"Damn it, I don't want to do these questions!"
"But if you don't do them, you'll be embarrassed by your low scores..."
At night, Obito looked at the two test papers on the table, feeling a headache coming on.
There were a total of fifty-five questions. If he wanted to finish them in three days, he would have to do at least eighteen questions each day.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Finally, Obito formed seals and split into two Shadow Clones. "You two, play rock-paper-scissors. The loser will take one test paper."
After
Because he was worried that the Shadow Clones wouldn't cooperate, Obito not only created an additional Clone to compete, but also disguised himself as if he were doing the questions.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu still has its merits." Obito thought to himself as he drew a chibi version of Rin on the draft paper.
"Let's still play rock-paper-scissors. As for the test paper, I'll leave it for you to do yourself. I won't do the questions." One of Obito's Shadow Clones bluntly refused.
Just as Obito was pondering where things had gone wrong, the other Shadow Clone spoke up:
"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? Remember, I'm also Uchiha Obito."
Obito was somewhat speechless. These two Clones were actually planning to slack off together. Unable to contain himself, Obito spoke up:
"Since you're both me, then hurry up and help with the test paper."
"But right now, I'm just a Shadow Clone. It's not like I'll be embarrassed if you mess up." The Shadow Clone said nonchalantly.
To make matters worse for Obito, not only did the two Shadow Clones refuse to help with the questions, but they also helped themselves to the novels he had bought and ate the snacks he had purchased, while his original self was left to tackle the test papers.
Obito couldn't help but activate Total Concentration Breathing and snatch the novels and snacks from the two Clones' hands.
"What are you doing? I was really into that novel!" the Clone reading the novel angrily retorted.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" The Clone eating snacks frowned and charged towards Obito.
The Clone reading the novel, not one to back down from a fight, also rushed forward.
Obito directly dispersed both Shadow Clones with punches and kicks. Since they were intended for the test papers, he hadn't infused them with much Chakra, so these Shadow Clones had no combat ability.
Although Obito enjoyed the fight, he realized afterwards that Shadow Clones retained memories. The memories of his punches to the face and kicks to the chest instantly flowed back into his mind.
"Damn Shadow Clone Jutsu, it's useless," Obito complained as he collapsed onto the bed.
"I don't want to do these test papers!" After writhing on the bed for a while, Obito finally got up, sat on the chair, and started working on the questions.
Playtime aside, Yumi-sensei's assignments still needed to be completed.
...
The next day, Obito went to the Southern Forest as usual for training.
First was the practice of Armament Haki, followed by a break after two and a half hours, then continuing with the practice of Breathing Technique Constant.
"Are you all clear about the rules, same as last time?" Mutsuki asked with a smile.
"We haven't forgotten," Obito nodded solemnly.
Having to do two extra questions every time he got hit once was the most annoying part for him, especially if he failed to dodge even once, then there was an additional ten percent.
"Today's training can't be like last time, otherwise splitting the work is inevitable," Obito resolved silently.
He noticed that Shisui hadn't successfully dodged either, but he had fewer questions than him, indicating there was still plenty of room for improvement.
"If I'm more careful, maybe I'll only need to do around thirty questions," Obito speculated.
"Yumi-sensei, what if I manage to dodge all attacks without getting hit even once?" Obito asked curiously.
"Then according to the rules, offset the unanswered questions, or offset the additional questions added later," Mutsuki thought for a moment and replied.
This could be considered a promise he made, but it would be difficult to achieve in reality. Mutsuki had intensified the training regimen based on time, and unless there was a significant improvement in strength in a short period, it would be impossible to dodge all attacks.
Hearing that he could offset the questions, Obito's eyes lit up. If he could clear several more rounds like this, it would be like having a free pass from doing training exercises several times.
"Begin!" Mutsuki gave the order, and the two Shadow Clones sprang into action.
Meanwhile, Shisui and Obito entered Total Concentration Breathing mode and started running at high speed.
Having learned from the last lesson, Obito didn't attempt to compete head-on with Mutsuki's Shadow Clones this time. Instead, he focused on maneuvering skillfully, only attempting to dodge attacks in place when absolutely necessary.
"Always just a little short each time. Damn it, can't I be faster?" Obito shouted inwardly.
Despite using all his strength to dodge, Obito was still precisely struck by Mutsuki.
Time quickly approached the most vulnerable five-minute mark.
Concentrating his Breathing Technique to its peak for five minutes, Obito's Total Concentration Breathing was not as focused as it was initially.
Sensing Mutsuki's figure closing in, Obito knew another attack was imminent.
Obito's Sharingan could clearly see Mutsuki's fingers closing in on him; it seemed inevitable that he would be struck, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it.
"Body, move for me!" Obito roared inwardly.
This strike wouldn't physically harm him but would deliver a heavy blow to his spirit.
"How can I only be at this level? Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!" Obito continuously intensified his concentration of breath, instantly gaining stronger physical abilities and narrowly dodging Mutsuki's strike.
Watching Mutsuki's fingers less than a centimeter from his head, Obito revealed a surprised smile. Evading this meant not just avoiding two questions but also ten percent of the total questions!
"Here's a slight improvement; it seems occasional training with question-solving is indeed the optimal solution, at least for Obito."
Mutsuki was quite satisfied with this outcome. He had thought Obito would need at least four attempts to dodge successfully, but Obito managed it on his second try.
After the session ended, Mutsuki began tallying their training results.
"Shisui was attacked a total of nineteen times, with zero dodges, needing to complete forty-two questions."
"Obito was attacked a total of nineteen times, dodged once, needing to complete thirty-six questions."
Obito couldn't contain his joy, as evidenced on his face. Though thirty-six questions were still substantial, it marked a significant improvement from the initial fifty-five questions.
"Indeed, the difference between dodging and not dodging is significant," Obito thought to himself. Despite both he and Shisui being hit the same number of times, Obito's single successful dodge meant they differed by a full six questions.
"Obito actually managed to dodge an attack!" Shisui exclaimed with surprise after hearing their respective performances.
He saw through the essence of this training during the first session. Without a breakthrough, it would be impossible to evade Mutsuki's attacks.
In other words, Obito made a breakthrough in just the second session.
Shisui felt a wave of pressure. Obito's Sharingan was of a higher level than his, and Flame Breathing made him stronger. Now, the only way he could surpass Obito was with stronger Ninjutsu and Body Flicker Jutsu.
"The time for this set of questions is still three days. The next training will be three days from now," Mutsuki announced.
The pace of training every two days was quite intense. No matter how talented, it was impossible to break through so quickly every time. Mutsuki would gradually extend the training time; the initial intensity was to provide ample pressure.
With no birthdays this time, Mutsuki proceeded to distribute the questions.
Saving the questions, Shisui began training with full concentration.
This special training really made him feel the sense of crisis deeply. If compared by performance this time, he was already losing to Obito.
"I need to become stronger. As Yumi-sensei's first disciple, how can I lose to others!" Shisui's belief fueled him to use Total Concentration Breathing to complete one training after another.
He held his own pride. Despite being the youngest disciple, his strength had always been the top in Mutsuki's class. He made rapid progress in various trainings, and his learning speed in Fire Release far exceeded Obito's.
Now, to be surpassed by someone he could easily defeat before naturally left Shisui feeling unwilling.
After finishing training and returning home, Shisui rested briefly after dinner before starting his practice again. This cycle of pushing to the limit and resting continued until he finally washed up and slept at eleven-thirty at night.
Over the next few days, Shisui maintained this high-intensity training. He aimed to evade Mutsuki's attacks and become stronger.
The morning before the third training session, Shisui made progress in his training, but not in Breathing Technique—it was in Armament Haki.
Shisui imagined an invisible armor attached to his body, then threw a punch. The area where the punch hit the tree instantly exploded, with a large number of wood chips flying everywhere.
"This is the power of Color of Arms?" Shisui looked at his small, fair fist.
The power from that punch just now didn't seem right. If he had used a lot of Chakra to strengthen his fist, it could have caused that effect, but he didn't do that just now.
"Yes, you just infused Color of Arms power into your fist," nodded Mutsuki.
He inspected Shisui's Color of Arms proficiency level with Identification, which had reached twenty points.
Shisui threw another punch but found it returned to normal.
As Shisui threw a third punch, Color of Arms power emerged again, and a large tree collapsed.
"Right now, you're still not proficient enough. Capture this feeling and practice more, and you'll be able to use it with more consistency," Mutsuki explained aloud.
Listening to Mutsuki's words, Shisui closed his eyes and carefully felt the sensation of using Armament Haki just now.
However, this feeling was evidently elusive. Shisui continued to throw punches consecutively but still couldn't consistently use Armament Haki.
Obito and Kakashi, who were practicing alongside Shisui, exchanged glances.
They had also recently started practicing Armament Haki, but compared to Shisui, who was already nearing proficiency, they hadn't grasped any clues about Color of Arms yet.
Mutsuki commented that this was normal. Not to mention Shisui's natural talent in Yin Release, even Kakashi, who began training Color of Arms second, started practicing it only after Shisui had been at it for half a month.
Due to Shisui's breakthrough with Color of Arms, Mutsuki halted Shisui's Breathing Technique training for the day and had him focus solely on practicing Armament Haki to find its feel throughout the day.
Although the disciples currently had limited opportunities to use Color of Arms in combat due to their Chakra levels, it was a powerful Secret Jutsu. Learning it earlier was advantageous, as their Chakra would gradually increase over time.
During the day without Breathing Technique practice, Shisui trained alone at night.
Since he lived alone, his training didn't disturb family members' sleep, and his neighbors didn't notice much noise from his training either.
"Why does Obito's Breathing Technique progress so much faster than mine?" Shisui pondered during his rest.
Training at the same time under the same sensei, his Breathing Technique progress always lagged behind Obito's.
Although Shisui couldn't directly see Proficiency levels like Mutsuki could through appraisal, he was also practicing Flame Breathing. He could clearly feel that the gap between him and Obito in Flame Breathing was growing wider.
Since achieving the Beginner stage, Shisui felt he hadn't made significant progress in Breathing Technique.
If they were to engage in a battle using only Breathing Technique now, Shisui was certain he would lose to Obito.
"Flame Breathing, the flames..." Shisui recalled the step of comprehending Breathing Technique. It was at that step that Obito's Flame Breathing began to skyrocket.
"Obito is fueled by an earnest desire to help others, but what kind of flames burn within me?" Shisui questioned himself.
Breathing Technique certainly wouldn't progress just from doing good deeds; after all, it's Flame Breathing, not Merit Breathing Technique. It was Obito's deeply heartfelt enthusiasm for helping others that stimulated his progress in Breathing Technique.
Shisui seemed to understand the reason why his Breathing Technique progress lagged behind, but for a moment, he didn't know what flames, if any, burned within his heart.
After it was past 11:30 PM, Shisui still hadn't figured it out. He quickly washed up and went to bed for tomorrow's training. Perhaps due to his restless mind, he didn't fall asleep quickly and drifted off only after 2 AM.
He woke up early by his biological clock and went to the forest as usual to begin training.
Today, Mutsuki didn't disrupt his training schedule. They started with two and a half hours of Armament Haki practice, followed by Breathing Technique training as usual.
"Training begins!" Seeing Shisui and Obito ready, Mutsuki announced the start of the special training.
Two Mutsuki Shadow Clones rushed towards Shisui and Obito.
To avoid interfering with each other, Shisui and Obito ran in different directions.
Shisui ran through the familiar Southern Border Forest, still uncertain about his Flame Breathing.
Whether due to lack of sleep yesterday or problems with his mindset, Shisui's performance in today's special training was worse than the second time.
"Shisui, forty-six questions. Obito, thirty-four questions."
Upon hearing the results, Shisui sighed. He knew his body best, and he had felt it during the special training.
Obito's eyes sparkled. Although it wasn't much, he had made progress twice.
"Obito, start your training. Shisui, come over here," Mutsuki said, opening his mouth. He had a lot of experience with this sort of thing. Usually, the issue was with their mindset and needed a chat.
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