Abundant Rewards

Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, and several other girls swarmed over the moment class ended.

They held various snacks and fruits in their hands, scrambling to offer them to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, these are rice balls I made, please try one!"

"Sasuke, eat an apple, I washed it!"

"Sasuke-kun, this candy is delicious!"

Sasuke sat there motionless with a cold face, turning a blind eye to the enthusiastic feeding around him. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his face was practically screaming, "I am annoyed."

These girls seemed completely unable to sense his indifference, continuing to chatter incessantly.

Naruto Uzumaki watched Qiushui's retreating figure as he left the classroom, hesitated for a moment, then quickly stood up and chased after him.

At the same time, a notification popped up in front of Qiushui.

[Talent cultivation complete, evaluating the content of the session]
[Evaluation dimensions: Attitude, Depth, Interaction, Atmosphere]
[Detection result: You treated every talent equally, effectively stimulating their sense of responsibility and mission by visualizing the hard-won nature of peace through the deeds of predecessors. Your style was humorous and witty, the atmosphere was lively, and talent satisfaction is high.]
[Comprehensive evaluation: A]
[Obtained special skill reward: Quality Inspection Technique (Basic)]
[Quality Inspection Technique (Basic) effect description: Can be used to view general information about others; costs 100 chakra per use.]
[First talent cultivation completed, obtained special skill reward: Talent Aura (Basic)]
[Talent Aura (Basic) effect description: When activated, it allows talents to enter a state of deep focus and peace during study, training, or reflection, greatly reducing external interference and internal distractions. Knowledge, skill guidance, or experience imparted will be easier to understand and absorb.]
[Note: This skill can be toggled on or off, covers a range of 100 meters, and consumes an average of 1,000 chakra per hour.]
[First talent cultivation with an A rating completed, obtained additional reward: Fire Style Chakra Nature Transformation (Advanced)]

Qiushui looked at the information popping up before him with pleasant surprise. He never expected that giving a lecture would yield rewards, though upon reflection, it was indeed a form of talent cultivation.

Immediately after, a massive influx of memories regarding the advanced nature transformation of Fire Style chakra flooded his mind like a tide. The memories were incredibly vivid, as if he were truly an old-timer who had practiced Fire Style ninjutsu for countless days and nights.

Qiushui looked at the Quality Inspection Technique and Talent Aura skills. The former could help him screen for talents he might have missed or those who didn't appear in the anime, while the latter was truly useful for him as a teacher. However, the consumption of 1,000 chakra per hour made him gasp; at his current chakra levels, he would be tapped out in three and a half hours.

"Qiushui-sensei."

A nervous voice came from behind him.

Qiushui turned around to see Naruto Uzumaki jogging over, looking at him with a hesitant expression. Teachers and students passing by in the hallway subconsciously cast glances their way.

Qiushui led Naruto to a large tree outside the school building. He looked at the boy, who was hanging his head, rubbing his hands against his thighs, and scuffing his toes against the ground.

This protagonist, who should have been the most prone to turning dark, wore washed-out clothes, had a frail build, and was a head shorter than his peers. At this moment, his mind was filled only with what pranks he could pull to attract attention; there wasn't a shred of a savior about him. He needed guidance and warm, caring support, and Qiushui was more than happy to help him at this stage.

Qiushui waited a moment, and seeing him still scuffing the ground, he took the initiative to ask gently, "Is something the matter? Was there something in class you didn't understand?"

Naruto hurriedly looked up, then quickly lowered his head again, shaking it. "No, Sensei, I understood everything you taught!"

Qiushui was surprised, unable to tell for a moment if he was telling the truth or not.

If he remembered correctly, Naruto's intelligence didn't seem very high; after graduation, he even referred to chakra as "chaton-ra," and he hadn't even obtained the Talent Aura skill yet.

He muttered to himself, Could it be that I actually have a talent for teaching?

Naruto took a deep breath, looked up, and said apologetically, "Qiushui-sensei, I'm sorry."

Qiushui was stunned for a moment.

"I shouldn't have used a frog to pull a prank on you during class." After saying this, Naruto lowered his head again.

He had grown up never having anyone stand up for him, never having anyone praise him, and never having anyone look at him with a normal gaze. So, when Qiushui said those things in class today, he had been completely bewildered.

That was why Naruto decided to come and apologize to Qiushui.

Qiushui had wondered what it was about; he hadn't taken that incident to heart at all.

He knew that Naruto's nature wasn't bad at all; he was a kind-hearted person full of inner sunshine.

His prankish behavior was merely a desperate attempt to garner attention.

Because compared to being insulted or mocked, Naruto feared being ignored even more.

Qiushui said gently, "Naruto, I accept your apology. But I can feel that you are a kind child. Can you tell me why you keep pulling pranks?"

Although Naruto's behavior usually seemed boisterous, his heart was actually very delicate and sensitive. He could feel that the tone of this teacher's voice and the way he looked at him were completely different from everyone else.

How should he put it?

It felt as if he were being treated like a normal, ordinary person.

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before finally speaking. "I just wanted everyone to pay more attention to me."

Qiushui could actually understand Naruto's mindset. Having lost his parents at a young age, living alone was very lonely. Even when ostracized, insulted, or beaten by the villagers, he only felt dissatisfaction and anger, but what he feared most was being ignored. He just wanted to use those methods to prove his existence and make his life feel less lonely.

But that didn't mean this behavior was right.

Qiushui said slowly, "Naruto, there are many ways to get others to pay attention to you. The method you are using now might get people to notice you in the short term, but what about in the long run? Think about it: if there were someone around you who was constantly causing destruction and trouble for others, how would you view them?"

Naruto was silent. It wasn't that he didn't understand these principles, but he had no better way.

Qiushui provided the answer for him. "You would find them more and more annoying, want to deal with them less and less, and eventually, you would hide whenever you saw them."

Naruto imagined the scene Qiushui described and immediately grew anxious, blurting out, "Qiushui-sensei, can you tell me what kind of method I should use instead?"