Teaching According to Aptitude (Fourth Update)

The breeze was gentle, and the sun shone brightly.

A ninja's life when not on a mission was actually quite comfortable, especially for ordinary people.

After learning about the mission systems of the major ninja villages, especially Konoha's, Gong Yi finally understood why people like Kakashi and Jiraiya in the story seemed so carefree in their daily lives.

They had money!

The common currency in the ninja world was the ryo.

The simplest D-Rank Missions generally paid around five or six hundred ryo.

C-Rank Missions were usually personal missions, generated when individuals applied for them. Most were escort missions, with rewards ranging from ten thousand to fifty thousand ryo.

B-Rank Missions involved ninja combat. Where there was combat, there was the risk of death, so the rewards were very high: between fifty thousand and one hundred fifty thousand ryo.

A-Rank Missions concerned the movements of nations or villages, or joining a war at another country's request. The rewards ranged from around one hundred fifty thousand to one million ryo. Occasionally, protecting an important person also counted.

As for high-level S-Rank Missions, they involved confidential matters of national importance, joining wars at another country's request, assassinating important people, or stealing classified documents. The rewards were generally over one million ryo.

Gong Yi still couldn't get involved with missions above S-Rank or missions from the Underground Black Market, but he imagined they could pay several million, or even tens of millions of ryo. There might also be other kinds of compensation.

Based on purchasing power, one ryo was roughly equivalent to three yuan in Huaxia's currency.

The ramen Naruto Uzumaki liked, for instance, usually cost six ryo, or eighteen yuan in Huaxia.

Completing even the simplest low-level mission could earn you five hundred ryo, roughly equivalent to fifteen hundred yuan.

And completing an S-Rank Mission could earn you at least one million ryo—that was as much as three million yuan!

With that kind of money, as long as ninjas stayed away from gambling, almost all of them were secretly wealthy.

After completing his previous mission, Gong Yi had received seven hundred thousand ryo for his outstanding performance.

He was now a bona fide little rich man. At least for the next few years, he wouldn't have to worry about money.

High rewards meant high risks, and high risks meant missions couldn't be undertaken too frequently.

Especially after this mission: Iga Kawaji had lost an arm, Gong Yi had been seriously injured, and people like Ogawara and Hyuga Senso were still on the run.

So the village had given their team some time off. It wasn't long, but it would last a full three months.

They were to use that time to rest, improve their strength, and replenish their ninja tools.

Iga Kawaji had lost an arm and could no longer go on missions. In practice, the team had ceased to exist.

However, until a new team captain was appointed, Iga Kawaji remained the captain, so he continued to carry out his duties.

Looking at the three boys in front of him, Iga Kawaji began to get a sense of what to do.

During a break, a team captain was supposed to help his team members improve and correct any mistakes in their training.

Teaching ninjas was unfamiliar territory for him, but with the experience of an Elite Jonin, correcting mistakes posed no problem.

"Senso, you're from the Hyuga Clan. Even though you're from a branch family, what you've learned is still part of the clan's Ninjutsu, so I can't offer much advice. But in my opinion, your Taijutsu is good enough. Your defense, though, is lacking."

Hyuga Senso nodded, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The Hyuga Clan naturally had defensive techniques suited to the Byakugan, but a branch family member like him wasn't allowed to learn them.

Iga Kawaji's advice was for Hyuga Senso to learn one or two low-level defensive techniques. There were similar techniques in both Water Release and Earth Style.

They couldn't compare to the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques, but they could at least make up for his weakness somewhat.

"As for Yuan..."

Iga Kawaji rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "Your main weakness is that you're too slow at refining Chakra. I suggest using Ninjutsu more during training to expend your Chakra, then refining it quickly afterward. That way, you can get used to the process."

Ogawara nodded and trained as Iga Kawaji had instructed.

Watching Iga Kawaji teach them, Gong Yi nodded to himself.

This was teaching according to each person's aptitude.

When Iga Kawaji turned his attention to him, Gong Yi wondered what this Jonin—originally assigned by the Third Hokage to be his teacher—would teach him.

Iga Kawaji was also a little unsure. Back in the Land of Rain, he had realized that this team member's strength was far beyond what it seemed.

He was at least close to Jonin level.

Because Gong Yi kept so much hidden, Iga Kawaji found it difficult to know what to teach him.

"Gong Yi, first tell me what you're good at. Be as specific as you can, so I can give you some advice."

Gong Yi thought for a while, then said, "I'm best at Earth Style Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."

"Then show me your Taijutsu first!"

"Sure!"

Gong Yi didn't hesitate. There was no harm in revealing his Taijutsu; anyone could train in it.

When Gong Yi demonstrated his unparalleled speed and tremendous strength, Iga Kawaji finally understood why Gong Yi had given him the impression of being close to Jonin level.

He was incredibly fast, and his strength was immense.

Even a simple punch made a thick tree tremble. And that was with Gong Yi holding back.

Iga Kawaji shook his head. "Your Taijutsu is already very strong. But you lack advanced Taijutsu, and what you've learned so far is only a set of basic techniques."

Gong Yi wasn't surprised by this assessment.

Aside from his punches and kicks, he had only developed one technique of his own: Joint Technique.

To make the most of his powerful body, he had specifically asked the Third Hokage for the Eight Inner Gates.

Once he had mastered the Eight Inner Gates, he would have another trump card in close combat.

"Senso is from the Hyuga Clan, which specializes in Taijutsu. You can discuss it with him from time to time. But you should hold back your strength—Senso couldn't take it."

Gong Yi looked at Hyuga Senso. Senso looked back at him and nodded.

Hyuga Senso had watched Gong Yi's demonstration from start to finish, and he didn't believe his own frail body could withstand Gong Yi's attacks.

"Gong Yi, show me all the Ninjutsu you know as well. I happen to specialize in Earth Style!"

Gong Yi thought it over, kept Rock Armor to himself, and demonstrated all his other Earth Style techniques one by one.

After watching, Iga Kawaji's eyes lit up.

"You're very proficient! And you've mastered quite a few Earth Style techniques!"

Gong Yi smiled. "That's all thanks to Teacher Ishii Kawa at the academy. He helped me a lot."

Iga Kawaji knew Ishii Kawa. He was one of the more skilled Earth Style users among the veteran Chunins.

However...

"Gong Yi, your Earth Style techniques are too crude. That will leave your fundamentals unstable!"

"Crude?"

Confusion showed in Gong Yi's eyes. He had always thought he merely lacked advanced Earth Style techniques. He hadn't expected Iga Kawaji to think he hadn't even mastered the low-level ones properly.