Chapter 182: Talk

After the talks with the Hokage and Lord Nara, Kurenai and I made our way back towards the compound and sat down with Anko, Cameia, Tsunade, and Shizune, discussing what the Hokage had discussed with us and getting a fresh opinion on our choices.

"It's not a bad idea. Money wise, the position makes nearly double what you are now, so somewhere near like 2-3 Million a year base salary, without any cuts taken into account from missions. Then there's the prestige it comes with, and the fact that you don't have to say goodbye to the brats you've been teaching for a fresh batch of much younger, much more annoying brats. And... I think you'd both do well with it."

Anko sipped on the sake without much care, her opinion already on the table as she leaned back and poked Akari's cheek, keeping the girl entertained as she played with her Mom's fingers.

Tsunade was drinking straight from the bottom, the blonde haired Princess leaning on the table and letting her large breasts rest on its surface as she looked at everyone, her eyes slightly tired from the late nights researching... whatever it was she was on now.

"It's... not a bad idea at all, like Anko said. You both are admirable Shinobi, well versed in multiple different fields of what makes someone in our profession great, and are extraordinary teachers. Having adept Jonin Sensei is imperative for a village to succeed, and with how the world has been becoming even further enshrouded in gray recently... well, giving our future generations some more in-depth training and polishing them further is excellent. Besides, your methods will likely be adopted by the Academy after this year, so you needn't worry that you would be 'depriving' a class of quality teaching..."

Giving us a smile, she added "Besides, I don't want to sound... like an elitist, but this current class of yours is leagues ahead of any other class that you would ever be able to teach. Clan Heirs, once in a lifetime talents, the last of certain Clans... You, Kokoro, were spoiled by this class, and I fear the drop in talent from this one to the next might just be a bit too jarring for you... though you'd overcome it quickly enough."

I frowned at that, before looking towards Cameia, who shockingly nodded as she spoke, her voice as low as always as she said "Training those with less potential after a batch of incredible potential... It's going to be different. Less... fulfilling. Irritating. Continue training Naruto. Karin. Ami, Hinata... All of them. They deserve higher quality training."

My frown deepened, but Cameia just shrugged as she stared at me, her golden eyes locked on mine before she looked towards Tsunade, who added "She's... not entirely wrong. I understand you think you could help those less talented, and while you most certainly could, the rewards from teaching this current group even more and teaching a new batch are far different."

Kurenai let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment as she said "Kokoro, it hurts to hear, it really does, but... roughly four or five out of every ten students reach Chunin in their lifetime per class, meaning maybe ten to fifteen total. The rest either drop out or remain Genin forever... Of those ten to fifteen, maybe two become Jonin; usually, only one becomes a Jonin. This class though? I'd... be surprised if they all didn't become Chunin, and I think there's a high chance that most of them become Jonin. Really, I do."

I sighed as well, looking down at Riku and Tomoe in my lap and pursing my lips, eventually nodding as I leaned back in my chair and said "I... guess that makes sense. Besides, I have to admit I want to see Ami, Tenten and Fuki go further. To watch them continue to grow. It just... feels bad to hear that, y'know? I was one of those Clanless kids who got lucky..."

Everyone gave me a small smile, though Anko added "An insane kid; you trained with that bow of yours and thought nothing of it, or that training regimen you have! I mean, that was incredible for ANY kid to do, let alone one without a Clan to support them!"

Tsunade looked at me curiously, and I explained "I have a bow that my grandparents got as a gift from an Uzumaki. It's covered in seals and really, really heavy on the draw weight. Next time you see Kakashi, ask him about how surprised he was when he tried to use it. Then I used to do mile runs and weight training day in, day out."

"Yup, you were an insane child then. Even Jiraiya wasn't that muscle headed when we were kids."

We all chuckled, before accepting the wonderful dinner that Makato had cooked and digging in, continuing to discuss everything that happened today as we enjoyed this moment of peace.