novelraw Chapter 492 Talking Points
Chapter 492 Talking Points
Chapter 492 Talking Points
Today is the day the Hyuga clan will entertain guests.
Neither Shuji nor Minato, not to mention the Third Hokage, had any intention of getting involved in this matter.
The surname "Taketori" didn't make much of a splash in the original story, and at this point in time, it's unlikely to become the key to changing the situation.
Hiashi Hyuga is a man of clear mind, and he wouldn't make any troublesome decisions in this situation.
It's much more interesting at the Ninja Academy than listening to other people's polite conversations through a wall.
"Naruto is going to lose again."
Minato Namikaze, as a father, made a few remarks.
On the first day, Naruto and Fu did indeed have the upper hand. Although the opposing side included Chunin teachers, the class idols, and even exchange students from other ninja villages who eventually expressed their opinions, their points were quite valid.
However, Naruto and his group also have a powerful support team behind them.
Shuji, a key figure in the Hokage's office.
Plus, Fu is very enthusiastic, and Naruto, although silly, seems very energetic.
Students still tend to prefer things that are more intuitive.
The turning point came the next day.
After the students returned to school, Naruto discovered that the support could be withdrawn.
"My dad said we need to think about this some more."
"My mom asked me what the badge was for, and I couldn't explain it, so she told me to cross out my name first."
"Actually—I didn't quite understand it either, but everyone was signing at the time—"
Similar conversations played out repeatedly throughout the day.
A name chosen on a whim is not so reliable when applied to something that truly involves the future.
When I got home, my parents asked me a couple of questions, and I couldn't answer them at first. When I returned to school the next day, the enthusiasm that had been burning so brightly the night before had quietly faded away.
By the third day, the outcome was clear. The students who had withdrawn their signatures did not back down, while the number of dissenting votes on Iruka's side continued to steadily increase.
"After all, the support from my father wasn't really substantial," Shuji said to him, "while the resistance on the other side was anything but superficial."
The Fourth Hokage smiled.
"He has done his best."
He felt no regret. Victory was good, but defeat was nothing to worry about. His son's wish was the same as his parents': to become someone who could stand tall among others.
Those who want to lead others must go through this process; they cannot win simply by having a few adults support them, nor can they convince everyone with a moment of enthusiasm.
Those students who withdrew their signatures, those children who went home and discussed it with their parents and changed their minds—their hesitation and indecision are a lesson in themselves.
Minato already possessed this level of ruthlessness back in his student days.
He could give anything for Kushina's wish, yet he could still calmly watch her being bullied at school.
Because Kushina had said that her wish was to become Hokage. And for someone who wants to become Hokage, dealing with a little bullying was something Minato considered perfectly normal.
"Besides, the truly important part has already been passed."
Although the three days of turmoil were quite significant, the core opinions that ultimately converged boiled down to two things:
What is the exact number of badges required for a general promotion, and can the existing recommendation system be retained?
As for the system itself, it did not encounter much resistance.
In other words, while there is opposition, no one is truly against the badge itself. What people care about is the threshold, not the wall.
Shuji said, "It's almost noon. I'm going to finish up. That way, I won't have to do the psychologist's consultation at noon."
Hozuki Suigetsu's first assessment of the Konoha Ninja Academy came to him in this way.
soft.
This place is too soft.
Even the atmosphere of the special training class did not change his mind.
Even after Zabuza Momochi, the Kirigakure Ninja Academy, which had undergone reforms, still produced quite a few ninja academy students who killed their classmates; it was just that none of them went to the extreme of killing everyone.
In a true sense, the Kirigakure Ninja Academy's control over prodigy killers has only been in place for the last few years.
Therefore, the atmosphere in Konoha was a bit too sunny for Suigetsu.
He found a spot off the sun by the playground, leaned against a tree trunk, put his hands behind his head, and looked at the crowd still arguing in the distance.
"They've been arguing about a name for so long; the guys in Konoha are really relaxed."
He complained to Bai.
"And you actually chose to support such a strange thing."
"Compared to Naruto and Fu, Sasuke has at least trained with them for longer."
"And this time what he said was completely correct. Didn't those people in Sunagakure also say that if we don't object properly, we'll end up having to use that thing too?"
Bai smiled gently, her gaze falling on the blond boy in the center of the playground.
"Because Naruto and the others seem to be putting in a lot of effort."
"He's acting for someone he cares about. At least, I want to support that sentiment."
Shuiyue pouted.
"Um—actually, even if it passes at the Ninja Academy, Mr. Midori in the Secretariat will definitely object," Chojuro said. "Mr. Midori probably doesn't like these things—"
'
"The Mizukage probably wouldn't agree either."
More and more people gathered on the playground, not lining up according to class or grade, but just standing randomly.
Naruto stood at the front of the crowd, his face filled with resentment.
Fu puffed out her cheeks and glared angrily at the person opposite her.
Iruka stood a few steps away, with Sasuke and Shikamaru behind him, and further back were the students who had expressed their support for or against the opinions in the past few days.
When Shuji walked into the center of the playground, the noise stopped on its own.
"It seems everyone has already formed their own judgment."
"The village has decided to respect everyone's opinions and adopt a more suitable length. Specific proposals will be formally solicited later."
After giving the brief announcement, Xiu Si clapped his hands, signaling everyone to disperse.
As Naruto listened to the final conclusion, he looked at the people who had signed their names on the playground and then left, watching them walk back to the school building in twos and threes, his face unable to hide any expression.
At that moment, Gaara walked over.
"It's not over yet, Naruto."
Naruto looked up, puzzled.
Temari followed behind Gaara and explained, "Mr. Shuji just said that the exact length can still be discussed, and the name hasn't been completely decided yet."
"The only thing rejected was the overly long name of Mr. Whirlpool's first version."
Fu realized what was happening: "So, we can still continue?"
Naruto immediately perked up, took off running, and rushed to Sasuke and Iruka, his voice loud enough to be heard across half the playground: "This time, I absolutely will not lose again!"
Iruka pressed his forehead, looking exasperated. "What are you saying, Naruto?"
"This time, I'm determined to make sure everyone approves of the name my dad worked so hard to come up with!"
Iruka opened his mouth. He was about to say that if it were just something like that, as a teacher, he could certainly support his student.
Moreover, one of his superiors seems to be eyeing him covetously. Mr. Whirlpool seems like a good person; perhaps he could help pull him along?
Sasuke's voice rang out first.
"At least come up with an idea before saying these things."
He had his hands in his pockets, showing neither pride in his victory nor mockery of Naruto's declaration.
"Otherwise, you still won't win next time."
Naruto glared at him: "Just you wait, Sasuke—"
"Don't block the way."
Before he could speak, Sasuke's gaze had already passed over Naruto and landed on Shuji, who was walking out of the training ground.
The man didn't schedule a separate meeting today; it seems he's going to leave immediately.
He bypassed Naruto and quickened his pace.
Following behind Shuji, Sasuke kept an eye on the crowd around him as he chased after him.
The first time, he saw that there were few people around and planned to quicken his pace to catch up, but found that the distance did not decrease.
Shuji's pace remained unhurried, but he just couldn't keep up.
The second time, just as he was about to speed up, a teacher came over and greeted Shuji. He had to slow down and wait for the conversation to end.
The third time, the fourth time.
When the fifth chance was missed, Sasuke finally realized that this was not a coincidence.
He quickened his pace, almost running to the school gate. Xiu Si's hand was already on the doorknob, about to push it open.
"Mr. Shuuji."
Sasuke stopped, his breathing becoming rapid.
Shuji turned around, his face showing no surprise.
"Like Neji, do you have someone at home to entertain?"
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Sasuke said.
He wouldn't have thought of it that way originally, but now that's the first thought that pops into his head.
Shuji's expression remained completely expressionless.
"I was just curious if you were looking for me."
"Your current task should be with that green one."
"Or rather, the report on him is finished, and the next task has unexpectedly fallen to me."
"Otherwise, I think you'd have no reason to come looking for me anymore, Sasuke."
"The teacher I found for you is the most influential person in the village right now."
Sasuke steadied his breathing before speaking, "The second mission is complete. The latest mission is indeed related to you."
Shuji nodded: "So, you intend for me to tell you everything about me, word by word?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"I will first try to find out about you."
"Now that's another issue."
He lowered his voice: "Mr. Shuji—"
The second son of the Uchiha clan clenched his back teeth.
"Could you please stop talking about me in public?"
Shuji looked confused.
"Outside? I only shared it with Itachi, Anko, and occasionally the Fifth Hokage. And by the time I found out, many people had already seen it. I only told specific people as supplementary conversation topics."
"After all, I also need gossip to talk about."
"Discussing official business with people every time makes me feel like I have no future."
The veins on Sasuke's forehead were already bulging.
Compared to this person, Kakashi Hatake can be considered gentle and kind.
What does it mean to need gossip as a topic of conversation? Does it mean that you have to talk about him/her to be a topic of conversation?
"For example, you and Naruto—"
"That was an accident!" Sasuke's voice rose uncontrollably. "That's not what I'm talking about! It's something else!"
Shuji looked thoughtful.
"Is there anything else worth mentioning recently besides this?"
"What's wrong?"
His question was so natural and sincere that it left Sasuke speechless for a moment.
"I don't know! You are the one who has forgotten so much that you don't even remember it anymore!" Sasuke said angrily.
"Hmm—" Shuuji frowned in confusion, "If you don't even know it yourself, how would I know, Sasuke?"
"If you want to hold me accountable, you should at least figure out exactly which incident you're referring to."
Sasuke was stunned.
Looking at Shuuji's face, he suddenly began to wonder if he had made a mistake.
Could it be that those strange looks and those hesitant expressions really had nothing to do with Shuuji?
His voice softened, and his anger subsided by about 70-80%: "I understand—I'll find out what happened first."
"Then----"
He bit his lip, but still said the rest of his words: "Please, Mr. Shuji, stop using me as a topic of conversation."
Shuji thought for a moment.
"Could you provide information on other people? One for one. Without higher priority information, it's difficult for me to make a choice."
Sasuke's fist hardened.
"You—but—" he tried to calm himself down, "I—have always respected you."
Shuji thought for a moment: "Then let's set aside a little respect."
He said gently and sincerely, "My life needs this."
Then, seeing the ever-changing expressions on Sasuke's face, Shuji gently patted his shoulder.
When Xiu Si strolled back to his old house in the western suburbs, he was in an unexpectedly good mood.
He was indeed a little curious about what had happened in Iruka's class. But he'd find out once Gaara and the others returned.
When Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari returned together that evening, Kankuro's voice stood out particularly.
"Konoha actually has such outstanding puppets."
"There are almost no visible signs of manipulation, but it must be puppetry."
Even after entering the old house, Kankuro was still talking.
This prompted Xiu Si to ask, "What puppet?"
Temari replied, "Kankuro saw a carriage on the street with guards protecting it, and he thought they were puppets."
Seeing that Shuji seemed concerned, Gaara added, "There are members of the Hyuga clan accompanying them."
Xiu Si fell into deep thought.
Accompanied by the Hyuga clan, they were members of the Kaguya clan.
Shouldn't the bamboo cutter be skilled in hand-to-hand combat?
Shuji asked Kankuro, "Is it a very good puppet?"
Kankuro nodded without hesitation: "I can't see any trace of chakra thread manipulation at all. There are no threads, no visible connection."
His expression turned serious, with the focused concentration characteristic of a puppeteer when discussing his profession.
"But it's definitely a puppet. I'm absolutely certain I'm not mistaken."
"We've never seen such technology even in Sunagakure."
"I never imagined that there would be technology in the ninja world that surpasses that of Sunagakure."
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