After a short break, Natsuhiko began the most important task of the day – preparing for his first lecture.
Sitting at his desk, he casually picked up a textbook and started flipping through its pages. During his school days, as the Second Shinobi World War was approaching, the Academy had implemented wartime measures, resulting in the cancellation of many courses, including Sealing Jutsu.
Natsuhiko began learning Sealing Jutsu later, after being assigned to the Sealing Jutsu class. He never formally attended Sealing Jutsu classes during his school days and was not entirely knowledgeable about the curriculum.
The current Sealing Jutsu course seemed to have been reestablished only two years ago. Natsuhiko looked through the materials and found them simpler than he had imagined. There were several repetitive books, but in essence, there was one main textbook, two reference books, and three sets of the previous sensei's teaching notes.
The entire Sealing Jutsu course essentially boiled down to understanding one not-so-thick textbook. It was essentially based on "Introduction to Sealing Jutsu" written by Mito-sama, with many advanced topics omitted.
The goal of the book was to enable students to draw basic Sealing Jutsu, such as a series of light formations, and be able to perceive and break basic Sealing Jutsu traps. Natsuhiko had mastered these basics within six months of joining the seal class.
However, this course was elective, with only three classes per week, and students had other missions to focus on. Learning a series of light formations was already considered quite good.
In the end, the purpose of this course was to act as a filter, identifying children with genuine Sealing Jutsu talent. Those children, after graduating, were assigned to the Sealing Jutsu class for true Sealing Jutsu studies.
From the teaching diary, it was evident that the previous senseis understood this and used a cramming teaching method. Students were required to memorise Sealing Jutsu runes without detailed explanations of each rune's purpose.
Natsuhiko initially scoffed at their approach but soon realised that making students memorise them was the most efficient method, given the sealing jutsu class duration and other activities to be performed by the students in the academic semester.
However, Natsuhiko quickly dismissed this approach as it was too unchallenging. This time, as a Sealing Jutsu sensei, he aimed not only to satisfy the library's bookworm in him but also to cultivate assistants to share the burden of his research projects.
An individual's energy is limited, and even Orochimaru had Kabuto as an assistant. Making students memorise wouldn't help identifying their talents. Instilling a vast amount of superficial knowledge without judgement, experience, and cultivating personality wouldn't raise their intellectual level.
Another reason was the uncertainty regarding the emergence of the Third Ninja World War. Natsuhiko was concerned that the Sealing Jutsu course might be cancelled again like in the past. So, he had decided to be innovative, achieve results, and survive the future elective class survival game.
"If I don't want students to just memorise, then I have to explain each basic rune in detail."
Natsuhiko initially considered using a memo program to record his thoughts, but then decided to take out a new notebook and note down his ideas with a pen.
"Considering the need to stimulate students' enthusiasm, I have to include some interesting practical exercises. Should I have them write diaries with runes?"
"No, perhaps I Should focus on a simple jutsu, ensuring that once students learn the required usage of runes, they'll also master the jutsu. At least that way, there's some hope."
"The most basic series of light formations might be a bit too complicated for students. It couldn't be learned in a short time. Maybe it shouldn't be limited to Sealing Jutsu."
"Moreover, if I add a lot of learning content, the class time might not be sufficient enough. Some learning missions might have to be left for students to complete on their own after class, which would add to everyone's burden, and other senseis might have objections."
Natsuhiko scratched his head and crossed out several thoughts he had written down.
"The key is which jutsu to focus on. It shouldn't add too much burden, must be practical, and should include most basic runes."
Natsuhiko opened the system interface and began browsing through the various jutsu recorded in the spell-assist program.
Screen Jutsu.
Protective Umbrella Jutsu.
BGM Jutsu.
Camera Jutsu.
Flashlight Jutsu.
...
"To avoid adding too much burden, it's better to stick to the essential Three-Style Jutsu taught at the Academy..."
In the end, Natsuhiko's gaze stopped at the bottom of the list – Projection Jutsu, jokingly referred to as the "Projection Machine Jutsu" by Natsuhiko.
This jutsu combined the principles of Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu, allowing the user to transform their clone into the appearance of other objects and project it nearby.
The effect was similar to the holographic projections Natsuhiko researched in his previous life. After starting to convert Ninjutsu into runes Natsuhiko created this jutsu while analysing and researching Three-Style Jutsu.
From this, one could see the terrifying nature of chakra. A holographic projection that took several decades to study in his previous life was achieved by Natsuhiko, within a year and a half by a trainee in the Sealing jutsu class.
Despite seeming to lack destructive power, this jutsu served as Natsuhiko's killing move for a long time in his ninja career. It had countless practical applications. Due to its moderate difficulty, Natsuhiko even reversed the process and developed a hand-seal version alongside the version utilising rune technique formulas.
With the assistance of the spell-assist program, he could even create very complex large-scale Illusory Domains.
The more Natsuhiko looked at this jutsu, the more suitable it appeared. When students practised constructing the rune technique formulas for this jutsu, they would gain a deeper understanding of Transformation Jutsu and Clone Jutsu, aiding them in mastering these techniques.
"Look at me, a Sealing Jutsu sensei doing the work of a Ninjutsu sensei. I've got a tough job." Natsuhiko chuckled lightly.
Although teaching the Projection Jutsu to students made Natsuhiko somewhat reluctant, he clenched his teeth and made up his mind.
After all, the Third Shinobi World War was just a few years away, and perhaps knowing such a jutsu could help more students survive.
Once he decided to make Projection Jutsu the core of his teaching, Natsuhiko was suddenly flooded with inspiration. Many ideas that were once impossible to accomplish due to constant travel flooded his mind.
Natsuhiko's pen danced swiftly on the notebook, recording unimaginable ideas one after another. Only when the sun had set, and the office was too dark to see anything, did Natsuhiko come back to his senses. Looking at the densely packed words and sketches on the notebook, he couldn't help but smile.
Although many things required extensive explanation, It was enough to handle tomorrow's class.
After closing the notebook, Natsuhiko prepared to leave, and suddenly, a single thought crossed his mind. Perhaps, in a few months, there will be a new Sealing Jutsu sensei in this office. Seeing this notebook, they might marvel at the whimsical ideas of their predecessor, who unfortunately died too early.
Shaking away this thought, Natsuhiko felt the dimly lit office seemed a bit eerie and frightening. It was getting late, and he decided it was time to leave.
After quickly tidying up his desk, Natsuhiko left the office. While walking towards the Academy's entrance, he bumped into Umino Ikkaku, who had just finished work. Before he knew it, Ikkaku had forcefully dragged him to his house for dinner.
In Ikkaku's house, Natsuhiko met Sensei's wife, Kohari Umino, and their recently born child, Iruka. It was evident that Iruka possessed a Water-Style innate talent; upon seeing Natsuhiko, the child attempted to sneak attack him with Water-Style Jutsu.
Natsuhiko easily evaded it, but Ikkaku behind him fell victim to the attack.
After finishing dinner at the Umino household and chatting with the couple about his experiences over the years, Natsuhiko finally managed to escape the enthusiastic pair and return home.
Feeling somewhat tired, Natsuhiko freshened up a bit and went straight to bed, conserving strength and storing up energy for the official start of his sensei life tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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