"Too fast!"
Shisui couldn't help exclaiming.
He had thought his teacher might be formidable, but he had never expected Kyoichi's Body Flicker Technique to be so fast that he barely needed to form hand seals. Its activation could practically be said to have no warning.
Just now, he had barely sensed any chakra fluctuation.
This meant...
If Kyoichi had been lying in ambush and suddenly rushed out to kill him, he might not have had time to defend himself at all.
"Amazing."
The other students also exclaimed in admiration.
They couldn't understand it.
But.
It was fast!
So fast that they couldn't see clearly. It was practically teleportation.
"Shisui, demonstrate it for everyone."
"Yes!"
Shisui didn't hesitate.
He formed hand seals, mobilized his chakra, and then flashed behind Kyoichi.
But.
His speed was clearly much slower.
The difference seemed small, but the disparity was obvious at a glance.
"Does everyone understand now?"
"Yes!"
Genma Shiranui nodded excitedly.
He understood.
They were both using the Body Flicker Technique, but the details of chakra mobilization and hand seals were different. What seemed like a hair's breadth of difference could create an enormous gap in actual combat, possibly determining the success or failure of an exchange—or even life and death.
"What I'm teaching today is the finer points of the Body Flicker Technique."
Kyoichi began explaining its many details.
The civilian children's eyes shone, as did those of the children from small clans, including Genma Shiranui. Although what Kyoichi was teaching wasn't a secret technique, it was incredibly valuable to people like them, who found it difficult to access more advanced knowledge.
Asuma listened from below, but many questions arose in his heart.
Why was the teacher...
How did a clan establish itself?
It was through techniques and secret arts like these. Yet Kyoichi was imparting all his insights and understanding to the students without charge at the Ninja Academy, which was no different from teaching others the foundation on which his clan stood.
This made no sense.
At this time, Asuma was not yet the Jonin who had returned from the Daimyo's side and grasped the true meaning of "King."
He was lost, his mind filled with questions and curiosity.
In Asuma's view, a normal person would use these techniques to strengthen his own clan, not share them with others as Kyoichi was doing now...
After one class.
Asuma had barely absorbed any of the lesson.
"The war is nearly over, and the shinobi are gradually returning to the village. You may be reassigned to different teams, divided by grade, so there won't be many chances for us to study together after this."
Kyoichi sighed. "Actually, these techniques are outside the curriculum. I could have chosen not to teach them."
"!!!"
Upon hearing this, Asuma immediately pricked up his ears.
That was exactly what he was curious about!
He wasn't the only one. Many of the children were curious, including Shisui.
"But wars have been frequent in recent years. Now that the war with Sunagakure has ended, no one knows what next year will bring. My parents died on the battlefield when I was very young, and I was lucky enough to survive due to certain accidents."
"This year, many of you will graduate. I hope you can survive."
"Dismissed."
Kyoichi waved his hand, indicating that everyone could leave.
But.
None of the children left. They vaguely understood what was happening.
The teacher might be leaving.
As Kyoichi had said, this class had originally been mixed together because the war had created a shortage of shinobi instructors. Now that the war was over, there was naturally no longer any need to keep mixing them as before.
Moreover...
"Someone as capable as the teacher definitely won't remain an ordinary teacher. He might already have received a Jonin appointment."
Kurenai Yuhi spoke in a low voice from the back.
Her father instructed Chunin and Genin, so Kurenai Yuhi knew very well what an ordinary Chunin's strength was.
The village couldn't possibly leave a Jonin idle.
Especially during wartime.
Asuma was utterly shaken.
He thought of what his father had said.
The Will of Fire!
What was the Will of Fire?
Perhaps what Teacher Kyoichi was doing was precisely the Will of Fire!
"You little brats, stop guessing. All right, disperse. Don't forget your training after class. I'll check your progress next time."
Kyoichi had also thought of saying this on the spur of the moment.
First, he wanted to share some of his "true feelings."
Second...
He wanted to test whether the system's rewards were related to the students' psychological feedback. If they were, he would have more experience exploiting the system's rewards in the future.
Besides.
Weren't language and moral education also forms of education?
If he did good deeds without telling anyone, how would the Third Hokage and the others know?
Kyoichi admired himself.
In reality.
He had guessed correctly. Quite a few people were watching him now, and the Third Hokage was one of them.
Witnessing this scene, the Third Hokage was deeply shocked.
Then he was greatly moved.
As expected.
Kanda Kyoichi truly understood the Will of Fire!
"No wonder he's the teacher's descendant."
The Third Hokage sighed with emotion.
Using the Clairvoyance Jutsu to observe, he had naturally also seen Fugaku Uchiha at the school entrance. When he thought of the Uchiha clan, he couldn't help chuckling.
Kanda Kyoichi was truly capable!
He had only made him a temporary teacher, yet he had educated even Shisui into a good child like Obito.
What a pity he wasn't from his own faction.
If he could become Tsunade's disciple, there might well be a place for him among the future Hokages.
The Third Hokage fell into deep thought.
"Shisui."
At the school entrance.
Shisui followed Kyoichi out all the way. Along the way, he had asked in detail about several minor Body Flicker techniques, and Kyoichi had held nothing back, teaching him everything.
Seeing Fugaku at the entrance, Shisui paused for a moment, then turned and bowed.
"Teacher, are you going to become a Jonin afterward?"
"Unless something unexpected happens, probably."
Kyoichi pondered for a moment before giving a slight nod.
The only reason he had to take the Jonin Exam was that he lacked sufficient merit and thus needed to pass an exam for promotion. Promotions within the village were mostly just formalities—
Even if it wasn't merely a formality, he was confident.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Teacher... Oh, right, I'll be going now."
A smile appeared on Shisui's face.
Then he took a deep breath, sorted out his thoughts, and turned toward Fugaku.
Fugaku narrowed his eyes slightly, greeted Kyoichi from a distance, and then left with Shisui.
After returning to the clan.
Fugaku finally spoke. "Shisui, is that person the teacher who was recently transferred here?"
"Yes. His name is Kanda Kyoichi. He's a very good teacher."
Shisui answered respectfully.
"I heard you've recently been following Obito and helping the villagers carry water and firewood?"
"Yes. I noticed that those civilians didn't seem to like me very much, but they had almost no barriers between them and Obito. I was curious, so I observed for a while and tried following along. Sure enough, those civilians stopped resisting me."
A smile appeared on Shisui's face.
He looked up at Fugaku and said, "Clan Head, I think our clan could also try interacting with them more. Otherwise, they'll keep misunderstanding the Uchiha clan."
"..."
Fugaku was deeply shaken. He stroked Shisui's hair and remained silent for a long while.
Shisui was only five years old.
Yet it was precisely because these were a child's words that they shocked him so much.
Shisui was only five, but he was already looking at the problem from the clan's perspective rather than simply from his own.
That was extremely rare!
He looked at Shisui for several seconds before letting out a long sigh. "Easier said than done... But it's good that you have such thoughts. It seems you're still different from Obito."
Obito acted solely according to his heart.
Shisui, on the other hand, acted with a purpose and observed the results. The two were clearly different, which put Fugaku somewhat at ease.
"Clan Head, after I graduate, would you allow me to follow another Jonin?"
Shisui spoke again.
"You want to join that Kanda Kyoichi's team?"
Fugaku fell into a dilemma.
If this had been before, he absolutely would not have agreed. But Shisui's words had made him realize even more clearly how intelligent the child was. Moreover...
Shisui didn't know, but he understood.
The Uchiha were currently like fish in a pond. He wanted to try something, but he had never been able to find a direction.
Now, Shisui seemed to be an opportunity!
By establishing a connection with Kanda Kyoichi, he could use it as a stepping stone to enter the Hokage's Anbu.
Thinking of this, Fugaku gave a slight nod and said, "I understand. If Kanda Kyoichi can be promoted to Jonin and is willing to lead a team, I'll make a recommendation to the Third Hokage."
"Thank you, Clan Head!"
Before you continue