Originally, Haruki planned to take Obito Uchiha to meet Minato Namikaze and the other two today. However, he unexpectedly learned that they were not in Konoha. Instead, they had gone to a coastal town in the southeast of the Land of Fire to carry out a B-Rank Mission, exterminating pirates.
Of course, for a mission to be considered a B-Rank Mission, it couldn't be ordinary pirates. These were actually ninjas from Kiri, also known as the Mist Village.
Although Kiri was far from the mainland and surrounded by the sea, there were still many islands of various sizes.
Coupled with different customs, there were constant minor frictions with the Land of Fire.
These ninjas often posed as pirates, burning, killing, and looting along the coast.
Speaking of it, the Mizukage of Kiri and the Kazekage of Sunagakure could be considered the most unlucky Kages.
The Mizukage was controlled back and forth by Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha, while the Kazekage was successively assassinated by Sasori of the Red Sand and Orochimaru.
They're as unlucky as the so - called 'Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix' (referring to two extremely talented but unfortunately fated figures in Chinese history), equally miserable.
Haruki had to put Obito's special training on hold for the time being and switch to a basketball game.
The teams led by Asuma Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake were just playing out of personal interest, so although their moves were flashy, there was nothing distinctively memorable.
In the past few days, Haruki taught them some signature moves of very famous basketball stars from his past life.
Such as the pull-up jump shot, the sky hook, the one-leg fadeaway, and the dream shake.
In his past life, these moves were almost impossible to learn. However, with the physical qualities of ninjas and the magic of Chakra, even if they couldn't master the essence, they looked quite similar.
All in all, after nearly a week of training, the game had quite a good visual effect.
On the weekend, the Ninja Academy, which should have been closed for rest, was still extremely noisy.
After such a long - term promotion in the [i]Konoha Daily[/i], almost the entire Konoha Village knew about today's basketball game.
With the support of the Hokage and each clan, such as the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Hatake clans.
It would be a great loss not to come and take a look.
After all, watching the fun and gossiping were human nature.
When Haruki and Tsunade arrived at the basketball court, all they could see were people.
Except for the basketball hoops in the distance, the entire playground was crowded with people, which made Haruki think of the terrifying experience of traveling during the Golden Week in his past life.
Fortunately, he had anticipated such a situation and specially built a grandstand.
"Tsunade, let's go to the Hokage's side."
Haruki pointed to the high platform where Hiruzen Sarutobi was. Besides him, there were also many familiar faces, such as Hyuga Kazushi, Sakumo Hatake, and Fugaku Uchiha.
"Okay."
Tsunade was also startled by the enthusiastic crowd in front of her. She quickly nodded and followed Haruki to the grandstand.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw them and waved: "It's been a long time since Konoha Village was this lively."
"This shows that thanks to the Hokage's leadership, Konoha's booming again!"
"Hahaha, you're really good at talking."
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help laughing. He thought Haruki would take credit, but unexpectedly, he was so sensible and didn't mention his own efforts at all.
"Teacher." Tsunade bowed slightly.
"It's a pity that Jiraiya isn't here for such a lively occasion." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded at her. "He's always the rowdiest one."
"He's out handling affairs for Konoha. I'm sure he also thinks it's a great pity." Haruki said with a smile.
He suspected that Jiraiya might have used the pretext of training spies to stay in the Land of Rain and teach Nagato and the others for three years. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi would be glad to see the Land of Rain in chaos.
"Let's not talk about him," Hiruzen Sarutobi whispered and asked, "You're their teacher and know their strength best. What do you think is Asuma's chance of winning?"
"A fifty-fifty chance," Haruki said truthfully.
"Only fifty percent?" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "I'm afraid Asuma will throw a tantrum if he loses."
"But I don't think losing is a bad thing."
Although Haruki didn't know if Hiruzen Sarutobi was really worried about Asuma throwing a tantrum or if he was worried about losing face as the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't resort to any foul play.
"Failure is the mother of success. Life can never be smooth sailing. Adversity is not scary; instead, it's necessary for honing one's mind."
Haruki looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi seriously and said,
"I'm Asuma's teacher and know him well. He's excellent and won't throw a tantrum because of this. He'll summarize this failure and become more courageous in battles. I think this is what the son of the Hokage, the heir who inherited the Will of Fire, should be like."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood still, stunned.
No one had ever talked to him like this before.
Surprisingly, he wasn't angry.
Because it was about his son, Asuma.
His impression of Asuma had always been that he was rebellious and disobedient. He even worried that Asuma couldn't understand the Will of Fire.
But thinking about Asuma's recent changes, he suddenly felt a bit guilty.
He considered himself a qualified Hokage but not a good father.
"Well said, Haruki,"
Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a hearty smile again. "It seems that it was indeed the right choice to make you the principal."
"It's because you know how to make good use of people, and I've just done what I should do," Haruki said modestly.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the grandstand was great.
The members of each clan behind Hiruzen Sarutobi exchanged surprised glances.
Although they had heard that Haruki was favored by the Hokage, they didn't expect it to be to this extent.
He was really a rising star.
Many people secretly decided that even if they couldn't be friends with Haruki, they shouldn't offend him.
Only Tsunade curled her lips.
This guy really talks out of both sides of his mouth.
There was something fake about him.
But he was quite cute when saying sweet talk.
"The game is about to start."
Seeing the students appear on the basketball court, Haruki stopped chatting with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Actually, he mainly talked about Asuma Sarutobi's performance at school. This made Hiruzen Sarutobi very happy and gave him the illusion that Asuma was so excellent that he could outshine Kakashi.
"Then let's watch the game," Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and said.
"Sure," Haruki said and then ran to Tsunade's side. Seeing her expression, he couldn't help smiling. "Here."
Tsunade looked down and saw him wiggling his finger. The slight dissatisfaction she had earlier disappeared, and she held his warm big hand.
Amidst the cheers of the onlookers, a real - life version of Slam Dunk unfolded.
"Fantastic! Asuma Sarutobi's powerful dunk!"
The commentator on the court used his Chakra as a megaphone to spread his excited voice throughout the Ninja Academy.
"Sure enough, he's the son of the Hokage. Look at that amazing jump and incredible decision-making! He really dared to take that shot, and he made it!"
"Here he comes! The genius Kakashi Hatake is staring down Genma Shiranui. He's like the most experienced hunter, about to tear his prey apart at the next moment! Oh no! The ball was stolen. Genma Shiranui failed to defend against Kakashi's attack."
"Goodness! Asuma Sarutobi is like lightning, breaking through Ibiki Morino and Murakumo Kurama's defensive zone in an instant. It's in! The ball is in!"
Wave after wave of continuous excitement surged, and a heatwave surged high above the Ninja Academy.
In the end, even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't hold back. He personally rushed onto the basketball court during the halftime break to offer his greetings and encouragement.
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