The Advanced Leading the Backward

"Huh?"

Obito's face fell.

He knew he hadn't done it perfectly.

Especially the sword.

When did the teacher get an extra sword?

Only the hilt was showing—who the hell would notice that!

"Teacher Kyoichi, isn't that a bit too strict?"

Kurenai's Father said in a low voice.

Obito's performance might have fallen slightly short of a Chunin's, but compared to a Genin, it was already outstanding.

"No. Konoha could face war again at any moment. High standards are a necessity. Obito, if this were a battlefield and I needed you to use Transformation Jutsu to deceive the enemy, your skill level would have gotten you exposed."

Kyoichi was blunt.

Obito nodded repeatedly without a word of protest.

He was still mulling it over when, the next moment, he suddenly heard a strange sound and immediately formed hand seals.

Thump thump thump~

A few chalk pieces struck the log he'd swapped in with Substitution Technique.

"If even one piece of chalk hit you, and this were a battlefield, you'd be wounded... Alright, you can go. Don't tell the other students what happened here, or I'll fail you."

"Yes, sir!"

Obito's heart churned with anxiety, but he didn't dare ask Kyoichi whether he'd passed or not.

After all, he'd been late.

Once he left, Tekuno turned his head, staring at Kyoichi for a long moment, then couldn't help asking, "Teacher Kyoichi, I also think... aren't your standards a bit too high?"

"No. They usually have this ability. If they fail, it's a mental issue. Students with weak psychological fortitude will only hold the team back on the battlefield."

"..."

Usually have this ability?

Good grief! All elite Genin?

Even so.

This exam was nowhere near the standard of a graduation test!

Tekuno held back from complaining.

If Kyoichi's standards had been the norm back then, he'd never have graduated.

Too hard!

Especially the first round.

Combining Transformation Jutsu and Clone Technique didn't just test the jutsu itself—it tested intelligence gathering, observation, and analysis. Clearly, Obito hadn't passed that round well.

But even at that level, he surpassed the vast majority of Genin.

Maybe that's just how clan kids are!

Tekuno thought to himself.

Next.

"Namiashi Raidō."

When he walked in and saw Kyoichi, Namiashi Raidō was also startled for a second or two.

If it were any other teacher, they'd think they could coast through graduation lying down. But with Kanda Kyoichi...

That was another story!

"Same rules. Begin."

"Yes, sir!"

The next moment, he quickly channeled chakra, using Clone Technique and Transformation Jutsu.

Tekuno was surprised to find.

Namiashi Raidō actually pulled it off—an almost flawless combination of Transformation Jutsu and Clone Technique. The problem was, Kyoichi still found a flaw in it—

That same sword.

You only showed the hilt; who the hell would normally notice that.

On top of that, Namiashi Raidō's Substitution Technique was perfect.

Even a civilian kid had this level of skill...

Tekuno was stunned beyond words.

Then, a few more civilian students came in.

Without exception, just as Kyoichi had said, everyone performed better than Obito.

"Looking at it this way, Obito really is at the bottom?"

Kurenai's Father said.

"You can't say that. Obito is just straightforward, not good at these detailed things. What he excels at are large-scale ninjutsu and shuriken manipulation, suited for frontal combat."

Kyoichi took a sip of water.

The Third Hokage's team assignments had their reasoning.

On Minato Namikaze's team, Obito and Rin handled frontal suppression, while Kakashi took care of finishing moves and assassinations—all perfectly aligned with their respective abilities and styles.

Of course.

This was an elite squad.

Regular squads weren't so meticulously arranged, but even then, there was no such thing as an entire team full of taijutsu specialists. A situation like Might Guy's team was truly rare.

"Great Fireball Technique?"

Kurenai's Father immediately caught Kyoichi's implication upon hearing that.

Large-scale ninjutsu, low rank.

Only the Great Fireball fit.

Kyoichi nodded, and Kurenai's Father and Tekuno fell silent.

It seemed Obito was only superficially at the bottom. In terms of real strength, many examinees still couldn't compare to him.

Of course.

It was also a fact that the kid had a weak foundation.

Severely unbalanced in his subjects!

As the exam passed the halfway point, the two of them grew increasingly astonished.

The quality of this year's batch was too high!

Whether from civilian or clan backgrounds, their standards far exceeded previous years. Even in the performance of the Three Body Techniques, many civilians surpassed some clan children.

To put it bluntly.

Aside from lacking experience, these kids were barely any different from genin.

The reason?

Naturally, it wasn't that their talent was exceptional.

Aside from a few geniuses each year, the overall level of any batch didn't vary much. If there was a change, it had to come from the teacher.

Kanda Kyoichi!

In just one month of instruction, he had elevated these children from ordinary students to nearly genin level.

Impressive!

Kurenai's Father himself had guided genin and chunin, so he knew exactly how difficult that was—frankly, most jonin couldn't achieve it.

How did he do it?

Kurenai's Father didn't understand.

After finishing the exams one by one, he finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Teacher Kyoichi, may I ask how you teach? Why are your students' standards so uniformly high?"

This was a mixed-grade class!

Several grades combined, with more students than a regular class.

And he still managed to teach them so well...

Incredible!

"It's simple if you put it simply. Just teach a portion of them, then use the method of teaching them new ninjutsu to let that portion drive the others—the advanced pulling the lagging forward!"

Kyoichi smiled.

This was a characteristic teaching method!

Kurenai's Father felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.

This kind of method could teach Ninja Academy kids, but it couldn't be generalized to the guidance of genin and chunin.

After all, chunin were different. Not to mention the phenomenon of hoarding one's skills, they had already formed their own systems, and mutual teaching could easily lead to deviations.

Still.

If it could be popularized at the Ninja Academy level...

That would still be great!

"Could it be popularized in the Ninja Academy?"

"If Ninja Academy teachers handle it, it probably won't work. But if you really want to try it, you could have jonin teachers teach for the month before graduation, treating it as an early intensive training for genin."

Kyoichi said without hesitation.

Having the school's own teachers do it wouldn't have the same effect—why not just get a Jonin?

Military training, how simple is that?

There were too many successful examples from his past life; he could just pick one and apply it.

"You can do that?"

Kurenai's Father was stunned for a long moment.

Invite a Jonin to the Ninja Academy to be in charge of a month-long intensive training?

This...

A path he had never considered.

But.

Upon careful thought, he found the feasibility was actually quite high.

The school's teachers were all Chunin. While they were competent enough to teach, they lacked the authority to make the children heed their advice. Jonin were different.

The key point.

Kyoichi's case was right there in front of him.

He taught for a month, and it was almost equivalent to what many people could achieve in years of teaching.

Kurenai's Father thought for a moment, then said, "Teacher Kyoichi, I'd like to write up your situation as a case study and submit it to Lord Third for his decision. Would you be willing?"

"Of course."

It wasn't like he had to write it himself.

Besides.

If this succeeded, he'd get a lot of credit, and might even receive a reward—why not?

In fact.

Kyoichi was already considering voluntarily applying for this every term to keep reaping the benefits.