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

As Matsumoto Mie looked up, she saw Akimizu walking in carrying a huge stack of exam papers, so thick it almost reached his chin. She widened her eyes in surprise and asked, "Akizu-sensei, why are you carrying so many papers?"

Qiu Shui walked to her workstation, carefully placed the test paper on the table, and then breathed a sigh of relief. She explained with a smile, "I can look at it more often when I have free time to accumulate experience. There are monthly exams at the end of each month, right? I'm thinking of doing more preparation so that Class 1 of Grade 4 can't let its grades slip down."

Upon hearing this, Matsumoto Mie's eyes were full of praise, and she lavishly complimented, "Shusui-sensei, you are so responsible. Class 1 of the fourth grade is truly blessed to have a teacher like you as their homeroom teacher."

Qiu Shui felt a little embarrassed by her sincere praise.

He waved his hand and said modestly, "Teacher Meihui, you're exaggerating. I'm a new teacher with little experience, so it's only right that I learn more. Besides, these are all things I should do."

The other two teachers in the office, Fujino Daikuma and Murata Koji, were also drawn to the conversation.

Koji Murata casually flipped through the papers on Akisui's desk and praised with a smile, "Akisui-sensei, you're so meticulous! You've found exam papers from the last three years."

Fujino Daikuma nodded and said, "Yes, there aren't many young teachers these days who are this dedicated."

Qiu Shui was overwhelmed by the two people's constant praise and quickly waved her hand, saying, "Teachers, please don't say that. I was just doing what I was supposed to do, nothing special."

Matsumoto Mie looked at him with a smile: "Humility is a good thing, but being too humble is just arrogance."

The office was filled with laughter, and the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.

Shui Mu sat in his seat, pen in hand, eyes fixed on the lesson plan in front of him, but his ears were constantly perked up. The more he listened, the more jealous he became.

Although Kitagawa Akisui only stayed for two days, she quickly gained the approval of the other teachers.

He recalled that when he first came to the school, he didn't receive such treatment.

What makes this newcomer, Kitagawa Akisui, so special?

"Qiu Shui, want to go eat together?" Iruka usually eats alone because the other teachers either bring their own lunch or already have regular meal partners. He remembered that he and Qiu Shui were old acquaintances, and the other had been here for a few days but hadn't had a proper chat yet. As a senior, he should treat him to a meal.

"Hmm." Qiu Shui put down her pen. She had been busy all morning, and now that Iruka mentioned it, she was actually a little hungry.

The afternoon sun lazily shone on the streets of Konoha Village.

Qiushui, led by Iruka, entered a small pork chop rice restaurant.

"Boss, two bowls of deluxe pork chop rice," Iruka greeted familiarly, turning back to smile at Qiu Shui. "I've been eating at this place for years, the taste is absolutely authentic."

The food was served quickly, and Qiu Shui took a bite and thought it tasted pretty good.

The two chatted over their meal, discussing everything from classroom management to ninjutsu techniques. Iruka also shared a lot of teaching experience, and both of them tacitly avoided mentioning Naruto.

As Qiu Shui reached into his pocket to pay the bill, Iruka grabbed his arm, saying, "No, no, no, this time it's on me."

"Teacher Iruka, I can't accept this."

Iruka pulled out his wallet and said, "Why are you being so polite with me? This is our first time eating out, so of course I, as the senior, should treat you."

Qiu Shui didn't argue with him anymore. It wasn't much money anyway, and he could just invite him back next time. He said, "Then thank you, Senior Iruka."

Iruka waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite, just call me Iruka normally."

Qiushui nodded. Iruka was completely different from Mizuki. He was a kind and honest person, someone worth befriending.

After parting ways with Iruka, Akisui went to the school's equipment room.

Although the work of a school teacher may seem easy, there are actually quite a few trivial tasks to handle.

When there are no classes, you need to organize and maintain the training equipment such as kunai and shuriken, check the wear and tear of each item, record the number of damaged items, and ensure that every teaching tool is in good working order.

They also inspected and repaired facilities such as wooden stakes and shooting ranges that had been damaged by students.

If a large number of wild animal attacks occur near the village, and other ninjas are out on missions and manpower is scarce, the school teachers will need to temporarily step in and go to the scene to resolve the problem.

In the afternoon, Iruka went to Class 1 of Grade 4 to prepare to teach the students a history lesson.

When he reached the classroom door, he paused slightly, took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open and entered.

This is the first time he has returned to this class since resigning from his position as homeroom teacher.

He didn't tell the students in advance that he was resigning as their homeroom teacher. He didn't know how to bring it up, nor did he know how they would react.

In fact, this matter had been weighing on his mind for the past few days, like a stone that was neither too big nor too small.

He thought the students would have many questions.

Why did you suddenly stop being a homeroom teacher?

Did we do something wrong?

What's the deal with the new teacher, Qiushui?

Or perhaps, Iruka-sensei, you should come back and continue being our homeroom teacher.

He had even silently prepared several answers in his mind.

However, the moment he walked into the classroom and stood on the podium, he realized that he had been overthinking things; nothing had actually happened.

The students sat quietly; some flipped through books, some were lost in thought, and some whispered to each other. Someone glanced up at him, their eyes showing no particular emotion, before lowering their head again.

There were no inquiries, no commotion, and no one even mentioned it.

It was as if Iruka's resignation as their homeroom teacher had never happened.

Iruka was taken aback.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief; at least he wouldn't have to face those difficult questions anymore.

But deep down, I felt a strange sense of loss.

Iruka took out his textbook and began to talk about the history of each ninja village.

After class, he walked out of the classroom with a slight sense of surprise.

Iruka stood in the corridor and glanced back. In the classroom, students were packing up their things to get ready to leave, chatting and laughing, just like any other ordinary class.

But it was this ordinariness that made him feel extraordinary. Although no one spoke to Naruto, it seemed that no one took the initiative to laugh at him either.

What surprised Iruka even more was Naruto's performance during class.

Based on his understanding of Naruto, he was a lawless kid who liked to play pranks.

Iruka was already prepared to maintain discipline in class, and even thought about how to deal with Naruto if he caused trouble.