Starting with the troublemakers of Konoha, the pressure extends throughout the entire ninja world.

The intense monthly exams have come to an end.

At six o'clock the next morning, Konoha Village was still shrouded in a thin mist.

The lights were already on in one of the offices in the Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk piled high with documents and took a sip of tea.

My day at the office has begun.

Although he is still quite healthy, he has to admit that he is indeed getting old.

In previous years, during the monthly exam season, the teachers from the Ninja Academy would personally bring the report cards to the office to wait for them.

He then chatted with him about the students' performance.

This had been a long-standing practice.

But seeing the teachers arriving at four or five in the morning to wait, Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately couldn't bear it.

The Hokage cannot bear to see anyone suffer.

So it's better to just not see it at all.

So he issued a new rule: once the grades are graded, they can be left directly on the office desk and submitted within three days.

Of course, after this regulation was issued, no teacher actually delayed until the third day.

Grading the exam papers, compiling the rankings, and writing comments were all done in one go on the night the exam ended.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed open the office door in the early morning.

Neatly written report cards lay quietly on his desk.

After all, voluntarily working overtime for the Will of Fire is a basic quality of Konoha educators.

Let's see if there are any promising talents this time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the report and began to read it page by page.

He actually knew the general outcome without even looking.

Aoba, Minato Namikaze, and Nono Yakushi.

These three names had appeared more than once in his telescope techniques.

They were all orphans, and were villagers from Konoha with impeccable revolutionary credentials.

Both parents died, and they had no family background. Two of them grew up in the Konoha Orphanage.

He's clearly a good kid deeply influenced by the Will of Fire.

The results of the practical test confirmed his judgment.

Minato Namikaze and Aoba tied for first place in the throwing test.

Yakushi Nonou's grades are among the best of the commoner students.

Judging from the current performance.

These three children are undoubtedly the most promising talents of this year.

However, what truly impressed Hiruzen Sarutobi was not his combat performance.

It is the answer sheet for the theoretical exam.

He flipped to Qingyu's test paper, his gaze falling on the last big question.

Title: Why is the Third Hokage the strongest Hokage?

Qingyu's answer was written like this:

"Back then, when the Third Hokage was entrusted with the task of saving Konoha from a crisis due to the Second Hokage's misguided command of the defeated army."

"He has been in power for more than sixteen years now."

"The entire village of Konoha gradually became prosperous and thriving, with doors left unlocked at night and lost items left unattended on the road."

"It presents a scene of vibrant life, where all things flourish."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly.

The opening paragraph clearly states the theme and draws upon classical allusions; that's good.

"The First Hokage was slightly less eloquent, and the Second Hokage was somewhat less charming."

"The legendary Asura Uchiha Madara, all he knew was how to throw darts with a fan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his eyebrows.

The sentence structure, the contrast, the spirit!

"The strongest Hokage is yet to come!"

He put down the exam paper, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long breath.

This essay really hit the nail on the head when it came to flattery.

It's not the kind of low-level flattery, but high-quality flattery that is reasoned, progressive, and full of references.

It takes a historical perspective and uses a comparison of the merits and demerits of the Hokage throughout history as a framework.

Finally, a powerful and majestic ending elevates the Third Hokage to the position of the strongest.

It has a complete structure, sufficient arguments, and genuine emotions.

It can be considered a model of the Konoha version of the eight-legged essay.

Hiruzen Sarutobi read the exam paper from beginning to end again.

The more I read, the more I realized that this child named Qingyu was no ordinary person.

To be able to write such an article at the age of six.

It cannot be achieved simply by rote memorization of the doctrines of the Will of Fire.

This kid really understands what I mean!

He picked up the exam paper and handed it to Shimura Danzo, who was flipping through an intelligence report.

He didn't even lift his eyelids when he saw the test paper handed to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Take a good look at the Will of Fire in this article."

Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the exam paper in front of him.

Danzo glanced down at it, and his brows immediately furrowed.

"You deliberately showed me this sycophantic article?"

"Ugh."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh.

It seems his old partner still didn't see the important sentences.

"Look at this sentence."

He pointed to the end of the article.

Danzo looked in the direction he was pointing.

After the lengthy ode, the article ended with a separate line.

It's not that you become Hokage and are recognized by the villagers, but rather that you become Hokage because you are recognized.

The Will of Fire is the will I will uphold.

Danzo remained silent.

It wasn't because he was convinced, but because he understood it.

All the flattery, all the praise, all the "the strongest Hokage is yet to come" that came before.

Everything is just packaging.

These two sentences are the true core of this essay.

It bound the legitimacy of the Third Generation's rule to the Will of Fire.

"Being recognized" is a prerequisite for "becoming Hokage".

This is precisely what Danzo could never accept.

His lifelong pursuit was to "become Hokage first, and then gain the villagers' approval."

Qingyu's article is tantamount to theoretically sentencing his line of thought to death.

"snort!"

Danzo slammed the exam paper back onto the table.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret it if you treat this kind of personality cult as excellent writing!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi put away the exam paper and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"snort."

Danzo.

"I am the Hokage."

The air in the office seemed to freeze for three seconds.

Then, Danzo Shimura slammed the door and stormed out.

Hiruzen Sarutobi neither pursued nor showed any anger.

He sat back down in his chair, unfolded Qingyu's exam paper again, and focused his gaze on the last two sentences.

It's not that you become Hokage to be recognized, but rather that you become Hokage because you are recognized.

This child truly identifies with the Will of Fire.

It's not just about writing it on an exam paper; it's about genuinely agreeing with it from the bottom of your heart.

He silently memorized Qingyu's name in his heart.

I need to find some time to personally check out this year's promising young talents.

Meanwhile, far away at the Ninja Academy, Aoba sneezed.

"What's wrong?" Nonou turned to look at him.

"I don't know." Qingyu rubbed her nose. "Maybe someone is talking about me."

He was, of course, unaware that his exam paper had been personally rated as an excellent example by the Third Hokage.

They were unaware that this article had just sparked a minor argument between the Naruto and the Dark Side of Konoha.

He simply followed the principle of "flattering the horse properly, but not inappropriately" when handing in his paper.

Slightly polish the standard answers in the textbook.

He added a few more lines about the cultural heritage brought from another world.

He simply wrote the right sentence in the right place.

[The system detected that the host is exerting indirect mental stress on Hiruzen Sarutobi.]

[Pressure value +15]

[Obtained: Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation Fragment ×2]

[The system detected that the host was exerting indirect mental stress on "Shimura Danzo".]

[Pressure value +25]

[Obtained: Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation Fragment ×3]

Qingyu stared into thought as he looked at the two system notifications that suddenly popped up.

He's never even met the Third Hokage or Danzo, so how did the stress level arrive remotely?

Moreover, Danzo's pressure level was ten points higher than that of the Third Hokage.

"Aoba? What are you thinking about?" Nono's voice came from the side.

Qingyu closed the system panel without changing his expression.

"It's nothing."

"I was just thinking that there's no fighting in Konoha today."

Nono tilted her head and glanced at him.

There's something off about this sentence, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

She decided not to ask any more questions.

Anyway, Qingyu has never been normal since the first day of school.