I was broadcast live while taking the Chunin Exam!

But Naruto is different; he's already Hokage, so he needs a suitable teacher to guide him on how to become an excellent Hokage!

The pool of candidates is actually quite small; among the several Hokage of Konoha, only Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze can be considered outstanding Hokage.

The others each have their own strengths and obvious weaknesses.

"What kind of person was the Second Hokage?" Naruto asked curiously.

He didn't know much about Tobirama Senju, only that he was an excellent Hokage.

"As for the Second Hokage, he was a very serious, even strict, person. But if we look at him from the perspective of the Hokage position, he was probably the most perfect Hokage, except that his strength was slightly lacking," Kitahara Kaede said.

The Second Hokage was quite strong, possessing a multitude of forbidden techniques, so his strength was certainly not weak.

The only point of contention is that he was killed by the Golden Horn and Silver Horn, along with a group of people whose names are not even known.

"Is his strength just so-so?" Naruto muttered to himself.

"Barely satisfactory means generally acceptable, not that his strength is poor," Kitahara Kaede said.

Naruto's level of education is a problem, but it's a common issue in the ninja world.

Can we really expect a group of twelve-year-olds who have no further connection with school to have a high level of knowledge?

In particular, many of the courses at the Ninja Academy are designed to train them to become ninjas.

“Although Naruto, you are now considered a strong ninja in the ninja world, if the Second Hokage were to fight you, he wouldn’t necessarily lose,” Kitahara Kaede added.

At this point, Naruto had already broken free from the state of only using Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan, and had also mastered many other ninjutsu.

However, when facing Tobirama Senju, it's impossible to say that he was definitely the victor.

Tobirama Senju has already demonstrated a large number of forbidden techniques, and the probability that he would use a ninjutsu like the Reaper Death Seal is very high.

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, arguably the strongest support ninjutsu, Tobirama Senju's potential was very high.

"Is that so? I do want a chance to prove that I have surpassed all the previous Hokage!" Naruto suddenly became very excited.

He has already achieved his dream of becoming Hokage; now all that remains is the thought of surpassing all previous Hokage.

Although he already knew he didn't have much talent in politics, he believed he still had the ability to fight for it.

"Naruto, have you forgotten about the Fifth Hokage?" Kakashi said sarcastically.

Naruto glanced at Tsunade beside him, then completely forgot his earlier boastful words.

At this point, Tsunade was already a powerful figure in the Order of the Ninja, and she wouldn't even need to be serious if she wanted to deal with Naruto.

"Well, if Granny Tsunade were here, I really wouldn't be able to become the strongest Hokage in terms of strength," Naruto said somewhat haltingly.

"You still have a chance to become stronger. After all, the universe is so vast. You'll definitely gain something once you see it for yourself," Kitahara Kaede comforted him.

"Let's go into the village first. It's been a long time since we've been back. How about we get a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen first?" Tsunade said.

At this moment, they had arrived at the main gate of Konoha.

The two gatekeepers who used to stand guard here were Izumo Kamizuki and Tetsuo Kotetsu, but now they have finally been promoted to Jonin and left their beloved gatekeeping career.

"I thought it would be Izumo and Kotetsu again this time, and I was hoping to see some old friends," Kakashi said.

“Kamizuki Izumo and Kotetsu-san have already become Jonin. Although the number of missions in the ninja world has decreased, they still occasionally go out on missions,” Naruto said.

The promotion of these two Chunin was completed during his term of office, and Naruto still remembers it.

"Oh? Have they made any progress in their strength?" Tsunade asked.

"In terms of strength, I am definitely a qualified Konoha Jonin! I can guarantee that!" Naruto said confidently.

"That's good. We're about to have Jonin training, so let's send both of them along," Kitahara Kaede said with a smile.

It's never excessive to do something good for the people around you when you have the means.

Although Ai is in charge of this task, he won't show any favoritism out of respect for Kitahara Kaede.

After all, the strength of a Jonin in the ninja world is nothing special to the powerful members of the order, and there is no value in treating them differently.

"By the way, Shino's become a teacher at the Ninja Academy. Kitahara Kaede, do you want to go see him?" Naruto asked.

Kitahara Kaede suddenly remembered that Shino, who was almost undefeated back then, was defeated by a few kids who weren't even genin.

Dead memories suddenly resurrected and launched an attack on him...

"Of course I'll go check it out. I wonder if Shino's strength has declined," Kitahara Kaede said with a dry laugh.

I have a good impression of Shino Kitahara Kaede, even though he always seems to lack presence.

However, Kitahara Kaede felt that this might become the most important quality on Shino's path to becoming a strongman of order.

A strong sense of presence is a terrifying power!

If a person can truly make themselves disappear completely, then their attacks will go unnoticed by anyone.

If this power were used for assassination, it would be far more terrifying than Moonlight Gale's ability to penetrate defenses.

Furthermore, Shino is a member of the Konoha Insect Exterminator Clan, whose attack methods are known for being difficult to detect.

Moreover, they were by no means weak in direct combat in 3.6!

"In terms of combat strength, the combat strength of the ninja world has actually declined," Naruto said worriedly.

Of course he could see this change!

As ninjas experience fewer and fewer battles, their pursuit of strength naturally diminishes.

However, as former excellent ninjas, they can quickly regain their former form when necessary.

After all, they had not stopped cultivating over the past ten years, and the results of their cultivation had all turned into nutrients waiting to be absorbed!

"It's alright, everyone's strength will start to improve soon," Kitahara Kaede said thoughtfully.

They had explored several planets surrounding the ninja world, and the native life forms on those planets possessed considerable combat power.

They're more than capable of being sparring partners!

Chapter 849 School

After entering Konoha, Kitahara Kaede's return had not yet been noticed by everyone.

This was also Kitahara Kaede's own idea. After all, although he planned to meet with his former classmates, he didn't want to cause any turmoil.

It's only been a little over a decade, but those who knew Kitahara Kaede and benefited from him won't disappear.

Kitahara Kaede and Tsunade went directly to the Ninja Academy, intending to meet Shino as he was now.

Naruto and Kakashi went to the Hokage's office building to prepare the necessary items for reviving Tobirama Senju.

The Impure World Reincarnation technique is the simplest way for Kitahara Kaede to revive others, so they wouldn't go to the trouble of using a more complicated method.

"Iruka-sensei is the principal of the Ninja Academy now?" Kitahara Kaede asked with some curiosity.

He had vaguely heard Naruto mention it before, but he didn't have any particular thoughts about it.

Iruka is a qualified teacher. The problem with ninja education is not with Teacher Iruka, but with the entire system.

But this is something we have no choice but to do.

The peak period for ninjas is actually not very long, and choosing to start training children is a last resort.

“It’s Iruka. You don’t seem to have a problem with him,” Tsunade said.

"I'm just a little dissatisfied with the education system in the ninja world. After all, it's a bit pathetic that teenagers are already ninjas," Kitahara Kaede said.

Kitahara Kaede wanted to change this situation, but for a while she didn't know where to start.

This is related to the process by which ordinary ninjas grow stronger. Unless it is possible to extend the peak period of ninjas, it is a very troublesome thing to solve.

A ninja's peak performance is generally considered to last until the age of forty, which is considered quite good.

After all, the vitality of most humans inevitably declines as they reach that age.

Therefore, based on the current method of training ninjas, these ninjas can have about thirty years to grow before they start to consider how to prolong their peak period.

"So what do you plan to do?" Tsunade asked.

She wasn't unaware of the problems existing in the ninja world; she simply chose to maintain the status quo.

Because this is a problem that exists in the world, her abilities cannot change it.

"For example, how about extending the training period for ninjas? Genin is no longer their graduation requirement, how about changing it to Chunin?" Kitahara Kaede said.

Tsunade didn't know how to comment on this.

Because this method of dividing based on strength is not very reliable.

Those with talent may reach the level of Chunin before they even reach the age of enrollment.

There are also those who remain genin even after graduating as genin for over a decade.

"If that's the case, I can't believe there's a student in his thirties at the Ninja Academy," Tsunade remarked.

“Perhaps once I raise the energy level of the ninja world, they will be able to achieve this.” Kitahara Kaede shook his head.

This is a somewhat difficult problem to handle.

After all, in a world where ninja combat power is the core competitive advantage, any other standard of measurement besides strength is somewhat strange.

Are we suggesting that students should rely on reasoning and math/physics to defeat their opponents instead of ninjutsu?

That might make it more likely that your opponent will laugh themselves to death.

"Why don't we just use age as the dividing line?" Tsunade suggested a very valuable idea.

If we categorize by age, then there's no problem.

However, there are some obvious problems here.

"They're both eighteen, but one's a Kage-level ninja and the other's a Genin. This situation seems a bit strange," Kitahara Kaede said with a sigh.

Differences in talent exist in the ninja world, and they are quite significant.

"Perhaps we could try dividing the class into different groups to solve the problem?" Kitahara Kaede muttered to himself.

“Let’s give it a try then. We have plenty of time anyway,” Tsunade said.

They have countless opportunities to try and fail, which is one of the benefits of longevity.

“That’s true. We can have a little talk with Iruka-sensei later. As the principal of the Ninja Academy, he should be able to figure out the key points,” Kitahara Kaede said.

Kitahara Kaede had no complaints about Iruka.

Although the students under Iruka's tutelage did not show much change in combat ability, they at least grew up healthily.

Iruka is definitely someone who puts a lot of effort into caring for his students.

This sense of responsibility is what made him the principal of the ninja academy.

If we were to rank people solely based on ability, then the position of principal should rightfully belong to Shino.

But clearly, that's not how things are calculated.

“Alright, let’s go to Iruka’s office first. Shino should already have someone tell him,” Tsunade said.

Kitahara Kaede nodded; he had no objection to this.

……

"Shino Aburame-sensei, please come to the principal's office after class," a ninja academy teacher said to Shino.

Among the teachers at the Ninja Academy, Shino holds a very high position.

After all, it's somewhat of a waste of Shino's talents to be a teacher, given that he has the strength of a Jonin.

Generally speaking, the teachers at ninja academies are often Chunin who lack sufficient skill.

He's the kind of Chunin who's unlikely to improve much further on the path of a ninja, but is also 713 years old and no longer young.

They were not competitive enough in the ninja industry, but the village couldn't let them starve.

So after several rounds of screening, they will be assigned to work in other places.

Places like interrogation rooms, ninja schools, and ninja hospitals.

Those with great strength would be sent to the ninja prison to work as guards or as gatekeepers.

“Okay, if you ask why, it’s because I’m a ninja,” Shino said softly.

He used this sentence structure frequently when he was young.

"Shino-sensei, it looks like you have something to do next. In that case, how about giving me a day off?" Shino's student joked with a smile.