That sentence sounded a little sad, but when it came out of Torifu's mouth, the meaning completely changed.
"What are you looking at me for? You never went to school either, did you?"
Naori said generously, "That's right, I never went to school either."
"It's all because I was lucky enough to meet a good deskmate who became Hokage-sama's disciple, and I got to benefit from it, too."
Naori said with a giggle, but Torifu felt a little awkward when he heard it. "If you didn't have talent, it would have been useless for me to just take you to the office. In the end, Sensei was looking for your talent."
"Even without me, you would have been discovered."
Naori poked Torifu's forehead with her finger. "I didn't mean anything by it. I really am thankful for you. The beautiful life in Konoha right now is all thanks to you. Before this, who could have imagined things like mobile phones and televisions?"
Torifu didn't deny this. Humility didn't require him to be humble about everything. Although technology in the ninja world would also develop in the future, that would be decades later. Torifu understood the principle of "enjoy it early."
Naori and Torifu were whispering to each other on the side of the training grounds. When they got excited, their voices became a little too loud and they couldn't keep them down. Although the Concealment Jutsu could make people unnoticed, it couldn't block sound.
No matter what, Minato's teacher was a Chūnin and had some skills. Following the faint voices, she looked in the direction of Naori and Torifu. The strange thing was that there was no one there. Seeing this, she immediately protected all the students behind her. "Who's there? Come out! What are you doing, sneaking around in Konoha!" The teachers from the other grades also came over when they noticed something was happening. After learning what was going on from Minato's teacher, they all slowly approached Torifu and Naori.
Naori looked at the scene and was momentarily speechless. She had gotten so into their conversation that she had forgotten where they were. She couldn't believe she had made such a low-level mistake.
"What do we do? I don't care, but what if you're exposed?"
Torifu shrugged. "It's fine if I'm exposed. If we don't show up in a situation like this, things will get out of hand."
Naori could only sigh. "Okay, I'll listen to you."
The teachers slowly approached the empty spot, but the next second, they were astonished to find that Hokage-sama and Naori-sama had appeared there!
"What, what, what?! Hokage-sama, Naori-sama! What's going on with you two?" The teachers were all dumbfounded. They thought an enemy had invaded, but they didn't expect it to be the Hokage secretly inspecting them.
Torifu waved to the teachers. "Good morning, everyone. I heard you were having a practical combat class here today, so Naori and I came to observe and see the future pillars of Konoha." The teachers immediately smiled when they heard Torifu's words. They never expected the Third Hokage to be as concerned about the village's education as the Second Hokage. They had thought that because the Third Hokage was young, he wouldn't focus on this, but it seemed they had misjudged him.
"Hokage-sama, we apologize for our disrespect. Please forgive us."
Torifu waved his hand. "Don't be like that. We're just colleagues in a superior-subordinate relationship. We're not a feudal lord and his subjects. There's no need for this."
"Besides, protecting the children is a teacher's responsibility. How can you be guilty for fulfilling your duties?"
Taking this opportunity, the teachers reported the basic situation of the school's education to Torifu. The students, on the other hand, were sitting freely on the grass, chatting, but they were all very disciplined. There was no fighting or shouting.
"Minato, Minato, I heard you're Hokage-sama's younger brother. Is that true?" a little boy asked first. The other children were also very curious. Although Minato had been at school for a month, very few people knew about his family, and no one picked him up or dropped him off. Minato, who was surrounded by his classmates, was a little embarrassed. "Yes, it is..."
The children were all astonished when they heard Minato's positive answer.
"No wonder you're so strong, Minato. Hokage-sama must have very strict requirements for you, right?"
Minato scratched his head. "Not really. Big Brother always tells me to rest and not overwork myself. It's just that I want to work harder so I can help Big Brother in the future." The classmates all looked on with envy. In this class, Minato was the strongest and the most hardworking. Everyone knew this. They were also happy to play with a diligent classmate. In addition, Minato's personality was very gentle, so he also had a very good relationship with everyone in the class.
Kushina, who also entered the school in the second week of the semester, didn't have as good a relationship as Minato. However, unlike in his previous life, no one bullied her. After all, her status now was not that of a little princess from a destroyed country. The Uzumaki Clan's background ensured that even if Kushina was not sociable, no one would dare to bully her. Fortunately, with Minato's long-term influence, Kushina's personality was also slowly changing. She was starting to be willing to communicate and get along with people. Although she would get angry for no reason sometimes, Minato still cherished this friend.
"Teachers, the children are still waiting. Let's continue with the practical combat class. Naori and I will watch from the side. The child who comes in first place in each grade will receive a reward from me." When they heard Torifu's words, the children on the training grounds all cheered. Even the soon-to-be ninjas who were about to graduate and become Genin all wanted the Hokage's reward, as it was a great honor.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. We'll start right away." The teachers bowed to Torifu and then returned to their respective classes to handle the practical combat class. With the Hokage personally observing, they naturally had to put on their best performance.
"I feel like these teachers might overdo it."
Naori laughed. "After all, the Hokage is personally watching. They naturally have to be more serious."
Torifu was also a little helpless. "I was just going to watch Minato's performance, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Naori waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. By watching the children's performance, you can also get a timely insight into the geniuses in the school." After they sat down, the practical combat class began. One by one, slightly childish voices echoed on the training grounds. All kinds of ninjutsu flew around, and there were also many failures, which often caused the entire field to burst into laughter. Many children would cry because of this, while some would just smile and move on as if it was nothing. This matter alone showed how children with different personalities handled failure. But failure was a normal thing. Their lives had just begun, and failure might also serve as a source of motivation, depending on how they were guided.