The scene fell silent, then erupted in uncontrollable exclamations.
Parents looked at each other, students were even more dumbfounded… just a few minutes ago, they had been secretly pleased with themselves for finally becoming Genin, and then the news that Makoto was already a Chunin had barely exploded once, when the man himself came down and told them he was now a Jonin.
How to describe this feeling?
It was like you just learned to box, stepped into the ring for the first time, and then Tyson walked up. Just as you were about to kneel, he picked up the microphone and said: Your opponent is Akebono Taro.
Kakeru's mouth was wide enough to stuff a fist into.
He had deliberately walked past Hina several times just now, wanting to show off the forehead protector on his head.
Graduating from the Ninja Academy, he thought he could finally gain some ground in front of his beloved… even if just a little.
Then Makoto directly slapped him with a real-life slap in the face.
'Damn, even if you transmigrated two years earlier, it shouldn't be this ridiculous, right?'
Now that he had also been in this world for four years, he naturally understood the weight of Jonin.
That was a coveted position in any Ninja Village.
Not to mention that Makoto also had the halo of being a 'direct disciple of the Third Hokage'.
Marina and Airi stood in the crowd, their eyes unable to look anywhere else.
They stared at Makoto, who had changed into a brand new vest, their gazes tender and almost sticky.
The four-member group of Yui, who had been working as servants in Makoto's house for four years, had eyes wider than each other's.
They knew the boss they served was not simple, but they never imagined it would be to this extent.
Mrs. Yukinoshita pressed her lips together, her eyes flickering.
'Jonin... how strong exactly?'
Having been pulled into this world for four years, Konoha had been peaceful. The strongest combat power she had seen was the energy ball Makoto had created just before transmigrating.
'Four years had passed. How much further had he grown?'
Mrs. Yukinoshita was curious.
"Then..."
Chizuru suddenly remembered something. "Makoto... Nishikawa-kun, is it possible that you could also be our Jonin Instructor?"
As soon as she said this, the people around were stunned.
Iruka had indeed notified them that after a week of vacation, they would return to school for reclassification into teams of three, each led by a Jonin.
Since Makoto was now a Jonin, in theory—
"Really?"
Airi's eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed Makoto's arm and shook it, her eyelashes fluttering. What she was thinking was obvious.
"Possible, but I don't know who I'll be leading either."
As soon as he finished speaking, Makoto's gaze swept across the corner of the playground.
Under the big tree, on a swing, sat a solitary figure.
Uzumaki Naruto.
The blond-haired boy hung his head, his hands gripping the swing's chains, his toes unconsciously scraping the ground.
Most of the surrounding crowd was still gathered around Makoto, but the whispers of the native parents in the corners drifted over like flies.
"What's wrong with these people?" Sonoko frowned, lowering her voice.
Having been in this world for four years, she had often seen the villagers' harsh attitude towards Naruto.
Her young lady temper flared up… back then, she wanted to intervene, but on second thought, she was no longer the second daughter of the Suzuki Group. Eri had also warned her not to cause trouble, so she could only hold back.
But she really couldn't understand.
He was just a child. What unforgivable sin could he have committed to make a group of adults look at him with such eyes?
When leaving, Makoto deliberately took a detour.
He passed by Naruto and patted his shoulder: "There's still a chance."
Naruto looked up and barely managed a smile.
Makoto nodded and didn't say anything more.
When he first enrolled, he and Naruto had a pretty good relationship.
Later, he graduated early, and the two rarely saw each other.
But that was enough.
He had no intention of replacing Sasuke and becoming 'that one' in Naruto's heart.
That kid Naruto was the number one obsessive in the Naruto World. He didn't want to develop any 'Konoha friendship' with him.
Although Makoto's appearance made the players feel a bit mixed-
Overall, everyone was still joyful.
After all, no matter what, learning superpowers was a genuinely good thing!
After becoming Genin, those with parents happily followed their families home to eat, while those without parents could only return to the orphanage.
Just as Makoto was leading the Aizono sisters and Yui's group back home—
"My kunai is not without its advantages either!"
A sudden roar exploded!
A dark shadow shot out from the crowd, a kunai glinting coldly in its hand, charging straight at Makoto!
"Ah—!"
Yui, who had just been chatting with Yumiko beside her, was so scared she shrank behind Makoto.
Everyone present was stunned by this sudden attack… they had passed the graduation exam, but after all, they were still a bunch of rookies who had never seen blood.
But Makoto didn't even raise an eyelid.
Just as the dark shadow reached him, he unhurriedly raised his hand—
Smack!
A flick on the forehead.
"Ouch—!"
The dark shadow immediately fell to the ground on all fours.
Everyone then got a clear look at the attacker: a little kid about eight years old, missing a front tooth, now rolling on the ground clutching his forehead.
"You were eavesdropping outside just now, weren't you, Konohamaru."
Makoto looked at the little brat on the ground with a smile.
Konohamaru rubbed the fresh red mark on his forehead and grinned, showing his gap-toothed smile: "Hehe, as expected of Aniki! Dealing with an old dog like Danzo, you should counter him like you just did!"
Makoto laughed, picked him up from the ground, and casually gave him a light smack on the back of the head.
The players present: "…"
'Wait, were our eyes playing tricks on them?'
'This kid was the Third Hokage's own grandson, the genuine third-generation elite Sarutobi Konohamaru!'
And looking at Konohamaru's adoring, starry-eyed little gaze as he looked at Makoto—
Some players who had just barely recovered became even more dejected.
'Can't compare in strength, can't compare in social skills either...'
Airi proudly put her hands on her hips, puffing out her already decently developed chest.
'See? My man is this popular.'
Mrs. Yukinoshita, leading her two daughters and husband, watched Makoto's back and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: 'If only Makoto were my son...'
In the evening, the Aizono House was as lively as New Year's.
To celebrate the six members of the household graduating, Kayoko and Chizuru teamed up to prepare a feast.
Although the four-member group had initially moved in as 'servants', over four years, they had long integrated into the family… of course, they still did the housework and the tasks of serving Makoto.
After dinner, Makoto took out two pieces of paper and handed them to the Aizono sisters.
"This is..." Airi blinked.
Marina took them and looked: "I remember, this is what Grandpa Third Hokage gave Makoto back then..."
Makoto nodded: "Chakra paper. Inject Chakra into it, and it will measure your natures."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Everyone remembered the disciple-taking ceremony four years ago… back then, the Third Hokage had also given a piece of paper to Makoto like that.
Kayoko noticed the fleeting envy in the four-member group's eyes and couldn't help but speak: "Makoto, what about Yui and the others' papers?"
Among the four girls, her favorite was Yui.
This girl's cooking talent was hard to describe, she was clumsy at cleaning, but she worked the hardest. This kind of simple girl was the most liked by elders.
Makoto looked baffled: "They're not my women."
The words were true.
But the smiles on the four-member group's faces still froze for a moment.
Especially for the three girls other than Chizuru. Although they hadn't developed those kinds of feelings for Makoto, at least not yet.
But over four years, they had taken care of his daily needs, scrubbed him in the bath, massaged him, washed his feet… what hadn't they done?
The physical contact was countless.
Even without that meaning, Makoto had long occupied a special place in their hearts.
And then he directly put them in the 'outsider' column with one sentence: "They're not my women."
That stung a bit.
The corners of the Aizono sisters' mouths, especially Airi's, were practically touching the sky.
What woman didn't like this feeling of 'being favored and acting without fear'?
A moment later, the Chakra Paper reacted.
Airi's paper split cleanly in half from the middle… the left side was soaked with water, the right side was burned to ash by flames.
Marina's paper had the left side similarly soaked, but the right side was wrinkled, as if squeezed by something.
"Water and fire, and water and lightning..." Makoto rubbed his chin.
He didn't expect both girls to have quite aggressive Chakra Natures, and both included water.
But after all, they were characters from adult anime, so having a lot of water, being good at Water Release… was perfectly normal.
He stood up and walked towards the courtyard: "Come with me. I'll teach you a couple of moves."
The Ninja Academy only taught the Three Basic Techniques and basic combat skills… the Body Flicker Technique was the limit.
Offensive Ninjutsu like the Great Fireball or Water Dragon Bullet generally had to wait for a Jonin Instructor to teach.
He decided to give the Aizono sisters some private lessons.
Behind him, Yui and the others stood still, watching Makoto's back, their expressions incredibly complex.