Talent Cultivation System

April, the 60th year of the Leaf.

The Ninja Academy has once again ushered in its annual start-of-term season.

As the supreme leader, Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before a makeshift podium, his white haori fluttering slightly in the wind. He cleared his throat, preparing to deliver the opening address. Below the stage, a sea of black hair stretched out as hundreds of gazes fell upon that slightly short yet imposing figure.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face glowed with health as he nodded in satisfaction. With the line, "Where the leaves of the Leaf dance, fire shall burn; the firelight will illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout," he instantly ignited the crowd. Cheers and applause erupted like a tsunami, surging from all directions and nearly overturning the entire playground.

Every word Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke was infused with his most sincere emotions. The crowd below listened with boiling blood, wishing they could rush onto the stage to pledge their loyalty, willing to go through fire and water for the Leaf and fight three hundred rounds against any invading enemy.

Kitagawa Akimizu stood among the ranks of the teachers.

Although he lacked the fanaticism of those around him, he wore a heartfelt smile, for he had finally escaped that dangerous, field-agent position where one could be sent anywhere and face life-threatening risks at any moment.

Akimizu was not a local, but a lucky transmigrator born in the 42nd year of the Leaf. His parents were both ordinary chunin who had perished while out on a mission when he was six years old.

As a "three-no" ninja—no talent, no bloodline, and no background—Akimizu had a very clear understanding of his own position.

Having lived in a peaceful era in his previous life, he found it difficult to sustain the monotonous daily routine of "you slash me, I slash you." Thus, after becoming a chunin, he decisively chose to run to the academy to become a teacher.

Akimizu knew that the current peace would not last long. Within the next short eight years, he would directly face Orochimaru's plan to crush the Leaf, Pain's "Almighty Push" plan to flatten the Leaf, and the plan by Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara to launch the Fourth Shinobi World War and trap everyone in the dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

However, Akimizu was not overly panicked. When the time came, he would simply run to Ichiraku Ramen or go on a trip, and wait for the children of destiny, Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke, to save the world.

Just as Akimizu was seriously contemplating how to precisely avoid danger during this series of terrorist attacks, an electronic mechanical sound suddenly rang in his mind, and a nearly transparent blue panel popped up before his eyes.

[System has arrived, though late.]

[Detected that the player meets the conditions; the Talent Cultivation System is officially starting.]

[You can receive rewards by cultivating talent; the higher the quality of the talent, the greater the reward.]

[You may bind yourself to high-quality talent for focused cultivation; as the talent's strength improves, the host will also receive corresponding rewards.]

[Friendly reminder: Binding requires the other party's inner approval; forced binding is not possible.]

Akimizu instinctively tensed up, but as he listened clearly to the voice, a surge of emotion—indescribable as either excitement or helplessness—welled up in his heart. He looked at the blue panel, which featured two options: [Personal Attribute Panel] and [High-Quality Talent Cultivation List].

Akimizu clicked on the Personal Attribute Panel:

[Name: Kitagawa Akimizu]

[Age: 18]

[Chakra Nature: Fire]

[Chakra Volume: 3300]

[Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Shadow Clone Jutsu]

[Taijutsu: Leaf-Style Taijutsu]

[Evaluation: A chunin cannon fodder who luckily survived the war.]

Akimizu ignored the evaluation in the last line and opened the High-Quality Talent Cultivation List. Since there was no personnel yet, it was blank, with a limit of three slots.

Two hours later, the opening ceremony ended, and the crowd dispersed in an orderly fashion.

Akimizu followed the flow of people toward the teaching building. Because Iruka found it truly difficult to accept that the Nine-Tails sealed within Naruto was the murderer who killed his parents, his emotional state during class was extremely unstable. Therefore, Akimizu was now the acting homeroom teacher for Class 1, Year 4.

Akimizu stopped five or six meters away from the classroom door. After checking that his attire was in order, he put on a sunny, warm expression and walked inside.

He saw that the somewhat noisy sounds inside the classroom quieted down due to his arrival. He nodded in satisfaction and, under the gaze of more than twenty students, walked calmly to the center of the podium.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Akimizu felt these students staring at him intently; some faces showed nervousness, and a few even showed anticipation.

Just as he opened the chalk box, a palm-sized frog jumped out and "croaked" at him.

Akimizu's expression remained unchanged as he asked calmly, "Who did this?"

Naruto Uzumaki, sitting on the outer side of the fourth row, stood up with a "whoosh" and said proudly, "I did it."

Akimizu clapped his hands and smiled. "Willing to admit your mistakes and take responsibility—very good. As a reward, you will stand for all four of my classes this morning, and after school this afternoon, you will stay behind alone to clean the classroom."

Naruto didn't care; he was alone when he went back anyway and had nothing to do. Although his prank hadn't succeeded, he felt the gazes of those around him gathering on him, and his empty heart was instantly satisfied.

Akimizu picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the five large characters "Kitagawa Akimizu" on the blackboard, then turned to face the students to introduce himself formally:

"My name is Kitagawa Akimizu, eighteen years old this year. My hobby is writing in a diary. Due to personal reasons, Iruka-sensei has chosen to resign from the position of your homeroom teacher and will only be responsible for your history classes from now on. For the next two years, I will serve as your homeroom teacher. I dislike people who do not follow the rules, and my dream is for the village to become increasingly prosperous. Although you are already fourth-year students, this is our first time meeting, and we are not very familiar with each other. Next, everyone will take turns coming up to the stage to introduce themselves."

After Akimizu finished speaking, he moved to the side of the podium, leaving the space for the students who were about to come up.

Their hobbies, things they disliked, and dreams were varied; one could say they were very interesting, or perhaps whimsical.

Akimizu did not correct their unrealistic ideas, but instead gave sincere encouragement after each student finished their introduction.

The students also gradually realized that this teacher was far less serious than they had imagined.

Taking advantage of this time, Akimizu attempted to bind himself to Naruto and Sasuke.

[System Prompt: Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke's favorability toward the player has not reached the binding standard; binding failed.]

Akimizu looked at the message that popped up in front of him without the slightest sense of disappointment, because the system had already warned him earlier; he had just wanted to give it a try.

If it succeeded, he would profit; if it failed, he wouldn't lose anything.

When it was Naruto Uzumaki's turn to go on stage, after he stated his dream of surpassing all previous Hokage and becoming the strongest Hokage, undisguised mocking laughter immediately erupted from the audience.