if we don't push him, given Shikamaru's current training progress, he'll probably fall far behind later on.
After all, among these people, Shikamaru was the only disciple who wasn't subject to his strict rules.
"This is really troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and covered his forehead upon hearing this.
"Shikamaru, your brains are your greatest strength, but sometimes you also need a certain amount of strength."
After leaving behind a vague and incoherent statement, Hagoromo got up and went to check on her other disciples.
Shikamaru stood there, pondering the words he had just heard with a hint of confusion.
Elsewhere, Sasuke was squatting on the ground, covered in sweat and panting heavily.
When Hagoromo's Shadow Clone saw Hagoromo approaching, it helplessly shrugged and then dispelled the Shadow Clone on its own.
"Sasuke, have some water and rest for a bit."
Hagoromo Sasuke up, brushed off the dust he had picked up during training, and gave Sasuke a bottle of water.
"Training should be purposeful progress, not like you recklessly squandering your energy."
"Yet it yielded no results."
Sasuke took the water from Hagoromo, gulped it down, and then exhaled.
"Teacher, is it because I lack talent?"
Hearing Sasuke's words, Hagoromo was somewhat helpless. Who dared to say that Sasuke lacked talent?
"You really have no faith in yourself?"
Instead of giving a direct answer, Hagoromo asked Sasuke a question.
Sasuke was speechless upon hearing this, realizing he had been too confident in himself.
However, he was repeatedly defeated by Naruto.
"You only need a few days to learn Nature Transformation, while Naruto needs several months."
"Isn't this clear proof that you are indeed a genius?"
Seeing that Sasuke was still so stubborn, Hagoromo could only offer this example.
"But..."
Sasuke still hasn't overcome his psychological trauma.
"Naruto's strength doesn't actually lie in his raw power, but rather in the environment he grew up in, which shaped his resilient character."
"Besides, it's just that they want to try their best to meet my expectations as their teacher."
Fortunately, Hagoromo enjoys a high level of trust from Sasuke, otherwise he wouldn't have listened to what he said.
"And I still need to remind you of that point: when you're making progress..."
"Naruto didn't say he was standing still. You might have gone home to rest, but Naruto was still training."
As she spoke, Hagoromo patted Sasuke on the shoulder and said slowly, "Instead of seeing Naruto as someone to surpass..."
"Sasuke, why don't you think about becoming a partner with Naruto and growing together?"
At this moment, Hagoromo wanted to retract her earlier assessment of Uchiha Fugaku; his family education was even worse than that of his own master Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His sons are all incredibly stubborn, so he, as their teacher, has to take on the role of spiritual mentor as well.
[Thanks to your persuasion, Sasuke Uchiha's senses have changed, and his trust level has increased to (Advanced+). Reward: Lightning Release: Chidori (Mastery).]
Wow, what an unexpected bonus!
Hagoromo glanced at Sasuke beside her, surprised that he had actually used such a Ninjutsu.
"Alright, stop always being alone."
Hagoromo stood up, dusted herself off, and said to Sasuke before leaving.
"Sasuke, it'll depend on your performance from now on. If you do well, your teacher will teach you a Ninjutsu."
"Its power is comparable to the 'Rasengan' that Naruto is currently training with."
Sasuke was taken aback by these words, then thought of the technique Naruto had recently been practicing.
Although it hasn't succeeded yet, Sasuke can tell that its power won't be too bad.
My teacher actually possesses Ninjutsu comparable to the Rasengan?
Yes, teacher!
Well, as expected of our Sasuke, he'll follow whoever feeds him.
Hagoromo chuckled softly and walked away slowly.
--
"Good Hagoromo, Yui!"
"Yes, Iruka, you're still as energetic as ever."
On Monday, after resting for a while, Hagoromo's true form came to the school.
Upon arriving at the office, Iruka was already organizing documents.
"Hehe, after all, I'm the vice class monitor now, so there are some things I have to get done."
Hagoromo was speechless, seemingly because she had too many things to do, so most of the documents that the teachers needed to process were handed over to Iruka.
"By the way, midterms are coming up soon, and the assessments for each grade have already been submitted."
As Iruka spoke, he took out a document and handed it to Hagoromo.
"But for first grade, is a written test still the only requirement?"
Hagoromo took the document and saw that almost all grades were assessed on practical combat, with a focus on Taijutsu and Ninjutsu.
"No, after all, a semester has passed, so let's add more practical tests for the first-year students."
After thinking it over, Hagoromo still refused Iruka.
"But I'm worried that these children might get hurt."
Upon hearing this, Iruka couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"Iruka 're training ninjas, so we can't let them be too sheltered."
"Otherwise, it will harm them in the future."
Hagoromo handed the document back to Iruka, saying as she did so.
Iruka pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"It seems I was too conservative. But do you have any suggestions for practical exercises, Hagoromo?"
"Let's just do some basic ninja tool throwing and combat practice," Hagoromo said directly.
"Huh? Real combat?"
Iruka was somewhat taken aback, after all, in actual combat, it seemed unlikely that first-year students would achieve any outstanding results.
To put it bluntly, it's like two chickens pecking at each other.
"These kids are at the age where they're competing with each other. If there are a few outstanding ones, it will prevent them from just playing all the time."
Hagoromo smiled and nodded, saying that the atmosphere at the Ninja Academy now was far better than during the war.
In the past, even children who had only simply learned the Three Basic Techniques might have been sent to the battlefield.
"Okay, you're the class monitor, you decide."
Iruka shrugged, saying that he couldn't argue with her reasoning.
Furthermore, Hagoromo is also the class monitor of the teacher training class. Once Hagoromo confirms these exam contents, it's unlikely that the Lord Hokage will change his mind.
Otherwise, this is the only arrangement that would have happened.
"Alright, hurry up and get this done, or class will start soon."
Hagoromo then pushed Iruka to sit down in a chair, saying that he really didn't want to be too fixated on this kind of thing.