After finishing his tutoring session, Makoto did not return to the southern forest residence. Instead, he went to his house in Konohagakure's main district.
After cooking two simple dishes for dinner, Makoto went out for a walk.
After all, friendships wouldn't appear if you just stayed at home.
After strolling for a while, Makoto eventually ran into Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki in a nearby park.
The two of them were sitting on a bench, chatting while enjoying the evening breeze.
"Hosokawa ," Minato greeted when he noticed Makoto.
"Are you here for a walk too?" Minato asked.
Makoto nodded and sat on a nearby bench.
"I just finished dinner, so I'm taking a walk to help with digestion."
"Hosokawa , Minato told me you're a Ninja Academy teacher?" Kushina asked curiously.
In her circle of friends, she had never known anyone who became an Academy teacher.
"Yes, I just started working this year," Makoto replied with a smile.
"You only joined this year, yet you already received such praise?" Minato said with some surprise.
Kushina looked at him in confusion.
"Yesterday in the Hokage's office, Lord Third said Hosokawa 's teaching ability is very impressive. He even wanted to hire him as Asuma's private tutor," Minato explained.
"If someone who just started this year received that kind of evaluation from the Hokage, his teaching results must be outstanding."
"Wow, the old man really praised you that much?" Kushina said in surprise.
Although she didn't particularly like Hiruzen Sarutobi, she did trust his judgment.
"It's nothing special. My students are simply hardworking," Makoto replied modestly.
Then he added,
"Jōnin Namikaze is the truly impressive one. Becoming a jōnin at such a young age and already serving as one of the village's key combat forces."
"Hehe, of course. Our Minato is the best," Kushina said proudly.
"But I'm also a jōnin, you know," she added with a laugh.
Makoto showed a surprised expression and nodded in admiration.
"Then Jōnin Uzumaki is also very impressive."
"Hosokawa , you really know how to talk," Kushina said, finding Makoto increasingly likable.
If her good friend Mikoto Uchiha hadn't already gotten married, she would have definitely tried to introduce Makoto to her.
Just look at him—handsome like Minato, capable enough to earn praise from the Third Hokage, and with such a pleasant personality.
The three chatted for a while before Makoto took the initiative to excuse himself.
After all, the two of them were a couple out on a walk. Staying too long would be awkward.
It was enough to leave a good impression. Building relationships took time.
The next day, Makoto again trained Obito, Might Guy , and Shisui until noon.
In the afternoon, he went to Hiruzen Sarutobi's house to tutor Asuma, bringing him once again to the same river from the previous day.
"I'm too tired today. I don't feel like training," Asuma said lazily.
He leaned against a tree, looking as if he were about to fall asleep.
In his mind, he had already made a firm decision.
No matter how Makoto tried to provoke him today, he would remain completely unmoved.
"You want to sleep?" Makoto asked with a gentle smile.
The smile was warm and comforting—much nicer than his old man's.
Yet somehow, Asuma felt a bad premonition.
"Yeah. I didn't sleep well last night. Is that a problem?" Asuma said stubbornly.
To Asuma's surprise, Makoto nodded.
"You're right. The sun is warm, and the breeze is gentle. It's perfect weather for a nap."
Then Makoto stretched lazily and leaned against the tree as well.
"Being a tutor is great," he said casually.
"Just lying here and taking a nap. When I wake up, I'll have earned one hundred thousand ryō."
With that, Makoto closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree, as if he were about to fall asleep.
"Wait—what did you just say? One hundred thousand ryō?" Asuma's eyes widened.
"What are you yelling for? Are we sleeping or not?" Makoto said without even opening his eyes.
"No, don't sleep yet! Tell me what you meant by one hundred thousand ryō!" Asuma said while shaking Makoto.
"What else could it be?" Makoto replied calmly as he opened his eyes.
"That's the payment for teaching you."
"You didn't think I was working for free, did you? Even the Hokage has to pay when he hires a tutor."
"My rates are very high."
"Teaching you costs twenty-five thousand ryō per hour."
"And since I teach you for four hours a day, that's one hundred thousand ryō."
"Is your mouth made of gold or something?!" Asuma exclaimed in shock.
If Makoto earned twenty-five thousand ryō per hour just by being with him, that was ridiculous.
When he attended the Ninja Academy, his monthly allowance was only fifty thousand ryō—and that was already considered generous.
Yet Makoto could earn that much in just two hours of tutoring!
"You can ask around the Ninja Academy about the name Hosokawa Makoto if you want to know whether I'm worth the price," Makoto said calmly.
"But I've never heard of you before," Asuma replied suspiciously.
"That's because I joined the Academy after you graduated."
Makoto closed his eyes again, pretending to go back to sleep.
Seeing Makoto about to nap again, Asuma suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
This was twenty-five thousand ryō per hour!
"Don't sleep! Let's start training!" Asuma shouted quickly, afraid Makoto might actually fall asleep.
"Didn't you just say you were tired and wanted to sleep?" Makoto asked with a smile as he opened his eyes.
Looking at Makoto's expression, Asuma realized the truth.
He had been tricked again.
But there was nothing he could do.
If Makoto really slept through the session, Asuma wouldn't be able to sleep tonight out of sheer frustration.
"I've rested enough. Let's train," Asuma said with a dark expression.
He decided he would complain to his mother later.
Hiring such an expensive tutor was clearly a waste of money. It wasn't like the village lacked jōnin instructors.
"Alright then," Makoto said with a smile as he stood up.
"Today we'll continue working on chakra control."
"Your goal today is to remain standing on the water for fifteen minutes."
The training was the same as yesterday.
Asuma tried to maintain his footing on the water while Makoto used Water Release techniques from the shore to disturb the river.
Just like the day before, Asuma trained with incredible motivation.
Yesterday, his motivation had been to prove his father wrong.
Today, his motivation was the outrageous tutoring fee Makoto had mentioned.
During dinner that evening, Asuma immediately complained to Biwako Sarutobi, accusing Hiruzen Sarutobi of wasting money by hiring a tutor who charged twenty-five thousand ryō per hour.
Biwako was also shocked.
Four hours would cost one hundred thousand ryō.
Some B-rank missions only paid around that much.
That meant Makoto was earning the equivalent of a solo B-rank mission in just four hours.
"Hm?" Hiruzen looked puzzled.
"You mean Hosokawa ? That's impossible. His tutoring fee is two thousand ryō per hour."
"Two thousand?" Asuma stared suspiciously at his father.
"Of course it's two thousand. Where did you hear twenty-five thousand?" Hiruzen replied confidently.
Looking at his father's expression, Asuma instantly understood.
He had been completely fooled by Makoto.
"Ahhh! That sneaky Hosokawa Makoto!" Asuma roared internally.
Then he turned his grief into appetite and began stuffing food into his mouth.
Next week, no matter what happened—
He absolutely would not fall for Makoto's tricks again.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/NextChapterStudios