That morning, he'd only felt like he was questioning his life choices. Now he was truly questioning everything. He couldn't hit a target with a kunai, and he couldn't win a fight.
Qiushui recalled the task the system had just issued and asked in a coaxing tone, "Naruto, would you like to get good results in the running and kunai-throwing competitions next time?"
Naruto looked up, stunned. He'd thought that after such a poor showing, Teacher Qiushui wouldn't want to help him improve anymore. Then he answered without hesitation, "I do."
He wanted it more than anything—not only to wipe away the humiliation of today, but also because he didn't want to disappoint Teacher Qiushui. And he certainly couldn't let that guy Sasuke get too full of himself.
Qiushui spoke slowly. "After observing you these past few days, I've noticed that your behavior has improved a lot. I haven't heard any other teachers say you've been disruptive in class, either. So I think you've passed my test. Starting this Saturday, I'm going to put you through special training to improve your grades."
Naruto perked up at once. "Teacher Qiushui, really?"
Qiushui nodded. "Really. But the training ahead will be very tough. It's not something just anyone can stick with, so you need to prepare yourself. If you quit halfway through, I'll be very disappointed."
Naruto's eyes showed no fear of hardship, only a longing to grow stronger. He declared loudly, "Teacher Qiushui, I'm not afraid of hard work. Don't worry. As long as I can get stronger, I'll do anything. Even if it kills me, I won't give up."
Qiushui nodded with satisfaction. He liked people who weren't afraid of hard work or exhaustion.
Qiushui didn't continue talking with Naruto. He suspected that old Third Hokage might be spying on them with the Telescope Technique.
He didn't have any bad intentions, but he couldn't act too enthusiastic. It was best to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Still, he didn't waste any time. After parting ways with Naruto, he concealed himself and quietly followed Uchiha Sasuke.
After Sasuke left the school, he headed to the edge of a forest. The terrain there was open, with a few enormous rocks nearby and a clear stream.
Sasuke stopped in the middle of the clearing and began training alone.
Qiushui saw the words "Training Ground 13" at the entrance and silently memorized the location, planning to bring Naruto there that weekend.
The second high-quality talent he wanted to bind was Uchiha Sasuke.
But Sasuke had seen plenty of the world. He wasn't as easy to fool as Naruto.
With Qiushui's current status as a Chunin, even if he showed off powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu or forced himself to give Sasuke a beating, it would be hard to earn Sasuke's genuine respect.
Besides, Sasuke wasn't as kind and innocent as Naruto. Approaching him to offer guidance carried risks. Not only would Sasuke be unlikely to feel grateful, but he might even use what Qiushui taught him against him someday.
That wasn't a situation Qiushui wanted.
So he decided to try a different approach: first, he'd let Sasuke watch him teach Naruto.
Once Naruto grew stronger, Sasuke would naturally become curious and be tempted to seek Qiushui's guidance himself.
Then Qiushui would have the upper hand, and it would be much easier to train Sasuke.
Friday morning.
Eight fifteen.
After getting up, Qiushui went straight to the school. He pushed open the office door and found that Matsumoto Mie was the only one there, sitting at her desk and drinking black tea.
"Good morning, Teacher Matsumoto." Qiushui greeted her and went to his desk to set down his bag.
"Good morning, Qiushui. No classes today, but you're still here early?" Matsumoto Mie looked up at him with a smile.
"I want to organize some teaching materials." Qiushui seized the opportunity to ask, "By the way, I'd like to look at students' exam papers from the past few years. Could you tell me where to find them at school, Teacher Mie?"
Matsumoto Mie took a sip of her tea. "If you're looking for old exam papers, go to the Archives Room on the fifth floor. They're on the right-hand side as you enter, sorted by grade and subject. You should find what you need."
"Got it. Thanks, Teacher Matsumoto." Qiushui nodded and left the office.
Since the Archives Room was on the fifth floor, few people went there on an ordinary day. When Qiushui pushed open the door, he could even smell a faint mix of paper and camphorwood. He followed the labels and quickly found the cabinet where the exam papers were stored.
He had a clear goal this time: to gather all the fourth-grade exam papers from the past four years.
Naruto's academic foundations were truly worrying. With an IQ of only ninety, even the Talent Aura wouldn't make it realistic for him to achieve a major improvement in such a short time.
The system's deadline was less than a month away. There was no way a conventional teaching approach would be fast enough.
Lying in bed the night before, Qiushui had turned the problem over in his mind. The safest method was to drill Naruto with practice questions.
As someone who had completed all nine years of compulsory education, Qiushui wouldn't claim his knowledge was far superior to everyone else's, nor would he boast that he was the best teacher around. But when it came to grinding through practice questions, he was absolutely confident in his abilities.
With enough practice, Naruto could memorize common question types and key concepts by rote. Qiushui wasn't expecting him to score highly, just to scrape a passing grade in most subjects and get through this task.
Qiushui crouched in front of the cabinet and rummaged for a while, soon confirming his hunch.
The school's exam questions changed on the surface each year, but the core question types were highly repetitive. The numbers would change, or the wording would be tweaked; some questions even had exactly the same prompts. A rough estimate put the repetition rate at thirty percent or more.
"Figures. It's the same everywhere." Qiushui's mouth curled into a small smile. Now he had a plan.
It took him two hours to find all the fourth-grade exam papers from the past three years and photocopy them one by one.
Looking at the thick stack in his hands, Qiushui thought for a moment, then also photocopied the past three years of exam papers for Class 1-1.
After all, it was the class he was primarily responsible for. He couldn't play favorites. Naruto was his current focus, but for now, his main source of rewards still came from teaching Class 1-1. On top of that, he was still a trainee homeroom teacher, with a three-month probationary period. If the overall performance of his class ranked near the bottom of the grade, and he failed his probation, he'd truly be throwing away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.
Qiushui walked down the hallway toward the office, a huge stack of first-grade exam papers in his arms.
He could have put all the papers in a storage scroll, which would have saved time and effort, but he didn't.
In the workplace, people had to see that you were working hard. Even if you were putting on an act, you had to look busy. If a supervisor happened to see you one day, they'd get a good impression of you.
That was a lesson Qiushui had learned the hard way after years as a seasoned wage earner.
His main goal here was to make a good impression on his coworkers. If a chance to substitute for someone came up, they might think of him first.
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