Teaching and Learning from Each Other

Without the corresponding strength and talent, some fields truly were accessible only to exceptionally gifted geniuses.

"I understand. Thank you, Teacher Mizuki." Sakura was relieved to hear she wasn't that bad after all. Her confidence, which had been somewhat battered by the overwhelming amount of knowledge earlier, finally began to recover.

Mizuki had never intended to teach Sakura Haruno anything too complicated or any powerful ninjutsu. The former consisted of things he himself hadn't fully figured out yet, and it was hard to say how patient a Genin would be with overly abstruse theory. As for the latter, how could he teach her when he couldn't use it himself?

A skyscraper had to start with a solid foundation. Since he wanted to make the most of Sakura Haruno's intelligence and ability to learn, a firm grounding was absolutely essential. For now, the most important thing was to impart his system of knowledge to Sakura. If the opportunity arose in the future, finding a reliable assistant would be nice, too. He had accumulated too many research projects, and one person had only so much energy.

"No wonder scientific research in my previous life was done in small teams. One person's strength is too insignificant in the face of so many unknowns. No wonder Orochimaru tolerated assistants like Kabuto Yakushi, who were always itching to act and often disobeyed him by making decisions on their own. Talented people are hard to come by."

"Sakura, take a break first. It's important to balance work and rest," Mizuki suggested. "If you have time, we can just chat."

"Okay." After studying for so long, Sakura was a little tired, too.

"Honestly, I don't really understand why you asked me to train you. There are plenty of shinobi in Konoha stronger than me who could teach you powerful ninjutsu. Wouldn't that be better?"

Hearing Mizuki's question, Sakura said awkwardly, "Besides Teacher Mizuki, I don't know many other powerful shinobi. And in the Forest of Death, what you gave me helped a lot. Without it, we might not have passed the exam. So I think you're the right teacher for me. Besides, I can help Sasuke."

"Oh? Do you remember what I said back then?"

"Yes, Teacher Mizuki. One day, I'll become someone my teammates can rely on. I can't keep holding them back." Sakura spoke with conviction.

"Mm." Mizuki still thought it was better to make some things clear. "Honestly, I don't know if having me teach you is a good thing. Given your talents and strengths, there should be a teacher better suited to you. Learning what I know now will divide your attention, and it's hard to say whether that will be good or bad for you in the future."

"It's my choice. I think Teacher Mizuki is the best teacher for me right now."

"All right, no need to be so serious," Mizuki said with a smile. "It's not that I don't want to teach you. Let's talk about something more lighthearted. Who do you think is the strongest in the third exam? And who's the weakest?"

Sakura thought for a moment. "I don't know who's the strongest, but I'm sure I'm the weakest. I think the strongest is either Sasuke or Neji Hyuga."

"Heh." After hearing Sakura's answer, Mizuki continued, "Let me put it another way. Who do you think has the most talent and will be the strongest in the future?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm even less sure about that. But I think Sasuke's Sharingan is the strongest."

"Put it this way: being able to accurately judge the strength of others is an important skill for a shinobi. You need to pay close attention to it from now on." Mizuki decided to explain it to Sakura. "As things stand, all the other shinobi in the Chunin Ninja Exams combined couldn't beat Gaara of the Sand Shinobi."

"How can that be?" Sakura was astonished. "There are shinobi that powerful in the Chunin Ninja Exams? Then what about Sasuke...?"

"Don't worry. I'm talking about right now. Have faith in Sasuke and Kakashi. Things could be different in a month. Gaara is powerful for special reasons, but let's set that aside for now. You are indeed the weakest, but that's in a one-on-one match in the arena. In other situations, it might not be the case."

"As for talent, that's a matter of opinion. I can't really say who has the most talent, but I know who has the least. It's your opponent, Dosu Kin of the Sound Ninja."

He had limited talent, and Orochimaru had modified him until he was little more than a tool. That showed just how low his potential was. Otherwise, Orochimaru wouldn't have discarded him so casually as a pawn.

"So you mean..." Sakura asked, seeming to understand.

"Exactly. As long as you respond correctly, beating Dosu won't be difficult. A shinobi like Dosu could take down not just you Genin, but even Chunin who are a little weaker than him, if they lacked information and he caught them off guard. But since you already know about him and have a month to prepare, I'd say that aside from Naruto Uzumaki, Dosu is the easiest one for you to deal with."

"Naruto? Is he really that easy to deal with? I thought he was strong." Sakura looked incredulous.

"Naruto's weaknesses are even more obvious than Dosu's. If someone deliberately targets them, even an opponent far weaker than him can take him down. Do you remember what the Third Hokage said after the preliminary matches?"

"Information and countermeasures?" Sakura murmured.

"Exactly. The key is making it to the third round without exposing too many weaknesses." Mizuki nodded. "All right, let's get back to studying. What you're learning now is a godlike skill that becomes more useful the stronger you are. When you grow stronger, you'll realize it's a power multiplier that can unleash your combat strength to a terrifying degree."

"Yes, Teacher," Sakura replied. "But this will be really useful in the future. I'm so weak right now that I can't bring out its full power at all. Can I become a Chunin with this?"

"Not right now," Mizuki answered. "In a month, who knows?"

"I see." Unable to hide her disappointment, Sakura turned back to her studies.

Her offhand remark seemed to remind Mizuki of something, though she hadn't meant anything by it.

"Maybe I've been aiming too high."

Thanks to Mizuki's overwhelming advantage in information, he had always focused on improving his own strength by getting to the root of things and avoiding wasted effort. He had even looked down a little on basic ninjutsu, and hadn't worked hard to improve his own strength, focusing instead on chakra control exercises.

As Mizuki thought, he raised his right hand and channeled chakra. A red flame appeared in his palm. Gradually, the flames gathered and deepened in color, the red shifting to blue until they formed a bright, white-blue orb.

"I've made so many prototypes, but not one of them can directly improve my combat ability. The only exception is the Omnipotence Potion, which still has side effects. I've prepared myself to reach for the moon in the heavens, but I haven't even checked whether my footing is steady."

With a sigh, Mizuki glanced at Sakura, who was studying intently.

"Talking things over with smart people really does teach you a lot. When three people walk together, one of them is bound to be my teacher. The ancients were right."