Hokage, no one knows better than me how to cultivate talent.

Chapter 130 Promotion and Salary Increase

"Greetings, Third Generation Master!" All the teachers in the conference room stood up in unison and greeted him respectfully.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the head seat, stretched out his hand and pressed down, gesturing for everyone to sit down, and then slowly sat down.

After everyone was seated, Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and slowly scanned each teacher present.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work this semester. The reasons I've gathered you here today are twofold: first, to summarize the work of this semester, and second, to announce the results of the selection of outstanding teachers." He paused for a moment, "Before we officially begin the meeting, I would like to give special praise to our new teacher, Kitagawa Akisui."

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur arose in the conference room.

All the teachers' eyes turned to Qiu Shui.

Because of Qiu Shui's experience as a substitute teacher over the past few months, most of the teachers know him and have a very good impression of him.

Although a few teachers have never asked Qiu Shui to substitute for their classes, most have at least heard of this star teacher who has recently become famous in the school.

Qiu Shui, however, appeared perfectly normal.

After all, he's someone who's played real-life games like "Brothers, Come and Chop Me Down" for six or seven years, so this kind of situation doesn't make him nervous at all.

"Since Ms. Qiushui took over Class 1 of Grade 4 this semester, the class's overall academic performance has improved remarkably."

Hiruzen continued, his tone filled with obvious admiration, "The average score has jumped from 65 to 90, especially Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, whose improvement is truly remarkable. This is all thanks to the hard work of Teacher Shusui."

"It's mainly due to the students' own hard work, plus the solid foundation laid by other teachers, that they've been able to progress so quickly," Qiu Shui said modestly as she stood up.

Sitting diagonally behind Akisui, Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses.

He is the homeroom teacher of Class 1 and Class 2 of Grade 6, and also serves as the Grade Director of Grade 6.

Although the average score of the classes he teaches is now around 90, that's because the Ebi family has always been known for their teaching skills.

Moreover, when he first entered the ninja academy as a homeroom teacher, the class average score was not this high.

For the first two years, the average score was only around 80.

Seeing that Qiu Shui, a newcomer, has caught up with him in terms of teaching level, I have developed a strong curiosity about his teaching methods.

Mitarashi Anko, on the other hand, looked at Shusui with great interest.

She is a nominal teacher at the school, and she rarely comes to school or teaches classes. She only attends important meetings.

She didn't care about grades; she just felt that Qiu Shui's appearance was indeed rare in the village.

Shui Mu's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was cursing.

His fifth-grade class achieved an average score of 88 points this time, which rounds up to 90 points, ranking first among the six classes in the entire grade.

That old Third Hokage didn't even mention him once.

"Now, let's have the grade leaders report on the teaching situation this semester," said Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The group leaders from grades one, two, and three stood up and spoke in turn, with their content being largely the same.

Next came the speeches from the group leaders of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, which were equally unremarkable.

It's nothing more than the usual teaching progress, student performance, existing problems, and directions for improvement next semester.

The teachers in the audience were getting drowsy, and some had already started to yawn.

After everyone had finished reporting, Hiruzen Sarutobi took over the conversation again: "Now, let's announce the list of outstanding teachers for this semester."

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly became tense.

Although many people know their chances are slim, people always have a bit of wishful thinking.

What if it really happens to me?

"Recipients of the Outstanding Teacher Award: Ebisu, Mizuki, Iwasaki Shin..."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished reading, enthusiastic applause rang out in the conference room.

Mizuki, Ebisu, Iwasaki Shin, and others went on stage to receive the Outstanding Teacher Award trophy and a prize of 50,000 ryo.

Mizuki's lips curled up slightly.

No matter how well you, Kitagawa Akisui, teach, you still won't get the title of outstanding teacher.

In the business world, it's not just about ability and background, but also seniority.

Mizuki's impression of the Third Hokage improved considerably in an instant.

"Qiu Shui, I actually feel that you're doing such a good job with your fourth-grade class, you should be able to get the Outstanding Teacher award." Shui Mu returned to his seat, leaned close to Qiu Shui, and pretended to be a comforting old man, saying softly, "But don't be too discouraged, you're still young, you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."

Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up again and spoke.

"Ms. Kitagawa Akisui, the homeroom teacher of Class 1, Grade 4, has achieved outstanding teaching results and is hereby awarded the title of Excellent Teacher, with an additional bonus of 100,000 taels of silver, as well as priority in the allocation of teaching resources for the next semester. In addition, the Grade 4 head teacher has been transferred to another position, and starting from the next semester, Kitagawa Akisui will serve as the Grade 4 head teacher."

The meeting room instantly erupted in commotion.

The award of 100,000 taels of silver for outstanding teachers is fine.

That priority allocation of teaching resources is a real benefit, meaning that in the next semester, teaching aids, textbooks, and even venue applications can be prioritized over other classes.

What made them even more envious was that Qiu Shui, a new teacher who had only been at the school for three months, had been directly appointed as the head of the grade.

It should be noted that many of the teachers present had been teaching for seven or eight years, and had never even received the title of outstanding teacher, let alone become a grade-level director.

Not many people stood up to express their dissatisfaction with Qiu Shui getting the position of grade head.

After all, their teaching level is genuinely strong.

Even the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 4 had nothing to say.

Although he should normally be the head of the fourth grade, he had Qiu Shui substitute for him and also taught in the first class of the fourth grade.

From a personal perspective, he owed the other party a favor; from a professional perspective, the other party's teaching level was far superior to his own.

"Shusui, your teaching method is excellent. You must continue to maintain it in the future," Hiruzen Sarutobi said again.

"Third Hokage, I will do my best to teach my students and will never let you down," Shusui said, standing up with a look of excitement on her face.

After hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, quite satisfied with his answer.

He initially thought that it would be good if Qiu Shui could maintain the grades of Class 1, Grade 4, and it wouldn't matter if they declined slightly.

But to his utter surprise, Qiu Shui gave him one surprise after another.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely shocked when he saw the average score of Class 1, Grade 4, compiled by the school yesterday.

If this rate of progress continues, the worst achievement of the fourth-grade students after graduation will be that of a Chunin.

What pleased Hiruzen Sarutobi the most was Shusui's teaching of Naruto.

God knows how excited he was when he went to watch Naruto's battle in Class 1 of the fourth grade a few days ago and saw Naruto use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

As Minato's son and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto has now demonstrated such high talent in ninjutsu.

As long as he grows up, even if he doesn't reach Minato's level, Konoha can definitely produce another person with Kage-level combat power after he grows old.

"The meeting is adjourned." Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, turned around, and left the meeting room.

"Qiu Shui, congratulations!" Matsumoto Mie walked up to Qiu Shui. "I never expected that you would not only be awarded the title of outstanding teacher, but also become the head of the grade."

Although Qiu Shui's performance had always been excellent, she could sense that Qiu Shui would definitely get a promotion and a raise in the future, but she never expected that it would all come so quickly.

"Mie, how can you talk like that? Still calling me Akimizu?" Fujino Daikuma interjected with a smile. "You should call me Director Akimizu now!"

"Oh, Big Bear, you're right, we should call him Director Qiushui now," Matsumoto Mie joked.

"Hello, Director Akisui." Murata Koji joined in the fun.

"Oh dear, Senior Big Bear, Senior Miho, Senior Koji, you're really flattering me by saying that," Qiushui said earnestly. "Although I'm the head of the grade now, I still need to learn a lot from your experience. Just call me Qiushui from now on."

Fujino Daikuma, Murata Koji, and Matsumoto Mie were only joking at first, but seeing how sincere Akisui was, they were suddenly flattered and felt a warmth in their hearts.

"Qiushui, congratulations." Iruka walked up to him, intending to raise his hand to pat him on the shoulder as usual, but considering the difference in their current status, he awkwardly withdrew his hand halfway through.

"Thank you, Iruka." Qiushui noticed his hesitation, took the initiative to extend her hand, and patted his shoulder with a smile. "Don't be so reserved, just treat me like you always have."

"Okay!" Iruka smiled and patted Qiushui's shoulder hard, his initial restraint instantly disappearing.

"Qiushui, congratulations!" Iwasaki Shin walked up to Qiushui and said enthusiastically, "If you don't have time tonight, how about we get together? It's on me, consider it a promotion party for you."

He had already decided to cultivate a good relationship with Qiu Shui, but he never expected that the other party would become his equal so quickly.

Moreover, although both of them are now grade directors, he is already over thirty years old, while Qiu Shui is not even twenty.

Furthermore, Shusui has gained the favor of the Third Hokage, so his future looks bright. Perhaps in a few years, he will become his superior.

"Thank you, Iwasaki-senpai. I have time tonight." Akisui smiled. "But I'll pay for it myself."

"Alright, then I won't fight you for it." Iwasaki Shin nodded readily. "Then you decide on the location, and let me know when you've decided. I'm heading back to my office now."

Qiushui also invited Fujino Daikuma, Matsumoto Mie, and several other teachers with whom he usually had a fairly good relationship.