There are no secrets in the ninja school.
Therefore, the news of the Sealing Jutsu research group quickly spread throughout the entire campus.
Naturally, this also sparked heated discussions among the young ninjas.
After all, this was about that teacher, Natsuhiko, who invented projection techniques, used ninja cards as teaching tools, and showed films in class every day, taking an unconventional approach.
Every one of his innovations has received widespread acclaim.
Well, except for last week's midterm exam.
However, as the details of the research group gradually became known to everyone, most students' enthusiasm quickly faded.
Although the allure of being able to play with the latest teaching tools early was beautiful, the burden of delving deeper into Sealing Jutsu made them hesitate.
After all, learning Sealing Jutsu was already tough enough for them.
If Natsuhiko hadn't come up with so many fun things, like dangling a carrot in front of them, they probably would have given up long ago.
The pain of learning Sealing Jutsu and the joy of playing ninja and reading stories formed a delicate balance.
They didn't want to break it accidentally.
So, most students eventually reached a consensus: it was better to continue attending regular classes for freebies.
After all, enjoying freebies is always enjoyable.
However, some students from ordinary backgrounds were also ambitious and very interested in this research group.
After all, they were already struggling because they didn't have family secrets like the ninja clans' descendants to practise, so they could only practise the Three Body Technique taught at school.
Now, Natsuhiko's research group has offered them a new opportunity.
So they didn't wait for the next class; they blocked Natsuhiko at the library entrance and begged to join the research group.
Natsuhiko pressed his hands down continuously, finally managing to quiet them down.
Looking at everyone blinking their big eyes, full of eagerness for knowledge, Natsuhiko felt a bit of a headache.
He spoke in as gentle a tone as possible, saying, "My parents were also civilian ninjas, so I understand your feelings very well."
"Unfortunately, the research group is still in its infancy and can't accommodate so many students."
"To be honest, if too many of those twenty students who are willing to join are accepted, I'll have to assess and screen out some people."
"So if I agree to let you join the group now, it wouldn't be fair to those students who have worked hard and achieved good grades."
The more these students listened, the more disappointed they became, and their little faces drooped.
Especially Genma Shiranui, he felt even more regret.
After all, his Sealing Jutsu score in the midterm exam just happened to be ranked 21st!
He was so close to being selected.
It was all because he had been slacking off lately, not playing cards every day.
As a result, he lost quite a few points in the practical part of drawing runes.
On the other hand, Asuma, whose homework scores were average, unexpectedly excelled in the practical exam by playing cards every day.
He even surpassed Genma and became one of the chosen ones.
But Asuma had so many things to learn at home; wasn't he just taking up the space without using it?
Although Genma was slightly better than the surrounding civilian students, he was still from a small ninja clan.
Although it seemed like his ancestors had some wealth, after years of war and displacement, they had now declined, and there weren't even many decent ninja techniques left in the family.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have to carry a Qianben every day and learn that broken Qianben secret technique.
After all, although it looked cool, it could have been more fun in reality.
It even made him have nightmares every time he heard someone say, "A liar will swallow a thousand needles."
As for the addition of Shiranui Mai to the ninja card by Natsuhiko,
To be honest, Genma had no idea that there was such a character in his ancestry.
But Natsuhiko was knowledgeable and probably would make a good decision.
Since discovering such a powerful ninja in his ancestry, Genma has diligently practised Fire Release chakra nature transformation and even planned to use Qianben as a fan bone to create a fan, taking it upon himself to restore the Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu.
Ah, of course, he didn't need to restore that outdated clothing style.
However, ironically, his diligent practice prevented him from joining the research group and prevented him from consulting Natsuhiko about Shiranui Mai's deeds.
How could he not feel regretful about this?
Other students also regretted not studying harder before.
But since Natsuhiko said so, they didn't dare to continue pestering.
Although Natsuhiko was a good teacher, kind and gentle most of the time.
But they still didn't dare to risk making him angry and being kicked out of the Sealing Jutsu class.
After all, rumours about reducing the number of students in the Sealing Jutsu class had been circulating in the school, and they didn't dare to test it themselves.
However, they didn't know that the excellent teacher Natsuhiko had spread this rumour in front of them.
Naturally, it was to make them not slack off and waste their time.
This was the experience Natsuhiko learned from his past life.
A little knowledge about hanging road lamps every day.
Just as they were dejectedly preparing to leave, Natsuhiko sighed again, somewhat helplessly:
"To be honest, there are some things I don't want to announce so early..."
"But since you all want to join the research group so much, there is a way."
The students suddenly became spirited again, looking at Natsuhiko expectantly.
Natsuhiko didn't beat around the bush and said:
"Although it's unlikely to join now if nothing unexpected happens, the research group will continue to recruit new members every academic year in the future."
Everyone's eyes lit up at his words.
The following academic year was only a few months away, and it wasn't impossible.
But Natsuhiko's following words made them tense.
"But stay calm. Since the research group has just been established, the conditions for the first twenty to join are relatively loose."
"The conditions in the future won't be that simple, and there may be some assessments."
"So if you're really interested in the research group, study Sealing Jutsus well."
"Oh!!"
The young ninjas answered with excitement, bidding farewell to Natsuhiko with hope and anticipation.
Difficulties are nothing to fear; what's most fearful is not having a direction for effort.
Genma Shiranui was also full of fighting spirit, determined not to slack off anymore and to pass the following assessment.
One day, he would restore the Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu.
For this, he decided to study hard and play cards every day.
Natsuhiko watched their lively departure with some emotion.
After all, when he was in ninja school, he had experiences similar to theirs.
Even if he knew the original plot, as an ordinary ninja school student, it was still tough to obtain ninja techniques beyond the Three Body Technique.
Even if he did learn ninja techniques, without someone to guide him, he wouldn't know where to start.
Perhaps Natsuhiko's intention in teaching projection techniques to his students was also to make up for this deficiency.
Unfortunately, Sealing Jutsu was a discipline that relied heavily on talent, and most of them probably wouldn't be able to join the research group in the end.
More pathways are still needed for civilian ninjas to rise.
Otherwise, these students wouldn't be so eager to join the Sealing Jutsu research group.
"It seems that I need to accelerate the development of teaching tools for other subjects."
Natsuhiko murmured to himself.
...
Just like before, Natsuhiko's words in the library quickly spread throughout the ninja school.
Learning that they would need to be assessed to join the research group in the future, everyone looked at those twenty students with envy.
Although they might not choose to join even if given the opportunity, it didn't stop them from envying those students who had the chance to choose.
Seeing the gazes of envy from everyone, many students who had already made their decisions began to feel conflicted again.
But even if they hesitated, two days passed quickly.
After the Sealing Jutsu class on Friday afternoon, after most of the students reluctantly left, the twenty students gathered in front of the platform again.
Natsuhiko saw that many students were still hesitating, feeling somewhat amused.
He didn't know if they hadn't made up their minds yet or were afraid of making him angry by refusing.
So he had to speak first:
"You don't have to be so conflicted, actually,"
"After all, even if you don't join now, you can still sign up for the next academic year—of course, then you'll have to go through an assessment."
The students all gave Natsuhiko a disdainful look.
Teacher, your words could be more helpful!
(End of this Chapter)
P.S. Chapters 98-102(They equal ten chapters as the author posted double and triple chapters in the following updates) are up on my Patreon.
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