"Merits?"
Naruto's azure eyes lit up, and he asked happily, "Hey, Yamato-sensei, what are my merits?"
"Your movement and endurance are good," Yamato said. "Although there are many redundant movements when you attack, it's clear from your speed and explosive power that you've trained your physical fitness well. Moreover, you didn't get a head rush after being hung upside down in the tree for so long, which shows your constitution is very strong."
"Hehehe!" Naruto scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise.
Seeing this, Yamato laughed lightly and turned to Sakura. "Although your physical performance is average, being able to use things from the textbook in your first actual combat is particularly rare."
"Is... is that so?"
Sakura looked blank; she didn't know what kind of merit this was.
Yamato explained, "Knowledge is just knowledge; only using that knowledge is power. I've seen many people who learn but don't use it. Most of them have rich theoretical knowledge but don't have a good mindset. In a real battle, they get so nervous they forget everything. Being able to make countermeasures based on what you learned at the very beginning of the battle shows you have a good mindset, which is very important for a ninja."
"So Sakura is that amazing!" Naruto couldn't help but sigh.
Even though they were in the same classroom for six years, in Naruto's impression, although Sakura was sometimes scary when she was angry, most of the time she was just a weak and cute girl, just better at theory classes.
Sakura didn't speak, just laughed awkwardly.
However, although she was modest, her expression revealed her happiness, and her inner persona was excitedly clenching her fists and roaring.
Sakura had long lacked confidence. Although her good friend Ino often said she was excellent and should be confident, she only took it as a friend's comfort. Hearing Naruto and Yamato's praise now, she was naturally very happy.
But Yamato shook his head inwardly.
Although being able to apply what she learned in her first combat was good, blindly following textbook knowledge without knowing how to adapt wasn't particularly excellent; it was just better than some but worse than others.
"What about Jokichi?" Naruto suddenly asked. "Sakura and I both have various flaws, but what about Jokichi?"
As soon as these words came out, Sakura turned to look at Yamato. They hadn't seen the fight between Jokichi and Yamato, so they really wanted to know what Jokichi looked like in a Jonin's eyes.
Jokichi also looked over; he also wanted to know how Yamato would evaluate him.
Yamato seemed not to have expected Naruto to ask this question. He froze for a moment, then coughed twice. "Well, he has many merits. Flaws... in short, it's enough that he is more excellent than you."
"What's that? You didn't say anything!"
"A ninja must sometimes know how to suppress their inner curiosity."
"Suppressing curiosity isn't used in this situation!"
"Anyway, don't ask so much. To celebrate the formation of Team 7, we're going to the Seven-Scent Bathhouse. It's on me."
"Yes! Long live Yamato-sensei!"
"Long live!"
Hearing that Yamato was treating, Naruto and Sakura immediately forgot themselves and stopped asking.
Yamato breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Only Jokichi was slightly disappointed; he really wanted to know what his level looked like in others' eyes right now.
Afterwards, the group followed Yamato-sensei to the back mountain of Konoha.
The so-called Seven-Scent Bathhouse was a hot spring inn in Konoha.
Yamato-sensei, the "Konoha real estate tycoon," treated everyone to a hot spring bath inside, then booked a private courtyard and treated everyone to a rich feast.
This was true high-end consumption. A lobster sashimi cost 3,000 Ryo, and a bottle of sake cost 1,000 Ryo.
In comparison, a bowl of ordinary noodles at Ichiraku Ramen cost 60 Ryo, and a bottle of sake cost 300 Ryo, which was truly civilian level. Even the most expensive BBQ Q in Konoha paled in comparison to the consumption here.
...
In a dim room in Konoha.
Three Anbu members were waiting bored in the room.
Suddenly, the door was pulled open.
Sasuke, having shed his Anbu attire and put on a green flak jacket, walked in with a katana on his back.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to Sasuke, and they all looked over.
"Isn't he just a kid?" someone couldn't help but ask.
Another person didn't say anything, but his gaze and expression revealed distrust and contempt.
Sasuke's eyes turned cold, and he was about to say something.
The person at the very back of the room walked out.
Wearing Anbu attire, a mask, and a forehead protector tilted to cover his left eye, with silver-gray hair—it was Kakashi.
He glanced at the two who spoke and said, "Don't judge by appearances; that's common sense among ninjas, right!"
"Even if you say don't judge by appearances, he looks like just a kid no matter how you look at it!" the person who spoke before retorted.
Kakashi didn't say anything and looked directly at the expressionless Sasuke, saying, "You heard that, right? Although the words are harsh, the Anbu is such a place. If you want to gain your teammates' trust, show your power!"
"Is showing power enough?" Sasuke asked back.
"That's right."
the Anbu who looked down on Sasuke drew the long sword from his back and rested it on Sasuke's neck. "The Anbu is always wandering between life and death. I don't want to be held back at a critical moment."
"Is that so?"
Sasuke turned his head and looked at him quietly. His black eyes turned blood-red, with two tomoe slowly rotating inside.
...
The sun set in the west, and night fell.
After Team 7 finished their feast, Yamato announced the gathering time and place for tomorrow, then dismissed them.
Jokichi went straight home.
In the dojo room, he took out a small bottle containing some fingernails.
These were the ones Yamato had trimmed at the Seven-Scent Bathhouse.
Jokichi had retrieved them from the trash can when no one was around.
Pouring the nails out of the bottle, Jokichi held them in his hand, suppressing his disgust. Instantly, the system's prompt rang in his mind.
[Ding! Detected special material "Real Estate Tycoon's Fingernails," can forge special items "Faint Divine Tree Crystal," "Portable Small House," "Super Jin Ke La," "Architecture Expert," "Tool Person."]
As the prompt fell, several items appeared in Jokichi's hand.
A thumb-sized green crystal emitting a faint light, a palm-sized model house, a palm-sized bag, and two palm-sized dolls.
"Divine Tree Crystal!?"
Jokichi froze, not having reacted yet.
When did Yamato get involved with the Divine Tree?
Shouldn't it be a Wood Release Crystal or a Hashirama Crystal?
Thinking of this, Jokichi quickly looked at the items in his hand. Information about the items instantly appeared on his retina, and that green crystal was indeed the "Faint Divine Tree Crystal."
"Faint Divine Tree Crystal: Originating from the power of the Divine Tree, the crystal contains a faint power of the Divine Tree. After absorbing it, one can obtain the Divine Tree's power 'Wood Release'."
"Wood Release originates from the Divine Tree!?"
Jokichi's eyes widened.
He had never heard the claim that Wood Release originated from the Divine Tree. In his memory, Wood Release was formed by fusing earth and water chakra attributes, belonging to the Senju's bloodline limit.
Therefore, looking at the crystal in his hand, he felt a bit hesitant for a moment.