I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 525 Friendships were easy to gain in childhood, but those friendships were...

"Isn't he arrogant?! Isn't he cocky?! Isn't he focused on training and disdainful of missions with us genin?!"

Obito stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Kakashi, who was covered in dirt, with a wild laugh that was no less than that of his cousin, Uchiha Tenka. Kakashi glared at Obito with murderous eyes, then continued to swallow his anger and dig in the dirt.

Since Sakamoto Tatsuma was also working, what right did he, as the loser, have to rest?

But this Obito is really annoying. He was only defeated by Sakamoto Tatsuma, not by Obito himself. Why is he acting like he defeated him?!

"Alright, Obito, we're teammates, so let's not talk like that."

Beside him, a gentle and bright young girl spoke to Obito. Obito's arrogant smile vanished instantly, and he nodded sheepishly, saying, "Rin, I'll do whatever you say."

Nohara Rin nodded, then pointed to the ground and said, "Obito, you installed the wrong water pipe. You're using a sewage pipe, which can't be used for water intake, otherwise the water quality will be substandard."

"whispering sound!"

Obito blushed and was about to correct himself when he heard Kakashi's voice. He glared angrily at Kakashi again, but Kakashi was engrossed in digging and ignored him completely.

"Your little brother is so annoying, just like you were when you were a kid."

Not far away, Qian Dou, who was unpacking, said to Tian Feng. Tian Feng glanced at his cousin, shook his head and denied it, saying, "Don't talk nonsense! I'm not that bad!"

Don't even mention you, I'd want to punch you if I saw that. It's really...so embarrassing.

"Why doesn't anyone put him in a sack and beat him up?"

As Qian Dou spoke, he suddenly looked at Tian Feng, and Tian Feng returned the look in tacit agreement. The two of them simultaneously revealed wicked smiles.

The fact that the ninja world didn't beat Tianfeng severely doesn't mean that they, as his elder brothers, couldn't fulfill their responsibility.

"Minato, your two teammates are plotting against your team."

Further away, Kushina suddenly spoke to Minato. Minato glanced at the two snickering figures in the distance and said, "Tenkaze is Obito's brother; he won't do anything to him."

"So you don't believe me?!"

"No, no! I absolutely didn't mean that!"

Minato quickly apologized, his attitude extremely sincere. With that face, no one would refuse his apology, including Kushina.

"I'm so envious of Minato-senpai, he's so popular with girls."

A mature-looking boy, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, said enviously.

Shikaku, who was intently studying the product number, looked up at the boy and said, "Asuma, are you thinking about dating so early?"

Upon hearing this, Asuma blushed, glanced at Red who was diligently assembling a faucet beside him, and then nodded.

"Apologize."

Shikaku suddenly spoke, and Asuma, startled, asked, "What?"

"I'm asking you to apologize."

"Shikaku-sensei, what did I do wrong?"

"So, are you going to apologize or not?"

"But."

Asuma was bewildered, with a hint of grievance and resentment. Seeing his expression, Shikaku shrugged and said, "It seems you don't yet have the talent for dating."

"what?"

Asuma was puzzled, but Shikaku was too lazy to explain. Asuma was far from being good enough! And he seemed rather silly.

Why did I end up with such a teammate? I should recommend him to participate in the Chunin Exams as soon as possible, so he can go independent sooner and make things easier for myself.

And how did such a prince end up in my hands? It must all be Sakamoto Tatsuma's fault; why didn't he lead the team?

Tatsuma suddenly felt uneasy. A vague sense of malice made him feel unable to concentrate on his work. Looking in the direction of the malice, he found Shikaku looking at him with resentment.

So the person who dislikes you is Shikaku? Oh well, never mind.

Anyway, no matter what you make Shikaku do, he will have resentment and malice. There is only one way to get rid of Shikaku's emotions, and that is to not make him do anything.

Unfortunately, Tatsuma couldn't possibly leave such a person unused.

By this time, he had completed the waterway layout for all the supplies. Next, he waited for others to lay the pipes into the houses. With some free time, Tatsuma strolled around the living area to supervise the work.

Nonou and her team are testing the water quality and teaching techniques, while Nawaki and Kai are doing the most difficult task of moving things, but they seem to be having a lot of fun.

Although they weren't professional plumbers, these genin had exceptional learning abilities, and their speed and stamina far surpassed those of the workers. Therefore, after the initial adjustment period, their efficiency skyrocketed.

From noon to evening, everyone had almost finished their work. However, because it was lunchtime, they were given an extra, unpaid task: to take care of the children's meals.

"Uncle Chenma."

Tatsuma was sitting on the open ground, eating grilled meat, when Shisui jogged over, holding a skewer of grilled meat thicker than his arm—a special treat from Akimichi Choza.

Tatsuma beckoned for Shisui to sit next to him. After Shisui sat down, he began to eat the grilled meat. Tatsuma pointed to a girl in the distance and said, "When you grow up a bit, you'll probably look like that when you dress as a girl."

Shisui looked over and saw the red-eyed girl with slightly curly black hair. He asked, "Is that Senior Kurenai?"

"Um."

Chenma tossed the skewers into a nearby trash can, picked up another one, and said, "I already have a feeling that her future children will definitely look a lot like you."

Be careful then; try not to show up where she and her child are, to avoid being misunderstood.

"What's the misunderstanding?"

"It's nothing."

Tatsuma didn't say anything, and Shisui blinked but didn't press for details. He just kept it in mind that he should try to avoid appearing in the same place as Kurenai-senpai in the future.

"Uncle Chenma."

"Um?"

"I don't want to go to the ninja academy."

After a while, Shisui suddenly spoke, and Tatsuma asked in confusion, "Why? Don't you want to become a ninja?"

"I want to go. That's why I don't want to go to the ninja academy. It's too slow."

Shisui said very seriously, "I want to participate in the ninja selection directly through the clan's promotion route. I've observed that, apart from Kakashi-senpai, the others are probably not as good as me."

As they talked, Shisui suddenly felt a little shy. Although that was what she thought in her heart, it felt particularly strange when she said it out loud.

There are far more ways to become a ninja than just attending a ninja academy. Even among the major ninja clans, only a portion of their members are sent to ninja academies, as long as they demonstrate their support for the academy.

Many ninja clans are selected from within their own clans, and the village also allocates a certain number of slots to these clans.

Moreover, many ninjas actually have the authority to select new ninjas. Basically, every ninja who retires normally will have at least one spot available.

They would look for suitable disciples, or have children after retiring from the military, then focus on training them and recommend them to become genin. Such ninjas might not be as well-rounded as those who graduated from the ninja academy.

However, almost every one of them has a unique trump card, and after the village has examined and reviewed them, they will not refuse to become Konoha ninjas.

Tatsuma pondered for a moment, then said, "The significance of the Ninja Academy isn't just about learning ninja skills; you should understand that, right?"

"I know you told me that before, but I think my situation is different."

Shisui said, and Tatsuma looked at him and nodded, signaling him to continue. Shisui continued, "The other students, while learning ninja skills, also build bonds with their peers."

But I've already learned all the skills and knowledge that are taught at the Ninja Academy, so the only purpose of going to the Ninja Academy is to build bonds, which is not cost-effective.

The curriculum taught at the Ninja Academy, up to graduation, is precisely the point that leads a student to become a ninja. In other words, after completing their studies at the Ninja Academy, the most important thing to do is engage in ninja activities.

If I simply continue learning, as you said, it's like reinventing the wheel, a learning method that involves knowing without doing, which will greatly limit my progress and is essentially a waste of time.

After all, in order to build a sufficient bond, I can't just stay in the Ninja Academy for half a year like Kakashi-senpai, because that would basically make it impossible to build a bond.

Just like Kakashi-senpai now, even after graduating for several years, he still has to rebuild bonds upon his return. The six months he spent at the Ninja Academy were a complete waste.

"Well, what you said actually makes sense."

Tatsuma nodded. He didn't value the Ninja Academy that much. He used to need to go to the Ninja Academy and cherish his time there because he couldn't obtain any ninja resources otherwise.

But Shisui was different. Whether it was the support of the Uchiha clan, the favoritism of Tokito, or the guidance of Sakamoto Tatsuma, all of these factors ensured that Shisui's ninja resources were not lacking.

In this way, the limited ninja resources at the Ninja Academy became dispensable to Shisui, or even unnecessary for him.

Aside from the "unique experiences" that the teachers in each subject might impart, Shisui couldn't obtain any useful ninja resources from the Ninja Academy, as for bonds...

Children's friendships are indeed easy to form, but they are also easy to change and easy to forget. Many bonds are formed at this age, but very few are truly high-quality.

Just like Tatsuma's interactions with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio back then, there were interactions, but they were basically useless. The real progress and benefits were only gradually established after he became a ninja.

Tatsuma ruffled Shisui's hair with his greasy hands and said, "Go do what you want to do. If anyone objects to what you want to do, remember to mention my name and say that I agree."

"Thank you, Uncle Tatsuma. Uncle Tatsuma, after I become a ninja, can I still learn from you?"

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma suddenly remembered the excuse he had used to fob off Hiruzen Sarutobi and avoid leading the team, which was that he had his eye on Shisui and that if anyone was to be led, it would be Shisui.

Suddenly, I felt like I'd messed things up with myself. Shisui's current state clearly indicated that he wanted to become a ninja immediately, and once he did...

"Why don't you go back to school? Becoming a ninja so early isn't really a good thing."

Looking at Tatsuma, Shisui suddenly said seriously, "Sakamoto Tatsuma!"

"Um?!"

Hearing that Shisui dared to call him by his name, Tatsuma raised an eyebrow and reached out to grab Shisui's head. Shisui shrank back and said, "Uncle Tatsuma, you said that if anyone objects, we should say your name."

"You little brat"

(End of this chapter)