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

When Fujino Daikuma said this, he felt as sour as if he had eaten a lemon.

He had thought countless times that it would be great if he were the homeroom teacher of Class 1, Grade 5. Unfortunately, he was only the physical education teacher of Class 1, Grade 5. He was not eligible for the selection of outstanding teachers, and he could only watch Shui Mu receive that generous year-end bonus each time.

But he was helpless. The grades of Class 1, Grade 5 were as solid as an iron plate, and the teaching at Shuimu was watertight, leaving him no chance to take advantage of the situation.

"Haha, Mr. Kuma, don't be so modest," Mizuki said with a broad smile. "That Nara Shio from your class, when has he ever failed to outdo Neji? Maybe he'll actually turn the tables this year."

Fujino Daikuma gave him a resentful look.

Although Nara Shizuku is a student of the ninja clan and can be considered a genius, he is still far behind Hyuga Neji. If he could win, he would have won long ago. Why would he have waited so many years? Did you really think there would be a dark horse victory?

Matsumoto Mie pushed open the door and walked in, picking up where she left off: "If you ask me, the most amazing one has to be Naruto from Akisui-sensei's class. I proctored the exam with Akisui today and watched him eliminate Uchiha Sasuke."

The office fell silent for two seconds after he said that.

"Miko-sensei, you're not kidding, are you?" Fujino Daikuma's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. "Isn't Naruto always the worst student? How could he possibly beat Uchiha Sasuke? Besides, he should have been eliminated by now!"

"Oh, why would I lie to you?" Matsumoto Mie said seriously. "I saw it with my own eyes. Naruto not only used the Shadow Clone Technique, but he also created more than a dozen clones at once. The most outrageous thing was that he had all those clones unleash Wind Release: Gale Palm at the same time. Do you know how terrifying that scene was? More than a dozen clones forming hand seals and releasing their powers at the same time was almost as powerful as a Chunin. Uchiha Sasuke activated his Sharingan and unleashed a Great Fireball Jutsu, but he still couldn't beat it."

Fujino Daikuma opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

"Miko-sensei, are you sure you're not under a genjutsu?" Murata Koji couldn't help but lean in. "Defeating Sasuke is one thing, but being able to use that level of ninjutsu is another. If that's true, then Naruto's strength can't be summed up in just one word: improvement."

"I wish I had seen wrong, but it's true." Matsumoto Mie shrugged and sighed. "To be honest, if I were standing opposite him, facing the raging wind palm attack from more than a dozen clones at once, I might not have been able to dodge it either."

In the office, several teachers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Fujino Daikuma was stunned for a while before he slowly came to his senses.

He knew that Matsumoto Mie wasn't the type to joke around, so if she spoke with such certainty, it must be true.

"Ms. Akisui, if what Ms. Mie said is true, then you're really going to make a name for yourself this year. You're bringing home the title of outstanding teacher in your first year of teaching a class." Fujino Daikuma was filled with regret.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had approached him before, asking if he would be willing to take over Class 1 of the fourth grade, and he declined on the spot without even thinking about it.

Although the class has Uchiha Sasuke, a genius who excels in practical combat, and Haruno Sakura, a top student who gets perfect scores in theory, the other students' grades are only mediocre.

What's worse is that Naruto has been at the bottom of the class ever since he entered school. He's constantly causing trouble and playing pranks, making life unbearable for every teacher. Anyone who takes on a class like that will have a headache.

But who could have imagined that just one month after Shusui took over, Naruto would become a completely different person and directly defeat Uchiha Sasuke.

Fujino Daikuma felt increasingly uneasy, regretting that he shouldn't have refused so decisively in the first place.

"Maybe I was just lucky," Qiu Shui smiled upon hearing this, showing no sign of being smug. "Most importantly, Naruto himself worked hard enough; I just happened to be there when he was having his breakthrough."

He knew perfectly well that these compliments were just for show and should not be taken seriously.

If I get carried away now and something goes wrong later, I'll be slapped in the face.

Shui Mu paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup, her knuckles unconsciously tightening.

I was in a good mood today, after all, Neji had stolen the spotlight again, and the focus of discussion in the office was all about him.

As soon as Qiu Shui entered the room, the conversation abruptly changed, and somehow it turned back to him.

In the afternoon, the number of students watching at Training Ground No. 1 increased four or five times. Most of them were students from various grades who had already been eliminated in the actual combat. Since they had no chance, they might as well be spectators and watch how others fought.

The order of the matches will still be determined by drawing lots.

The first match is between Hinata Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka. Having just defeated Sakura, Ino is full of confidence. Moreover, she has fought Hinata before, and she thinks the two should be evenly matched.

But as soon as the match started, she realized she was overthinking things. Since she hadn't yet mastered the Mountain Clan's secret technique, Mind Transfer Technique, her offensive options were ultimately limited. Hinata's overall strength was superior, and she had already mastered Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams Palm techniques. Her defense was impeccable, and her counterattacks were fast and accurate. Ino gritted her teeth and persevered for more than ten minutes, but in the end, Hinata struck her pressure point with a palm strike, causing her to collapse to the ground.

The second match was between Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara.

Kiba Inuzuka, looking eager, said, "Shikamaru, even though we're good friends, I won't hold back. Show me your true strength and let's have a big fight!"

Nara Shikamaru scratched his head, yawned, raised his hand, and said, "I surrender."

His original idea was to win the match, and having achieved his goal, he didn't want Akamaru to put a spray mark on him.

Kiba Inuzuka, who was already in a ready pose: "???"

Why does winning feel so meaningless?

All Qiu Shui could think was that it was fortunate no one had opened a betting pool, otherwise he would have been the first to bet on Inuzuka Kiba.

The third match was between Naruto Uzumaki and Shino Aburame.

As the sound of autumn water faded, the crowd instantly stirred.

"Huh? Where's Uchiha Sasuke? Why hasn't he come on yet?" A newly arrived student stood on tiptoe and looked around.

"You didn't watch this morning, did you?" A student next to me rolled his eyes. "He was eliminated by Naruto Uzumaki in the very first round."

The newcomer paused for a moment, then gave him a "you're kidding me" look: "What did you say? Naruto Uzumaki, that loser, beat Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Believe it or not, it's up to you." The student who witnessed the battle that morning shrugged. "Anyway, it's Naruto's turn to fight soon, so just watch for yourself."

In the center of the arena, Naruto and Shino Aburame stood face to face.

Shino Aburame pushed up her sunglasses and, unusually, spoke up: "Naruto, I didn't expect your strength to improve so quickly, but I won't lose to you."

Naruto tilted his head, scrutinized the person opposite him for a few seconds, and asked, "...Um, who are you?"