"Number Two, which streetlight at the entrance do you think has the best feng shui?"
"Don't rush to perish together with the main body, Number One. Negotiations can't be hurried; we must escalate step by step."
"Right now, we only need to feed Number Three some expired natto to show our attitude clearly."
Number Three: "..."
Seeing the three little ones, no, it should be two little ones, conspiring loudly in front of him, Natsuhiko couldn't help but sigh with some helplessness.
Ever since they received the New Year gifts he had carefully prepared for them, they had been like this.
Sigh, kids really don't understand the good intentions of adults. They don't realize that those "exercise books" are actually filled with the love of the grown-ups.
If you love him, make him do more sets of problems.
However, Natsuhiko also knew not to get caught up in their pace, so he knocked on the table to interrupt:
"Alright, alright, let's talk business first—you'd never guess how much I've gained today."
With that, he threw several scrolls onto the table.
Sure enough, the three little ones' attention was immediately drawn to them.
They stood on tiptoe, peeking at the scrolls on the table, their eyes widening instantly.
[Four Symbols Seal], [Contract Seal], [Evil Sealing Method], [Fire Sealing Method], [Four Violet Flames Formation]!
Five high-level sealing technique scrolls, which Natsuhiko usually sought after in vain, were now genuinely laid out on the table.
"Wow! Main body, did you rob the Book of Seals?" Number One exclaimed in surprise.
"Should we pack up and run away now?" Number Three asked nervously.
Number Two calmly analyzed, "Don't rush, maybe these came from a legitimate source. For instance, Kushina might have sponsored the main body..."
Number One rubbed his chin and said, "It seems...not impossible..."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Natsuhiko gave each of the three little ones a light tap on the head, enough to hurt but not cause any serious damage. This made them clutch their heads and tear up.
"Stop fantasizing!"
Natsuhiko said irritably, "These are gifts from Teacher Mito."
"Teacher Mito? You became Mito's disciple?"
Hearing this, the three little ones immediately forgot their pain, looked at each other, and spoke in unison.
Natsuhiko, pleased with their reaction, briefly explained what had happened.
"...With these sealing technique scrolls and the Spirit Transformation Technique training, our future research plans need significant adjustments."
"So, I want to take this opportunity to summarize the achievements of this past semester and determine next year's research plan."
"Alright..."
The three little ones knew this was important, so they stopped fooling around.
Natsuhiko opened the system interface and pulled up the research logs of the three little ones to review.
First was Number One.
Number One had always been responsible for organizing and cataloging books in the school library and discovering and optimizing runes from them.
After nearly a semester of effort, almost half of the library's books had been organized by him.
Now, Natsuhiko's collection of original runes has reached 520, nearly doubling since the beginning of the semester!
As the number of original runes mastered increased, Natsuhiko's understanding of the essence of chakra deepened, leading to many breakthrough results in both rune ninjutsu and rune tools this semester.
This alone made Natsuhiko's hard work as a teacher worthwhile.
Natsuhiko recalled that he initially returned to the ninja school as a teacher, mainly because of the ancient sealing technique books donated to the library by Mito on behalf of the Land of Whirlpools when the school was established.
Unfortunately, the principal at the time, Biwako, fearing he would become like previous sealing technique teachers who got too absorbed in studying those books and neglected teaching, or worse, got burned by their experiments, only granted him an intern teacher status.
He was told he'd have access to those ancient books only after the semester ended.
Unexpectedly, plans changed, and Natsuhiko hadn't even seen those sealing technique books before becoming Mito's disciple...
After reviewing Number One's achievements, Natsuhiko showed a satisfied expression.
As expected of me.
"Number One, your next task is to continue organising books and discovering and optimising runes."
"Of course, the top priority now is these high-level sealing technique scrolls. We should gain a lot from them."
"Understood!" Number One saluted in a mock-serious manner.
Natsuhiko then looked at Number Two's research log.
Meticulous Number Two has always been responsible for reunifying ninjutsu hand signs and improving sealing techniques and rune ninjutsu.
This semester, through the Chakra cards, Natsuhiko gathered a lot of chakras from students and tavern players.
Now, the prototype can operate 24/7, continuously optimising the structure of rune ninjutsu, greatly accelerating progress.
The results included pushing the reunification of the Shadow Clone Technique to 99% and developing techniques like the Shadow Puppet Technique, Flower Clone Technique, semi-finished Barrier Shield, and Small Map Technique, among other rune ninjutsu.
With the reunification of the Shadow Clone Technique hitting a bottleneck, Number Two shifted focus to simulating the meridian running patterns of Silent Moves. They started the basic reunification of the Five Elements Escape Techniques.
Seeing this, Natsuhiko suddenly asked:
"Number Two, according to the progress, you should be able to complete the basic construction of Water Escape Rune Ninjutsu today.
Number Two nodded:
"Yes, I just finished it, but I feel something might be off. You'll need to test it yourself to see if it's successful."
Natsuhiko was intrigued.
"Oh? Let's test it outside later."
He then pointed at the Spirit Transformation Technique scroll on the table and said, "Number Two, your main task next is to analyse and reunify the Spirit Transformation Technique."
"But it might not be easy to unify the Spirit Transformation Technique fully, so spend half your time on various Five Elements Escape Techniques to build a knowledge base for future use."
"I understand," Number Two said.
Finally, Natsuhiko reviewed Number Three's research achievements.
Number Three mainly handled optimising the Chakra brain and prototype's internal formations, as well as producing and upgrading various rune creations.
He was also responsible for chores such as cooking, washing dishes, laundry, cleaning, taking out the trash, and cleaning the toilet.
His achievements this semester included the Ninja Game Console, Tavern Skin Projector, Miniature Perception Array, Shadow Puppet Remote Control, Training Suit MARK-2, Meridian Scroll, Combat Power Detector, Bat Suit, Body Camera, Communication Bracelet, semi-finished Dark Tower, and Rocket Backpack.
With more original runes available, Number Three also optimised and upgraded the algorithms of the Chakra brain and prototype, boosting efficiency by at least 20%.
Natsuhiko looked at Number Three and said:
"Alright, Number Three, your tasks remain the same—continue inventing and optimising various rune creations."
"Also, we have a better budget now, so consider upgrading the hardware of the Chakra brain and prototype. Design a plan when you have time."
"And the tavern needs to expand or open branches next year, so make more spare Ninja Game Consoles."
"Additionally, the training suits will be officially promoted next semester, with each of the hundreds of students needing two sets. You should start making them now to meet the deadline."
"And the Dark Tower, its importance needs no explanation."
"Oh...and don't forget the household chores."
Number Three counted on his fingers, looking bewildered.
Why...does it feel like my workload is hefty?
After assigning tasks, Natsuhiko exhaled a long breath, feeling fulfilled for the year.
He could proudly say:
The success I, Natsuhiko, have achieved today is all thanks to my hard work and dedication...
Three little ones get to work!
After the sentiments, Natsuhiko clapped his hands and said:
"Now, let's see how our first Water Escape Rune Ninjutsu works."
He downloaded the Water Escape Rune Ninjutsu from the prototype to the Chakra brain and, after confirming there were no issues, went to the courtyard with the expectant three little ones.
Facing a distant wooden stake, Natsuhiko focused, converting his chakra into Water Escape nature before injecting it into the Chakra brain.
Though the Water Escape Ninjutsu had been reunified, Natsuhiko still couldn't make the brain automatically convert chakra to Water Escape nature, so he had to do it himself.
As the Water Escape chakra was injected, Natsuhiko felt the spellcasting assistance module in the brain running at high speed.
The processed Water Escape chakra then flowed back into Natsuhiko's body, moving through his meridians and finally filling his chest and throat...
With his cheeks puffed, Natsuhiko clapped his hands and leaned back...
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!!"
In an instant, a white water stream gushed out from Natsuhiko's mouth!
Before he could celebrate, he sensed something was off...
After exhausting all his chakra, Natsuhiko and the three little ones stared at the now utterly white courtyard, their heads filled with question marks.
Natsuhiko's mouth twitched as he turned to Number Two:
"Number Two, you call this a Water Escape?"
(End of Chapter)
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