"Yumi-sensei, I think I've got it!" Obito exclaimed with surprise during the evening training session.
"Try Taijutsu, come at me," Mutsuki said, glancing over.
Although Flame Breathing's primary effect is to enhance the power of Fire Release, it also enhances physical abilities to a certain extent. This is a common feature of Breathing Techniques and the earliest characteristic to appear. Obito hadn't reached the point where he could strengthen his Fire Release yet.
"Huh." Obito adjusted his breathing rhythm, recalling the feeling he had just experienced. He inhaled a large amount of oxygen into his body, strengthening himself, and then dashed towards Mutsuki with a swift step.
Mutsuki firmly caught Obito's straight punch, feeling that Obito's speed had increased slightly. He quickly threw Obito off balance, while Obito swiftly launched a Whirlwind Kick.
After throwing Obito out, Mutsuki had already made a judgment.
"Indeed, there has been a breakthrough. Once you've mastered the breathing exercises by the start of school, you should be ready for the next stage of training," Mutsuki said.
In the next stage of training, the characteristics of Flame Breathing will gradually begin to manifest, rather than just enhancing physical abilities.
"It'll take another five days," Obito recalled the date and said. He had thought he could start training like Guy right away today.
Smack!
Mutsuki tapped Obito's head with two fingers and said, "Don't aim too high. When Guy began to comprehend the attributes, his Breathing Technique proficiency was much higher than yours."
At present, Obito's proficiency was only twelve points, while Guy had reached nineteen points when he started comprehending the Breathing Technique attributes. However, Guy's case was somewhat special. Mutsuki estimated that in five days, Obito's proficiency in Flame Breathing would be at least fifteen points or higher, and then he could proceed to the next stage of training.
Mutsuki glanced at Shisui, who was still practicing various breathing postures. Shisui's current progress in Flame Breathing was slightly behind Obito's, but not by much—only two points of proficiency.
"I thought as long as I could strengthen with Breathing Technique, it would be enough," Obito said, scratching his head.
Leaving a Shadow Clone to watch over the two, Mutsuki went to check on Guy's training progress.
As for Guy's training, it was quite abstract. Here, one could see the bizarre sight of a rock with limbs standing on another rock, holding yet another rock in its hands.
"Guy, did you feel anything special today?" Mutsuki asked.
"Yes," Guy replied.
Mutsuki used appraisal on Guy and found his proficiency still at nineteen points. Feeling puzzled, Mutsuki doubted that Guy would falsely report his progress.
"The stones heated by the sun do feel especially hot," Guy shared his insight.
In the evening, it's fine, but when the sun is blazing in the afternoon, it's scorching hot, both on the hands and feet.
Mutsuki was momentarily at a loss for words. He felt that Obito had led Guy astray.
"When the sun is high, find a shady spot and sit on a rock," Mutsuki thought for a moment and said. He hadn't been around here in the afternoon or morning; it must have been Guy practicing on his own.
Mutsuki speculated that at this rate, Guy might elevate to Beginner Stone Breathing by the time he finishes, if he's fast, maybe by graduation, if slow, it might take around ten months.
Initially, it was expected to take a year, but Guy had a sudden leap forward once, which saved about two months.
With the successful acquisition of Beginner Stone Breathing, along with the improvement in physical fitness during the training of Stone Breathing, and learning other Taijutsu, Mutsuki felt that it might be time for Guy to attempt Kakashi's training challenge.
"I wonder if the rewards for a nearly year-long training task will be better," Mutsuki wondered to himself.
The Academy is about to start, and a month after that, there will be an exam. Obito's training tasks will be settled at that time, and Mutsuki also needs to consider how to trigger new training tasks for Obito.
If Obito loses to Guy again and takes second place, it's simple: just redo the training task and aim for first place again.
If he gets first place, Mutsuki plans to guide Obito to challenge Kakashi.
This is the best choice for now, a result of Mutsuki's analysis of Obito's character, goals, dreams, and interpersonal relationships, among other influencing factors.
Obito dreams of becoming the Hokage, but for now, tasks that are too distant seem unattainable, such as Guy's task of becoming the strongest or Shisui's task of changing the Uchiha.
In the nearer term, challenging Kakashi seems appropriate. Firstly, Kakashi's strength as a target for challenge is sufficient, which affects the rewards for the task. Secondly, Kakashi has a somewhat special relationship with Obito, making it easier to trigger the task.
Obito may have other ideas, like his affection for Rin, but Mutsuki doubts the system would generate a task teaching Obito about love. Can that even be called a training task?
"I wonder if by the end of this year, there will be a disciple who can reach Trust Level Four," Mutsuki pondered the long absence of any disciple reaching a higher trust level.
Although the sense of Trust Levels might not be high, Mutsuki believed that trust was one of the core elements of the Teacher-disciple system.
At Trust Level Two, no matter how much emotional manipulation he tried, Mutsuki couldn't trigger Mastery-level rewards. It wasn't until Trust Level Three that he triggered rewards like Mastery in Nature Transformation and Taijutsu, and training tasks were only triggered after reaching Trust Level Three.
Leaving aside other factors, just the doubling of Chakra with each increase in Trust Level made Mutsuki wish he could max out the Trust Level for all his disciples.
Even though Obito and the others were still young, the tripled enhancement of Chakra for three people would provide a significant amount of Chakra every month.
As the disciples matured, the difference would become even greater.
Imagine if Mutsuki could cultivate a disciple from scratch who had over a hundred thousand Chakra. Each trust level would then represent a difference of over a hundred thousand Chakra.
Mutsuki felt that his setup was pretty powerful; it just required time to develop. Given enough time, he would eventually grow into an all-powerful and unbeatable warrior.
"Speaking of which, school is starting soon. Feels like this break was too short," Obito sighed as their training neared its end.
Though it was nearly a two-month break, it felt like only a few days had passed for him.
"That's because it's been quite fulfilling. Training during the day on the field and practicing with Yumi-sensei in the evenings," Rin said softly.
For all the fourth-year students, this break was indeed short, with five weeks of special training squeezed in.
"I feel like continuing the special training would be better than going back to school. It helps improve our strength faster," Obito reminisced about the special training.
"Obito, you don't happen to dislike studying theoretical knowledge, do you?" Rin asked.
During Obito's training in Soru and racing against Guy, Rin had seen Obito's pained expression while facing exam papers.
"Of course not. I just believe practical combat is more important than theoretical knowledge," Obito denied.
"You could actually use clones," Shisui chimed in.
"Let the clones go to school, and the main body can continue training."
Since the first exam in first grade, Shisui hadn't attended classes himself; instead, Shadow Clones attended on his behalf, with him only showing up for exams.
"Can the clones created by Clone Jutsu last that long? It seems too easy for them to disappear and be easily discovered, right?" Obito asked, puzzled.
"It's not Clone Jutsu; it's Shadow Clone Jutsu," Shisui corrected.
"The clones created by Shadow Clone Jutsu have substance and possess the same consciousness as the original. After dispelling the Shadow Clone, its memories also return, making it no different from attending classes oneself," Shisui explained.
"So, this Ninjutsu is so convenient!" Obito was astonished. Although he watched Mutsuki use Shadow Clones every day, he never imagined they could replace the main body for attending school.
"Shisui, you're so proficient, does that mean..." Obito looked at Shisui in amazement.
"I only attended classes in person before the first exam. Afterwards, it was always a Shadow Clone attending classes while I trained here," Shisui replied calmly.
Obito, filled with joy, grabbed Shisui's shoulder and said, "Shisui, you truly deserve to be called a genius. You've come up with such a great idea."
Obito found it quite strange. Despite Shisui being stronger than him, he diligently trained every day, yet the gap in their abilities didn't seem to close. It turned out Shisui trained intensively every day.
Putting aside the matter of strength improvement, the key point was that he no longer needed to attend Academy classes. Moreover, the memories of what he learned would automatically appear in his mind.
"The person who developed the Shadow Clone Jutsu deserves to be called the Clone Sage, truly a super genius!" Obito couldn't help but praise.
In just a moment, Obito thought of using Shadow Clones for purposes other than attending school, such as having them solve problems. Then, he wouldn't need to solve problems himself, and he could still gain experience from their solutions.
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