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

In fact, given Naruto's special physique, teaching him the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique now would be no problem at all within half a day.

However, in order for Sasuke to complete his main mission smoothly, and to prevent Naruto from winning against Sasuke again in the match and causing Sasuke to become psychologically twisted, and also because Naruto did not trigger the mission this time.

All Qiu Shui could say in his heart was: Naruto will have to suffer for now.

"The exams will start in a few days. The three of you don't need to continue training here these next few days. Go back and get some rest." After the afternoon training session, Qiu Shui called the three of them over and said this.

Naruto and Hinata had similar experiences, so they agreed without hesitation.

Sasuke, however, felt that he didn't need to rest at all. He could have two extra days of training time, which would allow him to get ahead of Naruto and Hinata in terms of progress.

"Sasuke, it's good that you enjoy training, but you also need to rest." Qiushui saw through his thoughts and reminded him, "If you overtrain these past two days and something happens to your body, you'll be eliminated early from the practical exam."

Sasuke thought about it and finally decided to listen to Shusui.

After parting ways with Naruto and the others, Shusui first went home to retrieve the novel manuscript written by his clone in his study, and then set off for Shueisha.

Today is the deadline for submitting the manuscript, and he also wants to see how well the novel is selling.

The front desk staff were very impressed with Qiu Shui, after all, it was rare to see a writer as handsome as him.

Qiu Shui greeted them politely, indicating that she knew the way and declined their offer to take her upstairs.

"Knock knock knock." Qiu Shui arrived on the second floor and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Kishimoto Masashi's voice came from inside.

"Oh, you've finally arrived." As soon as the door opened, Kishimoto Masashi saw that it was Akisui and immediately stood up with a big smile on his face. "Come, sit down, sit down. What kind of tea would you like?" he said as he opened the cabinet.

"Either is fine," Qiu Shui replied.

"This is the manuscript for next month's novel." Qiu Shui placed the manuscript on the table and asked, "How are my novel's sales?"

"Your novel is selling very well." Kishimoto Masashi glanced at the manuscript on the table, his smile growing even brighter. "It's already sold 10,000 copies in just one month."

This number surprised Qiu Shui as well.

Keep in mind that the total population of Konoha Village is only around 200,000, which means that one in every 20 people bought his book.

Kishimoto Masashi eagerly picked up the novel manuscript that Shusui had brought and began to read it. The more he read, the more he felt that the book had great potential.

The story explains why the male protagonist's cultivation level has regressed. It turns out that a powerful ninja was framed and his soul is now residing in a ring. He survives by absorbing the male protagonist's cultivation level and promises to help him become an even stronger ninja in the future.

Immediately afterwards, the male protagonist's fiancée came to break off the engagement, saying that she had joined a powerful ninja village and that the male protagonist, a good-for-nothing, was not good enough for her. Upon hearing this, the male protagonist did the opposite, refused to break off the engagement, and instead issued a letter of divorce, making a three-year agreement.

What's even more amazing is that there was a girl with impeccable looks and family background who stayed by his side the whole time.

The saying "Three years east of the river, three years west of the river, never underestimate a young man's potential" gave Kishimoto Masashi goosebumps.

After reading the manuscript, Kishimoto Masashi took Akisui to collect his payment, repeatedly reminding him to submit the manuscript on time next month, and said he would increase the promotion of the novel.

Qiu Shui readily agreed.

He was very satisfied with the royalties of 100,000 taels, considering that his monthly salary was only 120,000 taels.

With shadow clones around, this is nothing at all.

Monday morning,

Kiba Inuzuka arrived at school. Although he had entered the classroom through the main gate every day for the past month and thought he had gotten used to it, when he walked to the front of the school building and looked at the window of Class 1, Grade 4, he still felt a ticklish sensation in his heart, as if he had been gently scratched by a cat's paw.

He stood downstairs and could even see the marks left from countless times he had climbed the wall over the years.

"Let's do it one more time." Kiba Inuzuka bargained with himself in his mind. "At worst, if we get caught, I'll just agree to Choji's request from last time. Besides, he came so early today, there shouldn't be many people in the classroom. Given Choji's usual slow pace, he's probably still sleeping in bed right now."

Kiba Inuzuka felt that his logic was impeccable.

He convinced himself.

Kiba Inuzuka glanced around to make sure no teachers were passing by, then quickly circled around to the familiar corner on the side of the teaching building and climbed up on all fours. This long-lost thrill made his heart beat slightly faster.

Meanwhile, in the classroom, Choji Akimichi was diligently wiping the podium with a rag.

Because today was the monthly exam, he got up an hour earlier than usual. After arriving at the classroom, he first checked the cleanliness of the room to make sure there were no problems. Then he returned to his seat, took out a bag of potato chips, and started showing off.

The theory exam will last two and a half hours without a break in between. He needs to replenish his energy now, otherwise he will be so hungry that he will feel dizzy and unable to hold his pen properly, which would be terrible.

Choji was eating when he heard a noise from the window. He turned around, still with half a potato chip in his mouth, and froze.

Outside the window, Kiba Inuzuka was perched on the window frame, one leg already inside the classroom, his expression freezing the moment he spotted Choji.

"Teeth?" Choji exclaimed in surprise.

Kiba Inuzuka froze, feeling somewhat embarrassed even though he had been prepared.

"Um..." Kiba Inuzuka climbed into the classroom, scratched the back of his head, walked over to Choji, and said in a low voice, "I agreed to that thing you mentioned last time."

Choji blinked, not quite understanding at first: "What is it?"

"It's just... you don't care if I climb the wall, and I don't care if you eat snacks in class," Kiba Inuzuka said quickly.

"Kiba, although I really want to say yes," Choji put down the bag of potato chips and looked seriously at Kiba, "but have you forgotten what you said last time?"

Kiba Inuzuka was taken aback.

"Last time you told me," Choji's face turned serious, "that doing this would be betraying the trust that Akisui-sensei has placed in us. You also said, what would the other students think if I ate snacks in the classroom? What would the teacher think if they saw me?"

Kiba Inuzuka's mouth opened slightly; these were indeed the words he had said last time.

"Although I really want to agree to your request," Choji continued, "if I agree to your request this time, and everyone is as careless about the cleanliness of the classroom as you are, what will the classroom become in the long run? The walls will be covered with footprints, and the windowsills will be worn and the paint will peel off. Don't say things like that again. I, Akimichi Choji, am not that kind of person now."