"What is Shisui doing?"
"He is... helping civilians carry water and firewood."
"What?"
The Third's eyes flashed with confusion.
When he first heard the news, he thought he had misheard the name, confusing Obito for Shisui, but after a moment, he realized he wasn't that old yet, and his subordinates weren't so confused as to mistake one person for another.
He was stunned for a long while.
Then, he put down his pipe.
"Shisui is helping carry water and firewood?"
"Yes."
The ANBU was also confused.
Actually, carrying water and firewood was usually genin work.
However.
This was wartime, and there weren't any genin available for such tasks, so many of these missions had piled up. Usually when Obito did this work, everyone just pretended not to notice.
However.
Shisui was a genius valued highly by the Uchiha clan.
Instead of training, he was doing volunteer work at civilians' homes like Obito - what was the point of this?
"Hmm... I understand."
The Third waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
Then.
He immediately took out his crystal ball and performed the Telescope Technique.
Soon after.
The crystal ball showed images of Obito and Shisui helping to carry water together.
The Third's expression was bewildered.
He couldn't understand at all why Shisui had gotten involved in this.
Was it because of Obito?
Or perhaps, Uchiha Fugaku?
The Third frowned.
If Obito had led Shisui to this, that would be one thing, but if it was Uchiha Fugaku's doing, that would be truly troublesome.
He unconsciously lit his pipe.
Thinking carefully, the Third thought of another person.
Kanda Kyōichi.
He had heard that since Kyōichi became a teacher, Shisui had gradually grown closer to him, and they had even eaten ramen together at Ichiraku.
Could it be him?
It wasn't impossible.
Thinking of this, the Third pulled out the ANBU scrolls from the past couple of days.
They described their observations:
"Physically powerful, extremely strong recovery ability, uses shadow clones to speed up training, practices swordsmanship in his courtyard, suspected to have the Second Lord's Leaf-Style Swordsmanship notes."
According to the ANBU's observations.
Although Kyōichi's body wasn't as formidable as the First's, it wasn't much different from Tobirama Senju's constitution.
Undoubtedly Senju blood!
As for the swordsmanship notes.
That member of the Kanda family was a close relative of sensei back then...
The Third sighed inwardly.
He never imagined that after the Senju clan had disappeared, such a powerful constitution would one day reappear in a Senju descendant - it was simply incredible.
Of course.
If it was just this, the Third would still have doubts.
With the Senju clan's disappearance, perhaps not everyone was willing to accept this, and he still had some concerns.
However.
If Shisui's changes were truly because of Kanda Kyōichi, that would be an unexpected joy, as it would prove that this generational Senju descendant still carried the Will of Fire.
After much thought, the Third took out the jōnin test roster and added one name.
Kanda Kyōichi!
...
For the next two days, Kyōichi had no classes.
When he came to school on the third day and sat in the office, he heard another teacher complaining to someone else.
"Sigh, i don't know what's going on, but Uchiha Shisui has started being late recently too."
"Must have learned it from Obito."
"Indeed, whenever Shisui is late, that kid is involved too."
Shisui started being late too?
Kyōichi was surprised, then his expression turned strange.
Even learning to be late?
Incredible!
He had told him to observe, not to actually copy what Obito does.
"Kyōichi, you have first period today. If those two kids are late again, you can't go easy on them. If you're soft-hearted the first time, they won't be afraid the second or third time."
"Yes, thank you for the advice, Ishimura- senpai."
Kyōichi nodded.
As time approached and he was about to take his things to the classroom, he glanced outside and saw two figures zip past the doorway.
Though they were fast, the teachers were at least chūnin level, so they could see clearly.
Shisui and Obito.
"..."
The office atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
Class hadn't even started yet.
The past two days, those two kids hadn't behaved like this.
Sometimes Shisui even led the way in skipping class, but when it came to Kanda Kyōichi's class, not only were they not late, they actually arrived early.
They had thought Shisui had gone bad.
Unexpectedly, he just didn't respect their classes.
Damn, their spirits were crushed.
Ishimura Takashige watched Kyōichi leave the office, then couldn't help but bang his head on the desk, looking embarrassed and annoyed.
"Ishimura-sensei, it's not that bad, they're just two troublemakers..."
"No, even a temporary teacher is more popular than me, it's painful!"
Ishimura Takashige was on the verge of tears.
He had thought that after teaching for over ten years and graduating countless ninja, in the end, he wasn't as beloved by students as a temporary reassigned teacher.
The other teachers suddenly fell silent.
That hit too close to home!
Kanda Kyōichi had left the office, but he could still hear everything.
Couldn't be helped.
With his sensing ability improved, his hearing had gotten better too.
About this, he could only say…
He taught practical knowledge, so naturally they couldn't compare to him.
Arriving at the classroom.
Everyone sat up straight.
"Today I saw Obito and Shisui using the Body Flicker Technique to rush to class, very good. Let's test the Three Basic Techniques first, and if there are no problems, I'll teach you about the Body Flicker Technique."
Kyōichi thought for a moment before speaking.
He hadn't taught new content the past few days, and even the system had been quiet.
Today he'd teach something new.
The Body Flicker Technique!
This technique was actually only D-rank, but its effectiveness varied greatly depending on who used it. It was another basic technique worth practicing deeply.
"Great!"
The classroom erupted in excitement.
Of course.
Only partially.
Because a large portion of the students hadn't actually mastered the basics of the Three Techniques.
Kyōichi looked around and smiled, saying: "Don't get too excited too soon. We're in a special period now, so different grade levels are mixed together. I'm looking at the overall situation, understand?"
"Yes!"
Rin, Yūhi Kurenai, and other senior students immediately understood the meaning.
They were almost useless.
In the whole class, if many people weren't proficient in the Three Basic Techniques, they'd have to wait for the slower learning children.
If they wanted to learn the Body Flicker Technique earlier, they'd need to help the struggling children improve their performance.
Obito knew he was part of this group.
However.
He was confident!
These past two or three days with Shisui, he hadn't just been doing good deeds; occasionally he had also sought guidance from this genius junior.
After testing.
Sure enough.
Although more than half had mastered it well, half still hadn't learned tree climbing and water walking, and were rather unfamiliar with the Three Basic Techniques.
At this point, many of the prodigies below started writing understanding notes and lectures, thinking about how to help others in the class improve.
During free practice time...
Most quickly sought out the struggling students.
Kyōichi admired his own genius.
Originally he would have had to focus on the poor-performing children, but now wasn't it all resolved?
Who said they were troublemakers? This was quite good!
However.
One student caught his attention.
Hayate Gekko.
This child had good talent and learned quickly, but...
"*cough cough* When combining the Transformation and Clone Techniques, you need to mind chakra distribution, and hand seals need to be quick. You can complete tree climbing first, *cough*, I'll teach you."
That coughing...
It's pretty intense, brother!