Konoha Notes.

Chapter 486 The Battlefield of Mortal Bones

Chapter 486 The Battlefield of Mortal Bones

The distance between ordinary people and geniuses is indeed very far.

The practical exercises in the special training course only made Tiantian realize this point more clearly.

With what she has learned and mastered so far, no matter how hard she practices, she will find it difficult to even come close to the top students, let alone achieve her goal of becoming a great female ninja like the Fifth Hokage.

I used to think that as long as I worked hard, I would eventually catch up. But the older I get, the closer I get to that goal, the clearer I see how high the wall in front of me is.

This makes it even clearer how unattainable those names that appear in other people's mouths really are.

Even so, Tian Tian still tried various methods.

For the past two years, Konoha Hospital has been sending staff to check the chakra control of the upperclassmen every year.

I went there every day this year too.

She is proficient in all kinds of weapons, and cutting things with a scalpel is no problem for her.

However, medical ninjas are not tested on their ability to wield a knife. For those who have received ninja training from a young age, this is just a basic skill. The real challenge lies in the finesse of their chakra control.

Then she remembered Neji's words about graduating early.

So every day I walked even further.

She went directly to the mission center to inquire about the cost of commissioning a Jonin to conduct a specialized assessment.

This is a new business that emerged after the village opened the Shinobi Advanced Training Class.

Then she saw that number.

One hundred thousand taels.

And this is just the cost of one assessment. The commission terms are clearly stated: the Jonin accepting the commission will judge whether the client has the corresponding potential from their own professional perspective, but cannot guarantee the accuracy of the assessment beyond their area of ​​expertise.

In other words, if you're unlucky, you'll need to consult several Jonin with different specialties to determine which area of ​​potential you have the most outstanding.

Although Tian Tian's family wasn't poor, they weren't so wealthy that they would spend money so lavishly just to catch up on six months or a year's worth of progress.

So she decided to honestly apply for early graduation in fifth grade.

According to the village's unified arrangements, the cost will be affordable by doing a few D-level missions with the team.

Before entering the classroom the next day, Tian Tian saw many people waiting outside a classroom in the corridor.

Most of the onlookers were fourth or fifth graders.

There were only a few people scattered around the classroom. Lee wasn't there, and Neji wasn't there either.

Sai was sitting upright in his seat.

Tenten then asked, "Sai, what are they doing over there in the corridor?"

Why did everyone go over there?

The polite person wore a standard smile: "It's that teacher from the Joint Affairs Bureau; it's our grade's turn today."

"I see."

"So people who do publicity are this popular." Sai looked thoughtful.

"Probably not." Tian Tian sat down, having no intention of joining in the commotion. "I heard that Ms. Green is very eloquent; that's probably why."

Sai opened his notebook and carefully jotted down two notes: "Does being good at speaking mean being good at praising others?"

"Tian Tian," he called the girl's name.

"Um?"

"You are a very hardworking person."

Yesterday, my confidence was crushed by the monsters in the special training class, and today I was comforted by them in person. It's a complicated feeling that's hard to describe.

"Are you saying I have no talent, Sai?"

"No." Sai shook his head seriously. "You are considered a talented person in the class."

"This is genuine praise."

I facepalm every day.

"—You'd better not say anything, Sai."

"I'm not happy about this at all."

"It won't make me feel good about you because of this."

Sai put on his standard smile again: "Maybe it's just that Tian Tian is too narrow-minded."

"The book says that a broad-minded person will not care even if criticized. But the opposite is true; even if praised, they will take it as a scolding."

Tian Tian swung his fist directly at him.

Sai tilted his head slightly, easily dodging the attack: "So you're really angry, not just a subtle way of showing affection."

"Isn't that obvious?!" Tian Tian roared in anger. "I don't even know which word I'm angry about!"

Just then, two heads peeked in through the classroom door.

One head of blond hair, one head of green hair.

The green-haired one was the first to raise his hand: "Excuse me!"

"We are supporters of long name badges and hope to gain everyone's recognition!"

Tenten recognized the two. The green-haired one was Fu, and the blond one was Naruto. These two, as underage members, stole the show at last year's joint martial arts competition opening ceremony.

The rest of the class looked over; it was quite unusual for a third grader to come into a fourth-grade classroom.

"A long name badge? What's that?" Tian Tian asked, looking puzzled.

Fu ran up to the podium and pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket.

"This is it!"

She cleared her throat and then loudly read out those extremely long, meaningless entries.

I get more and more confused the more I listen to it. What is all that?

"Only by possessing these cool and unique titles can our future shine even brighter!" Fu clenched her fist after reciting the title, her eyes sparkling.

"That's absolutely right!" Naruto shouted in agreement. "So we absolutely must preserve these names! Please support us!"

Fu jumped off the podium and walked to each of the students still in the classroom, extending her hand.

Please!

Please support long name badges!

"Thank you!"

Tian Tian also shook hands with someone.

The green-haired girl's palm was warm and firm; she shook it vigorously after gripping it.

Please!

"----oh."

Before Tian Tian could figure out how to answer, and even considered asking Fu about the meaning of the thing since she was so serious, Fu had already let go and run towards the next target.

"Thank you! You're such a kind person!"

Naruto met them at the door, and the two ran towards the next classroom.

Soon, Fu's energetic greeting echoed down the corridor, followed by Xiao Li's response: "Of course! I'll definitely give it my full support!"

Tenten sighed, turned around, and found that Neji had walked in through the back door at some point and was standing by the window.

Then Xiao Li followed him in.

Tian Tian asked, "Li, do you know what that is?"

She regretted asking the question as soon as it left her mouth.

Sai's words must have confused her judgment, which is why she asked Lee such a question.

"I know!" Xiao Li's eyes burned with passion. "They are giving their all for their goals!"

That fighting spirit got my blood pumping!

Every day I decide to ask someone else.

"Where's Neji? Do you know?"

Neji's gaze fell on the corridor. Even through several walls, he could see the scene outside that classroom.

In the crowd, Fu and Naruto were tirelessly promoting those ridiculously long names.

He saw Green Sunflower come out of the classroom, listen to the two people's explanations, and then announce something to the other students.

"It's something important," Neji replied.

Green Sunflower held up the paper covered with names, read it aloud, and smiled easily.

"What an interesting name! The person who named it must have put a lot of thought into it. I hope everyone will support Naruto and Fu."

The students surrounding him barely managed to keep up, unable to reconcile the kind-hearted but very pragmatic Chunin senior with the person in front of them who was so enthusiastically praising the strange title.

Naruto and Fu didn't even explain what the badge actually represented, only repeatedly emphasizing that it was cool and unique.

Green Aoi ignored the reactions and returned the note to Fu and Naruto.

Then, he caught a glimpse of two people walking towards him from the other end.

Iruka and another Chunin teacher walked side by side.

When Umino saw Naruto and Fu, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Green," Iruka stepped closer, "it's probably best to be more cautious about things like this."

"Don't be so serious, Iruka-sensei." The green-haired chuckled and waved his hand. "They're just some names."

Another Chunin said seriously, "This is not just students playing around; it concerns the future advancement of ninjas."

Upon hearing this, Green Sunflower was taken aback.

He instinctively wanted to press for answers, but he quickly realized that if this matter truly concerned the future of ninjas, then the name itself was completely irrelevant.

For him right now, the most important thing is not the matter itself.

Then his expression relaxed again.

"It doesn't matter, the children's wishes are of equal weight. After all, I've always been working hard for my own wishes."

He neither refuted the Chunin teacher's opinion nor withdrew his support for Naruto and Fu.

Seeing that Iruka and the others' attempt to poach him directly had failed, Naruto made a face at Iruka: "We've already beaten them to it, Iruka-sensei!"

"Right now, Midori-sensei is better!" Fu made a face, mimicking Naruto. "Midori-sensei is better!"

Iruka's lips twitched. He was still asking the other Chunin to help, but Naruto and the others had already pulled away an important force.

Although Green Aoi is not a formally employed teacher at the Ninja Academy, she is very popular among the students. With her support, the effect will definitely be significant.

Green Aoi said to Naruto and Fu, "I'll collect the signed consent forms. Can we meet up again at noon?"

"Oh right! And autographed copies! Without these, Iruka-sensei won't give up easily." Naruto suddenly realized that they had been so focused on promotion that they hadn't left any proof.

Fu grabbed Naruto's wrist. "Hurry, hurry! We need to run to as many classes as possible before Iruka-sensei gets more help!"

The two disappeared in a flash at the end of the corridor.

Iruka watched them walk away and called out, "Don't forget class is about to start!"

His response came from afar: "I know."

The Chunin standing next to Iruka shook his head.

"Don't lose to your students, Iruka. It looks like they've already taken the first move."

Iruka sighed.

He turned to the green sunflower.

"Green, do you have a moment to tell me about this badge? It might be a bit more complicated than what you just heard."

Green Sunflower nodded.

"Of course, Iruka-sensei."

He used the excuse that class was about to start to ask the students to leave first. Another Chunin teacher also left, leaving only Midori Aoi and Iruka behind.

Iruka then began to recount the events of the previous night, omitting the specific details of the events and only discussing the function of the badge.

Green Sunflower became increasingly certain that the name was unimportant and that her choice was correct.

"Although I also think a shorter name would be more suitable," he gave a helpless smile, "but since I've already promised Naruto and the others—"

Iruka didn't press the issue: "By the way, Midori. I have a Chunin friend who's been wanting to learn about joining the Joint Affairs Bureau. If it's convenient for you, let's go together tonight—"

"Of course, no problem," Green Sunflower readily agreed.

Iruka then remembered something else.

"Captain Shuji will be over at noon. If he knew that Naruto and the others were making such good progress, I wonder what he would do next."

"Although he is a very reliable person when there is a problem, he can be quite reckless when his mischievous side kicks in."

"A few years ago, when we were taking the exam at Yunyin Temple, they suddenly bought protein powder as a gift, completely disregarding whether we needed it or not."

Green Aoi listened quietly before saying, "Teacher Iruka, if possible, I would very much like to receive that person's wicked sense of humor."

"?" Iruka was stunned.

"I have to give it my all for this," Green Aoi said with a smile. "I envy you, Iruka-sensei."

"In my memory, that gentleman was always serious and never smiled."

"Actually—me too—" Iruka was about to say what pressure he was under.

"It's different, Iruka." The Chunin didn't hide his emotions. "You probably don't realize what you've gained."

Iruka gave a wry smile: "I've never made a good impression on Captain Shuji."

"Aside from constantly making fools of myself, the best thing I've done is that I haven't made any other mistakes this year."

"If that's the trick, I'll remember it well," Green Aoi replied. "However, if it's meant to show weakness, Iruka, I won't hold back in this war."

He then changed the subject, bringing it back to the main point.

Iruka then relaxed and laughed, "It's too early to declare victory or defeat, Green."

"We are actually in the majority. Although everyone is hesitant to make any forceful demands because of Captain Shuji's opinion, I also received assistance from the outstanding students in this matter."

"Let's wager on the drinks tonight," said Green Sunflower.

Iruka immediately agreed. Then he realized that the money he had left this month probably wouldn't be enough to cover his losses.

Even though I was the one who invited you, I still have to pay for your expenses that night.

—I think I'll check the mission center to see if there are any time-efficient requests.—

"I'm poor, Mr. Umino," he thought.