Teaching

The selection lasted the entire morning. Masahiko looked at the three children remaining before him and nodded slightly.

Six-year-old Iko Uzumaki was highly capable of learning, with Wind and Fire Chakra Natures. She was perfectly suited to learning Masahiko's various ninjutsu. Eight-year-old Hitomi Uzumaki possessed far more perseverance than children his age. Masahiko intended to steer him toward taijutsu, seize the naming rights first, and turn things like the Leaf Hurricane into the Uzumaki Whirlwind...

As for the last one, she was eleven-year-old Nanako Uzumaki. Even Masahiko had not expected that Nanako, who looked so carefree and careless, would solve four out of five strange logic problems. Only the last one, which was more of a brain teaser, had stumped her. Masahiko planned to teach her Sealing Jutsu. Compared with ninjutsu, Sealing Jutsu tested one's logical thinking more heavily.

"Very good. Konoha's First Class, First Squad has officially been established!" Masahiko said with a smile, striking his fist into his palm.

"What does First Class, First Squad mean?" Nanako asked.

"Is there a Second Squad?" Hitomi asked.

"Grandpa Masahiko, what is Konoha?" Iko asked.

Masahiko ignored all three questions.

"You only need to remember that you are members of Konoha's First Class, First Squad. You'll learn the rest later."

"Next, it's time to teach you some powerful ninjutsu!"

The moment they heard "powerful ninjutsu," the three children immediately swallowed all their questions. Even Nanako was full of anticipation.

"First, tell me what you've mastered so I can see what I should teach you."

"I only know the Three Body Jutsu," six-year-old Iko said softly.

"That's already very good. I'll teach you the rest." Masahiko nodded, secretly amused. If Naruto learned that this six-year-old girl had already mastered the Three Body Jutsu, he might want to die...

"I know the Three Body Jutsu and several basic Lightning Release ninjutsu!" eight-year-old Hitomi declared loudly, looking exceptionally proud.

"Very good. You're proficient in Lightning Release, I understand." Masahiko nodded. "What about you, Nanako?"

Nanako's face reddened. "I... only know the Three Body Jutsu."

Masahiko secretly chuckled and did not discourage her.

"Then next, I'll first teach you a Forbidden Jutsu..." Masahiko swept his gaze over them. Seeing how expectant the three children were, he continued, "Shuriken Throwing Technique!"

Seeing the children's expressions collapse in an instant, Masahiko grinned mischievously.

"That was the first lesson I taught you. Before your foundations are solid, don't fantasize about learning powerful ninjutsu!"

Masahiko dragged over three shuriken targets. "Watch. When you reach this level, I'll teach you other ninjutsu." As he spoke, three shuriken flew from his hand at once, striking the centers of all three targets.

"Besides that, I'll teach each of you some other things separately."

"Iko, come over here first. You two can begin practicing shuriken throwing."

Masahiko brought Iko to a relatively open area. "Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger, Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

Seeing Iko's delighted expression, Masahiko calmly dealt her a blow. "I'm not teaching you the ninjutsu, but the hand seals. You're still young and don't have enough Chakra. The Great Fireball Technique has six seals, and you need to complete them within two seconds. Go back and practice more."

Iko pouted. "Got it, Grandpa Masahiko."

"Call me Teacher from now on! All right, go practice shuriken throwing and call Hitomi over."

"Got it, Teacher," Iko answered softly before calling Hitomi over.

"Hitomi, your perseverance is good, and there is much room for improvement in your taijutsu. Besides practicing shuriken throwing every day, you must also undergo Self-Imposed Limitation-style taijutsu training." Masahiko said, "Later, I'll go to the blacksmith and have some weights made for you."

"Got it, Teacher!" Hitomi scratched his head. "But what is Self-Imposed Limitation?"

"Self-Imposed Limitation means that when challenging certain difficulties, you deliberately put shackles on yourself, force yourself into a dead end, and establish rules that belong only to you. Precisely because of those shackles, you will face the challenge seriously. And once you fail, you can follow through on those rules, subjecting yourself to rigorous training and allowing yourself to improve continuously," Masahiko explained. "A great shinobi once said this. You must remember it well."

Hitomi nodded as if he understood. "Understood, Teacher!"

"All right, go back and practice shuriken throwing. Call Nanako over."

Two minutes later, Nanako stood before Masahiko.

Masahiko looked at her, smiled, and said, "I really didn't expect your logical thinking to be so good. You got four out of five questions right."

Nanako smiled sheepishly. "The first four questions were all about using buckets to hold water. I use buckets every day, so I was able to answer them..."

"So that was why..." Masahiko's face darkened, and he had the urge to return this disciple.

"All right, no matter how you got them right... Since you've become my disciple, and you're not good at learning ninjutsu, learn Sealing Jutsu from me instead." Masahiko pulled out a scroll from his robes. "This contains the principles and foundations of my clan's Sealing Jutsu. Take it back and see whether you can understand it."

"Put it away for now, then go practice shuriken throwing."

After guiding the three students one by one, Masahiko found a stone to sit on and watched the children in the distance practice shuriken throwing.

The Fourth Training Ground naturally did not contain only the four of them. Many other children were practicing there as well. The eight children eliminated that morning were also working hard nearby to show themselves off, hoping Masahiko would change his mind.

Besides the children, several Jonin and Chunin responsible for training the clan's children had also been observing Masahiko's instruction of his three disciples. Yet after watching for half the day, they had gained almost nothing.

Masahiko coasted through an entire week of this leisurely life. The three children's Shuriken Throwing Technique had begun to take shape, and Masahiko found a way to replace their targets with Moving Targets, which would keep them practicing for a while longer.

As for the content of their individual instruction, aside from Hitomi, who had already begun getting used to using Self-Imposed Limitation for taijutsu training, the other two children had not made much progress. Of course, improving hand seal speed and studying Sealing Jutsu were not things that could show results in a short time, so Masahiko was not disappointed.

Masahiko had intended to remain leisurely like this, but a familiar line of Chinese characters interrupted his peaceful life.

"Witnessed and drastically altered a Naruto World side plot: Guardian Shinobi Twelve. Obtained 5 (*8) Witness Points."

A drastic alteration. He had unexpectedly gained a full forty Witness Points this time.

Masahiko looked at the Attribute Panel. After accumulating them over the past few years, he now had sixty-five Witness Points.

"It's time to add points and verify that guess in my heart!"