Irritable. Fanatical.
The Ninja Academy's morale and initiative shot straight to the ceiling.
No one was willing to let go of those crisp white banknotes.
Special-grade teachers got 300,000 ryō.
Even if you didn't make special grade, Level 1 still paid 100,000.
And everyone here—who didn't consider themselves an elite?
They all figured they had, at minimum, a Level-1 baseline.
That loud, rowdy atmosphere blew out of the teachers' office and into the classrooms.
Then from the classrooms, it spread little by little across all of Konoha.
Other people didn't know what had happened at the Academy.
But the constant commotion, the occasional three-burst, firecracker-style shouting, plus the news that some God of Wealth was about to start working there…
It was already obvious enough.
The God of Wealth—still that damn God of Wealth!
This was definitely another round of making it rain.
Judging by the Academy's reaction, the cash being thrown around wasn't small, either…
For a moment, a lot of departments felt even more sour.
Bullshit…
Was the Third Hokage blind!?
Wasn't their department poorer than the Academy?
Weren't they just as critical to Konoha?
With Danzo fanning the flames from the sidelines, the resentment from the lower ranks got bolder and bolder.
Some people started getting ideas.
They really wanted to go to the Academy and grab a slice of the pie.
But they were also afraid the God of Wealth might misunderstand.
So plenty of them started scheming.
Back when the Academy was three pieces of rotten scrap, they wouldn't have looked at it twice.
Now that it had turned things around, could they go take a part-time teaching post?
Teaching kids?
Hey, I can do that too!
The most eager one was Shinku Yuhi.
The guy was a hardened old smoker.
Loved a little booze. Loved a little tobacco.
Too bad.
The Yuhi family didn't have spare grain left anymore.
He crouched not far from the Academy, eyes flickering as he smoked.
Watching the constant traffic of people going in and out—watching the joy they couldn't hide—Shinku's heartbeat only sped up.
So…?
Is there something here?
I'm a jōnin, for crying out loud. Being a teacher wouldn't disgrace me in the slightest, would it?
In the past, he'd never do something that "lowered his status" like this.
But times had changed.
The God of Wealth was here.
The Academy finally had its own clear sky overhead.
The God of Wealth was here.
The Academy was rich now.
The more he thought about it, the more doable it felt.
His own girl—Kurenai Yuhi—had somehow turned into an old maid already.
No boyfriend. Not even a prospect.
And plenty of male shinobi avoided Kurenai like the plague.
Why?
Because they were broke, that's why…
Who in Konoha didn't know it?
The Yuhi family was a washed-up household.
Back then, the Yuhi did put in real work during the Second Shinobi World War.
That's why the family had at least earned a little name in Konoha.
But poor was still poor.
There were plenty of mouths in the clan.
And as clan head, it was on him to figure out how to feed them.
Now he was stressed about his people—and worried sick about his daughter.
A single coin could break a hero's back.
In his case, that saying had become literal.
No money, his girl couldn't get married.
No money, his clan couldn't eat.
No money, even his cigarettes were the cheap, harsh, stem-filled kind.
With a pained expression, he lit another one.
Only two cigarettes clacked around in the pack.
Shinku's gaze dimmed.
This hurts, brothers.
He'd followed the Third Hokage through all these years, and he still lived like this—poor and miserable.
Is that normal?
Back then, he'd heard Asuma had some interest in Kurenai.
But before anything could be confirmed, Asuma went and caused a catastrophe.
3.5 billion…
Just thinking about it made Shinku shudder.
Nope. Not touching that.
He absolutely refused to let his daughter get mixed up with a spendthrift disaster like that.
Not a chance.
Half a cigarette later—
Eyes narrowed, he stared at the Academy's bustling crowd.
Shinku clenched his teeth, steeled his heart.
Screw it!!
These days, making money was priority number one.
Even Ino–Shika–Chō, the Uchiha, the Hyūga—hell, even the Third Hokage—had to beg that man for a meal.
Who the hell was Shinku?
He flicked the last bit of his cigarette to the ground and ground it out hard with his shoe.
Then, bracing himself, he charged straight toward the Academy.
Ninja Academy—Shinku's coming in, damn it!
Inside the Academy…
Iruka was already running himself ragged.
Too many people.
Applicants coming to sign up as teachers were arriving one after another.
Some were clearly unqualified and got rejected, but they refused to leave anyway.
They said if the Academy wouldn't take them, they'd bash their head on the ground until they died right here.
The key point was, with this guy, he'd have to slam his head five or six hundred times before he croaked.
Because his name was Sarutobi Sasuke—
the Third Hokage's eldest son.
Everyone else took one look—
Even the Third Hokage's own son had to apply for a teaching job here.
So just how insane were the salary and benefits!?
In an instant, the sign-up frenzy got even hotter.
"Everyone! Everyone, listen to me!"
Mizuki climbed up onto a higher spot and shouted, forcing everyone to look his way.
"Everyone! Kangetsu told the Academy to recruit teachers, but the slots are limited!
Once we fill ten teaching positions, we have to stop!
And even if you meet the conditions, you still have to test into a rank!
Everyone—you don't want to make things difficult for him, right?"
Hiss…
That was… fair.
Sign up if you want, but people were here to get a rice bowl.
Not smash the rice bowl.
Smash the Academy's rice bowl, and you think the people whose expectations are maxed out won't come smash your house?
Shinku shot Mizuki an astonished look.
Just a genin, and the kid could really handle things…
That calm, orderly way he brought a crowd to heel—
Damn.
Uh-oh.
Shinku's heart suddenly went thunk.
This… he couldn't do.
He was just a mission-running brute.
Most of the time, he simply followed orders.
Tell him to kill, he kills.
Tell him to manage people, and he's a complete blockhead.
Sasuke was even more alarmed.
Crap.
He couldn't do it either.
What he learned in ANBU wasn't even in the same system as running the Academy.
Different specialties, different skill sets.
He was the Hokage's son—what if he really got rejected?
No.
I need to pull some strings!
"Kangetsu, bro! Your big brother's here to drink with you again!"
But before he could even meet Kangetsu, he was snatched up and hauled away by the Third Hokage himself, face black with fury.
You disgrace.
As my son, you're actually competing with the people below you for a rice bowl?
What do you think they'll say about me?
That I'm fighting the people for profit?
That I'm greedy?
That anything good has to be dragged into the Sarutobi family's pockets?
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]