"Seven..."
As Mitsusuke counted down, Sakura Haruno's heart was in extreme turmoil.
Making her stay away from Sasuke was worse than killing her, but Mitsusuke's words didn't seem false. If she didn't leave, Iruka-sensei might really die.
"Six..."
The devil's whisper continued, and Sakura Haruno's body trembled, tears flowing unconsciously.
Seeing his student forced to such an extent, Iruka wanted to plead with Mitsusuke, but when he turned his head, he saw the other party squinting at him, which made Iruka swallow the words he was about to say.
"Five... Four... Three... Two..."
The pressure grew, and Sakura Haruno could no longer hold on, burying her face in her hands and sobbing.
"One..."
As the last number was read, the students all closed their eyes. They seemed to have already seen Iruka-sensei's fate.
However, to everyone's surprise, Mitsusuke didn't make a move. Instead, he stood up and walked to Iruka, gently patting his shoulder: "You're truly a failed teacher. Your own student would rather watch you die than leave the class. This Will of Fire is truly laughable."
Passing behind Sakura Haruno, Mitsusuke just shook his head and said nothing.
He had been in the Ninja World for six years and had known Sakura Haruno for over a year, but only now did he truly understand this girl's selfishness.
In his previous life, although he didn't like Sakura Haruno, after he transmigrated, he had no interaction with her and didn't view her with prejudice.
Recalling his previous life, there were so many people on Blue Star who disliked Sakura Haruno. He finally knew why now: because no one likes selfish people.
Leaving the classroom, Mitsusuke walked towards the training ground. He wanted to talk to Sasuke and tell him to stay away from such people as much as possible.
Arriving at the edge of the training ground, Mitsusuke waved to Sasuke, who was still running: "Sasuke, come over! I have something to tell you."
Sasuke, who was running, heard his teacher call him and quickly ran to him: "Sensei."
"Mm," Mitsusuke nodded as a greeting. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he asked, "Do you know why I made you run? Are you a bit unconvinced?"
"No, my brother and my father told me that whatever Sensei says, I just need to execute it, no need to think."
Mitsusuke thought Sasuke would retort a bit, but he didn't expect such an answer. It seemed Fugaku and Itachi had warned Sasuke quite a bit.
"Sasuke, you did nothing wrong today. Making you run was to give you a chance to think, to think about why I made you run, and to get you out here to talk to you frankly."
Sasuke looked up at his teacher twice but still said nothing, just scratched his head, still somewhat unsure of his teacher's meaning.
Realizing Sasuke didn't understand his words, Mitsusuke asked, "Tell me your thoughts on Naruto and Sakura Haruno."
"Annoying, troublesome."
Naruto was annoying, Sakura was troublesome. This was Sasuke's true feeling.
"Then if you had to choose one of them as a teammate, who would you choose?" Mitsusuke asked again.
This time, Sasuke didn't answer immediately but thought about it. After a few seconds, he replied, "If I absolutely had to choose one of them as a teammate, I'd choose Naruto. Although he's annoying, he's still trustworthy, at least he won't hold us back."
Mitsusuke wasn't surprised by Sasuke's answer. He gently patted his head: "Remember what you said today. Naruto might very well be your teammate in the future. You two should get along well, and at the same time, forget Sakura Haruno. She is not a good teammate, nor a good partner..."
"Forget it, you won't understand these things now. You just need to remember that striving to improve your strength is what you should be doing now. Don't be influenced by the admiration of those girls."
Although he didn't quite understand the teacher's words, Sasuke still said, "Sensei, I understand. Actually, I don't like those girls either. I feel they're really annoying."
Mitsusuke felt that Sasuke's "acting jutsu" was awakening, so he didn't say anything more. After giving a couple of pointers, he returned to the office.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage Office...
"Hokage-sama, I request to resign from my teaching position. Mitsusuke-sensei is right, I am truly a failed teacher."
"Every day I teach the students the Will of Fire, but a student would give up my life to stay in class. This is truly ironic."
After Iruka finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally understood the whole story.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't immediately try to comfort Iruka. Instead, he took Sakura Haruno's file out of a drawer.
To be honest, Sakura Haruno didn't qualify for the Elite Class. She was allowed in only because Naruto liked this girl very much.
Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never have let her into the Elite Class.
Weakness in strength could be slowly cultivated, but without the Will of Fire, one was not worth training.
Now, especially because of her, Iruka was on the verge of resigning, which Hiruzen Sarutobi found even more intolerable.
After a moment of consideration, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed Sakura Haruno's file to Iruka: "Since Kai said to send her to the Medical Squad, then let's do that! There's no need to mention your resignation; I won't agree to it. You are a good teacher, and the students can't do without you."
"Hokage-sama, I..." Iruka originally wanted to say something more, but seeing the Hokage's trusting gaze, he could only agree: "Alright! Then I'll head back to the school."
After Iruka left, Hiruzen Sarutobi called Kakashi in: "Kakashi, Naruto is very fond of that girl. If he knows Sakura Haruno went to another class, he might come to cause a fuss with me. After school today, if Naruto comes looking for me, just tell him I'm not here."
"Yes, Hokage-sama, I know what to do."
After arranging everything, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a bit tired. There had been too many things happening in the Village recently.
Mitsusuke had just caused a commotion, and now Iruka wanted to resign. It was really bothering him.
Returning to the classroom, Iruka informed Sakura Haruno of the Hokage's order.
Hearing the Hokage's order, Sakura Haruno was completely stunned. She just didn't want to leave Sasuke, so why was everyone against her?
Before Sakura Haruno could react, Naruto protested: "Iruka-sensei, I disagree! Sakura is my classmate, I won't let her go to another class!"
Iruka didn't explain to Naruto, he just handed the file to Sakura Haruno: "The Hokage wants you to go to the Medical Squad. Report there tomorrow!"
"Iruka-sensei, I..."
Pulling Naruto, who had jumped onto the desk, down, Iruka said in a serious tone: "Naruto, listen carefully. Sending Sakura to the Medical Squad was Mitsusuke-sensei's suggestion, and Hokage-sama also agreed. Your disagreement is meaningless. If you can convince them, I'll let Sakura stay."