The selection process lasted the entire morning. Masahiko looked at the three children remaining before him and nodded slightly.
Six-year-old Uzumaki Yiko-chan had a very strong capacity for learning. Her chakra affinities were Wind and Fire, which were perfect for learning Masahiko's various ninjutsu.
Eight-year-old Uzumaki Kento-kun possessed perseverance far beyond his peers. Masahiko wanted to cultivate him in Taijutsu. He planned to snatch the naming rights early—turning the future "Konoha Whirlwind" into the "Uzumaki Whirlwind."
As for the last one, it was the 11-year-old Uzumaki Nanako-chan. Masahiko hadn't expected that the seemingly carefree Nanako would correctly answer four of the five bizarre logic puzzles. She only missed the final one, which was a brain teaser. Masahiko decided to teach her Fuinjutsu; compared to ninjutsu, sealing arts required much more logical thinking.
"Very good! With this, Konoha's First Graduating Class, Team 1, is officially established!" Masahiko punched his own palm, grinning.
"What is the First Graduating Class, Team 1?" asked Nanako-chan.
"Is there a Team 2?" asked Kento-kun.
"Sensei, what is 'Konoha'?" asked Yiko-chan.
Masahiko ignored the three questions completely.
"You just need to rember your identity as Konoha's First Graduating Class, Team 1. You'll understand the rest later."
"Now, it's ti to teach you so powerful ninjutsu!"
Hearing "powerful ninjutsu," the three children imdiately swallowed their questions. Even Nanako looked expectant.
"First, you need to tell what you've already mastered so I know what to teach."
"I only know the Academy Basic Three," six-year-old Yiko-chan whispered.
"That's already very good. I'll teach you the rest," Masahiko nodded. He chuckled inwardly, wondering if Naruto would want to die of sha knowing a six-year-old girl had mastered the basics he struggled with...
"I know the Academy Basic Three and a few basic Lightning Release jutsu!" eight-year-old Kento-kun shouted loudly, looking very proud.
"Very good. You specialize in Lightning Release. I've got it," Masahiko nodded. "Nanako-chan, what about you?"
Nanako's face turned red. "I... only know the Academy Basic Three."
Masahiko chuckled secretly but didn't tease her.
"Alright then. Next, I will teach you a Secret Technique..." Masahiko glanced around, seeing the anticipation on their faces, and continued, "Shuriken Jutsu!"
Seeing the children's expressions instantly collapse, Masahiko grinned with mischievous delight.
"That was your first lesson: Before your foundation is solid, don't fantasize about learning high-level ninjutsu!"
Masahiko dragged over three shuriken targets. "Watch. When you reach this level, I'll teach you other jutsu."
As he spoke, he threw three shuriken simultaneously. Thwack, thwack, thwack. All three hit the bullseye.
"Aside from that, I will teach each of you sothing specific."
"Yiko-chan, co over here. You two, start practicing your throwing."
Masahiko took Yiko to an open area. "Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Seeing the surprise on Yiko's face, Masahiko calmly crushed her excitent. "I'm not teaching you the jutsu yet. I'm teaching you the hand seals. You're still young and don't have enough chakra. The Great Fireball has six seals. You need to be able to complete them within two seconds. Go back and practice."
Yiko-chan pouted. "Understood, Grandpa Masahiko."
"From now on, call Sensei! Alright, go practice shuriken. Send Kento-kun over."
"Yes, Sensei," Yiko answered quietly, then called Kento over.
"Kento-kun, your perseverance is good. There are many areas in Taijutsu where you can improve. Every day, besides shuriken practice, you must perform 'Self-Rule' Taijutsu training," Masahiko said. "Also, later tonight, I'll go to the blacksmith and have so weights made for you."
"Understood, Sensei!" Kento scratched his head. "But what is a 'Self-Rule'?"
"A so-called Self-Rule—or Self-Imposed Constraint—is when you challenge a difficulty by deliberately placing a shackle on yourself. You push yourself into a corner by creating a rule only for you. Because of that shackle, you will face the challenge seriously. And if you fail, you follow that rule to undergo strict training, allowing yourself to constantly improve," Masahiko explained. "A great ninja once said this. You must rember it well."
Kento nodded, seeming to understand but not fully grasping it. "Understood, Sensei!"
"Alright, go back to shuriken practice. Send Nanako-chan over."
Two minutes later, Nanako stood before Masahiko.
Masahiko looked at her and smiled. "I didn't expect your logical thinking skills to be so good. You got four out of five questions right."
Nanako smiled sheepishly. "The first four questions were all about buckets and asuring water. I use buckets every day, so I knew the answers..."
"So that's the reason..." Masahiko's face went dark. He had a sudden urge to return this apprentice.
"Fine. No matter how you got the answers... since you're my student now, and you aren't skilled at learning ninjutsu, you will learn Fuinjutsu with ." Masahiko pulled a scroll from his robes. "This covers the principles and basics of our clan's Sealing Jutsu. Go back and see if you can understand it."
"Put it away for now. Go practice your shuriken throwing."
After instructing the three students one by one, Masahiko found a rock and sat down, watching the children throw shuriken in the distance.
Training Ground 4 wasn't just for the four of them; many other children were practicing there. The eight kids who had been eliminated in the morning were also working hard nearby, hoping Masahiko would change his mind.
besides the children, several Chunin and Jonin responsible for training the clan's youth were also watching Masahiko teach his three disciples. However, after watching for a long ti, they gained basically nothing from it.
Masahiko spent a leisurely week like this.
The three children's Shuriken Jutsu was shaping up nicely. Masahiko figured out a way to switch them to moving targets, which would keep them busy for a while longer.
As for their individual training: aside from Kento-kun, who had begun to get used to using "Self-Rules" for training, the other two hadn't made much progress. Of course, increasing hand seal speed and learning Fuinjutsu weren't things that yielded results in a short ti, so Masahiko wasn't disappointed.
Masahiko had intended to continue this leisurely life, but a familiar line of text interrupted his peace.
"Witnessed and significantly changed a Naruto world Side Story: The Guardian Shinobi Twelve. Received 5 (*8) Witness Points."
Significantly changed? I didn't expect to get a full 40 Witness Points this ti.
Masahiko checked his status bar. With the accumulation over the past few years, he now had 65 Witness Points.
"It's ti to add points and verify the theory I've had in my mind!"
☆☆☆
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