In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the children's class through his crystal ball. Iruka was speaking eloquently about the Will of Fire and seemed like an excellent teacher. Mitsuro, on the other hand, had gone straight to teaching about chakra, taking a completely different approach. Hiruzen stroked his goatee, deep in thought.
Without looking at the ninja standing next to him, he asked, "What do you think?"
The masked man with spiky silver hair combed to the left stood calmly and indifferently. His one visible eye was dark gray, and his left eye was covered by his forehead protector. He wore a mask that completely concealed the lower half of his face. He was dressed in the standard Konoha infantry uniform: a green vest over a long-sleeved dark blue uniform and dark blue pants.
Kakashi replied, "Hokage-sama, I think they are both doing a good job."
Hiruzen said in a soft voice, "Hmm... yes, I think they are both good. Although their teaching methods are different, they are both sensible teachers."
He deactivated the jutsu and continued, "Mitsuro is the only active ninja remaining from the Uchiha clan. After that incident... the restrictions on the Uchiha clan became pointless. After all, only he and Sasuke are left from their clan. That's why I allowed him to stay in the village, but he hasn't even wanted to see Sasuke once during this time."
He sighed. "Anyway. Kakashi, since you left the Anbu, I've given you several teams, and you've rejected all of them!"
Kakashi said in a respectful tone, "Hokage-sama..."
Hiruzen said calmly, "What's wrong? Don't you want to have your own students?"
"It's not that... but..."
Hiruzen nodded kindly. "I know... Kakashi, you had your own reasons for rejecting all of them... but I want you to apply for students again at the end of this term..." He smiled. "Gai already has his students. You should also get ready to accept your own Genin team."
Kakashi nodded wearily, conveying a sense of helplessness. "Whatever you command, Hokage-sama."
Step. Step.
Mitsuro left the classroom with slow and steady steps.
His first day as a school teacher had gone well. It was a brilliant end to a workday. Since the school year had just begun, joining the school wasn't as difficult as he had thought, and he knew what to teach. He pondered what to teach for the next session and how much he should teach the children so as not to interfere with their training during their Genin years. He couldn't use his own academy education as a model.
At that time, the ninja world was at war, and the training was very intense; many things were skipped, but now it was a time of peace, and the graduation time had been extended.
At least I have to maintain my qualifications as a teacher.
With that thought, he looked ahead, walked past the students in the hallway, and entered the teachers' office. The teachers' office was almost empty. Only two other teachers had just finished their classes and returned to the office to rest. Mitsuro greeted them and then sat down in his chair.
A little later, the office door opened, and a young ninja entered. He had his dark brown hair tied back and a scar across the bridge of his nose. Iruka came towards the others with a smile, greeted them, and sat down across from Mitsuro.
"Mitsuro-san, how was your first class?"
Mitsuro smiled and replied, "It was my first time teaching at the school, so I was a little nervous, but everything went well."
Iruka Umino said in a comforting tone, "It's natural to be nervous the first time. But it's good that you say it went well." Then he chuckled and continued, "The first time I taught, I didn't even know what to say! But you don't need to worry too much; teaching children isn't that hard." He then took a small book out of his pocket. "This is a textbook. You can organize the topics you want to teach from this." And he handed the book to Mitsuro.
Mitsuro gratefully accepted the book and said, "Thank you, Iruka-san."
"Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask what you think of the kids?"
Mitsuro paused for a moment. "They're all good and talented kids, Iruka-san."
Iruka replied with a warm smile, "It's good to hear that."
Mitsuro straightened the files on his desk and continued, "It's just... it's a little hard for me to adjust to these circumstances."
Iruka asked with curiosity, "What do you mean?"
"During my time at the academy, the training was very intensive. We had to learn everything in a few years to be ready to go out. But now, everything is slower. It feels like we are moving very slowly."
Iruka nodded. "Yes, I understand completely, Mitsuro-san. The time of peace is different from the time of war. Let's not forget that fire clears the way for new leaves to grow. We must make sure that these leaves grow in complete peace so that they can keep our fire burning in the future."
Hearing these words, Mitsuro fell silent and stared into Iruka's eyes. This viewpoint was completely foreign to him.
Suddenly, another ninja entered the office. A thin man with bluish-gray hair and a friendly smile. Mizuki. He approached them with a kind tone and listened to their conversation.
"Oh, so you're talking about teaching methods? I don't think these things are that important. After all, they're just a bunch of stupid, inexperienced kids."
Iruka, upset by these words, frowned and said sharply, "Mizuki! That's not right. These kids are the future of Konoha."
Mizuki calmly shrugged and walked to his desk. "Whatever you say, Iruka."
Mitsuro watched this scene in silence, knowing Mizuki's true character from the anime.
Iruka looked at Mitsuro with a regretful look and tried to calm the situation. "Mizuki always goes easy on the kids..."
Mitsuro smiled. "It's okay, Iruka-san. Everyone has their own approach to teaching."
Then both fell silent and went back to their work. The quiet sound of a pen scratching and paper rustling was once again the only sound in the office, and the sun was slowly setting.
The school was over for the day. Mitsuro headed toward the small house he had rented in the western corner of the village. The main streets were crowded, and children were running and playing happily. He planned to rest inside the house. Just as he was about to take out the key and enter, he saw a man approaching him with slow steps. The man smiled and said, "Hello, are you a resident of this house?"
Mitsuro nodded in confirmation.
"Mr. Mitsuro? Is that right?"
The man handed a paper to Mitsuro. "Please sign here." Then he gave him a package. "This package is for you."
Mitsuro quickly signed the paper, took the package, opened the door, and went inside.
Click!
He closed the door and curiously removed the tape from the box. The first thing he saw was a white letter neatly placed on top of the other items. The smell of fresh paper filled his nostrils. He opened the letter and quickly scanned its contents. His gaze moved from a sentence on the paper to outside the window. He murmured, "This... is happening sooner than I thought..."
..
In the classroom
"Alright, we talked about chakra in the previous sessions. In this session, we will talk about the ways to use it. Generally, ninjas use three main categories of jutsu: One: Ninjutsu. Two: Taijutsu. Three: Genjutsu."
Mitsuro was silent for a moment and looked at the students with a calm expression. Curiosity was evident on some of their faces, while others looked bored.
"Can anyone tell me what each of these categories refers to?"
Udon raised his hand and said loudly, "Ninjutsu creates a physical attack using chakra. Taijutsu is martial arts, and Genjutsu is illusionary arts."
Mitsuro smiled. "You're right, Udon. But we can be more specific." He picked up the chalk, and its scratching sound on the blackboard echoed in the silent classroom. He wrote on the board: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu.
"Ninjutsu includes all the techniques that ninjas perform using chakra, usually by making hand signs. These types of jutsu have real and physical effects. For example..."
He put his finger in front of his face and made the "Henge" hand sign. In a flash, with a small poof sound, Mitsuro transformed into the Third Hokage. The surprised gasps of the students could be heard.
"Right now, by using hand signs and controlling my chakra, I have physically transformed my image into the form of the Third Hokage. This is Ninjutsu."
A moment later, there was a poof sound, and he returned to his original form. "Many ninjas use these very techniques for battle, like Fire or Water Release techniques."
Then he underlined Taijutsu. "As Udon said, Taijutsu is martial arts. This category of jutsu includes physical and combat techniques that do not require hand signs to perform. The power of Taijutsu comes directly from the user's physical strength and stamina. That is why difficult physical training is essential for every ninja."
"And the last category..." He underlined Genjutsu. "These techniques use chakra to create illusions in the victim's mind. The number of people who can use Genjutsu is much smaller than the other two categories. These individuals can affect their enemies' five senses and make them enter an imaginary world."
He put the chalk down and looked at the students. "Now, tell me, is there another category you can add to these?"
Hanabi eagerly raised her hand. "Kekkei Genkai."
"That's right, Hanabi. There's also Kekkei Genkai. In fact, Kekkei Genkai are genetic and inherited abilities that exist in a specific clan and cannot be copied or learned by others; just like your Byakugan eyes, Hanabi."
Mitsuro turned back to the board and wrote: Kekkei Genkai.
"There are also a few other categories, such as Fūinjutsu, Kinjutsu, and Senjutsu. Except for Kinjutsu, the other two categories are considered specialized skills that not everyone can learn. In fact, as I said, most ninjas are limited to the first three categories. Now let's go to today's exercises..."
"Now tell me, what do you think is the most important thing a ninja needs to use these techniques?" Mitsuro put the chalk on the board and looked at the students.
One of the students eagerly raised his hand and said, "Power! The more power you have, the better you can control jutsu."
"Power is important, but it's not the complete answer."
This time another girl raised her hand and said, "Practice? The more you practice, the more skilled you become at working with jutsu."
"That's right; practice is also very important. But still, it's not the complete answer."
One of the students said softly, "Chakra control?"
Mitsuro smiled. "That's right, chakra control. Control is the most important thing. Without chakra control, even the strongest ninja cannot perform jutsu correctly. Chakra is like a river, and you must learn to guide it properly."
A scratching sound echoed in the classroom. The students were busy taking notes.
"Well, that's enough for today's lesson." Mitsuro looked at his watch. "But before you leave, I have an assignment for you."
A few students groaned softly, but Mitsuro's calmness and composure prevented them from complaining out loud. Ignoring the children's groans, he continued, "I want you to focus on the fundamentals. You have one week to practice refining your chakra. When you come back, we'll focus on the three basic ninja techniques."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. The students began to pack up their belongings. Mitsuro watched them leave, a small smile on his face.
"You know, Konohamaru. The new teacher is really cool, isn't he?"
Konohamaru frowned and turned his head toward his friend, Moegi, when he heard her call out to him. Moegi, as if thinking about the teacher, had heart-shaped eyes and continued, "The teacher is handsome and has a nice voice. He teaches very well, too. I completely understand what he's teaching!"
Konohamaru couldn't bring himself to agree with Moegi. Moegi noticed something was wrong. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Konohamaru considered himself a genius, but unlike Moegi, he was not satisfied with the class at all!
"Why does Mitsuro-sensei ask me every question I don't know the answer to?" He clenched his fist. "I need to study more!" He wanted to show his talent and prove himself. "I'm the one who's going to defeat grandpa and become Hokage!"
Oops!
His foot got caught on his long scarf, and he fell flat on his face. "Ouch!"
Mitsuro entered the school library. The first floor was for students; they could borrow E-rank jutsu scrolls for learning. The second floor was reserved for teachers and ninjas who had been given access by the Hokage. This floor was full of various C- and B-rank jutsu, including elemental ones. If a ninja looked carefully, they might find one or two medical scrolls and non-elemental jutsu scrolls, but all higher-rank scrolls were in the Hokage's office library. Few people had the right to enter there, and only the Hokage could directly approve a request to enter, because forbidden jutsu scrolls and high-level Genjutsu and Fūinjutsu scrolls were sealed there. These scrolls were only awarded by the Hokage in exchange for a meritorious act for the village.
In the past few months, this was the third or fourth time Mitsuro had walked through the shelves. It's about time I improve my image in front of others. Pretending to be too weak has its drawbacks.
Then he went to the Earth Release scrolls section and took a C-rank elemental scroll: Earth Release: Mud Wall.
Then he went to the Fire Release shelf and took another C-rank jutsu. He then took a B-rank jutsu from another shelf.
He returned and went to the librarian and registered both jutsu.
Now it's time to go to the training ground and warm up a little.