Teaching Sealing Jutsu was naturally impossible in a restaurant, so Kushina planned to bring Mutsuki to the house where Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu was set up to teach him.
The house had a spacious interior, with many rooms designated for training in addition to her resting quarters.
As Kushina was leading the way halfway there, two ANBU Ninja wearing animal masks and black robes suddenly appeared and said, "Are you intending to take him to that place? That is not allowed."
"Why so many rules? What's the harm in taking him there?" Kushina replied defiantly, hands on her hips.
Facing the ANBU who had been monitoring her, Kushina showed no inclination to be friendly.
"Besides, you never said anything when Minato was around," she added.
"Minato Namikaze was specially permitted under different circumstances," the ANBU Ninja said calmly.
There were many reasons Minato was allowed. Not only was he intimately connected with Kushina, but he was also a favored disciple of Jiraiya, which earned him trust from the Konoha Elders.
Mutsuki, upon seeing the sudden appearance of the two ANBU, displayed a faintly surprised expression on his face. Of course, this was feigned. Mutsuki had long observed them with his Byakugan. His decision to accelerate his public Sealing Jutsu training was also aimed at using these two surveillance cameras to craft an image of himself as a talented ninja.
"If it's difficult here, then let's find another place. There should be some quieter spots nearby," Mutsuki said with a relaxed smile.
"If you put it that way, Mutsuki, then fine," Kushina eased up a bit. She wasn't afraid of the ANBU, but she had to consider Mutsuki's situation. It wasn't ideal to clash with the ANBU.
The faces behind the ANBU masks relaxed slightly as well. They felt Mutsuki was reasonable. They didn't want to escalate with a jinchuriki, but if they didn't intervene, it would reflect poorly on their competence.
They found a cool and deserted place, where Kushina began explaining the Four Symbols Seal to Mutsuki.
"The Four Symbols Seal is a sealing jutsu with an exceptionally high ceiling. The stronger the user, the more powerful the Four Symbols Seal they can produce. Moreover, there's a significant possibility that some other powerful sealing jutsu are developed based on the Four Symbols Seal," Kushina explained.
Mutsuki nodded. He recalled memories related to this ninjutsu. It seemed to be true that Minato had improved the Four Symbols Seal. By using it twice, it could transform into the Eight Trigrams Seal. Additionally, there was the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, a ninjutsu where both parties would perish.
Setting aside the lack of combat effectiveness of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal for now, the Eight Trigrams Seal was indeed formidable. The first layer of the Four Symbols was used to seal the Nine-Tails, and the second layer could convert leaked Nine-Tails chakra into the chakra of the jinchuriki.
This concept was remarkable. Even if Naruto didn't train in anything else, he could grow just by using the chakra from the Eight Trigrams Seal.
The teaching lasted for about three hours.
"I'm going back now. Next time we meet, I'll bring you the training scroll for the Four Symbols Seal," Kushina explained as she stood up.
She had limited time each day to be outside and couldn't stay out indefinitely.
"What would you like for dinner tonight? I'll go prepare the ingredients," Mutsuki asked with a smile.
Kushina's eyes brightened as she thought for a moment and replied, "Braised Pork Belly, Squirrel Fish, Illusion Mapo Tofu."
"Goodbye then. Make sure to practice Sealing Jutsu well, or else facing Kushina-sensei when she's angry can be terrifying," Kushina said, thinking about the delicious dinner awaiting her later. Kushina waved cheerfully and bid farewell to Mutsuki.
"Goodbye," Mutsuki nodded with a smile.
Then, Mutsuki sent a Shadow Clone to buy groceries while he himself headed to the Southern Border Forest to continue teaching his students.
"Yumi-sensei," Shisui, who was practicing, temporarily paused and greeted Mutsuki.
He couldn't rely on visual cues to distinguish between a Shadow Clone and the real Mutsuki, but generally, Mutsuki who appeared during training sessions was the original.
Mutsuki nodded with a smile in response and began the instruction.
As the training time was nearing its end, Mutsuki instructed the two to stop practicing and take a break to chat.
"Yumi-sensei, did your mission this time go smoothly?" Rin curiously asked.
Because this time, she hadn't seen Obito and Guy come over, which they usually did when they had time after a mission.
"We encountered a few setbacks, but overall, the results were satisfactory," Mutsuki thought for a moment and replied.
The process was challenging, but everyone gained something from it.
"After hearing your words, Yumi-sensei, I feel much relieved. I've been worried that Obito and Kakashi might have disagreements during Rin said with a relieved smile.
"They both clearly care about each other a lot, but neither wants to admit it," Rin sighed.
In her perspective, both of them were tsundere; even if they were worried about each other, their words would only come out as teasing.
"Maybe they enjoy it," Mutsuki said with a smile.
He felt that if one day Kakashi spoke to Obito without any aggression, Obito might find it unfamiliar.
"Oh, is that so?" Rin was slightly surprised.
"I'm just guessing."
"If that's the case, then Kakashi and Obito get along well every day," Rin softly laughed with her hands clasped together.
Mutsuki glanced at Rin. In his previous life, he had been curious about whom Rin liked. She cared deeply for Obito, helping him with various things and quickly bandaging his wounds. She was also attentive to Kakashi; after Kakashi was promoted to Jonin, she quickly gathered friends to celebrate.
At twelve years old, Mutsuki wasn't sure whom Rin liked, but based on observations over the past few months, he concluded that eight-year-old Rin didn't like anyone—neither Kakashi nor Obito—enough to call it love.
Rin's care for Obito was akin to that of a younger brother; she worried about his safety and helped him when he was reckless.
As for Kakashi, Rin harbored a mix of admiration like a little girl and friendship.
If forced to say whom she liked more, Mutsuki now believed Kakashi had a better chance. This was because Rin's feelings for Obito resembled familial love—intimate but unlikely to develop romantically.
However, Mutsuki's speculation was simple, and he couldn't predict the future. The three of them were still too young, and their feelings might change as they grew older.
...
In the evening, Kakashi woke up from his bed, made a simple meal for himself, and after eating, took a short walk before starting to practice Thunder Breathing.
Obito's Sharingan put a lot of pressure on him, and Guy was waiting for his challenge. Kakashi wished he could go back in time to make up for the wasted moments and devote them to training.
Kakashi set up wooden stakes in the yard for his training, then walked to the edge and drew the White Fang Short Blade, assuming a stance with his eyes closed.
He recalled the technique he used during the mission, a Breathing Technique Swordsmanship he developed combining Hatake-style swordsmanship and Thunder Breathing.
"Huh." Kakashi gradually adjusted his breathing rhythm, allowing his breath-infused chakra to gather at his feet.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
Whoosh!
Kakashi suddenly opened his eyes, chakra bursting from his feet. Thunder rumbled as he shot forward like lightning.
Thud!
The wooden stake instantly split in half and fell to the ground, the cut remarkably smooth.
"This technique still needs refinement." Kakashi stood still for a moment, contemplating.
The first time he used it, he hadn't had time to analyze much. Now, using it again, Kakashi identified an issue.
Speed. The technique was too fast.
While speed was advantageous, if it exceeded his own reaction time, it wasn't entirely beneficial.
He would become quite passive and dangerous if his straight-line charge's nature and trajectory were discerned by others, making it difficult to hit the target.
After thinking for a while, Kakashi came up with a solution: if Thunderclap and Flash could turn corners, it would become much more flexible.
"I'll ask Yumi-sensei about this during tomorrow's training." Kakashi thought of Mutsuki next. Mutsuki's speed with Thunderclap and Flash was faster than his, but Mutsuki clearly didn't have this problem.
At 10 o'clock, after training, Kakashi washed up and went to sleep.
Next day.
"Slept really well." Obito stretched lazily, feeling refreshed.
"Why is it still so bright outside? Feels like I slept for quite a while." Obito scratched his head, looking at the sunlight streaming through the window.
Glancing at the time, Obito froze. The hour hand pointed straight at the number nine.
Looking at the bright sun outside, Obito realized it couldn't possibly be 9 o'clock in the evening; he had returned around noon.
"Wait, so I slept from yesterday noon until nine in the morning today!" Obito's eyes widened. He couldn't believe he had slept so much; he had practically slept through an entire day.
For a moment, Obito pondered many things. He regretted not waking up in the evening and sharing his heroic exploits with Rin.
"No, it's not about regretting that now, I'm late!" Suddenly, Obito realized he still needed to train normally today.
"Grandma, why didn't you wake me up?" Obito hurried downstairs and asked.
"I saw you were so tired, so I thought to let you sleep a little longer." Grandma smiled kindly.
Facing his caring relative, Obito couldn't blame her. He grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth before running towards the Southern Boundary Forest.
By the time Obito arrived, Mutsuki had already been training with the disciples for some time.
"Late on the first day after the mission?" Kakashi, who was studying Armament Haki, immediately mocked.
"Obito doesn't usually just randomly show up late; he must have been helping the elderly, right?" Rin said softly.
Rin's words made Obito feel a bit embarrassed, so he scratched his head. Usually, he was indeed late because he was helping others, but today was different.
"Hehe, I accidentally overslept," Obito admitted truthfully with a slightly sheepish expression, rather than making up an excuse.
"No worries, the mission was exhausting after all. Let's begin training," Mutsuki smiled and said.
Obito relaxed and smiled back. He knew Mutsuki wouldn't mind such a small matter.
"Kakashi, I challenge you," Obito eagerly challenged Kakashi at noon.
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