"The Taijutsu challenge consists of two stages. The first is the Forest Dash. I've set up numerous trap mechanisms in certain areas of the forest. Each time you trigger a trap or get hit by a mechanism, one point will be deducted. If three points are deducted, the challenge is considered a failure."
"You have three chances," Obito felt that what Mutsuki described as a challenge wasn't too difficult.
Arranging traps is also one of the courses that ninjas must learn, and Obito is familiar with it.
"Moreover, I will dispatch a Shadow Clone with slightly less speed than yours to follow you. If your speed is too slow and the Shadow Clone catches you, it will also be considered a failure," Mutsuki added.
If you walk step by step slowly, it's naturally easy to avoid traps, but having someone chasing you from behind complicates things.
"Yumi-sensei's Shadow Clone will be chasing me from behind?" Obito suddenly felt that it wasn't as simple as it seemed.
"As long as you can maintain a good speed, the Shadow Clone won't catch up to you," Mutsuki said with a smile.
"Well, Yumi-sensei, how about you take me to try the challenge?" Obito wanted to give it a try first.
"Sure, let me give you the challenge fee first." Mutsuki took out three exam papers and said, "There are about a hundred questions here, consider it the cost to initiate the challenge."
"Huh?" Obito looked at the papers handed over by Mutsuki in surprise. It turned out to be a paid challenge. But why was Mutsuki paying him?
"Yumi-sensei, I think this is not right. How can a boss give money to the customer? Why don't I give you three exam papers as the challenge fee?" Obito, seeing the three papers, started to ramble and speak incoherently.
Slap!
Mutsuki lightly tapped the confused Obito on the head and laughed, "Do you think, sensei, setting up the venue doesn't take him time? If I don't charge you a bit, and if you keep pestering me for challenges, I'll be exhausted from setting up traps."
Obito, who was tapped, suddenly became clear-headed, revealing an embarrassed and silly smile. He felt that what Mutsuki said made a lot of sense.
"Yumi-sensei, you've worked hard," Obito stood on a rock and gave Mutsuki a shoulder massage.
"But I think both the numbers one hundred and three are not good. Two, on the other hand, is quite nice. How about we discuss it and just do two questions? I promise not to trouble you too much, Yumi-sensei," Obito suggested.
"Put in some effort," Mutsuki hinted.
"Regarding the questions?" Obito's face lit up.
"No problem, if you really like the number two, let's change it to two hundred and fifty questions," Mutsuki showed a slightly wicked smile.
"Um, actually, I also quite like three and one" Obito quickly changed his tune.
"Stop being cheeky. I'll take you to the challenge location," Mutsuki grabbed Obito and, using Soru, swiftly arrived at the challenge site.
After looking around for a while, Obito didn't see anything different from this area compared to the rest of the forest, except that the trees were a bit thicker.
"Keep heading east, and you'll reach the finish line. My Shadow Clone will start moving three seconds after you depart," Mutsuki pointed in a direction.
Upon hearing Mutsuki's instructions, Obito nodded. He took a deep breath and sprinted with all his might, occasionally glancing back at the Shadow Clone.
However, not paying attention to the path while running can have serious consequences.
Obito stepped directly into Mutsuki's trap, a snare, and found himself hanging from a tree.
"Minus one point," Mutsuki's warm voice reached Obito's ears.
"There's one more thing, if you don't quickly free yourself from the trap, the Shadow Clone will start its pursuit."
Upon hearing Mutsuki's words, in that instant, Obito remembered the admission fee of one hundred questions. He couldn't afford to fall at the very beginning; after all, it was a whole three papers!
Obito unleashed the strength in his abdominal muscles, performed a handstand, grabbed the rope, burned it through, and then sprinted madly towards the east.
After suffering a setback, Obito became particularly attentive to the terrain, avoiding stepping on anything that seemed even slightly unnatural.
"It seems that as long as I'm serious, this challenge isn't that difficult," Obito smiled after running for a minute without triggering any traps.
However, in the next moment, Obito's smile faded. Despite not touching anything, several thick logs suddenly came crashing towards him, swinging rapidly back and forth like a pendulum.
Obito finally understood why Mutsuki had said he couldn't complete it at the start.
If not for Obito having grown accustomed to Kakashi's Body Flicker Jutsu, which improved his reaction speed. If it had been him a month ago, he would have been sent flying by the logs.
Although Obito could evade the mechanical attacks, his speed slowed down. He was eventually caught by the pursuing Shadow Clone, resulting in a failed challenge.
"If I had known, I would have preferred to take a hit and just lose one point," Obito regretted, realizing he could have moved faster.
"Why not make yourself faster and more responsive, allowing you to pass through the mechanical area more quickly?" Mutsuki reminded. His challenge wasn't intended to train Obito's ability to take hits.
The challenge of acquiring Soru was meant to enhance Obito's corresponding abilities for better Soru practice.
"If only I knew the Body Flicker Jutsu, I could definitely flash through all the mechanisms in an instant," Obito concluded after some thought.
"Go practice it then," Mutsuki suggested, indicating that it would be better not to dwell on it and to focus on improvement.
As it was a Saturday, in the afternoon, Mutsuki went to Asuma's house to begin the week's training.
"Lord Third-sama," Mutsuki noticed Sarutobi Hiruzen was unexpectedly at home, so he greeted him.
When Mutsuki arrived, Sarutobi Hiruzen was sitting in the living room chair, continuously puffing smoke rings, seemingly contemplating something.
"Came to train Asuma? He's waiting for you in the backyard," Sarutobi Hiruzen took the pipe out of his mouth, smiled, and responded.
Suddenly, Sarutobi Hiruzen remembered Mutsuki's extraordinary performance from yesterday and asked, "Mutsuki, if a major war were to break out in the ninja world, and Konoha became involved, what would you do?"
After pondering for a moment, Mutsuki smiled and replied, "As a sensei, I would provide special training to my students, enhance their abilities, and contribute my strength to bolster the village's power. As a Konoha ninja, I am willing to fight for the village!"
Considering the news of the third Kazekage's disappearance yesterday and Mutsuki's own demonstrated abilities, Mutsuki vaguely sensed Sarutobi Hiruzen's thoughts.
Not only did Mutsuki not mind Lord Third's thoughts, but he also worried that he might be overthinking. Deliberately, he guided Sarutobi Hiruzen to continue in the direction he wanted.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction, pleased with Mutsuki's response.
Following that, Sarutobi Hiruzen informed Mutsuki about the imminent outbreak of the war related to Third Kazekage's disappearance.
"I think we can gather the soon-to-graduate fourth-grade students for a summer special training to enhance their abilities. Students from other grades who have shown outstanding performance can also join," Mutsuki suggested.
In this way, Obito and the others can undergo more intensive training, and he can continue to accumulate rewards for attending classes.
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