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Shisui was almost knocked over by the rushing students. Taking a deep breath somewhat helplessly, he waved at Hatake Kuroshi.
"You should come take a look too. I don't quite understand if there are any precautions for the Hydrification Technique."
"You're more familiar with Mangetsu Hozuki; you should be able to see if there are any problems."
"Hm?"
Hatake Kuroshi tilted his head strangely, then used his height advantage to stand head and shoulders above the students with Shisui.
When he saw clearly what the two kids outside were playing, he couldn't help but tug at his eye patch.
Good grief. I must say, good grief.
Suigetsu Hozuki's water bottle lay on the ground. His head and body below the neck had begun to move separately.
"Eh—You don't look scared at all."
"This is actually really amazing."
Suigetsu held his own head in both hands, waving it back and forth in front of Kimimaro.
There were no bloodstains on the empty neck stump, just ripples like water patterns undulating layer by layer.
"In that case! I can make a ball too, though it's a bit different from yours."
Kimimaro's eyes sparkled brightly. He reached out and shook open his rather long sleeves.
Bones from his palm continuously pierced through his hand, joining together. As they protruded from his body, they were still coated with some transparent mucus.
Before long, a bone ball, pieced together from short bones, formed.
Prickly and bumpy, several incorrectly positioned white bone tips surrounded the sphere, looking quite painful to touch.
"Compared to throwing your head, isn't this better?"
Kimimaro held up the bone ball, placing it beside Suigetsu Hozuki's head.
What kind of bizarre scene is this?
Although these two children look fair-skinned, soft, and cute... this scene is just too weird!?
Whether taking off one's head or growing numerous bones from the hand to form a ball.
The Hydrification Technique seems perfectly suited for school ghost stories—a Jibakurei child suddenly taking off its head to play, or something.
Would a normal person take off their own head and kick it like a ball?!
And this bone ball, kicking it would definitely hurt, right?! Right?!
The students whispered amongst themselves around the edge of the classroom.
Although they had seen Mangetsu Hozuki using the Hydrification Technique ferociously... and heard about the Kaguya clan's warlike nature and extremely powerful bone-related Kekkei Genkai... these two children automatically filtered out that oppressive killing intent, replacing it with an inexplicably silly feeling.
"Well, this can be considered practice for their Hydrification Technique and Kekkei Genkai."
"Isn't this great~?"
Hatake Kuroshi waved his hand with great nonchalance, looking completely unconcerned.
They can play together and unconsciously master their ninjutsu.
This is simply the best example of learning through play.
"...Is that how it is?"
Shisui frowned slightly, looking hesitantly at the two children outside happily kicking the bone ball and head.
In their Uchiha clan, generally, no one awakened the Sharingan too young. Or rather, even if they did, people wouldn't cast Genjutsu on each other and play happily.
Just thinking about it feels awkward.
Just as the two stood at the classroom door watching Suigetsu and Kimimaro's bizarre game scene... a faint commotion suddenly came from the corner of the corridor. Unlike the students' voices, it sounded like a group of young girls gathered behind.
Before Shisui and Hatake Kuroshi could go inquire, a head wearing an ANBU mask poked out from the corner.
A gentle yet somewhat timid voice sounded from behind the mask.
"Hatake-sensei? Is it convenient to come over for a moment?"
"Hm?"
Hatake Kuroshi pointed inexplicably at his own face. The head at the corner nodded vigorously.
"Why would ANBU look for you at this time?"
Shisui looked strangely at the person hiding around the corner.
"No idea. But ANBU now reports directly to Mangetsu Hozuki, so it probably isn't anything major?"
"Let the students play with those two. If it's just them, this place might turn into a horror movie set."
Hatake Kuroshi pushed aside a student's shoulder and walked towards the corner.
"So handsome!!!"
"Super handsome even with an eye patch!"
Hatake Kuroshi watched as several heads popped out from the corner at once.
Except for the person who initially spoke to him wearing a mask, the other girls only wore forehead protectors.
Hatake Kuroshi blinked innocently. As if responding to the screams, he directly hooked his eye patch and pulled it down.
His short hair, previously held up by the eye patch, fell down. He pursed his lips at the group of females before him, smiling like a little fox.
"Ah!!!!"
"He took off the eye patch! He took it off!!"
"Super—handsome man, oh?!"
The crowd at the corner paused for an instant, then erupted in screams that pierced the sky.
?!
Shisui and the crowd of students gathered by the corridor quickly turned their heads upon hearing the sound.
The group of kunoichi surrounding the corner stared愣愣ly, hearts practically popping out of their eyes, pink bubbles instantly filling the entire space.
And Hatake Kuroshi leisurely put his eye patch back on, casually adjusting the strap behind his head.
If someone praises his handsomeness, naturally he has to show off.
He wasn't like Kakashi, who grew a beauty mark and let the mask practically grow onto his face.
Hatake Kuroshi lowered his head, looking at the ANBU who had just called him. The long, curly brown hair clearly revealed the caller's identity.
"Did Mangetsu Hozuki ask you to find me?"
"Ah, eh? No, he didn't?!"
Mei Terumi paused, quickly moved the mask aside, her face flushing slightly with embarrassment.
"Because, well, ah... that, regarding the matter of the former Lord Mizukage."
"Thank you very much, so we prepared some gifts..."
Mei Terumi stammered, too shy to speak clearly. After all, still in her girlhood, she hadn't yet developed her later mature older-sister demeanor.
Before Hatake Kuroshi could reply, the group hurriedly handed over various pink bags in their hands, then fled as if escaping.
Shy...?
Hatake Kuroshi tilted his head thoughtfully, his arms suddenly filled with large and small bags.
He hadn't said anything, yet these people all vanished instantly using Body Flicker.
Well, whatever.
Hatake Kuroshi walked towards the classroom, holding the pile of things. Several letters occasionally fell from his arms, fluttering to the ground.
"Why didn't you ever take off your eye patch for us to see?"
"I even thought your eyes held some secret."
Shisui sorted the gifts and love letters on the lectern. Besides various sweets, there were also some chocolates.
These kunoichi must have inquired about Hatake Kuroshi's preferences.
Hatake Kuroshi's eye patch and Kakashi Hatake's mask—anyone who interacted with these two would inevitably be curious about their appearances.
But among all the bizarre speculations, none ever mentioned Hatake Kuroshi could casually take off his eye patch!?
"Well, you never asked me~"
"Besides, the atmosphere was just right then. Naturally."
Hatake Kuroshi said while distributing sweets to Suigetsu and Kimimaro.
The two children ate beside the table, faces smeared.
"I'm really sorry for not asking."
Shisui was somewhat speechless, choked up. Itachi had known Hatake Kuroshi for so long yet never saw his true face.
Shisui naturally categorized Hatake Kuroshi's eye patch with Kakashi's mask.
How could he know this guy took it off so casually?!
...
Several months passed. The situation in Kirigakure had mostly stabilized by now.
The Kaguya clan had all been sent out on missions. All of Genji's plans for a comeback were shattered; recently, he had been obediently assisting Mangetsu Hozuki with various matters.
The school's ninja graduation requirement of killing all classmates was also abolished, replaced by appropriate written tests and practical combat results to determine graduation.
Although the effects of this graduation method weren't apparent yet, after a year or two, it could directly increase the number of ANBU and Jonin.....
Killing the entire class to graduate—that system was simply ridiculous.
Hatake Kuroshi felt this system must have been established by some Mizukage sleepwalking.
How many people could graduate in a year under that system? It was extremely difficult to replenish lost talent in a short time.
As for the new Ninja Academy graduation requirements, they sounded quite simple.
Written tests: because the questions were mostly based on Hatake Kuroshi's daily lessons... the exams weren't too difficult, often even simple. Basically, no one got stuck on the written tests.
"Hehe, so what if you pass the written test?"
"No one can walk out of the practical graduation test mentally sound."
"I'd rather kill my classmates, or be killed by others, than retake the test repeatedly inside a Genjutsu."
Such remarks were the most common evaluation from students who took the exam that year.
Even the Fifth Mizukage, Mangetsu Hozuki, retook the test five times that month before barely passing.
As for the number of retakes for others, it was basically considered negligible.
The teacher for the practical graduation test was Shisui. Even without using the Sharingan, he could easily run circles around these kids.
Coupled with the previous situation of the Mizukage being controlled... a trend of frantically studying various Genjutsu swept through the Kirigakure Ninja Academy.
"Am I bullying children a bit too much? But their resistance to Genjutsu is really poor."
Shisui once fell into contemplation about his own competence as a teacher upon seeing the twelfth retake list.
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