"Yo-ho, Sasuke, I won this one, didn't I?"
Naruto swaggered, slinging an arm around Sasuke's shoulder, his face beaming with joy.
"Tch, I'm not focused on the Academy's assessments anymore." Sasuke pouted.
If the two of them really went all out, it was questionable whether the battle arena would even remain intact. Besides, Shinji did not allow them to display their full strength at the Academy.
"Hehe, I held back on that kick just now. Otherwise, you would've lost too quickly and I wouldn't have had a chance to beat you up."
As he spoke, Naruto's eyebrows twitched excitedly, looking very thrilled.
He failed to notice Shikamaru and the others behind him winking at Sasuke.
Sasuke could only turn his face away helplessly and say, "Right, right, you're the strongest."
Hearing this, Naruto took a deep, satisfied breath. It felt good for Sasuke to admit he was strong.
"Eh? Who's that over there?" Naruto, who had been squinting, subconsciously looked over, asking curiously.
He saw a little girl with pink hair looking at them, her face full of hesitation, unsure whether to approach.
"Is that… Sakura?" Ino was startled for a moment, then spoke.
"Sakura? From our class?" Naruto scratched his head, asking involuntarily.
He rarely paid attention to his classmates, focusing only on training. Even with Hinata before, it was only because Hinata's gaze had always been on him.
"You guys go ahead. Hinata, Karin, and I will be there once we're done."
Ino finished speaking, then pulled Hinata and Karin and ran off.
—
Shinji was tallying the scores for the class matches, which were to be announced tomorrow.
While he was buried in his work, he heard a knock at the door and Ino's very recognizable voice.
"Come in."
Shinji stopped and called out towards the door.
"Hehe, sensei, am I disturbing you?" Ino poked her head in, asking with a smile.
Shinji gave a gentle smile, pointing to the clock hanging in the office and said, "It's this late. Why aren't you at the training ground and instead here at my place?"
Seeing this, Ino opened the door wide and led the people behind her into the office.
The last figure made Shinji pause. Sakura?
Sakura greeted Shinji with a timid expression, "Hello, Shinji-sensei."
"Mm, hello, Sakura." Shinji nodded.
At this moment, he was a bit confused.
Ino came up beside Shinji, tugging his arm, and pointed to Sakura who was looking very flustered. "Sensei, what do you think of Sakura?"
Shinji raised an eyebrow. This little one, didn't she know that question was ambiguous?
It was Sakura who, after Ino spoke, bowed and called out to Shinji, "Shinji-sensei, I want to become your disciple."
This sight made Hinata, who was waiting nearby, very envious. She lacked Sakura's directness.
Shinji reached out and tapped Ino's forehead. This little one was asked by a friend to bring Sakura over.
Then, he looked at Sakura and asked, "Sakura, have you tried to understand your talents or your future path as a ninja?"
"Eh? Path?" Hearing this, Sakura blinked, then began to ponder.
As the only student in the class who could contend for the top three spots based on theoretical scores, Sakura wasn't just good at theory.
Moreover, with the changes in teaching content this year, regarding the choices for future Academy graduation internships, the textbooks had already clearly indicated them.
Shinji rested his hands on the desk, propping his chin as he spoke slowly, "I remember your theoretical foundation is very good, and back in third grade, you were also the first to successfully practice Chakra control, right?"
"Have you considered developing in the direction of a medical ninja?"
Hearing this, Sakura lowered her head in thought. The Intern Ninja system itself was designed for the majority of civilian students in Konoha.
Before this, students with Kekkei Genkais or clan secret techniques had an easier path to prominence compared to civilian students like Sakura.
And after civilian students graduated, they could only become independent ninjas by growing step by step. And this also depended on the ability of the Jonin leading the team. Not everyone could gain the favor of a Jonin.
Before this, Sakura had always been somewhat muddled, just like the other girls in her class who liked Sasuke.
But then, one time, a sentence Ino said made Sakura snap out of it for a moment.
"Without the corresponding strength, how would Sasuke even look at you?"
After that, Sakura gradually changed. She felt it was necessary to strengthen herself in other areas.
Just theoretical knowledge alone wasn't enough. Her combat ability was even worse than her good friend Ino's.
However, the results of her solo training had not been very good. So after this match, Sakura thought of finding Ino to see how she trained.
Seeing that Sakura still didn't quite understand the so-called medical ninja system, Shinji stood up and began to explain.
As Shinji explained, Ino and the others nodded, as Shinji had already told them these things before.
Sakura's eyes grew brighter and brighter. She felt that the path of a medical ninja was very suitable for her.
After Shinji finished explaining, he said no more, waiting for Sakura to consider it herself.
After a long time, Sakura, who had considered it for a while, finally looked up at Shinji and responded with great anticipation, "Shinji-sensei, I want to become a medical ninja."
Seeing this, Shinji smiled and nodded, then said, "For now, you can learn the most basic healing jutsu with Shizune and Hinata."
"As long as you can learn it within three days, I will introduce you to a ninja. She is the founder of Konoha's medical system."
Originally, hearing what Shinji said earlier, Sakura was quite disappointed, because she wanted Shinji to take her in.
But the latter words made Sakura a little disbelieving.
The current school year had already begun studying about the books on the medical system, and the person mentioned in it was one of the legendary Sannin.
She was also the goal and aspiration of all female ninjas in Konoha, Tsunade!
Ino was very happy that Sakura had such an opportunity. That was the legendary kunoichi, and the aura she had when they saw her at the training ground last time was not weak.
"I understand, sensei. I will work hard." Sakura nodded, bowing again to Shinji.
Such an opportunity was not easily obtained, and as a civilian ninja, Sakura understood this even more clearly.