Team Leader Teacher

One week later, Akiyama Shun applied for early graduation.

Thanks to his excellent performance over the past few months, the application process went exceptionally smoothly; he had only handed the request to Kazama Shinya in the morning, and by the afternoon, his exam had already been approved.

It was said that the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had personally reviewed and approved it.

The moment Akiyama Shun stepped into the examination hall, he discovered someone else there.

Kakashi.

It seemed the previous battle had been quite effective, as Kakashi's expression was much better now. Upon spotting Akiyama Shun, he even gave a nod, acknowledging him as a greeting.

Akiyama Shun nodded back politely in return.

Soon, the examiner arrived, and Akiyama Shun recognized him as well—it was Kazama Shinya.

The content of the exam was simple, consisting of the material taught over several years at the Ninja Academy, though the standards were much stricter than a normal graduation. For instance, while a standard graduation only required one of the Three Basic Jutsu, now all three had to be mastered.

Even so, for Akiyama Shun and Kakashi, the difficulty was not high, and both completed the exam with ease.

They even achieved perfect scores!

When the two walked out of the exam hall, both already held a Konoha forehead protector in their hands.

Nighttime.

At the home of Yuhi Shinku.

The house was much more festive today, and had even been specially decorated.

As soon as Akiyama Shun stepped through the door, Yuhi Kurenai, who had been hiding nearby, jumped out.

"Bang!"

A party popper went off, and countless ribbons drifted down from above, landing on Akiyama Shun.

"Shun, congratulations on your early graduation!"

Before Akiyama Shun could say anything, Yuhi Kurenai pulled him to sit down and began chattering away, asking about the details of the graduation exam.

Yuhi Shinku sat to the side, watching the two youngsters talk with a smile.

"Is the early graduation exam different from the normal one?"

"Was it hard?"

"..."

There were many questions, but Akiyama Shun patiently answered every one of them.

"Shun, do you think I could pass the early graduation exam now?"

"Ahem!"

After Yuhi Kurenai finished asking, before Akiyama Shun could answer, a deep cough interrupted their conversation.

Hearing the sound, Yuhi Kurenai puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and looked toward Yuhi Shinku.

"Kurenai, you are different from Shun. You still haven't learned enough; you aren't ready for early graduation yet."

"But Father..."

"No buts."

Seeing Yuhi Shinku refuse so decisively, Yuhi Kurenai pouted and stopped talking to him.

"Here, you can play with this."

Akiyama Shun chuckled, patted Yuhi Kurenai on the head, and handed her the forehead protector he was holding.

Yuhi Kurenai, who had been unhappy just a moment ago, saw the forehead protector and her mood instantly brightened, her eyes shining as she stared at it.

"I knew Shun was the best to me!"

After taking the forehead protector, Yuhi Kurenai gave Akiyama Shun a big hug, then skipped off to her room, clutching the prize.

"Heh heh~"

Watching this scene, Yuhi Shinku shook his head helplessly.

"Shun, let's eat first. Kurenai will come out on her own in a bit."

After dinner, Akiyama Shun sat in the courtyard under the moonlight, beginning to organize his current situation and his plans for the future.

[Name: Akiyama Shun]

[Ninja: Hatake Kakashi (Youth), Yakushi Nonō, Uchiha Itachi (Rookie Ninja), Gekko Hayate, Uzumaki Naruto (Academy Student)]

[Summoning Beast: None]

[Secret Scroll: Earth Style: Rock Fall (LV1)]

[Artifact: None]

[Rank: Genin (1600)]

[Gold: 750]

Upon reaching the rank of genin, the monthly base allowance increased to 1,600, and the daily check-in reward rose to 60, totaling 3,400 per month—enough for 21 draws!

Now that he had reached the genin level, the next step was to figure out how to reach chunin.

Once he reached chunin, the monthly base allowance would hit 3,200, and the daily check-in reward would increase to 110, totaling 6,500 per month—40 draws!

There were two ways to become a chunin: the first was for a genin to demonstrate exceptional ability during wartime or a state of emergency, allowing the Konoha high command to promote them directly.

However, this path was not an option for Akiyama Shun; the current situation was, at most, a period of friction before a war, far from an actual state of war.

Therefore, only one other method remained for him.

That was the biannual Chunin Exams!

In the original story, given Kakashi's strength, he passed the Chunin Exams shortly after graduating from the ninja academy; such a difficulty level was hardly a problem for the current Akiyama Shun.

Unfortunately, the last Chunin Exams had just concluded, so he would have to wait for a while.

"Whew~"

After organizing his development path, Akiyama Shun began to ponder another question.

That was the fact that genin who had just graduated from the ninja academy would be assigned a team leader.

So, who would his team leader be?

Who would be the best team leader for Akiyama Shun?

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also contemplating this issue.

To ensure Akiyama Shun's optimal growth, he had to carefully consider both the teacher's instructional ability and whether Akiyama Shun could get along well with them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's first choice was Yuhi Shinku.

First of all, Yuhi Shinku's own teaching ability was excellent; his regular job was as a training instructor for all genin and chunin in the village, and he also had a very good relationship with Akiyama Shun.

"Knock, knock, knock."

As Sarutobi Hiruzen was thinking, a knock sounded at the door.

After receiving permission from Sarutobi Hiruzen, an Anbu pushed the door open, walked in, and stopped in front of the desk to report: "Lord Hokage, Lady Tsunade heard that Akiyama Shun has graduated and has personally requested to be his team leader."

Tsunade?

Upon hearing this name, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes lit up.

He hadn't considered Tsunade before simply because her current mental state was poor, and she wasn't very interested in managing affairs within Konoha.

But in truth, in his heart, Tsunade was the most suitable person to be Akiyama Shun's teacher!

First, Tsunade was one of the Sannin, having long since made a name for herself in the shinobi world; there was no doubt about her strength, and having experienced the Second Shinobi World War, she could pass on her experience to Akiyama Shun very well.

She also had a good relationship with Akiyama Shun; the two had often spent time together while Akiyama Shun was still attending the ninja academy.

Furthermore, there was one primary reason: Tsunade was a medical ninja!

This point would be the greatest help to Akiyama Shun!

Akiyama Shun's creativity was too strong; he dared to create an A-rank ninjutsu at such a young age, and what's more, there hadn't been any rumors about it beforehand—he had just suddenly unleashed it.

If Akiyama Shun ever had a sudden inspiration and decided to use another self-created ninjutsu, Tsunade could provide immediate treatment if he were injured.

It was simply perfect!

"Since it was Tsunade who requested it, then let her go."