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

In his view, Naruto's ability to transform himself in such a short time must be due to some kind of secret technique. If even a loser like Naruto could master it, wouldn't someone with better aptitude like himself have made even greater progress?

The others immediately surrounded Naruto, afraid of missing this opportunity to become stronger.

"The secret?" Naruto carefully recalled his daily training routine, counting it off on his fingers. "From Monday to Friday, after school, I do half an hour of practice tests, 200 kilometers of physical training, plus an hour of kunai throwing and an hour of tree climbing. When I get home in the evening, I practice ninjutsu for another two hours. On Saturdays and Sundays, the training doubles. That's about it."

"Let's disperse!"

Upon hearing Naruto's training plan, the students who had been watching scattered like birds. Those who had been listening intently, afraid of missing a single word, changed their expressions from serious to terrified.

If they were still willing to grit their teeth and try the previous training content, the fact that they not only didn't get a rest on the weekend but also had to double the training content completely extinguished their last remaining hope.

Even a formal ninja probably couldn't endure such a life.

Inuzuka Tsuru stood there thoughtfully, stroking his chin, secretly making up his mind to go back and give it a try.

Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno had already slipped away faster than anyone else after hearing only the first half of the story.

What a joke.

They're the kind of girls who go shopping and eat meatballs with their girlfriends every day after school, and they have so many important events waiting for them on weekends. Who would want to spend all their precious youth on the training field?

Naruto ignored the people who scattered and fled; his gaze fell on Hinata.

Hinata still had several scratches on her face, and she stood there quietly, not leaving with the others.

Naruto walked over quickly, feeling a little uneasy. He scratched his head and said, "Um... Hinata, I'm sorry."

He was worried that Hinata wouldn't be his friend anymore because of this incident.

"Naruto-kun, it's alright," Hinata said softly. "Getting injured in battle is normal."

She paused, a faint smile appearing on her face: "Congratulations, Naruto-kun, on winning first place."

This minor injury is nothing to her. She has been through all kinds of punches and kicks since she was five years old and has long since developed immunity.

Naruto secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that nothing had happened.

His eyes began to search for Qiu Shui's figure in the crowd.

Of all the people, what he wanted most was Qiu Shui's approval.

Qiu Shui certainly wouldn't leave at this time.

He was not one to leave without a trace after accomplishing his task, nor did he seek to conceal his merits or fame.

How could he possibly waste such an opportunity to build goodwill?

Qiu Shui walked over and gently praised Hinata a few times, then calmly led Naruto to a secluded corner, a warm smile on his face.

"Naruto, congratulations on getting first place."

As she spoke, Qiu Shui took out a hand-bound booklet from her bosom and handed it over.

"This is something I wrote lately, about more ways to use Wind Release: Gale Palm and some thoughts. Consider it a gift for getting first place in the class. I hope you can maintain your current form and get another good result in tomorrow's battle for first place in the grade."

Shusui knew very well that Naruto, with his simple personality, wouldn't understand or need roundabout words. What mattered was simply letting him see how much he had put in, which would be more effective than anything else.

Sure enough, when Naruto took the booklet, his fingertips trembled slightly, and his eyes welled up with tears.

He raised his head and said earnestly, "Teacher Qiushui, don't worry, I will definitely not let you down, and I will not let your hard work go to waste. I will definitely win first place tomorrow."

Qiu Shui reached out and patted his shoulder, smiling gently, "But don't put too much pressure on yourself. Your current performance has already achieved the goal I set for you. Even if you don't get first place, your teacher will still be proud of you."

Upon hearing this, Naruto's resolve only grew stronger.

Tomorrow, we must win, and we must make Teacher Qiushui even more proud.

[You have gifted Naruto Uzumaki, a high-quality talent with a level 3 relationship with the character - C-rank Ninjutsu Training Manual (DIY Edition)]

[Naruto was deeply moved by the high-quality talent, triggering a 30x critical strike.]

[Reward Received - Water Breathing Technique (Intermediate)]

Shusui immediately recognized the Water Breathing Technique as the same one that Giyu Tomioka, whom she didn't use in Demon Slayer, was the same one that Giyu Tomioka, whom she disliked.

What surprised him even more was that the version provided by the system was clearly improved and could be more perfectly adapted to the baby's physique in the Naruto world. It did not require the hard training of swordsmanship as in the original version, but was transformed into a taijutsu that was purely driven by chakra and physical strength.

Once mastered, it can unleash power far exceeding normal levels in a short period of time, but it consumes a great deal of chakra and places a heavy burden on the body.

Furthermore, after mastering the advanced Water and Lightning Breathing technique, one can use an even stronger breathing method, allowing the chakra throughout the body to explode and strengthen oneself, entering the Mark state, which increases strength in all aspects. Compared to using the breathing method normally, activating the Mark consumes more chakra and puts a greater burden on the body.

However, it is still much better than the Eight Gates, a ninjutsu that drains one's life. As long as the Demon Slayer Mark is not activated, it will not cause any damage to the body when used normally. Even if the Demon Slayer Mark is activated, one only needs to rest for a period of time to recover. Unlike the Eight Gates, which takes half a life to open to the seventh gate and takes a whole life to open to the eighth gate.

During this time, Shusui was thinking about how to improve Hinata's strength.

The Byakugan's characteristics and the Gentle Fist style are not very compatible with most ninjutsu, and he has not been able to find a particularly suitable entry point.

Now, this reward seems tailor-made for him, and he can find a suitable opportunity to give it to her.

The pace of the exam on the third day was noticeably faster. Firstly, each class only sent one representative to participate, and secondly, the number of students in the school was almost half that of Qiu Shui and his classmates when they were in school.

Because this was the final battle, the audience was even more excited than before.

Everyone wanted to see for themselves who would take first place in the grade.

"Am I seeing things? Isn't that Naruto Uzumaki? Why is he representing Class 1 of the fourth year? Where's Sasuke Uchiha?" a student asked, looking bewildered.

"I can tell you didn't come to watch the fourth-grade class's match yesterday." The speaker was the student who had been questioned about Sasuke's ability to lose yesterday.

"I was unlucky yesterday. I ran into the top student in our class in the first round, and if I lost, I had to go home."

"No wonder you asked that. Naruto Uzumaki is incredibly strong now. He even defeated Sasuke Uchiha from his class."