Hokage, no one knows better than me how to cultivate talent.

In the office, several teachers were gathered together discussing the exam.

"Mr. Mizuki, I guess your class got first place in the grade again in this monthly exam, right?" Fujino Daikuma said with a hint of envy in his voice. "You've taken another step closer to the year-end outstanding teacher selection."

Although he and Mizuki were both homeroom teachers for fifth-grade students, the students in his fifth-grade class 2 were mediocre and there wasn't a single genius among them. On the other hand, Mizuki's fifth-grade class 1 had Hyuga Neji, a genius who had consistently ranked first in the entire school in both theoretical and practical scores since entering the school.

What made Fujino Daikuma even more helpless was that he also served as the ninjutsu teacher for Class 1 of the fifth grade, which made him feel that all the hard work was his own, but all the credit went to Mizuki.

Shui Mu sat in his chair, and upon hearing this, a reserved smile appeared on his face. He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and then said, "Teacher Da Xiong is too decisive. This is only the first month of exams; it's still a long way from the selection of outstanding teachers."

He put down his teacup and said, "Teacher Xiong, your teaching methods are also very good. It's just that I'm lucky to have two particularly gifted students in my class."

Mie Matsumoto did not participate in the discussion about Mizuki and Daikuma Fujino.

She taught Class 2 of the first year and Class 3 of the fourth year. The quality of the students was even worse than that of the classes taught by Fujino Daikuma. Forget about geniuses, there wasn't even a single student from a ninja clan in both classes combined. However, she was quite open-minded about it. After all, her life revolved around her family, and she no longer had much desire for promotions or raises.

When Matsumoto Mie saw Akisui walk into the office, her eyes lit up slightly, and she said with a smile, "Akisui-sensei, speaking of which, I was just about to praise you. Last Friday, I went to teach the fourth-grade class 1, and Naruto actually raised his hand to answer a question. You don't know, I've been teaching the fourth-grade class 1 for several years, and this is the first time I've seen him raise his hand in class. If his grades improve, maybe your class can get a good ranking in this monthly exam, and you won't be without a chance in the year-end outstanding teacher selection."

Akimizu humbly replied, "Matsumoto-sensei, you flatter me. I was just doing what I was supposed to do."

"No way," Matsumoto Mie waved her hand. "You have no idea how difficult Naruto was to manage in class. No matter how many teachers we changed, they couldn't do anything. You've only been here a short time, and you've already got him behaving properly. This isn't as simple as just doing what you're supposed to do." She paused, then added with a smile, "Keep up the good work. I have high hopes for you."

Seeing this, Shui Mu felt uncomfortable again.

Although Qiu Shui teaches fourth grade and he teaches fifth grade, they are not even in the same category for the outstanding teacher selection, let alone have any conflict of interest or competition. But seeing Matsumoto Mie smiling so sincerely at Qiu Shui, with a hint of admiration in her words, he still felt inexplicably annoyed.

After school in the afternoon.

Qiu Shui didn't go straight home. Instead, he went back to his residence first. He picked up a stack of bound manuscripts from his desk. These were novels he had written in two separate ways over the past two weeks. They had accumulated into a thick stack. He flipped through them to make sure that all the pages were complete, the page numbers were correct, and the handwriting was clear. Then he put them in his pocket, turned around, and went out to Jiying Publishing House in the center of the village.

This is the largest publishing house in the village. It is said that the Third Hokage's Will of Fire and Jiraiya's Make-Out Paradise were published here.

Qiu Shui walked through several streets and stopped in front of a five-story building. Above the door hung a well-made plaque with the four large characters "Jiying Publishing House".

Qiu Shui pushed open the door and entered, the wind chimes on the door tinkling once.

A huge poster comes into view, featuring Jiraiya's "Icha Icha Paradise" series.

The poster depicts a man and a woman in an ambiguous pose, their eyes glazed over, accompanied by the caption, "The number one bestselling book in the ninja world, haven't you read it yet?"

Qiu Shui's eyelids twitched.

Although he hadn't read the novel, just looking at the poster, he knew it was a book that Kakashi would often stay up all night to read; it must be very explicit and violent.

He shifted his gaze and glanced inside the publishing house. The space was larger than he had imagined. Several staff members were scattered at different workstations, flipping through something. The tables were piled high with manuscripts and sample books. There were also a few other people like him holding novel manuscripts, some sitting and some standing, their faces showing tension and anticipation.

Qiu Shui walked to the front desk.

A young woman in her early twenties with short brown hair and big eyes was sitting at the front desk, tidying up something with her head down.

"Hello," Qiu Shui said, "I'm here to deliver a novel."

The girl looked up.

Then her eyes visibly brightened.

She stared at Qiu Shui's face for a second before realizing what he meant: "Ah, okay, okay, please wait a moment."

Perhaps there aren't many novelists in the world, or perhaps for some other reason, the girl didn't make him wait in line. Instead, she stood up and led him upstairs.

Qiu Shui followed her up to the second floor and stopped in front of a private office.

The girl knocked on the door.

"Come in." A hoarse voice came from inside, sounding like someone who stays up all night all year round.

The girl pushed open the door.

A middle-aged man, around forty years old, sat in the office. He had an ordinary face, with prominent dark circles under his eyes, and was reading a book.

"Editor-in-Chief Kishimoto," the girl gestured to Akisui beside her, "this is the author who has come to submit his novel."

Masashi Kishimoto's gaze lingered on Akisui's face for a moment before he nodded and said, "Understood, you can go now."

The girl responded, turned and left, closing the door behind her.

The office fell silent.

Kishimoto Masashi put down his book, leaned back in his chair, looked Akisui up and down, and said, "Sit down."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Shui sat down.

Masashi Kishimoto asked, "What genre of novels do you write?"

"Upgrade strategy," Qiu Shui replied.

"Did you bring the manuscript?"

"I brought it." Qiu Shui took the manuscript out of her bosom and placed it on the desk.

Masashi Kishimoto picked it up and glanced at the first page. The cover had several large characters: "The strongest ninja in the ninja world is actually a useless boy abandoned by his clan?"

The handwriting was neat and the strokes were strong. Kishimoto Masashi nodded silently to himself, at least the handwriting was not bad.

He turned to the first page and began to read.

Qiu Shui sat at her desk, not in a hurry, waiting quietly.

Masashi Kishimoto is fifty years old this year and has been an editor for thirty years.

Thirty years ago, he was a young man full of youthful energy. When he first joined the publishing house, he was full of passion and determined to find a literary master who could surpass Jiraiya and become a top editor.

At that time, he had high expectations for every author who submitted a novel.