"Sigh, Tobirama, look at the stuff you wrote. You made that kid cry..."
The surrounding students all cast strange looks at Kojiro Inada.
It was indeed difficult to score highly in the Will of Fire course, but passing was basically no challenge. As long as you did not insult the Hokage, you could usually scrape by with a passing grade.
Even Obito Uchiha's rebellious answer had earned a sixty from Hiruzen Sarutobi, for various considerations.
In the entire Ninja Academy, aside from Obito Uchiha, who felt he had been singled out, only Asuma Sarutobi and Kojiro Inada—the brothers in zeroes—were dejected.
"Impossible. Perhaps my answers were simply too outstanding, and the score was so high that the child was overwhelmed with delight..." Tobirama Senju sensed that something was deeply wrong, but his mouth remained stubborn.
Seisui shrugged, slowly walked over, sat beside Kojiro Inada, and began comforting him softly.
At the same time, Seisui picked up his test paper and nearly laughed out loud in a highly impolite manner.
The score that greeted him was simply far too striking.
A huge zero, written thickly in red pen, with an angry exclamation mark beside it!
Beneath that zero was a comment even longer than the one Seisui had received.
Ambitious beyond your ability, impetuous and restless. The Will of Fire is not something for your empty theorizing. Learn to be a ninja first—that is your most urgent task!
Seisui completely lost it and unleashed the Secret Technique buried deep in his bloodline upon Tobirama Senju: Uchiha Mad Laugh!
At that moment, Seisui forgot his persona. He only wanted to thoroughly mock the self-confident Hokage before him, laughing so hard he sounded like a squealing pig.
The condescending tone between the lines, combined with the unusual difficulty of this test, let Seisui conclude with near certainty that everything from writing the questions to grading the papers had absolutely been Hiruzen Sarutobi's handiwork.
Tobirama Senju, meanwhile, stared motionlessly at Hiruzen Sarutobi's comments. Yet his entire body rapidly reddened from the inside out, as if he were one hole away from blasting boiling steam out of his head!
Unlike Seisui, Tobirama Senju did not need to analyze so much—he recognized Hiruzen Sarutobi's handwriting!
"Boil Release: Red-Hot Tobirama Technique!"
Tobirama Senju truly had not expected that Hiruzen, his beloved disciple, would give his answer a zero... especially with such harsh comments. The general meaning was—
You think you deserve to talk to me about the Will of Fire?
Get lost!
"Fine, fine, fine!" Tobirama Senju muttered. "You'd better hope I never get the chance, Monkey..."
It had to be said that Tobirama Senju's expression and posture at that moment were exactly like Hiruzen Sarutobi when he wanted to whip Asuma with a belt.
Perhaps this was what they called the inheritance between master and disciple?
"Now, what was it that a certain Hokage said?" Seisui asked with a smile, counting on his fingers.
"The score was so high it overwhelmed someone with delight. Writing a perfect test paper could count as teaching me something. And if your score wasn't higher than mine, that certain someone's face on Hokage Rock would be replaced with mine..."
"What else was there? Why don't you help me remember? After all, you said all of it yourself. You surely remember it better than I do."
"Ah, this counts as another kind of perfect score. You didn't even get a score—perfect in reverse..."
Tobirama Senju silently ground his teeth. If he had not been dead, he would already have grabbed a belt and stormed into the Hokage Office. He had to let Hiruzen Sarutobi know who the master was.
You little monkey brat. If I had not covered your retreat back then, would you have the nerve to stand here lecturing me about the Will of Fire?
Setting aside the fact that the person answering was a Genin, he actually dared to say I was unfit to be a ninja?
Damn it!
From Target of Confrontation Tobirama Senju: You have obtained Nintaijutsu: Senju's Super Strength!
Seisui could not help laughing. This reward seemed rather fitting for Tobirama Senju's current mood. Did he want to smash Hiruzen Sarutobi's head open with one punch?
"Alright, Tobirama. Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know you were the one who answered the paper. Who told you to be so blunt?"
"That still won't do! Everything I said was golden advice that addressed the flaws of the times. What right did he have to speak of me like that?" Tobirama Senju swept out a hand and said in a gloomy tone,
"Monkey, you'd better govern the village so flawlessly that no one can find fault with it. Otherwise, you'd better pray you never get the chance to see me..."
Seisui sighed.
Would Tobirama Senju get that chance?
He probably really would.
Power of Tobirama Senju allowed Seisui to borrow his power. If Tobirama Senju intended to harshly teach his beloved disciples a lesson at an appropriate time, Seisui truly would not mind lending him his body for a while.
Seisui rather enjoyed seeing masters discipline rebellious disciples. When the time came, he could just stand nearby and cheer...
"Kid, do me a favor."
Tobirama Senju gradually cooled down. Looking at the deeply saddened Kojiro Inada, he said quietly, "Help me comfort this child. Even though he doesn't know it was Monkey, it's still too harsh for a teacher to berate him like this."
"After all, this is partly my fault."
Seisui nodded. The old man still had some conscience, but he did not respond. Instead, he jerked his chin at him.
Seeing this, Tobirama Senju sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine. I'll teach you a few ninjutsu. I won't go back on my word."
"But don't get the wrong idea. This is merely casual instruction, not a master-disciple relationship!"
Seisui chuckled and shot Tobirama Senju a contemptuous glance. "I'm a Konoha ninja. Have you ever heard of a Konoha ninja taking as his master someone who got a zero on the Will of Fire? You're being a little too self-confident, Tobirama."
Tobirama Senju's gaze turned dangerous. Though he did not yet understand what "self-confident" meant in this context, he felt the insult was extremely strong...
But Seisui merely spread his hands indifferently, wearing an expression that said, What can you do to me? He laughed three times, turned around stylishly, and walked away.
"Qingshui-kun, what should I do? I definitely can't become a ninja! If I can't become a ninja, how will I make money? If I can't make money, my dream will be ruined!"
Seeing the gentle Seisui, Kojiro Inada cried even harder. "My lifelong dream is to inherit my grandfather's secret dango recipe, save up enough money, and open a three-color dango shop..."
"Why? Why did I write such a terrible test paper?"
Seisui was somewhat surprised upon hearing that.
Was this Kojiro Inada the future owner of the three-color dango shop?
"So this is your dream, Inada..." Seisui silently looked over the test paper in his hand again. This child probably truly was not suited to becoming a ninja.
"Then don't become a ninja."
Kojiro Inada cried even harder. Even Seisui said so; he probably really had no hope.
"Go open your dango shop. The storefront beside Ichiraku Ramen belongs to my family. Go work hard there, Inada."
Seisui patted his shoulder. "I won't charge you rent until you come of age. We can discuss profit-sharing after your business gets going. For now, work on making the three-color dango tastier."
Kojiro Inada immediately stopped crying, and even his hands began to tremble. "R-Really... Qingshui-kun!"
At the back of the classroom, Asuma Sarutobi covered his still faintly aching backside and watched the scene with a complicated gaze, his mind as muddled as paste.
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