Teacher, You're Such a Pervert!

As the sun set in the west, its lingering rays painted the mountain forest orange-red.

On an open stretch of flat ground in the woods, two people were tied to wooden dummies, their heads hanging dejectedly.

They were Jiraiya, who had failed, and Kagura, who had succeeded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi kept rubbing his buttocks with one hand as he lectured Kagura in anguish:

"Is this what you learned at the Ninja Academy?

Huh?

With so many ninjutsu for you to study properly, what the hell did you learn instead?

Even if you wanted to learn taijutsu, there were plenty of options.

Tell me, did you create this yourself, or did some bastard teacher teach it to you?"

Faced with Teacher Sarutobi's fury, Kagura could not help shrinking his head.

Hearing the question, he tried hard to recall it before answering hesitantly:

"It... it was Hatake Sakumo who taught me."

Nani?

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried hard to recall the owner of that name. An image of a silver-haired youth with a resolute face appeared in his mind.

Who would have thought that such an upright-looking youngster had developed such a vicious ninjutsu?

Poor Hatake Sakumo had no idea that, because of someone's slander, his image in the Third Hokage's mind had taken a sharp nosedive.

Though, in a sense, it was not exactly slander.

Kagura remembered clearly that the Original Plot had indeed mentioned Thousand Years of Death being invented by Hatake Sakumo.

After teaching it to Kakashi, Kakashi and Naruto had carried it forward.

Faintly feeling the pain between his legs, Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed the space between his brows with a headache.

Tying Kagura to the wooden dummy had also been an act born from his anger.

Now that he thought about it carefully, Kagura had done nothing wrong.

After all, he had said at the beginning that no matter what method they used, anyone who defeated him and obtained the bells would be considered victorious.

He had simply never expected to suffer such an embarrassing defeat in the end.

Thinking of this, he put on a Stern Face and untied Kagura.

Finally freed from the wooden dummy, Kagura let out a sigh of relief.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger had been within his expectations, so this brief binding was already the lightest punishment he had imagined.

Although he had won in the end, that did not mean he possessed the ability to fight a Kage-level Strong Person.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not taken this battle seriously from the very beginning. It was obvious from the fact that he had been able to defeat Tsunade and the others while still having the leisure to fool around.

The strength Kagura had been concealing had also caused Hiruzen Sarutobi to misjudge the difficulty of the battle from the start.

Simply put, this success had been due more to luck than strength.

Looking at these children before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi only felt Heart-tired. He Shook Head and said:

"Although Kagura used some tricks, he won in the end.

This is the Ninja World. The process does not matter; only the result does."

After a pause, he Glanced at Jiraiya, who was still tied to the wooden dummy, and continued:

"As for you three...

Although Tsunade and Orochimaru still have many shortcomings, I have seen their progress.

But Jiraiya, you do not possess the awareness of a Ninja at all!

Therefore, I declare that Kagura, Tsunade, and Orochimaru are the three who passed this assessment.

As for you!"

At this point, he pointed at Jiraiya and said:

"As an Unqualified Person, you will be tied here for the night as punishment."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi announced the results, The Other Three left directly.

Although they had been told they passed the assessment, Tsunade and Orochimaru were not in high spirits when they left.

It could not be helped. The blow Kagura had dealt them today was simply too great.

Only today did they realize that Kagura had never taken them seriously back at school.

That tiny gap between them had merely been their own imagination.

As for Kagura, having seen the Original Plot, he naturally knew the purpose of this assessment.

It had never been meant to test everyone's strength. It was an assessment meant to awaken their Team Consciousness through the Remaining one who failed.

However, because of what he had done, the atmosphere had completely changed, and Teacher Sarutobi could not continue with the original script.

Since that was the case, there was no point in staying behind. He might as well go home early and check the System Reward.

Watching the backs of the three as they departed, Jiraiya no longer had the energy to shout as before. Instead, he lowered his head like a Dejected Rooster.

Seeing his dejection, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said:

"What is it?

Did seeing the True Strength of your companions deal you a blow?"

Jiraiya answered in a muffled voice:

"That Kagura is too cunning. He had been hiding his strength all along.

And Tsunade and Orochimaru are far stronger than I am."

Seeing that his student had lost confidence, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down beside him and comforted him as though recalling the past:

"Jiraiya, there has never been any shortage of geniuses in the Ninja World.

But being a genius does not mean one can become strong."

Hearing this, Jiraiya finally raised his head and looked at the Teacher before him.

"Then how can I become strong?"

Sarutobi smiled and answered:

"Hard work, luck, talent.

Most importantly, a Resilient Heart.

Everyone has their own talent. You do not need to force yourself to compare yourself with others. Persisting in being yourself is more important."

Listening to his Teacher's encouragement, light gradually returned to Jiraiya's eyes.

He smiled confidently and said proudly:

"Exactly. I just performed poorly today.

My escape techniques are the strongest in Konohagakure!

Whenever I use escape techniques to peek at the bathhouse, I have never failed!"

Looking at this shameless Disciple before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi twitched the corner of his mouth but said nothing.

After a long silence, a voice rang out.

"Next time you go to the bathhouse, take me with you."

"...Teacher, you're such a pervert."

"Shut up!"

On the way back, Kagura hummed cheerfully.

He had planned to claim the reward from the system only after returning home, but faced with the temptation of a Tailed Beast, he could not wait any longer and claimed it halfway there.

After confirming it in his mind, none of the Strange Changes he had imagined appeared.

He turned his head and carefully examined himself, only to find no changes at all.

Only after returning his attention to the system did he discover the changes in his attributes:

Dōjutsu: (Two-Tomoe Sharingan), progress 14.2%.

Taijutsu: (Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain), progress 90.1%.

Chakra: (Chunin Level), progress 42.1%.

Tailed Beast: One-Tails, Fusion Degree 1%

Why had these attributes increased so much?

It seemed that fighting a Kage-level Strong Person was extremely beneficial to his growth.

Based on Kagura's previous Experience Evaluation, if he relied solely on training himself, reaching this level of improvement would take at least one to two weeks.

The newly added Tailed Beast line in his attributes also caught his attention.

"One-Tails?"

Muttering to himself, he pondered for a while before turning his mind inward.

Just as he had expected, after carefully examining himself, he discovered that a Tailed Beast had appeared within his body at some unknown time.

Looking closely, it was One-Tails—Shukaku!

However, unlike the Ferocious Form in his memories, this One-Tails was pure white all over.

Its chubby face looked somewhat cute, and it was currently lying inside his body, sleeping soundly.

As if sensing Kagura's gaze, it rubbed its eyes with its claws, rolled over, and continued sleeping.

Was this really a Tailed Beast?

Could it be some kind of mascot?

Several question marks appeared over Kagura's head.

But the system would not answer his questions, and he currently had no way to verify it.

Left with no choice, Kagura could only set the matter aside for now.

Fine, since this Tailed Beast seemed somewhat different from what he had imagined, he should draw a ninjutsu instead.

After all, that was something that could genuinely strengthen him.

But just as the roulette wheel in the system began to spin, Kagura, who had been walking slowly along the roadside, suddenly stopped.

His sharp senses told him that there was an enemy!

And that enemy was watching him from not far away!