"This match—I won, right?" Ebara asked, looking at the Third.
"Winning with such dirty tactics isn't honorable," Koharu Utatane snapped before anyone else. "I don't acknowledge it."
"Who do you think you are to acknowledge anything?" Ebara sneered, brushing her off.
"I'm a Konoha elder! How dare you speak to me like that!" Koharu shrieked.
"Konoha elder? Big deal," Ebara said, digging his ear. "I'm the inheritor of the Will of Fire. Am I bragging?"
Ebara's shameless attitude pushed Koharu over the edge.
"You're asking for it!" she roared, lunging at him.
Her right hand rose, aiming a slap at Ebara's face.
Ebara hadn't expected this old hag to be so shameless, attacking a twenty-year-old like him without honor.
Just as he prepared to dodge, a furious voice rang out.
"Who're you trying to hit?"
A flowing robe, a stunning figure.
A fist shot toward Koharu.
Boom!
A gust of wind whipped Tsunade's robe.
Her stance was rock-solid.
Koharu, on the other hand, stumbled back.
Though twenty years Tsunade's senior, her strength and talent were no match.
Step, step, step!
Koharu retreated seven or eight steps, looking disheveled.
"Hiss!"
The kids gasped.
They'd thought Koharu was strong.
Who'd have guessed Tsunade could force her back with one punch?
After repeated humiliations and now this embarrassment, Koharu lost it. "Tsunade, must you meddle in today's affairs?"
"You're the one breaking the rules," Tsunade said coldly.
Her icy gaze, like a frozen tundra, seemed to frost Koharu over.
"Enough!" the Third stepped between them, halting the farce.
Koharu stopped, fuming. Tsunade kept a cold eye on her, ready for a sneak attack.
Ebara could beat Mahaya, but against Koharu, he stood no chance.
"That's enough for today," the Third said. "Ebara's proven his teaching ability and strength. I don't want to hear complaints like this again."
His gaze swept from Koharu to Homura, landing on Mahaya.
Mahaya's face was twisted, cheeks red with rage.
He wanted to tear Ebara apart but could only grit his teeth and stay silent.
"Take your classes back," the Third said, waving them off.
Ebara walked to Minato, patting his shoulder. "Nice work. I'm very pleased."
Minato rolled his eyes.
Shikaku, Haiichi, and the others thought Ebara was shameless beyond belief.
Ninja fights weren't supposed to use such dirty tricks.
"Teacher Ebara, can you not say you're our teacher from now on?" Minato said slowly.
"Why not? I'm awesome!" Ebara said, tossing his hair narcissistically.
"Because… it's embarrassing!" Choza muttered.
Ebara: "…"
Honest people's words hit the hardest.
On the Hokage Rock, Ebara and Tsunade sat side by side.
"Nice view, huh?" Ebara said, feeling great.
Crushing "Naoya" and slapping Koharu's face metaphorically made him feel unstoppable.
"Yeah," Tsunade agreed, nodding.
Sitting with Ebara like this made her happy.
Looking down at the statues, only the tops of the three Hokages' heads were visible.
Tsunade recalled something Ebara once told her.
"You still want to be Hokage?" she asked.
"What's up?"
"If you want to be Hokage, the Ninja Academy isn't enough."
Teaching was noble, but in the war-torn ninja world, only great strength brought safety to the village and a shot at becoming Hokage.
Ebara paused, then said, "War breaking out again?"
"Not yet, but it won't be long," Tsunade said softly.
Ebara fell into thought.
The Second Shinobi World War was indeed close.
The Rain Village, weak and caught between great nations, had become a battleground for their schemes.
Hanzo of the Salamander, in his prime and ambitious, wouldn't sit idly by.
Soon, he'd declare war on the Iron, Wind, and Fire Countries, kicking off the war.
Before, Ebara might've panicked over his weak skills.
But now, with the system, he felt much calmer.
"Let the soldiers come; I'll block. Let the floods come; I'll dam them," Ebara said lazily.
His carefree attitude rubbed off on Tsunade.
Feeling reassured, she smiled. "Didn't you say you wanted to be Hokage? Why're you so ambitionless now?"
Ebara wagged his finger. "No, no, correction. I said I want to be the man of a Hokage."
Tsunade's face flushed.
She wasn't dense—she got his meaning.
Blushing, she muttered, "Shameless…"
But she rested her head on Ebara's shoulder, savoring the romantic vibe.
Her grandfather was a Hokage, her granduncle a Hokage, her teacher a Hokage.
Her becoming Hokage?
Hmm, not a bad idea.
…
"Impressive, Ebara. That finishing move on Mahaya yesterday was brutal," Sanjo said, grinning.
"Mahaya didn't show up today. Don't know if he's injured or just too ashamed."
Sanjo didn't get along with Mahaya either.
As a commoner, he was often looked down on by Mahaya, who bossed him around.
But he lacked the guts to fight back.
Ebara's thrashing of Mahaya felt like sweet revenge.
"Good. Without him, the office air's cleaner," Ebara said, satisfied.
"Oh, I'm planning to give the kids a real lesson," he added with a sly grin. "I'll cover your class later."
Sanjo taught taijutsu to Minato's class.
Yes, he was that frail, sickly teacher who needed substitutes.
"Got it. I'll start coughing now… cough cough…"