"What is Shisui doing?"
"He's... helping the civilians carry water and firewood."
"Huh?"
A look of confusion flashed through the Third Hokage's eyes.
The moment he heard the news, he had even thought he'd misheard the name, mistaking Obito for Shisui. But after a moment, he felt he wasn't yet old enough for that, nor were his subordinates so senile that they could mistake one person for another.
He was stunned for a long while.
Then he lowered the pipe in his hand.
"Shisui is helping carry water and firewood?"
"Yes."
Even the Anbu were baffled.
Actually, carrying water and firewood was originally a Genin's job.
However.
It was wartime now. Where were there any Genin to do such work? As a result, many tasks piled up. Normally, Obito handled them there, and everyone simply pretended not to notice.
Yet.
Shisui was a genius whom the Uchiha Clan valued highly.
Instead of training, he had run to the civilians' homes to do free labor just like Obito. What was he trying to accomplish?
"Hmm... I understand."
The Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling for him to leave.
Afterward.
He immediately took out his crystal ball and cast the Clairvoyance Jutsu.
Before long.
The crystal ball displayed a scene of Obito and Shisui helping carry water together.
The Third Hokage's expression was blank.
He had no idea why Shisui had gotten involved in this nonsense too.
Could it be Obito?
Or perhaps Fugaku Uchiha?
The Third Hokage frowned.
If Obito had brought Shisui along, that would be easy enough to explain. But if it was Fugaku Uchiha, then it would be genuinely troublesome.
He instinctively lit his pipe.
After pondering carefully, the Third Hokage thought of someone else.
Kanda Kyoichi.
He had heard before that ever since Kyoichi became a teacher, Shisui had gradually grown closer to him. The two had even eaten a bowl of noodles at Ichiraku Ramen afterward.
Could it be him?
It wasn't impossible.
Thinking of this, the Third Hokage dug out the Anbu scrolls from two days earlier.
They contained records of what they had seen and heard.
"Powerful physique, extremely strong recovery ability, uses Shadow Clones to accelerate training, practices Sword Technique in the courtyard, and seems to possess notes on Second Lord's Konoha Style Swordsmanship."
According to the Anbu's observations,
although Kyoichi's body wasn't as terrifying as First Hokage's, his physique wasn't much different from Tobirama Senju's.
Without a doubt, it was the Senju bloodline!
As for the Sword Technique notes...
That man from the Kanda family had been the teacher's close relative back then...
The Third Hokage sighed inwardly.
He had never imagined that, despite the Senju Clan having vanished, such a powerful physique would one day awaken again in a descendant of the Senju. It was simply unbelievable.
Of course.
If that was all there was to it, the Third Hokage would still have had his doubts.
The disappearance of the Senju Clan might not have been something everyone had willingly accepted. He still harbored some concerns.
However.
If Shisui's transformation really was because of Kanda Kyoichi, then it was truly an unexpected delight. That was enough to prove that this Senju descendant, awakened after generations, still carried the Will of Fire in his heart.
After careful consideration, the Third Hokage took out the list for the Jonin test and added another name to it.
Kanda Kyoichi!
For the next two days, Kyoichi had no classes.
When he arrived at school on the third day and sat in the office, he heard a teacher from another class complaining to another teacher nearby.
"Sigh, I don't know what's going on. Uchiha Shisui has started arriving late recently too."
"He must have learned it from Obito."
"Definitely. Every time Shisui is late, that brat is involved."
Shisui had started arriving late too?
Kyoichi was surprised, then his expression turned strange.
He had even learned how to be late?
That was something else!
He had only told Shisui to observe. He hadn't told him to actually imitate Obito's behavior.
"Kyoichi, you have the first class today. If those two brats are late again, you can't go easy on them. If you show mercy the first time, they won't be afraid the second or third time."
"Yes. Thank you, Senior Ishimura."
Kyoichi nodded.
As the time drew near, he was about to pick up his things and head to the classroom when he glanced outside and saw two figures shoot past the doorway with a whoosh, whoosh.
Although they were fast, all the teachers were at least Chunin, so they could see them clearly.
Shisui and Obito.
"..."
The office fell silent for a moment.
Class hadn't even started yet.
Those two brats hadn't acted like this over the past two days. Shisui had even occasionally led the way in skipping class. Yet when it came to Kanda Kyoichi's class, not only were the two of them not late, they had actually arrived early.
Everyone had thought Shisui had learned bad habits.
No one had expected that he simply looked down on their classes.
Damn it, his heart was shattered.
Ishimura Takaharu stared at Kyoichi, watching him leave the office. Then he couldn't help banging his head against the desk, his face filled with embarrassment and frustration.
"Teacher Ishimura, it's not that serious. They're just a couple of brats..."
"No, even a temporary teacher is more popular than me. This hurts!"
Ishimura Takaharu looked as though he might cry.
He considered himself a teacher who had taught for more than a decade, with countless ninja graduating under him. Yet in the end, he wasn't as loved by the students as someone temporarily transferred into the position.
The other teachers instantly fell silent.
That hit close to home, brother!
Kanda Kyoichi had left the office, but he had actually heard them anyway.
There was nothing he could do about it.
Once his sensory perception had improved, his hearing had improved as well.
As for this, all he could say was...
Everything he taught was practical knowledge. Naturally, they couldn't compare with him.
When he arrived at the classroom,
everyone was sitting upright.
"Today, I saw Obito and Shisui use the Body Flicker Technique to rush to class. Very good. In that case, we'll first test your Three Body Techniques. If there aren't any problems, I'll teach you the Body Flicker Technique."
Kyoichi thought for a moment before speaking.
He hadn't taught anything new over the past few days, and even the system had gone quiet without a peep.
Today, he would teach them something new.
The Body Flicker Technique!
This technique was actually only a D-rank Ninjutsu, but its effects varied greatly depending on the person using it. It was still a basic technique worth practicing deeply.
"Yay!"
The classroom erupted in cheers.
Of course.
Only some of them were cheering.
A large portion of the students hadn't actually mastered the essentials of the Three Body Techniques.
Kyoichi looked around and said with a smile, "Don't celebrate too soon. We're in a special period, so students from different grades are being taught together. I'm looking at the class as a whole, understand?"
"Yes!"
Rin, Kurenai Yuhi, and several other upper-grade students instantly understood what he meant.
They were almost useless.
If many students in the class still weren't proficient in the Three Body Techniques, they would have to wait for the slower learners.
If they wanted to learn the Body Flicker Technique sooner, they had to help the students who were lagging behind improve their results.
Obito knew that he had a part in this.
However.
He was confident!
Over the past two or three days, he hadn't been doing good deeds with Shisui the entire time. He had occasionally asked this genius little brother of his for advice as well.
After a round of testing,
it turned out that although more than half had already mastered the techniques, half of the students still hadn't learned tree climbing or water walking, and their Three Body Techniques were also rather rusty.
At this moment, many of the geniuses below began writing down their understanding and notes, pondering how to motivate the other students in the class.
When the free-practice period began...
Most of them quickly sought out the students who were lagging behind.
Kyoichi admired his own genius.
He had originally still needed to keep an eye on the students with poor grades, but now wasn't the problem completely solved?
Who says they're brats? Aren't they pretty great!
However.
One student caught his attention.
Gekko Hayate.
This child had excellent talent and learned very quickly, but...
"Ahem, when combining the Transformation Jutsu and Clone Technique, you have to pay attention to chakra distribution. Your hand seals need to be fast too. You can complete the tree-climbing exercise first. Ahem, I'll teach you."
That cough...
It was pretty intense, brother!
Before you continue