Matsuda Shan

After memorizing the contents of the remaining scrolls, Chiba Shun gave some pointers to the children practicing wall climbing.

It was not until dusk that Chiba Shun let the children go eat. He told them that Lord Raikage had seen their hard work and decided to give them an extra meal.

The children erupted in cheers.

After handing a sum of money to the logistics staff and telling them to prepare more food for the children, Chiba Shun left the Ninja Academy.

Today's chakra consumption had been too great, so Chiba Shun planned to treat himself to a good meal at the village barbecue restaurant.

Training at Chiba Shun's level was like going through a major battle. The massive chakra expenditure had to be replenished with a nutritious feast.

And even one or two meals might not be enough to make up for it.

Now considerably better off, Chiba Shun strode briskly into the barbecue restaurant.

Kumogakure was full of muscular men, so barbecue restaurants did fairly good business.

When Chiba Shun entered, the place was bustling.

Most of the customers were ninjas, including quite a few Jonin.

Just as Chiba Shun was about to find an empty seat, he heard someone call out, "Chiba Shun, over here! Over here!"

Chiba Shun looked over and saw a young man slightly older than himself, also wearing a Chunin vest.

It took Chiba Shun several seconds to remember who he was.

"Matsuda Shan, I think? We've only crossed paths a few times during missions. We're not that close, are we?" Chiba Shun thought, but he still walked over.

The other party was being so proactive. Better not offend him.

Matsuda Shan warmly invited Chiba Shun to join his group.

There were seven people in total, all around the same age. However, Matsuda Shan was the only Chunin; the other six were merely Genin.

Seeing a peer wearing a Chunin vest, they were both envious and somewhat reserved around Chiba Shun.

In their eyes, Chiba Shun and Matsuda Shan were both geniuses, people who theoretically belonged to a different world from them.

Matsuda Shan was usually approachable, which was why they could interact with him like friends. But they had no idea what Chiba Shun's personality was like.

Chiba Shun did not put on airs and greeted each of them in turn.

However, he was not much of a talker. Unless Matsuda Shan asked him something, he would not take the initiative to speak.

Before long, Chiba Shun had guessed Matsuda Shan's purpose from his veiled words.

"He wants to join the Ninja Academy?" Chiba Shun thought.

"But why? A ninja like him, one who most people would call a genius, why would he want to join a Ninja Academy that seemingly had no future?"

"If it were the Genin around him, wanting to become teachers at the Ninja Academy and seek an opportunity to advance to Chunin, that would make sense. But what did Matsuda Shan see in the Ninja Academy?"

"Could it be that, like me, he wants to reform the Ninja Academy?"

Chiba Shun calmly dealt with Matsuda Shan and even said that he would recommend him to Senior Aoki Yuyi.

Matsuda Shan seemed delighted. Not only did he treat Chiba Shun to a meal, but he also gave him a long sword.

"I heard one of Shun-kun's long swords was destroyed while fighting an enemy. This one is for you," Matsuda Shan said warmly.

Chiba Shun grew even more wary. He even knew about that?

He had indeed lost a sword, but the Konoha Chunin he had killed also carried one. Though it was of poor quality, Chiba Shun had taken it for himself.

Logically, outsiders should not have been able to find out about something like that.

Still, Chiba Shun accepted it happily on the surface and promised, with far more enthusiasm than before, that he would speak to Aoki Yuyi as soon as he returned.

It was a satisfying feast for both host and guest.

Matsuda Shan had achieved his goal, while Chiba Shun had saved a considerable sum of money.

Since someone else was paying, he ate a great deal. This meal was equivalent to five of his usual meals and would have cost at least 500 ryo, enough to buy one or two kunai.

Not to mention that he had also received a long sword.

This long sword was roughly comparable to the one Chiba Shun had broken before, which he had bought for 3,000 ryo.

Getting several thousand ryo for free made Chiba Shun very happy.

Chiba Shun had not lied to Matsuda Shan. As soon as he returned to the Ninja Academy, he went to find Aoki Yuyi.

"Senior Aoki, is our Ninja Academy recruiting teachers?" Chiba Shun asked.

Aoki Yuyi nodded. "Yes. Do you have something in mind?"

Chiba Shun said, "There should be interviews, right? I have a question here..."

Aoki Yuyi took the slip of paper and read it. He gave Chiba Shun an odd look, hesitated for a moment, then nodded anyway.

A few days later, the Ninja Academy began recruiting teachers. The requirement was to be a Chunin, and quite a few Chunin actually came for interviews.

Most of them were rather old, while several others had been left disabled by the Second Shinobi World War.

Matsuda Shan was practically an anomaly among them.

As Aoki Yuyi's assistant, Chiba Shun was also involved in the interviews.

He escorted a middle-aged man who had just finished his interview out of Aoki Yuyi's office, then invited in Matsuda Shan, who was smiling outside.

Matsuda Shan was the last person to be interviewed. He had specifically asked Chiba Shun for this, hoping that the previous candidates would make him stand out. He was very confident in himself.

Matsuda Shan's interview went very smoothly. He even offered quite a few constructive suggestions.

In many respects, he was more detailed than Chiba Shun, a transmigrator.

For instance, Matsuda Shan suggested, "The Ninja Academy's curriculum should be divided into stages. During the first stage, the children can first be taught how to read."

"And publicly announce that the village's Chunin and Jonin may come to the Ninja Academy to select subordinates."

"That way, the quality of the Academy's students can improve. Parents who originally wanted their children to become subordinates of Jonin will also be more willing to send them to the Ninja Academy."

Aoki Yuyi cried out that he had found another treasure.

Perhaps the Ninja Academy truly was about to rise. First there had been Chiba Shun, and now Matsuda Shan had arrived.

Moreover, this Matsuda Shan seemed more grounded and upright than Chiba Shun.

At the very least, Matsuda Shan's reason for coming to the Ninja Academy was genuinely to give the village's younger generation a better environment to grow in.

And Chiba Shun? Every other word out of his mouth was about benefits and schemes.

Aoki Yuyi was very satisfied. He was just about to directly invite Matsuda Shan to join the Ninja Academy, and he had already decided to give him a position no worse than Chiba Shun's.

But then he remembered there was one final part of the interview.

He first glanced at Chiba Shun, who was taking notes, before personally handing a sheet of paper to Matsuda Shan. "Read this passage. Remember to keep it confidential after you leave."

Although Matsuda Shan found it somewhat strange, he nodded with a smile. He knew he had this in the bag today.

But when he saw what was written on the paper, his entire body stiffened.

Aoki Yuyi did not pay much attention to it. Anyone would react that way upon seeing those words. The other man was probably cursing him in his heart for being out of his mind.

But Chiba Shun did not see it that way. He had already noticed one of Matsuda Shan's hands instinctively moving toward his ninja tool pouch.

However, Matsuda Shan stopped himself in time, and Aoki Yuyi failed to notice.

After waiting a few seconds and seeing that Matsuda Shan still had not spoken, Aoki Yuyi finally sensed that something was wrong.

His eyes narrowed as he asked in a somewhat stern voice, "Matsuda Shan, is there a problem?"

Matsuda Shan shuddered, then said with a smile, "Oh, Senior Aoki, it's nothing. I just found what was written on the paper a little strange..."

Before he could finish, Matsuda Shan's previously relaxed body shot straight toward the door.

Aoki Yuyi's face darkened as he roared, "You've got some nerve!"

With that, he immediately gave chase.

Chiba Shun did not follow them out. Instead, he leisurely picked up the paper Matsuda Shan had thrown onto the floor.

He softly read the contents aloud. "Danzo has a method of controlling his subordinates, and he conspired with Hiruzen Sarutobi to eliminate the advisory council left behind by the Second Hokage!"

Naturally, Root members had been given the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. It was not that they could not say Danzo's name, but they could not reveal Danzo's secrets.

And Danzo attacking the previous Hokage's advisors was one such secret.

Matsuda Shan certainly knew about this. Even if he did not, he could have guessed it, so he could neither speak of it nor say it aloud!

After a while, Aoki Yuyi returned with an ugly expression.

Chiba Shun asked, "Senior Aoki, where is Matsuda Shan?"

Aoki Yuyi said, "He committed suicide. Right in front of me, he sent out a piece of intelligence!"

"Then he used a special method to burn himself to ashes."

Chiba Shun was somewhat surprised. He was not surprised that Matsuda Shan had committed suicide, but he had managed to transmit intelligence in front of a Jonin?

Were Root ninjas really that formidable?

Aoki Yuyi did not find it particularly strange. He sat down in his chair, fell silent for a moment, then asked, "How did you know?"

Chiba Shun said, "I guessed. He cared too much about the Ninja Academy."

"And..."

Aoki Yuyi waved his hand. "That's not what I mean. I mean the matter involving Konoha's Danzo!"

As he spoke, his eyes were fixed firmly on Chiba Shun.

It was not that he suspected Chiba Shun of also being a Konoha intelligence ninja. After all, Chiba Shun had just exposed a Konoha intelligence ninja.

He had simply suddenly realized that he could not quite see through this assistant of his!

Chiba Shun said, "I guessed that too. Based on some rumors I had heard, I guessed Danzo might have a method of controlling his subordinates."

"I heard Danzo's subordinates could not reveal his secrets to outsiders."

"What was written on the paper happened to be a secret Danzo could not allow to be revealed."

"As for the conspiracy between Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, that was easy enough to infer."

"After the Second Shinobi World War, Hiruzen Sarutobi's position had stabilized. The advisors left behind by Tobirama Senju had become an eyesore, yet around that time, they all died one after another for various reasons."

Aoki Yuyi nodded. After thinking for a moment, he thought, "Why have I never heard of Danzo's method for controlling his subordinates?"

Shaking his head, he cast aside those messy thoughts and said, "Although Matsuda Shan was a Konoha intelligence ninja, what do you think about what he said regarding the Ninja Academy's development?"