Snap!
Shinji, who was nearby, reached out and slapped Naruto on the back of the head.
"Ow! Shinji-sensei, why did you hit me?" Naruto clutched the back of his head, tears welling in his eyes.
Shinji pointed to the bushes where Shikamaru and Choji had been hiding and said calmly, "Naruto, regarding the perception training, you can copy it five hundred times at home this weekend."
"I'll check it next week. If it's still like this later, then I'll intensify your practice for this subject. As long as you don't pass, don't even think about practicing other Ninjutsu."
"Gulp—"
Shikamaru, who was nearby, couldn't help but gulp when he heard this.
Although he knew Shinji wasn't wrong to do this, five hundred times was a lot.
Choji, afraid Naruto would get angry about this, scratched the back of his head and secretly glanced at Naruto.
But—
"Yes! I understand, sensei."
Naruto responded immediately, as if afraid of what might happen if he answered a moment too late. After all, Naruto had experienced this kind of situation before.
Last time, due to Chakra control issues, he had already been punished to copy a thousand times. This was after he had initially tried to get away with it, only for Shinji to keep adding to the punishment, eventually making it a thousand times.
However, there were benefits too. Naruto's Chakra control had improved by leaps and bounds.
"Alright, let's continue practicing for now."
After Shinji finished speaking, he waved for Naruto to continue practicing, then turned to Shikamaru and Choji, saying, "What's the situation with you two? Don't you need to go home?"
Choji looked at Shikamaru beside him, continuously gesturing.
How troublesome.
Shikamaru sighed and stepped forward, saying, "Sensei, Choji and I wanted to come and apprentice ourselves to you. It's just that you and Naruto walked too fast, and it took me a lot of effort to catch up."
Hearing this, Shinji looked at Shikamaru with surprise. He always subconsciously erased his presence, even when in the village. He hadn't expected Shikamaru to be able to track him down based on some residual clues.
Choji nodded quickly. "That's right, sensei, Shikamaru and I have decided, we want to apprentice ourselves to you."
Shinji asked with a puzzled expression, "Have you talked to your parents?"
Shikamaru confirmed with a nod, "Yes, sensei, we've talked to our parents. My father agreed."
This was what he found strange. His father was currently the leader of the Jonin class. Generally speaking, he wouldn't want to have too much interaction with certain people. For example, the Uchiha clan and the Hyuga clan.
But a few nights ago, after he told him he wanted to apprentice himself to Shinji, his father seemed to have a moment of dazedness.
At the time, he only said to let him think about it, and then it wasn't until he was leaving that morning that he called him over. He told him that today he could tell Shinji that he was willing to become his disciple. He also said the same for Choji.
Shinji nodded upon hearing Shikamaru's words, then reminded him, "Alright then, but if you apprentice yourselves to me, you won't be able to slack off."
After all, he took disciples to strengthen himself. If they slacked off, it wouldn't be worth it.
"No problem, sensei."
Choji, who had been squinting, quickly nodded upon hearing this, then said a little sheepishly, "It's just, sensei, could you bring me lunch every day? I can pay for the meal."
Shinji was stunned when he heard this.
He was doing it for food?
"Fine, it's a convenient thing for me to do."
Shinji finished speaking, then paused.
He looked at Shikamaru and Choji before him, and asked, "So, Shikamaru and Choji, are you willing to become my disciples?"
As he spoke, Shinji waited for their answers with a gentle smile.
There was no other way. This was the first rule for taking disciples, otherwise, the system panel wouldn't display it.
Although Shikamaru and Choji were momentarily stunned by these words, they nodded without hesitation.
"We are willing, sensei."
[Detecting Shikamaru and Choji are willing to establish a master-disciple relationship.]
[Detecting Trust Level...]
[Detected Shikamaru current Trust Level is Beginner, gaining Yin Release Chakra (latent) on the system panel.]
[Detected Choji current Trust Level is Intermediate, gaining one Summoning Contract.]
Hmm?
Shinji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at these pop-up notifications.
Suppressing the urge to check, Shinji turned and called out to Naruto, "Naruto, come here."
"Coming! Sensei! Is something wrong?"
Naruto quickly ran over when summoned, subtly glancing at Shikamaru and Choji.
"I have taken two more disciples. As their senior, you must set a good example from now on."
After speaking, he reached out and pushed Naruto in front of Shikamaru, saying, "You two get to know each other first, then we'll start training later."
With that, Shinji went to sit under a tree. He closed his eyes as if resting, but in reality, he was immersed in his mind.
Whoa!
Good heavens!
Seeing the Summoning Contract on the system panel, Shinji couldn't help but click his tongue. If he actually brought it out, it would almost be as tall as him.
After looking at the introduction on the Summoning Contract, he gradually understood.
The only places in the Ninja World that could be called the Three Sage Regions were Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest.
The main reason they were called Sage Regions was because these places all had the inheritance of Sage Art and Sage Mode.
However, the Summoning Contract in Shinji's hand could rival these Three Sage Regions. That's right, it also contained Sage Art and Sage Mode. It's just that the conditions were slightly strict, one had to be an Elite Jonin to use it.
Moreover, the first creature one contracted with would be their exclusive summon from then on, and unless it died, it would always be that one Summoning Beast.
Shinji felt a little helpless. When he is at the level of an Elite Jonin, the help a Summoning Beast could give him would at most be some assistance.
Unless it was like Hiruzen's summon, who could transform into a weapon at will.
Kakashi's dogs or Itachi's crows were used more for relaying or gathering information.
Don't you see, Naruto later used Sage Mode more often but rarely summoned toads. It was only when fighting Ten-Tails at the very end that he summoned the toads from Mount Myōboku again.
'Forget it, I'll put it aside for now. Although the reward is good, I can't use it now. It's not as meaningful as direct training.'
'I'll strive to reach Elite Jonin early. Perhaps then I can explore what kind of Sage Mode this contract offers.'
Done with that, Shinji got up. Naruto and Shikamaru were waiting for him not far away.
The training progress was different, but thankfully there was the Shadow Clone Technique.
Shinji raised his hand to form a hand seal.
Shadow Clone Technique.
He had a clone take Shikamaru and Choji to work on Chakra control, while he continued to train Naruto.