"Good morning, Yumi-sensei," the entire class greeted Mutsuki enthusiastically. Anko, who was particularly outgoing, even stood up and waved at Mutsuki.
"Good morning, everyone," Mutsuki replied with a smile, then gestured with his eyes for Anko to sit down.
"Starting today, you are no longer first-year students but second-year students. Last year, everyone worked hard and did well. This year, do any of you want to surpass last year's achievements?" Mutsuki asked with a smile, looking around the class.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Anko repeated emphatically, showing her determination.
"This year, I'm aiming to join Group B for the summer training!" Kotetsu shouted out his goal for the semester.
"I'm going to continue developing more practical Ninjutsu this year!" Izumo shouted at the same time.
"This year, I must score above ninety-five in theory exams."
"I need to score more than thirty-five points in practical combat."
After Mutsuki finished speaking, the students quickly voiced their goals for the semester, looking determined to get fired up.
Mutsuki smiled and nodded, pleased with their enthusiasm.
"Well then, let's start the class."
The students immediately quieted down. At first, some whispered in very low voices, but soon, no one spoke as they attentively listened and practiced.
[Class Completed] [Evaluation: A] [Reward Earned: Water Release: Water Wall]
This academic year, Mutsuki plans to focus on enhancing his Ninjutsu skills, expanding his skill set, and improving his skill proficiency level.
Ordinary ninjas need to find a specific path and deeply study it to build their own system, but Mutsuki, with his advantages, doesn't need to go through such trouble.
He can use the Thunder Breathing Mark mode to become an incredibly fast ninja, employ highly proficient Nature Transformation Ninjutsu for powerful Combination Jutsu, and with just Stone Breathing and Eight Inner Gates, he is also a formidable Taijutsu expert.
Since there won't be a situation where taking on too much leads to failure, Mutsuki aims to make himself as versatile as possible.
Ninjutsu skills have mutual restraining relationships between ninjas. For instance, Roshi will be defeated by Kisame in the future, and currently, Minato cannot single-handedly defeat a jinchuriki. It's not to say that Kisame in the future could defeat the current Minato. This is because Kisame's Samehada restrains tailed beasts, and Kisame's own Water Release counters Roshi's Lava Release, resulting in Kisame overcoming Roshi due to the double restraint.
However, if Kisame fought the current Minato, Mutsuki believes that Kisame might not necessarily lose, but if someone were to win, it would definitely be Minato. Even the young Minato without Rasengan still possesses great strength.
To avoid being restrained and to be able to restrain others, Mutsuki wants to master more high proficiency level skills. He isn't just building one system but constructing multiple systems to make himself more versatile.
In the afternoon class, Mutsuki learned two Wind Release Ninjutsu. Just as he was about to look for Tsunade, he noticed that the Jonin meeting had started.
Mutsuki then turned and went directly to the Hokage Building.
He arrived neither too early nor too late; by the time he got there, some Jonin were already in the room, but not many.
"Jonin Mutsuki," one Jonin greeted him.
Mutsuki smiled in response. He recognized this Jonin as one he had encountered on the battlefield.
Unlike before, Mutsuki had gained some fame now, and it was due to his own strength. This led many Jonin to approach him, eager to learn about this newly emerged Jonin powerhouse.
"Just my luck, I was about to go buy some rice balls," Chen-sensei said as he walked in, clearly annoyed.
Noticing Mutsuki, he walked up to him and asked, "How's the training for the Konoha Dragon God coming along? If you have any questions, just let me know after the meeting. I also have some issues with that Taijutsu of yours."
"Yes, I can basically perform it now, but there are indeed some areas I'm unsure about. Let's have a thorough discussion after the meeting," Mutsuki replied with a smile and a nod.
Showing mastery directly can be a bit intimidating; it's better to progress incrementally.
The surrounding Jonin, hearing their conversation, looked at Mutsuki with even more curiosity. Chen-sensei's Taijutsu is quite famous among the Konoha Jonin, and to hear that Chen-sensei is asking Mutsuki about Taijutsu was surprising.
"Ha ha, Mutsuki, how's your learning with Tsunade going? Make sure not to anger her; the consequences can be quite severe," Jiraiya, who had entered with Minato, warned Mutsuki seriously.
It might be because of Tsunade's powerful Medical Ninjutsu; her strikes are sometimes too forceful, even towards fellow Konoha ninjas.
"Yes, the progress is going well," Mutsuki replied to Jiraiya while smiling and greeting Minato.
"Why am I terrifying?" Tsunade, who had stepped in a bit later, asked Jiraiya with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression.
Although she did hit Jiraiya a lot, Tsunade thought Jiraiya deserved it.
"Ah ha ha, I mean, Tsunade, you are a strict and excellent sensei, so make sure Mutsuki learns well and doesn't let your serious teaching go to waste," Jiraiya explained with an awkward laugh.
Fortunately, Tsunade wasn't looking for trouble; she just mentioned it casually. After speaking, Tsunade walked over to Mutsuki and asked if he would come to study today.
Originally, Mutsuki had said he would go, but now that the meeting was delaying him, he might not make it after all.
Mutsuki thought for a moment and told Tsunade that he would come, but it would be a bit later.
"Hiruzen, when did you discover his potential?" Danzo, sitting in one of the four available seats, looked displeased as he stared at Mutsuki, who had intersected with many Jonin from the Hokage faction.
"On his first day at the Academy," Hiruzen said with a smile, stroking his small beard.
If Danzo hadn't sent Mutsuki to the Academy, he wouldn't have known that Danzo had such a talent under his command.
"Given the increasingly chaotic situation in the ninja world, with all countries warring against each other, I need stronger subordinates to gather intelligence. With his strength, he shouldn't be at the Academy; he should return to Root and carry out more important tasks," Danzo said in a deep voice.
"You know, I am the Hokage," Hiruzen's gaze turned sharp, making Danzo unable to respond.
Danzo cursed inwardly but quickly became smug again.
He knew well that Hiruzen wouldn't release someone of that caliber. How could such a talent be allowed to leave once acquired? Danzo didn't believe Hiruzen would be foolish about such a straightforward matter.
The reason he said this was to leverage the situation and extract some benefits from Hiruzen later.
"Hiruzen, you still underestimate me. My subordinates are not so easily taken away," Danzo thought with a cold smile.
He still remembered Mutsuki's earnest expression at the Root base; it was the true essence of a Root member with the Will of the Root.
"The meeting will start now," Hiruzen said with a nod as people gathered.
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