Naruto: The Teaching System - 205

Chapter 205: Think About It... You Won Beautifully?

"Uzumaki sealing jutsu is truly remarkable. The theory alone is enough for me to study for ages," Sawada slowly closed the book and sighed with genuine appreciation.

The book's cover read "Author: Uzumaki Ashina."

This particular volume had been recommended by Minato Namikaze, which Sawada then obtained through his sensei's connections. After all, with the destruction of Uzushiogakure, books written by the Uzumaki clan leader and village chief were considered priceless treasures.

Decades ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered them removed from Konoha's public library and stored within the Hokage Building for safekeeping.

No wonder he had never encountered this book during his previous library visits.

As for the author's identity, Uzumaki Ashina was the First Hokage's father-in-law, widely regarded as Konoha's founding patriarch of sealing jutsu.

What Sawada held was merely an introductory text, with several more advanced volumes waiting to be studied. However, he wouldn't attempt too many simultaneously, as this knowledge required slow, careful absorption.

Minato had praised these books extensively, calling them guiding lights for sealing jutsu mastery. Though when he'd said this, there had been a hint of awkwardness in his tone.

Sawada couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Kushina's teaching style had been remarkably similar to Naruto's chaotic approach.

Cough.

If that were truly the case, Sawada would have to marvel once again at Minato's incredible patience and genius.

"Sensei! I won!" Not far away, a beaming Naruto shouted triumphantly.

Sawada looked up to see the stark contrast between a clearly displeased Sasuke and an absolutely ecstatic Naruto.

Sawada chuckled and shook his head knowingly. By now, Sasuke was far from weak. With his two-tomoe Sharingan fully awakened, he genuinely stood above all of Sawada's other disciples in raw potential.

The problem was that Naruto essentially used the Nine-Tails as a cheat code.

Kurama particularly despised the Uchiha clan, causing him to release chakra whenever Naruto fell under genjutsu, allowing his host to break free effortlessly.

Without genjutsu restrictions limiting him, Naruto's taijutsu surpassed Sasuke's, making defeats like this increasingly common.

However, this particular match had involved a specific wager. The winner would receive reduced homework assignments, while the loser's workload would increase by fifty percent.

That explained Naruto's overwhelming excitement.

"Whatever, loser. It's just a fifty percent increase. No big deal," Sasuke said with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, obviously irritated by the outcome.

"So what? As long as I win, that's all that matters!" Naruto replied smugly, placing his hands behind his head in his characteristic pose.

"The homework is already substantial. Adding a little more might actually help improve my grades," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, trying to salvage some dignity.

Chirp.

A gentle breeze blew across the training ground, and the previously excited Naruto instantly deflated.

Right! How had he not considered that possibility?

Seeing Naruto's suddenly deflated expression, Sasuke's mouth curved into a satisfied smirk.

You're still nowhere near my level.

"What's wrong?" Sawada approached, observing Naruto's rapid mood shift from excitement to dejection.

"Sensei, I think I might be accidentally helping Sasuke improve! What if he beats me in the next exam because his grades went up from doing more homework?"

Naruto frantically sought validation from his teacher.

"So... you won beautifully?" Sawada raised an eyebrow and asked with obvious uncertainty.

Pfft!

Shikamaru and the others nearby burst into laughter. Their sensei's sarcasm was absolutely brutal.

Naruto's face stiffened upon hearing this observation, and then he waved his hands dismissively. "Forget it, forget it! I won't use homework as stakes next time."

"Then I won't accept any challenges," Sasuke raised an eyebrow and replied calmly.

"Damn it, Sasuke! Don't be so infuriating!" Naruto pointed accusingly at his rival and shouted in helpless frustration.

Smack.

Sawada helplessly flicked Naruto's forehead with two fingers and spoke flatly. "Naruto, I think we need to modify the rules for future matches."

"The winner does fifty percent more; the loser doubles their assignment load."

Only Naruto could devise such an elaborate method to escape responsibilities.

However, he did seem to be in surprisingly good condition lately, which was encouraging.

Minato, observing from within the sealed space, had his own commentary. If not for the sustaining power of chakra, his hair would have fallen out completely by now from stress.

"Absolutely not, Sensei!" Naruto immediately hugged Sawada and protested dramatically.

"Alright, report on your respective training progress," Sawada said while gently extracting himself from Naruto's grip.

It had to be acknowledged that Naruto's height was developing quite well now. At least, there was minimal difference between him and his peers.

"Sensei! I can almost use Earth Release properly!" Hearing Sawada's inquiry, Naruto immediately raised his hand eagerly.

"Same here. I feel like I'm close to mastering Water Release as well," Sasuke nodded from the side.

To avoid falling behind his rival, he maintained almost constant training to match Naruto's progress.

"Excellent work. Keep pushing yourselves," Sawada nodded with genuine satisfaction.

This advancement rate was impressive, certainly no worse than what many experienced ninja achieved.

"Sensei, I can already utilize Inch Force, but I still need to develop it further," Neji considered his words carefully before addressing Sawada.

"Good. Taijutsu differs from ninjutsu in that you must constantly demand more of yourself. If there's time later, spar with Naruto again."

Sawada nodded while offering Neji additional guidance.

"Yes, Sensei," Neji answered respectfully.

Subsequently, Sawada inquired about each disciple's progress in turn. Overall, everyone was advancing well, and the next wave of growth rewards wasn't far off.

Among them, Hinata's development proved most surprising.

Due to her breathing technique enhancement, Hinata had successfully applied chakra nature transformation to both Gentle Fist and Inch Force techniques.

This truly amazed Sawada. Hinata's comprehension abilities were actually quite remarkable.

Her breathing technique mastery ranked highest among the group except for Naruto, and she showed clear signs of catching up to her teammate's level.

"Ask me whenever you don't understand something. I'll focus specifically on training your nature transformation next," Sawada expressed his support and decided to observe her progress more closely.

After all, the combination of Gentle Fist, chakra enhancement, and nature transformation might produce a completely unique fighting style.

"Yes, thank you, Sensei," Hinata answered with complete seriousness.

Here, no one treated her as the pampered eldest daughter of the Hyuga family. This freedom relieved Hinata of considerable pressure and expectations.

"Come on, today we're going hunting in the forest, and we'll have a picnic tonight!" After instructing Hinata, Sawada turned to address all his disciples with enthusiasm.

"Amazing! Sensei, you're finally cooking again!" Naruto jumped up happily.

After all, Sawada had been increasingly busy lately and hadn't prepared meals in quite some time, relying instead on food deliveries from Akimichi Clan restaurants.

Although the taste was decent, Naruto always felt he wasn't eating as happily as when his sensei cooked personally.

"Alright, dinner will be grilled meat and hot pot. Nothing too elaborate," Sawada patted Naruto's head and explained to his disciples, "So how rich our dinner becomes depends entirely on what prey you can successfully hunt."

"Got it, Sensei!" After this declaration, Naruto and the others quickly sprinted out of the training ground with renewed energy.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Sawada could only follow at a more leisurely pace, smiling at their eagerness.