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

"The Third Hokage gave us a clue," Kurenai Yuhi explained. "He said that a Jonin from the village returned yesterday to report for duty. While on a mission, that Jonin passed through Tanabata Street in Hakusui Town and saw Tsunade-sama enter a gambling den."

"When do you plan to leave?" Qiu Shui asked.

"Lady Tsunade doesn't stay in one town for very long. We finally managed to find her trail, and I'm afraid she'll be gone again if we're too late. So I plan to set off early tomorrow morning and get there as soon as possible. I hope we can make it in time," Kurenai Yuhi said.

Akisui knew that while Kurama Yakumo's illness was related to his poor physical condition, the biggest factor was his mental state.

He didn't know if Tsunade had ever returned to treat Kurama Yakumo in the original story. If Tsunade had the medical ninjutsu, she might actually have been able to give Kurama Yakumo some sedatives that would strengthen her body and have no side effects, so that Kurama Yakumo could return to normal.

"Then be careful on your journey and stay safe," Qiu Shui said.

-

Monday morning, the air was still a little cool.

Sakura Haruno stood at the crossroads, glancing every now and then in the direction of Ino Yamanaka's house gate, muttering to herself, "Why isn't that Ino pig coming out yet?"

She left home fifteen minutes early today just to wait for Ino here.

Today is the day the May monthly exam results come out, so I'll take this opportunity to make a bet with her and get revenge for the time I spent working at the shop last month.

As Haruya Sakura was thinking, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. It was Nagai Aya, who was very close to Ino. She was walking towards Ino's house and raised her hand to knock on the door.

Inside the house, Chie Yamashita was having breakfast at the dining table when she heard a knock on the door. She put down her chopsticks and got up to open it.

As soon as the door opened, seeing Nagai Aya, she immediately flashed a warm smile and greeted her, "Aya's here! Would you like to come in and have something to eat?"

"No need, Auntie, I've already eaten." Aya Nagai smiled and shook her head. "I came to call Ino to go to school together."

"Ino, Aya's here to call you to go to school together!" Chie Yamashita called out as she turned into the house.

Yamanaka Ino had faint dark circles under her eyes and looked rather listless. Hearing her mother's call, she picked up her cup, drank the remaining half of her milk in one gulp, wiped her mouth, picked up her schoolbag, and went out.

Aya Nagai looked her up and down and couldn't help but ask, "Ino, why do you look like you haven't slept well?"

"Sigh." Ino yawned and rubbed her eyes. "The novel I borrowed from you last time has a second volume, and it's so good. I read it until 3 a.m. last night before I went to sleep."

Aya Nagai's eyes lit up, and she took Ino's arm, saying in a coquettish tone, "Ino, I've already finished reading the book you lent me last time. If you finish this one, can I borrow it again?"

"I estimate it will take me another two days to finish reading it," Ino yawned again. "I'll lend it to you once I'm done."

"Huh? I thought you'd already finished reading it." Nagai Aya looked a little disappointed. She was also engrossed in that novel and couldn't wait any longer. "By the way, Ino, where did you buy this book? I'll just go buy a copy myself."

"It's at the bookstore on the shopping street." Ino recalled the long line she saw yesterday afternoon when she went to buy the book and reminded her, "This book sells particularly well, and a lot of people are buying it. If you want to buy it, you'd better go early."

"Okay, I'll go after school this afternoon!" Nagai Aya nodded vigorously.

Sakura Haruno saw Ino finally come out of the house, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. She immediately pretended that Ino had just come out as well, and slowly turned out of the intersection, walking towards the school as if nothing had happened.

As she walked to the school gate, she looked up and saw Sasuke walking towards her.

Sakura Haruno's eyes lit up, and she immediately ran to his side, whispering, "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Good morning," Sasuke replied calmly without stopping.

Sakura Haruno paused for a moment.

Sasuke actually replied to her?

Before she could think further, another voice came from behind her.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." Ino Yamanaka followed and greeted him softly.

"Good morning," Sasuke replied in kind.

Ino was also slightly taken aback.

The next second, the two of them quickened their pace and walked to Sasuke's side, one on the left and one on the right.

Choji Akimichi, who was taking a big bite of a bun, saw this scene and mumbled, "Sasuke is really popular."

Nara Shikamaru, hands in his pockets, glanced at him lazily: "Didn't Ino tell you to lose weight? Maybe you'll be just as popular if you did?"

Choji hesitated for a second, then shook his head and took another bite of the bun: "Forget it, food is more important."

The group walked to the school bulletin board.

Just like last month, the bulletin board was already surrounded by people, making it quite lively.

"Choji, Shikamaru, good morning." Naruto emerged from the crowd after checking the results, saw them, and waved.

"Good morning, Naruto," Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi replied one after the other.

"Choji, Shikamaru, you two don't need to watch anymore. I checked for you both when I was watching earlier. Shikamaru is fourth and Choji is eighth," Naruto said.

"I didn't expect him to have improved even more than last time." Choji Akimichi was secretly pleased.

He planned to go home after school and tell his parents the good news. He knew they would reward him with a big meal if they knew he had done so well on the test.

Nara Shikamaru dropped two places, but he didn't care.

Naruto's gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed that Sasuke was also standing on the edge of the crowd.

Why is Sasuke here to check the results?

Didn't they never come before?

Sasuke noticed Naruto's gaze and slightly raised his chin.

In the past, he really wouldn't have come, because the first place was never in doubt, and coming to see him would have been pointless.

But this time is different; this is the moment to witness his return to number one.

Most importantly, he wanted to let Teacher Qiushui know that he was the strongest of the three people he was training.

Naruto then spotted Sakura Haruno next to Sasuke and immediately went over to her, saying, "Sakura, what's your ranking...?"

"Naruto, shut up!" Sakura Haruno immediately snapped.

She was still thinking of making a bet with Ino, but if Naruto told her, the plan would be ruined.

Naruto scratched his head, looking somewhat aggrieved.

Hinata Hyuga glanced at Naruto, then at Sakura Haruno, but said nothing.

To prevent any further accidents, Sakura Haruno suddenly called out, "Ino."

"What is it?" Ino turned her head and glanced at her.

"Let's have another ranking contest this time. Whoever loses has to grant the other a request," Sakura Haruno said.

Sasuke happened to be nearby. If she won the bet, she could not only get revenge for last month, but also let Sasuke see with his own eyes that she was better than Ino, killing two birds with one stone.

"I'm not betting with you." Ino refused without even thinking.

"Huh? Why?" Sakura Haruno was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.

"Have you gone stupid from studying too much? Your theoretical grades have always been the best in the grade, and you've advanced to the third round in this practical exam. I lost in the first round. I'm not stupid, why would I bet with you on a bet that's obviously going to be lost?" Ino rolled her eyes and said.

After listening to her, Sakura Haruno realized that what she said made a lot of sense, and she was speechless.

-

Main Quest: The Path to Cultivating High-Quality Talented Assistants

[Mission Requirement: In the end-of-May exams, help Uchiha Sasuke regain the top spot in his grade. Completed]

[Reward Received - B-Rank Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll (Uses this scroll to upgrade any B-Rank Ninjutsu to its maximum level)]

[Training Return Mission: High-quality talent Hinata Hyuga has diligently trained for a month, resulting in an improvement in her strength]

[Reward Received - Bagua Sixty-Four Palms (Beginner)]

[Cultivation Return Mission: High-quality talent Lee Locke has diligently cultivated for a month, and his strength has been improved.]

[Reward Received - C-Rank Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll (Uses this scroll to upgrade any C-Rank Ninjutsu to its maximum level)]

[Hidden Mission: Under your guidance, the talented students in Class 1, Grade 4 have all shown remarkable growth.]

[Reward received: 1000 Chakra cap]

As Qiu Shui walked towards school, several messages popped up in front of her.

He originally thought that he could only get rewards by triggering the main quest, but he didn't expect that Hinata and Lee would also get rewards this time even though they didn't trigger any quests.

Upon closer inspection, Qiu Shui realized that it was the cultivation return function at work.

He pondered for a moment, wondering why Naruto hadn't gotten any gold coins.

Because Naruto also didn't trigger any missions.

Shusui speculated that last month he taught Hinata a water-style ninjutsu, while Rock Lee improved under Might Guy's guidance, and both of their strength had increased to the standard required for training the return function.

As for Naruto, he only practiced treading water and did ordinary physical training last month, so his strength did not improve enough and he was unable to trigger the return reward.

Thinking about this, Qiu Shui felt that no matter whether the people he was bound to had triggered the mission or not, he should take the initiative to help them improve their strength so that he could obtain rewards more steadily.

The Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is a basic Gentle Fist technique of the Hyuga clan. It uses precise strikes on sixty-four chakra points on the opponent's body to seal the flow of chakra.

Qiushui currently lacks close-combat skills. Although he has a few taijutsu techniques, they are all for improving strength and speed. They are not as smooth and easy to use as pure taijutsu moves like the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Moreover, he can use them to teach Hinata, killing two birds with one stone.

As for the ninjutsu proficiency scroll, it's an even better item.

Although Qiushui has acquired quite a few ninjutsu, he hasn't mastered many of them to the maximum level, and he doesn't have a single one above C-rank.

After a moment's thought, Qiushui decided to use the two ninjutsu scrolls directly on the Water Dragon Bullet and Great Breakthrough ninjutsu.

Anyway, there will definitely be similar rewards in the future, so he is not worried about not having the opportunity to use them on other ninjutsu.

As for the idea of ​​waiting for the system to reward him with basic ninjutsu proficiency before using it to maximize the benefits, he quickly dismissed it, since he didn't lack that kind of efficiency right now.