After the mission, Renjiro continued to train his students.
One day, as the training was about to end, Renjiro observed his three students.
He looked at them with a proud smile, thinking to himself.
“These three are all quite excellent. I would be surprised if any of them didn't get promoted to Jonin before they turn 16. I think they really deserve some praise from their teacher.”
Training quickly ended, and as the Genin were about to leave, Renjiro called out to them. He said.
“Three months ago, I agreed to be your squad's Jonin Sensei. Do you remember what I told you then?”
Feng Zheng, Hodaka, and Mieko all shook their heads. Hodaka asked.
“Sensei, what did you say back then?”
Renjiro sighed and said.
“You were still on probation, remember?”
Feng Zheng understood that Renjiro just wanted to make the announcement official, so he tilted his head and asked.
“Sensei, what probation? Mieko, do you remember?”
Mieko also understood his meaning, and she tilted her head and said.
“I don't remember. Hodaka, do you know?”
Hodaka also tilted his head and said.
“I don't know what Sensei said either.”
Watching his three students maintain perfect poker faces, Renjiro's expression darkened completely.
Seeing his reaction, the three couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Renjiro finally gave up on his students' pranks. He composed himself and said.
“You have passed...”
However, Hodaka interrupted him and said.
“Sensei, we already knew.”
Then, the three Genin instantly disappeared, leaving their completely stunned Sensei. Renjiro gave a wry smile and muttered to himself.
“I really need to have a talk with whoever suggested I put the top squad of the year on probation.”
Four weeks had passed since they officially became Genin.
One day, after morning training, Feng Zheng, Hodaka, and Mieko were resting under a tree.
Mieko was the first to speak.
“Tomorrow is the final round of the Chunin Exams.”
Hodaka nodded and said.
“Yeah, two of my classmates will also be competing tomorrow.”
Mieko continued.
“Yes, I want to watch Uchiha Rai's match. I wonder if Sensei will allow us to go watch.”
Feng Zheng smiled and said.
“Good luck, ask Sensei for leave.”
Hearing this, Mieko looked at Feng Zheng with an annoyed expression. Feng Zheng ignored her, thinking to himself.
“That being said, it wouldn't be a bad thing to see how much Senju Teru and Uchiha Rai have improved. They've been Genin a year longer than me.”
After their break, Renjiro appeared and gathered his squad.
As soon as she saw him, Mieko wanted to ask for permission to watch the matches the next day. However, Renjiro refused her, saying.
“We have another mission to carry out, departing at nine AM tomorrow.”
Mieko quickly asked.
“Sensei, can't we take the mission a few days later?”
Renjiro narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Why?”
She replied.
“Sensei, we want to go watch the Chunin Exams tomorrow.”
Renjiro, with the same expression, asked the same question again.
“Why?”
Mieko showed a serious expression and replied earnestly.
“We want to observe the tactics, strategies, and Ninjutsu used by Ninja from neighboring villages, so we will be better prepared when fighting them.”
Hearing this answer, Feng Zheng secretly chuckled.
Renjiro had never forbidden any of their ideas. He just needed a good reason to agree. That's why Mieko had prepared such an answer.
Renjiro waved his hand dismissively and said.
“It's just a battle between Genin; you won't learn anything.”
Then he looked at his squad and said.
“Let's continue training.”
Mieko's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Feng Zheng thought to himself.
“This is a bit surprising; I thought he would agree to that reason. Well, it doesn't matter; it's not important.”
The next day, Renjiro Squad accepted a mission to escort a merchant caravan to the Land of Rivers.
The mission went very smoothly, with only a small group of bandits attempting to attack the caravan. It took them 9 days to reach the Land of Rivers, and the return journey took 1 day.
The squad returned to Konoha at midnight. After completing the formalities, Renjiro dismissed the squad.
When Feng Zheng returned home, he saw a pile of newspapers outside his door.
He picked up the newspapers and walked into the house. He created several Shadow Clones to read through the newspapers while he went to take a bath.
The Shadow Clones simply skimmed through the newspapers and then dissipated on their own.
After receiving all the information, Feng Zheng thought to himself.
“So that's it, Senju Teru and Uchiha Rai both became Chunin. Although it's a bit surprising, I guess Konoha is still trying to increase the number of Chunin and Genin. Hmm, I guess my promotion should also happen in the first exam.”
For the rest of the day, Feng Zheng didn't have much to do, so he decided to review his Ninjutsu.
He created three Shadow Clones, and the four of them practiced all the Sealing Jutsu they knew together.
As Feng Zheng reviewed his knowledge of Sealing Jutsu, he began to reflect on his progress over the past few months, analyzing.
“It's been four months since graduation. Honestly, the progress is amazing. I really underestimated the effect of having a dedicated Elite Jonin for guidance. Then again, I didn't expect us to be taught so well. My Chakra reserves have almost doubled. I can withstand up to 18% more pressure when training Sealing Jutsu.”
“Although I haven't trained my perception abilities in a long time, I can now perceive things up to a kilometer away. Taijutsu has also improved a lot due to constant sparring. Undoubtedly, my Ninjutsu and sword skills have improved the most. I can now easily use Chakra flow on my sword. I really want to have a full-power battle to test my strength. I wonder if I will get such an opportunity soon.”
At 4:45 AM the next day, Feng Zheng arrived at the Training Grounds. Mieko and Hodaka were already there.
Seeing them, Feng Zheng asked.
“Yo, ready for another 3-4 weeks of hardcore training?”
Mieko's shoulders slumped, and she replied.
“I'd rather go on a mission.”
Feng Zheng and Hodaka laughed at her reaction.
Four months of training together and two long out-of-village missions had greatly improved the relationship between the three.
Their teamwork was also excellent. However, it still needed to be tested in formal Ninja team confrontations.
At 5 o'clock, Renjiro flashed in front of the team.
Seeing that his squad members were ready to start morning training, he nodded inwardly.
However, knowing what was about to happen, he couldn't help but smile.
Seeing that smile immediately made his Genin very worried. Feng Zheng thought to himself.
“Okay, what's going on now?”
Renjiro began.
“Over these four months, I have taught you all the basic formations. Even if you have become Genin, you will still use these formations.”
The squad members only calmed down after hearing this. Feng Zheng thought to himself.
“Finally. No more boring formation training. But why is he smiling? He wouldn't suddenly become friendly!”
Renjiro continued.
“So, from now on, I will focus entirely on improving your abilities. So the training will be stepped up several notches.”
Hearing this, all three were stunned. Mieko was terrified, thinking to herself.
“Several notches?”
Feng Zheng also broke a sweat, thinking to himself.
“Hasn't he already made us use 100% of our strength?”
Hodaka also wondered how intense stepping up several notches would be.