"Pain, pain, pain..."
As soon as his consciousness returned to his body, Naruto covered his forehead with both hands and crouched in the corner, baring his teeth in pain.
His meridians were still tingling from Bibi Dong's earlier Soul Power assault, but that wasn't the main issue. Naruto's forehead was what really hurt.
To put it bluntly, Bibi Dong truly lived up to her reputation as one of the continent's top experts. Her head was hard as a steel plate.
Poor Little Naruto. After taking a headbutt, he'd been left dazed and seeing stars. Too embarrassed to show it, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Damn it!
His Soul Power Level was way too low right now!
Once he became a Titled Douluo, he'd make Haji-Dong kneel and sing "Conquer"!
But then...
Wouldn't his account get banned for that?
That's not the point. Otherwise, why call them Titled Douluo?
Jiang Naruto's thoughts had already drifted far away. The pain in his consciousness didn't last long before slowly fading.
Rubbing his swollen forehead, Naruto stood up and looked over. The Tang Clan master and disciple who'd been standing at the school gate were already gone.
Jiang Naruto shook his head.
Bibi Dong's hatred for Tang San had gone beyond what he'd expected. Or perhaps, after spending these past few days with her, Naruto had forgotten that Bibi Dong was still the same madwoman who wanted to drag the entire continent down with her.
He really had let his guard down.
The many outrageous things Bibi Dong had done in the original story surfaced one by one in his mind.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect looked down on Xiao Gang? Then wipe out the whole sect. Spirit Hall had destroyed her? Then destroy Spirit Hall.
Naruto rubbed his temples. Thinking of Bibi Dong in the Sealing Space gave him a headache.
--
"Hello?"
After knocking and hearing the commotion inside, Naruto—who'd rested for half a day—pushed open a crack in the old wooden door and poked his head through to look around.
It was a spacious office, with quite a few people inside. Several sets of sturdy wooden desks and chairs stood in neat rows. It looked like a shared office for several teachers.
Naruto's curious gaze swept across the room, then suddenly stopped. He frowned.
Why hadn't those two left yet?
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were in the office too. It seemed they'd just finished enrolling. With their backs to Naruto, they sat at a desk chatting with someone.
Hearing the noise, the two turned around, revealing the chubby, kindly-looking middle-aged man behind them. His eyes had already narrowed into smiling slits as he beckoned Naruto over.
"Come in, come in. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you."
This lucky-looking Spirit Master was the man Naruto had run into earlier. It seemed he really was the principal of Notting Academy. So this school actually belonged to him?
[Behind Sarutobi Hiruzen's gentle, kindly exterior as the principal of the Ninja Academy lay his terrifying strength, hailed as the strongest Hokage...]
Naruto had almost gotten used to the unofficial history the system kept writing in his head, but at this moment, he still couldn't help giving it a deadpan look.
Sure, mocking the Third Hokage was politically correct,
but wasn't this going too far?
You've turned him into some roadside NPC!
Ignoring the system, Jiang Naruto went to stand beside Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, then handed the principal his Spirit Hall certificate.
"Goodness, what kind of luck has Notting Academy had today? Another student with six levels of Innate Soul Power?" Principal Fuqi beamed. Ignoring the complaining look from the hawk-nosed teacher beside him, he patted his round belly and took over the student enrollment himself.
From the other teachers' murmured comments, Naruto pieced together what had happened.
A genius with Innate Full Soul Power had suddenly appeared at the academy. How could the principal sit still? He'd shamelessly taken the hawk-nosed teacher's job. Jiang Naruto was just an afterthought.
Principal Fuqi wasn't familiar with the work, so he moved slowly, all the while chatting away with Yu Xiaogang.
"It's been six years since our last student with six levels of Innate Soul Power enrolled. Grandmaster, you hadn't come to my place yet back then."
"Haha, I still have you to thank for that. Back then, I only wanted to organize the Martial Soul materials. I didn't want all my research to gather dust after I died. I never expected Heaven to favor me after all."
As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang looked wistful and gently patted Tang San's head.
As for Naruto,
he was watching the drama unfold, blinking.
["Monkey, you're old. The Hokage Position should go to someone who can lead Konoha to greater heights!" "Danzo, I'm the Hokage!" "..."]
The system supplied dialogue for the two, but it had nothing whatsoever to do with the conversation.
Could the system be incapable of understanding Chinese because the Hokage was Japanese...?
Naruto suddenly understood the root cause of his system's stupidity.
"Yes, Innate Full Soul Power..." The two continued chatting. Principal Fuqi glanced enviously at the silent Tang San, then suddenly thought of something. "You've already taken a disciple?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded, with a touch of modesty.
"How about taking one more? This student enrolled on the same day as Tang San. Perhaps it's... the will of fate!" ["Monkey, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is too dangerous! Hand him over to me! I'll give the village a perfect Jinchuriki!"]
Could this system get any dumber?
It could even get the characters wrong?
Wait!
Jiang Naruto, who'd been enjoying the show, suddenly came to his senses. He turned and saw Principal Fuqi pointing his pen at him.
"Huh?"
You bastard, don't go pairing people up at random!
Perhaps worried that Naruto's refusal might hurt his friend's pride, Principal Fuqi hurriedly added before anyone else could speak,
"Jiang, my friend is a renowned genius across the continent! You definitely won't lose out by becoming his disciple! Those of us born in small places like this rarely get the chance to meet such a rare talent!"
"Absurd!"
A furious shout rang through the office.
The entire room fell abruptly silent. Principal Fuqi's smiling eyes slowly opened, and the surrounding teachers all turned toward him with strange looks—but it wasn't Naruto who'd spoken. It was Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang had sprung up from his chair, trembling all over and pointing at the principal's nose in fury.
"Knowledge is priceless. How can you be so careless about it? Old Jin! I considered you a friend. If you bring up this ridiculous idea again, then we're no longer friends!"
"I didn't mean..."
With all the teachers watching, Principal Fuqi's face burned. He could only force out a few awkward laughs and do his best to placate Yu Xiaogang.
"All these years, you've looked down on anyone with a low level of Innate Soul Power. Now that someone with a high level finally comes along, you're only taking this one disciple?"
"One is enough!" Yu Xiaogang said firmly. Turning around, he shot Jiang Naruto a cold glance. "His Innate Soul Power is still a little lacking!"
What?
You've got the nerve to mock me?
Naruto, called out in front of everyone yet again, burned with anger!
But his face showed the exact opposite. Looking up at the two men, now stuck in an awkward standoff, he put on a pitiful expression, relying on his six-year-old appearance.
"Principal! Grandmaster! Please stop arguing. I only have six levels of Innate Soul Power. Since Grandmaster is a renowned genius across the continent, he must be one of the best among those with Innate Full Soul Power. How could someone like me be worthy of becoming his disciple?"
"..."
Silence--
The office, which had been somewhat noisy moments earlier, fell into an eerie hush. The five or six teachers watching—and the dozen or so people in all—went completely still.
Only the dozen or so shocked gazes remained, all turning toward Naruto at once.
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