"Ahhh, that was such a good sleep!"
Akaba slept right through until dinner time the next day.
When he woke up in the morning, he checked his system panel.
646 points!
An unprecedented amount of points. Seeing this number instantly accelerated Akaba's heartbeat.
And this was only the first day.
"Although on the first day, Danzo, Sarutobi, and Mito Uzumaki—those big spenders—had already contributed points, it'll be almost impossible for growth like this to continue," Akaba thought with some regret.
Otherwise, earning hundreds of points a day—just thinking about it made him giddy.
Unfortunately, the list of available jutsu for exchange was already empty. There were plenty of jutsu available in Chapter Seven, but after several busy days, Akaba really didn't want to work hard anymore.
Plus today they had to return to school and meet their teacher for the first time, so completing Chapter Seven was definitely out of the question.
This was how Akaba rationalized his decision before happily giving in to laziness. He exchanged all his accumulated points—converting them into 12 points of spiritual power, then another 4 points of physical strength. His points were completely spent in an instant.
At this point, his physical strength had reached 24 points, while his spiritual power had skyrocketed to a terrifying 63 points!
Spiritual power was extremely difficult to cultivate. An ordinary chunin might have around 50 points—he'd already surpassed most chunin.
As usual, he "woke up early," and not long after leaving home, saw Loe's figure ahead on the street.
"Hey, Loe! Morning!"
Akaba greeted him and walked beside him.
If you wanted to arrive neither late nor too early, following Loe's schedule was always reliable. Loe glanced sideways at Akaba before continuing forward listlessly.
"What's wrong?"
"Hey Akaba, did you finish your next chapter yet?"
Loe finally answered when asked.
"Yeah I'm not done yet. Probably won't be ready until next week."
Akaba had actually completed Chapter Six already, but he wanted to save it and release five chapters together in a small volume. The current storyline couldn't be revealed yet.
In fact, even Tsunade hadn't seen the content of Chapter Six.
"I see... Here's a suggestion: Could you please complete a short story arc within each volume next time? It's really frustrating when you stop right in the middle like this, you know!"
Loe said angrily.
Chapter Five had conveniently ended right when Kakashi resolved things with Naruto and Sakura, leaving only Sasuke still exchanging heated words.
He didn't know the word 'cliffhanger'; otherwise, he'd definitely call Akaba the kind of bastard who leaves readers hanging.
Seemed like Loe really hadn't slept well last night.
Akaba muttered inwardly, although thinking this way, he had no intention of changing anything.
They continued walking step by step, but when arriving at the school building, they discovered class had already begun. Sarutobi Nennosuke was standing at the lectern looking furious. As they reached the door, he immediately roared, "You idiots! Even on your final day you're still late!"
Akaba blinked slightly in surprise, then realized since Loe was in a bad mood and had poor sleep quality last night, maybe he'd miscalculated the timing.
Looking sideways, Loe also appeared dazed.
"Just get inside, you fools! Don't dare be late again when you become official genin!"
After all, today marked their final day as students. Sarutobi Nennosuke didn't want to scold them excessively, his voice carrying more than a hint of mixed emotions.
Today they became students no longer, but genuine genin.
Punctuality was a vital trait for any ninja.
Akaba gave a slight bow, then hurried to his seat. Sitting beside him was Tsunade, while right in front of them, Jiraiya had also come to class—his arm in a cast and parts of his face wrapped in bandages, making her look especially pitiful.
"Today everyone has officially graduated. These are your forehead protectors. Now I will announce the team assignments."
"The first team: Nara Loe and Yizhong Akimichi."
"The second team—"
As expected, the Ino–Shika–Cho trio was grouped together, with an experienced Jonin as their team leader.
"The sixth team: Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, led by Jonin Hiruzen Sarutobi."
When Sarutobi Nennosuke paused here, the classroom burst into noisy chatter.
"Hiruzen himself? Could it really be—"
"No freaking way!"
Many found it unbelievable; many were shocked, others envious or jealous.
A good teacher could bring out a ninja's greatest potential through tailored guidance. Right now, there was no doubt that Hiruzen Sarutobi was the strongest instructor available.
Plus, having the Third Hokage personally teach—you simply couldn't get more honored than this!
All eyes shifted to Sakumo and Akaba. They were also geniuses, unfortunately not under the Third's tutelage. The gap between them would likely widen over time...
"The seventh team: Hatake Sakumo, Mitashigo Shishio, and Sakuma Akaba, led by Anbu leader Danzo Shimura."
As Sarutobi Nennosuke continued announcing names, silence fell over the room.
Danzo Shimura—another top-tier figure!
"Geniuses will always be geniuses, but still..."
Most watched Jiraiya with envy and confusion—except for the fact that no one wanted his spot.
Jiraiya was getting angry and about to shout back when someone from behind punched him on the head, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Fool! Don't talk nonsense. Listen quietly!"
"You just wait, flat-chested Tsunade! Once I become stronger, I'll beat you up ten thousand times!"
Jiraiya growled under his breath.
Whatever soft spot he'd had for Tsunade over the past few days was gone. All he felt now was hatred toward her—and a burning passion for art. If it hadn't been for Tsunade, he could've gotten out of that bathhouse without a scratch.
Even though Akaba already knew beforehand that their instructor would be Danzo, he still couldn't help but feel surprised at this moment.
Hatake Sakumo—White Fang-in-the-making—and Shiso Mitashigo—an upcoming Anbu commander. Teammates like these meant most fights wouldn't even require him to engage directly in combat. He'd just have to hang back and apply Genjutsu or Ninjutsu techniques.
Hmm… This ninja life actually sounded pretty awesome.
Now that he thought about it, being one of Danzo's students wasn't so bad after all.
At the very least, Danzo had real skill. From what Akaba had seen recently, although Danzo's outlook was already somewhat dark, he hadn't yet become the extremist he'd later be known as.
While Akaba was observing his teammates, Sakumo and Mitashigo Shishio were both glancing his way at the same time.
"The first team, follow me."
"The third team—"
After exchanging glances, sounds of approaching Jonin instructors could already be heard outside.
The big shots had arrived to pick up their students.
Soon, nearly half the classroom had left, leaving only three or four teams remaining. At the back were the sixth and seventh teams—the six of them.
"Now that I think about it, why did I end up in the same group as that flat-chested Tsunade?"
Jiraiya sighed listlessly.
"Lay off it, Jiraiya. You looking to get hit again?"
Orochimaru closed his book and stretched lazily.
"Actually, it makes perfect sense that Jiraiya was chosen. Not many in the class can take hits like he can."
Akaba chuckled softly. "Imagine taking a few punches from Tsunade. How d'you think that'd go?"
At these words, everyone turned their gaze toward Tsunade.
They glanced at her face, then at her fists, and all shuddered visibly.
The strength of a hundred seal technique possessed by the Senju clan had reached extreme levels, far beyond what ordinary folks like them could endure. One full-power punch could probably snap their bones like twigs.
As for Jiraiya...
"When you put it that way, this guy actually has a rare talent."
Even Tsunade had to admit that when it came to taking punches, no one in the class could match Jiraiya.
Especially considering how this guy, despite knowing he'd get punched anyway, still dared provoke others with that punch-baiting face. Having him on the team gives us tons of protection.
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