Early the next morning, Mokgetsu sensed some movement and immediately used Perception Ninjutsu, discovering someone with a strong Chakra entering his courtyard.
Mokgetsu calmly got up and went out, seeing a ninja in Root Organization uniform wearing a mask.
"The latest orders from the organization," the Root Ninja said coldly, handing two scrolls to Mokgetsu.
After completing the task, the Root Ninja didn't linger for even a second and disappeared instantly.
[Name: Yamanaka Ryuya]
[Chakra: 6400]
[Skills: Mind Body Transfer Jutsu (Proficiency: 2800/3000)...]
[Evaluation: A Jonin with decent support capabilities]
The Root Jonin who once made Mokgetsu uneasy had already been surpassed by Mokgetsu on the status panel.
Mokgetsu's Chakra was more than twice that of Yamanaka Ryuya's, and his skills were overwhelming. Mokgetsu had various Master Level Nature Transformations and Secret Techniques, while Yamanaka Ryuya didn't even have a single Master Level skill.
"Comparing with such an ordinary Root Jonin is meaningless. What level would Danzo's status panel be?" Mokgetsu thought silently to himself.
If this were an immortal cultivation world, Genin, Chunin, and Jonin wouldn't be positions but cultivation levels. He thought Danzo would belong to the Kage Level, though not strong within that level compared to strong figures like Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Raikage, and Onoki.
Mokgetsu opened the scroll. The first scroll contained Danzo's latest orders.
Danzo was very pleased with Mokgetsu's ability to be promoted to Special Jonin through his capabilities, but Danzo instructed Mokgetsu to never expose his membership in the Root Organization and to continue executing tasks diligently on that basis.
Mokgetsu summarized the useful content to just those points; the rest was some brainwashing rhetoric, which Mokgetsu directly ignored.
He could sense that Danzo was somewhat surprised and delighted by how far he had come. Danzo probably sent him to the Ninja Academy as a casual move since the original capabilities were not outstanding.
The other scroll was Danzo's reward for him, though it wasn't ninjutsu or money, but a Cultivation Elixir.
Mokgetsu burned the Mission Scroll but kept the elixir.
He dared not consume the elixirs sent by Danzo, but the value of the Cultivation Elixir wasn't low, so Mokgetsu didn't immediately burn it.
Today was Sunday, and just yesterday, the summer training had ended, so Mokgetsu gave the students a half-day off, allowing them the afternoon free from training; they only needed to train in the morning, which gave him time in the afternoon to teach Asuma.
"If we're resting this afternoon, where should we go to play?" Even before starting cultivation, Obito began planning where to go with Nohara Rin later.
"Sorry, Obito, I need to stay at home and look at some materials today," Nohara Rin said apologetically.
Lately, she had been learning about Medical Ninjutsu and didn't have time to play with Obito.
"Obito, you can go play with Kakashi," Nohara Rin suggested.
"Come to think of it, I've recently been able to more clearly sense the energy inside my body, maybe the Breath of Flame is about to break through, so I should focus on training this afternoon," Obito decided after some thought.
He'd only ask Kakashi to play if he had some achievement worth bragging about to Kakashi.
"Training is good too; we're about to graduate soon, then we'll be ninjas," Nohara Rin said with a gentle smile.
Two semesters isn't much, and including the vacation, it's about seven months.
"Ah, ninjas, it's exciting! We'll be able to do missions and earn money; no more needing my grandmother's pocket money, and I can buy her gifts," Obito exclaimed upon hearing Nohara Rin's words, imagining his ninja career.
"Before earning money, you also need strength; the higher the pay, the tougher the mission," Mokgetsu commented, tapping Obito and interrupting his fantasy.
Being a ninja was indeed a quick way to make money.
Excluding S-level missions, which ordinary ninjas couldn't access, the commission fees for D, C, and B levels were quite substantial.
The lowest D-level task would start from fifty thousand ryo to five hundred thousand ryo, C-level would be from thirty thousand ryo to one hundred thousand ryo, and B-level missions could go up to two hundred thousand ryo.
This is why capable ninjas wouldn't choose to be Chunin Teachers — earning one hundred thousand ryo a month, doing two C-class missions would surpass that.
Not every C-class mission would have a Jonin opponent; genuinely, C-class missions wouldn't usually encounter ninja foes. If ninja foes appeared, the task level would be B or higher.
Ninjas earn a lot but also spend quickly; good-quality shuriken and kunai are pricey, and advanced Ninja Tools like Explosive Tags are even more expensive, as are Cultivation Elixirs.
Getting a fixed one hundred thousand ryo a month doesn't allow for cultivation spending; it's simply unaffordable to keep getting stronger.
However, for those wanting to slack off, being a teacher at the Ninja School is still a good choice.
Because if you're not strong enough, completing C-class tasks quickly won't happen either, and you won't earn much in a month; having to run all over isn't easy, unlike comfortably staying at the Ninja School earning a steady monthly salary of one hundred thousand ryo, with bonuses for leading successful classes.
And, after stopping ninja cultivation, you could use that one hundred thousand ryo entirely for enjoyment, living a comfortable life.
Obito chuckled twice and began today's Breath of Flame training.
In the afternoon, Mokgetsu routinely went to Sarutobi Hiruzen's house to take Asuma for lessons.
Mokgetsu noticed Asuma seemed to be in low spirits and gently inquired about the reason.
Because it was Mokgetsu asking, Asuma recounted what happened yesterday, growing more agitated as he spoke.
"He always does this, as if I'm worthless in his eyes, asking about my performance always results in pointing out mistakes, never giving me any credit. Was my performance in that battle really so terrible?"
As he spoke, Asuma gradually began to choke up, tears brimming in his eyes.
Mokgetsu could only conclude that Asuma still had significant feelings for Sarutobi Hiruzen; otherwise, he wouldn't be like this.
"Don't worry about it. You already did your best in that battle; it's just that Obito's stronger," Mokgetsu said gently, patting Asuma's head.
He could understand Asuma's feelings right now very well because, in his previous life, his parents were also exceedingly strict about grades.
Mokgetsu's grades during elementary and middle school were quite decent, often achieving high scores in math and literature, with math often being perfect. But when Mokgetsu achieved perfect scores, his parents would say it was because the test was easy or the teacher was lenient, never attributing it to Mokgetsu's ability.
But if it wasn't perfect, then Mokgetsu must not have studied seriously, leading to deteriorations.
Over time, Mokgetsu gradually lost confidence in himself, eventually going astray after being left alone for two years due to unforeseen circumstances, only coming to his senses in the second year of high school.
Were his parents wishing him ill? No, he could see his parents loved him very much, but they were just rough when it came to teaching, worried Mokgetsu would get complacent and therefore regress, hoping he would maintain a humble, inquisitive attitude.
"Teacher, if you can see it, why can't he, a Hokage, see it?" Asuma still had quite an amount of resentment.
Fortunately, Mokgetsu had gained sufficient favor with Asuma to calm him down, further mentioning things like Sarutobi Hiruzen waiting on the path of fatherhood, managing to stabilize Asuma's mood.
After venting out his feelings and going through an afternoon of training, Asuma's spirits visibly improved.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you better be reliable and not disappoint me," Mokgetsu thought to himself; being a tutor and having to help maintain family relationships was truly going above and beyond.
On Monday, Mokgetsu went to the Ninja Academy to attend the teachers' meeting.