Chapter 578: Even Among Classmates, There Is a Gap

"So you joined the Shinobi World Alliance Peacekeeping Force?" Biwa Juzo’s mouth twitched. He somewhat wanted to take his Kubikiribocho and smash it hard against Musashi’s head, turning that already muddled brain into complete mush.

Weren’t they supposed to go to Amegakure together to look for clues about the masked man? How did he suddenly join the Shinobi World Alliance Peacekeeping Force?

"Didn’t you say we were going to the Land of Rain to look for clues about that masked man who killed your old man? Are you messing with me, you bastard?" Biwa Juzo asked with some dissatisfaction.

Musashi scratched his head somewhat awkwardly and said, "Because I got the news from Lord Nagasawa that the masked man had already been dealt with, so there was no need to go to the Land of Rain anymore."

"What does that have to do with you joining the Shinobi World Alliance Peacekeeping Force?" Biwa Juzo still did not understand.

"Because I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go, so I joined. Lord Nagasawa said there would be plenty of opportunities to challenge powerful opponents," Musashi honestly replied.

After receiving some counseling from Nagasawa, Musashi eventually regained his fighting spirit. This time, he was no longer fighting for revenge, but pursuing his original dream. He wanted to become the strongest swordsman in the Shinobi World!

The Akatsuki was finished, and he no longer needed to investigate the masked man everywhere to seek revenge. For a while, Musashi could not think of anywhere to go, so he followed Nagasawa’s suggestion and joined the Shinobi World Alliance Peacekeeping Force.

Musashi’s position did not require him to be stationed anywhere permanently. Only when major disturbances occurred in the Shinobi World would Musashi have to fight alongside the force to suppress the unrest.

Many experts from the Five Great Shinobi Villages had also joined the Peacekeeping Force, so Musashi could take advantage of his position to challenge powerful Shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

"You’re a hopeless battle maniac." Biwa Juzo could not help covering his face.

"Why don’t you join with me, Juzo? You don’t have anywhere to go right now anyway," Musashi said seriously, inviting Biwa Juzo.

"Who says I don’t? The Shinobi World is so big. Where can’t I go?" Biwa Juzo was somewhat dissatisfied when Musashi said he had nowhere to go.

He had originally been enjoying his vacation in the Land of Hot Water. He had been soaking in hot springs and singing songs when the Akatsuki’s recruitment department came knocking.

If not for the Akatsuki, Biwa Juzo figured he would probably have settled down in the Land of Hot Water and enjoyed his retirement.

"You’re not joining?" Musashi looked disappointed. After working together with Biwa Juzo for so long, Musashi genuinely regarded him as a friend.

Musashi was not particularly good at socializing, but he had a good ability to judge people. He did not think highly of someone like Hiruko.

Although Hiruko always wore a smile and acted like a nice guy, Musashi could tell that this guy did not regard anyone around him as a friend. They were all people he could use. Even Kakuzu was more worthy of becoming close friends with than Hiruko.

Biwa Juzo was different. Although he wore a face that looked like he wanted to cut someone down all day long, and not a single nice word ever came out of his mouth, making him look like a complete villain,

when something happened, Biwa Juzo really stepped up. He would not sell out his teammates.

He would constantly curse at you, but his actions were completely honest. He would protect you and help you.

"I wasn’t going to join originally. After all, I was once a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But since you’re asking me like this, I’ll reluctantly join," Biwa Juzo answered with an expression of disdain.

The Peacekeeping Force, as the name implied, should be a force dedicated to maintaining peace.

And he, a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was practically an assassination specialist. An assassination specialist joining a force dedicated to maintaining peace was something only Musashi would actually dare invite him to do.

Musashi ignored everything Biwa Juzo had said before that and locked onto the key word, join. He nodded in satisfaction.

He did not have many friends, so naturally it was great if Biwa Juzo could join him.

...

With the establishment of the Shinobi World Alliance, Nagasawa became busy again.

There was nothing he could do about it. Aside from the development experience from his previous life in his mind, everyone else was a newcomer who had only just embarked on this new path. The framework of the alliance had to be established by Nagasawa, so there were many things he had to handle.

Nagasawa once again felt fortunate that Naruto had the Shadow Clone Technique. It really allowed one person to function as several people at once. Otherwise, he genuinely would not have been able to keep up.

After all, aside from the alliance’s affairs, he also held several important positions in Konohagakure and had to teach his disciples.

Today, as usual, Nagasawa handed his work over to his Shadow Clones, then went to the Ninja Academy with Minato.

Today was the beginning of another new school year at the Ninja Academy. They were going to give speeches at the academy, which had become a long-standing tradition.

However, Nagasawa did not come every time. Sometimes the Third Hokage would come to give the speech.

Because he had suffered through school administrators saying they would "just say a few words" during his student days, Nagasawa’s speeches were extremely clean and concise. If he said he would speak for a few minutes, then he would speak for a few minutes, rather than saying he would speak for two sentences and actually talking for two hours.

However, looking at the students’ admiring eyes below, Nagasawa felt that if he spoke a little longer, they might actually be happier. After all, his popularity in Konoha was simply too high.

How high was it? According to statistics from the school teachers, among the new students introducing themselves, more than 55 percent said their dream was to become the Hokage’s advisor, surpassing those whose dream was to become Hokage.

This was an extremely unbelievable thing.

Because ever since the Ninja Academy was established in Konohagakure, the largest number of children had always aimed to become Hokage. As for children who wanted to become the Hokage’s advisor, there had never been any.

What did children know about being a Hokage’s advisor? They only knew that the strongest person in the village was the Hokage, who always led the village forward and protected it.

Ever since Nagasawa became the Hokage’s advisor, this position had become different. The words "Advisor Nagasawa" made the children of Konoha realize that besides the Hokage, the Hokage’s advisor was also an incredible position.

After finishing his speech, Nagasawa did not leave immediately. One of the students entering the Ninja Academy this year was his disciple.

"Teacher Nagasawa." Neji respectfully bowed to Nagasawa.

"There is very little you can learn in the elementary division. You can study seriously and prepare to apply for the advancement exam," Nagasawa reminded him.

After two years of training under him, in terms of pure strength, even ordinary Chunin were not Neji’s match.

With the Eight Trigrams Breathing Style, proficient Six Powers, and the Hyuga Gentle Fist, once an ordinary Chunin allowed him to get close, they might not even have the chance to fight back.

With this level of strength, even the teachers in the elementary division might not be Neji’s match. Naturally, there was little he could learn there, with more emphasis being placed on learning and mastering theory.

"Of course, you don’t need to rush things either. You’re still young. Spending one or two years in elementary school won’t have much impact."

Although Neji had a great goal of changing the Hyuga clan, which had remained unchanged for thousands of years,

Nagasawa believed that enjoying school life was also very important. Otherwise, when he grew old and looked back on his life, he might suddenly realize that his memories consisted of nothing but training, training, and more training. That would be somewhat regrettable.

"I’ll study hard," Neji nodded and said seriously.

Looking at Neji like this, Nagasawa did not know whether he had actually taken his latter words to heart.

"Think it over yourself. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself either. After all, your teacher is the strongest person in the Shinobi World." Nagasawa smiled and ruffled Neji’s black hair.

Although he did not particularly want to interfere in the internal affairs of the Shinobi clans and usually left them to resolve things themselves,

if it involved someone connected to Nagasawa, it was not a big deal for him to step in a little.

His decision not to interfere was giving them face. If he wanted to interfere, who would dare refuse to give him face?

After finishing his conversation with Neji, Nagasawa left, while Neji also headed toward the classroom building.

The classroom building, which had been quiet throughout the vacation, became lively on the very first day of school.

The first-year students who had just entered were extremely curious about everything at school and were full of enthusiasm.

The upper-year students had already experienced this scene many times and were accustomed to it. They were more concerned about graduation.

If they could not achieve good enough results to enter middle school, they would not be able to obtain a forehead protector or become Shinobi.

Hyuga Kayo was not worried about whether she could graduate normally and become a Shinobi.

In fact, with her strength, although she was only a first-year middle school student, she already had enough strength to graduate. Applying for early graduation was completely within her capabilities.

However, her parents disagreed, so she could only obediently finish middle school and graduate normally.

What Kayo was worried about was another matter.

’Did Kabuto encounter any danger on the battlefield? Could he have been injured?’

This was something Kayo had always been worried about.

The Fourth Shinobi World War caused by Hikari Shinobi Village had not spread to Konoha, but in order to rescue their allies, Konoha had still dispatched forces to join the battlefield.

Kabuto had also gone to the battlefield. Kayo remembered that Kabuto had gone to support the Land of Wind.

Although news of victory had already reached Konoha, the forces had yet to return, so Kayo was somewhat worried about Kabuto’s safety.

The reason her parents refused to let her graduate early was precisely because they were afraid she would become involved in war too early, so they had constantly emphasized the dangers of war to Kayo.

Just like that, Kayo absentmindedly finished an entire day of classes. She only realized that school was over when someone beside her reminded her.

On the way home, Kayo was still thinking about this matter, wondering whether she should go to Kabuto’s house and ask Advisor Nagasawa.

Perhaps the omnipotent Advisor Nagasawa could give her an answer.

"Kayo, why do you look so listless? Did something happen?"

Suddenly, Kayo heard a somewhat familiar voice, and a familiar figure entered her field of vision.

"You’re back." A smile instantly blossomed across Kayo’s face, brilliant like a flower blooming in summer, as she looked at Kabuto who had suddenly appeared in front of her in surprise.

She did not know why, but seeing Kabuto suddenly appear in front of her safe and sound made her extremely happy, even happier than when she gained a new insight into the Gentle Fist.

"Yeah, I just got back today." Kabuto nodded.

"You weren’t injured, were you? I heard the elders in the clan say that war is extremely brutal..." Kayo carefully looked Kabuto over as she asked.

Although he did not appear to be injured, Kayo still asked just to be sure.

"The enemy’s strength wasn’t particularly strong. I wasn’t injured," Kabuto replied.

After eating the Ice-Ice Fruit, comprehending his own Breathing Style, and combining it with his profound foundation in Ninjutsu, Kabuto’s strength had already left a large number of Jonin behind. Even on this battlefield, he could be considered a high-level combatant. It was his age and physical limitations that held him back.

Moreover, Shisui had been watching over him. It was genuinely difficult for him to get injured.

Shisui, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan several years ago, had already reached an extremely terrifying level in Genjutsu. The spiritual power and spiritual pressure system had further strengthened Shisui’s mind, indirectly strengthening his Genjutsu abilities even more.

On the battlefield, he could sweep his gaze across the area and cause a large number of people to collapse.

"That’s good." Hearing Kabuto’s answer, Kayo finally relaxed.

"And I even made a little contribution this time. Perhaps it won’t be long before I can become a Jonin," Kabuto told Kayo the good news.

During wartime, promotion was much easier than during peacetime. Kabuto estimated that he could become a Jonin before the end of this year, becoming an eleven-year-old Jonin.

Itachi was even more impressive than him. Itachi’s battle achievements were about the same as his, so he might become a ten-year-old Jonin.

Kayo had originally been wearing a brilliant smile, but when she heard this good news, her smile gradually disappeared, and she became somewhat gloomy.

They were clearly Ninja Academy students from the same year, yet she had only just entered her first year of middle school, while Kabuto was already about to become a Jonin. The gap was simply too big.

There was another problem. The Ninja Academy now had a university, and her parents might make her continue her education there for further study.

In the eyes of many middle-aged and elderly Shinobi, the Ninja Academy’s university was truly an extremely rare place for advanced study.

The minimum rank of the teachers was Special Jonin, with a large number of experienced Jonin and even Kage-level powerhouses teaching classes, along with access to a large amount of Ninjutsu and Secret Technique material.

In the past, even the son of the head of a major Shinobi clan might not have received treatment like this.

They wished they could attend themselves, but unfortunately, the academy currently had no policy allowing middle-aged or elderly students to enroll.

But university required four years of study. Combined with the middle school she had just started, that meant seven years.

"How are your studies at the Ninja Academy? You’ve already advanced to middle school, right?" Seeing that Kayo did not look very happy, Kabuto quickly changed the subject.

"Yeah. I’m already a first-year middle school student." Kayo said with a somewhat lifeless expression.

For the first time, she felt that sometimes having parents who cared too much could also be uncomfortable.

"This is a gift I prepared for you. Happy advancement." Kabuto suddenly produced a gift box as if by magic and handed it to Kayo.

Kabuto had prepared the gift long ago. He had always remembered all the various gifts Kayo had given him, so the first thing he did after returning was come find Kayo and give her a gift.

Kabuto did not have a grand ideal like Itachi, who wanted to fight for all of humanity. He mostly wanted the people around him to be better and to protect those around him.

Whoever treated him well, he treated well in return. It was that simple.

"Thank you." Kayo froze for a moment before revealing a delighted smile and accepting Kabuto’s gift. She was extremely happy, and all the unhappiness in her heart disappeared.

She was already very happy just to see that Kabuto was safe. She had not expected Kabuto to even remember that today was the day she advanced to middle school and specifically come to give her a gift. This deeply touched Kayo.