On Sunday morning, Mutsuki went to the Southern Boundary Forest as usual, preparing to start a new round of teaching.
However, he didn't immediately begin teaching breathing techniques. Instead, he had Guy and Obito compete in today's running competition first.
Yesterday, he used the Identification Jutsu to check Obito's progress in Soru, and he was almost at the Beginner level. With today's effort, he should be close to mastering it.
"Let's make a small change in the rules today. The topics that the winner avoids will be added to the loser's list," Mutsuki said with a smile.
"Huh? Doesn't that mean the loser will have to do all eighty questions?" Obito was starting to feel a bit uneasy.
According to Mutsuki's new rule, if the winner avoids all the questions and the loser fails to break through their limits, then the loser will have to answer eighty questions.
He hadn't won many times, and with this new rule, the number of questions would be doubled directly if he lost.
Upon hearing Mutsuki's words, even a fine layer of sweat appeared on Guy's forehead. While he had won more often, he had also experienced losses before.
"This is a special activity for Sunday. After today, it will go back to the usual rules," Mutsuki explained.
Obito and Guy both sighed in relief. Thankfully, it was only for one day. If it were to continue like this in the future, the pressure would be too much. Although they had experienced a day with over a hundred questions in the past, that challenging time had been buried deep in their memories, and they were reluctant to revisit it.
"Why is there a special activity today? Is today some special day?" Obito asked curiously.
"Because today marks the 111th day since I became a sensei," Mutsuki replied. Even though it sounded like a perfunctory statement, it was indeed the 111th day of his tenure as a sensei and the 111th day since he transmigrated into the Naruto world.
"Alright, let's get ready to start the competition," Mutsuki said.
Obito and Guy quickly completed their warm-up exercises and stood at the starting point designated by Mutsuki.
"Obito, you can do it," Rin, who was practicing nearby, smiled and cheered for Obito.
"I've won in practical tests against Guy, and there won't be any difficulty in this competition either," Obito said, revealing a confident smile.
"With eighty questions and Rin watching on the side, I definitely can't lose this time!" Obito thought to himself.
"Ready, go!"
Swoosh!
As soon as Mutsuki's voice fell, Obito burst out with a powerful surge of chakra, taking off with a supercharged start. Under the pressure of eighty questions, Guy was equally motivated, using Soru for a supercharged start as well.
Sensing the increasing intensity of the running sounds, Obito felt the urgency growing in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he ran, ignoring the fatigue in his leg muscles and once again using Soru.
But in terms of willpower, Guy wouldn't concede. Seeing Obito accelerating, Guy also exerted full force to speed up, rapidly chasing after Obito's back.
His physical strength was stronger than Obito's, and he had already mastered Soru at the Beginner level. So, as long as he got close to Obito, Obito would essentially be on the verge of losing.
As the distance to the finish line got closer, the gap between Guy and Obito was also narrowing.
Swoosh!
Seeing that they were nearing the finish line, Guy directly entered a sprint mode, his figure disappearing from the spot and rapidly advancing.
Obito also started to sprint, using the Soru he hadn't fully mastered yet to charge towards the finish line.
The two were getting closer, and Obito's peripheral vision could already see a swift-moving blur of green, which was Guy in his tight-fitting suit.
"This is bad!" Obito felt a sense of unease. He knew that Guy must have made some progress again this time.
"I absolutely can't lose!" Obito poured all his strength into his legs, giving it his all to run.
"Soru!"
Both of them simultaneously used Soru, making their bodies disappear from the original spot.
"Who won in the end?" Rin felt that the two figures suddenly blurred, and in the next moment, they both appeared at the finish line.
"Obito wins, and Guy has seventy questions to answer," Mutsuki announced the result. (Guy managed to break through his limits so Obito will do ten questions)
During the final sprint just now, Obito completely grasped the basics of Soru, acquiring the technique of triple stacking. He used the advantage of being closer to win the competition.
"Huff, huff, huff." Obito collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath heavily. His chest felt hot, and even his breath seemed warm.
Although exhausted, Obito was happy. He had to do eighty fewer questions, which was equivalent to losing two fewer times. Plus, he won in front of Rin.
Thinking about Rin being present, Obito wobbly stood up, even if his legs were tired.
"Obito, take a rest for a while, okay?" Rin asked with concern.
"It's okay, it's just running a bit, no big deal," Obito said, controlling his legs not to tremble and pretending to be at ease.
"It seems the distance was a bit too short. Let's double it tomorrow," Mutsuki said with a sudden realization, smiling.
Obito: ...
"Turns out, Obito, you still have some energy left. Let's run together again. I feel like I have room for improvement," Guy temporarily suppressed his fear of questions, speaking with a passionate expression.
Setting aside the fact that he had to answer questions, Guy enjoyed this kind of competition. Although he had just lost, he had indeed made progress.
Obito was momentarily unsure whether Guy was teasing him or genuinely wanted to run again.
"To be honest, earlier, I was just joking. You guys misunderstood my intention," Obito attempted to brush it off.
Rin pointed out the deception, poking Obito's thigh with her finger, causing Obito's thigh to uncontrollably tremble.
"Obito, don't pretend to be strong. If you're shaking like this, adding twice the distance will leave you too tired to get up," Rin sighed.
Obito felt a wave of exhaustion with a sense of wanting everything to be over. He was tired.
He just wanted to show off a bit in front of Rin, why is it so difficult?
"Alright, take a break and get ready to learn a new Ninjutsu. This time, I'll teach you an extremely challenging Secret Jutsu. You must take it seriously," Mutsuki said.
"An extremely challenging Secret Jutsu? That means it must be very powerful," Obito suddenly became excited. Generally, the more difficult the Ninjutsu, the more formidable it is.
"Yes, it's difficult to learn, but mastering it can greatly enhance your strength," Mutsuki nodded.
After the modification of the breathing techniques, they possessed tremendous power, but the difficulty was also at its peak. If classified according to the levels in Naruto, his two breathing techniques would both be S-rank Secret jutsu.
Especially the Stone Breathing, among the most challenging, comparable to the Eight Inner Gates. It required dedicated and rigorous practice.
"Sensei, should I learn too? I'm a bit slow in picking up Ninjutsu," Guy scratched his head and asked.
His Ninjutsu talent was a bit lacking, struggling even with the basics.
"You should learn, but your approach will be different from theirs. Just believe in yourself, and that's enough," Mutsuki replied.
After the two had rested, Mutsuki called Shisui, preparing to begin teaching the breathing techniques.
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