"Night, you completed your mission well. This is from Lord Danzo." A masked ninja named Heishui handed two scrolls to Mu Yue.
Mu Yue received the scrolls, nodded calmly, and said nothing. Communication between Root ninjas was minimal and formal. After handing over the scrolls, Heishui quickly disappeared, ensuring Mu Yue's identity remained hidden.
Once Heishui's presence faded from his senses, Mu Yue returned to his room and opened the scrolls. One contained a fire-style jutsu, Great Dragon Fire Technique. The other was a message from Danzo, offering praise and new instructions.
Danzo commended Mu Yue's seamless integration into the ninja school, rewarding him with a powerful fire-style technique. However, he cautioned against pride, advising Mu Yue to continue his work at the school. Danzo also emphasized keeping a close eye on Uchiha Shisui, along with other Uchiha students. Lastly, Danzo dangled a tempting offer—if Mu Yue's performance remained consistent, he would promote him to Special Jonin, giving him a prominent position at the ninja school.
After reading the scrolls, Mu Yue ignited a flame, reducing them to ashes.
"Special Jonin, high-ranking role, ha." Mu Yue chuckled.
If it were the original Mu Yue, he might have been motivated by such promises. However, for the current Mu Yue, it meant little. The fire technique offered was one he already mastered, and he had no desire for promotion to Special Jonin.
With his mind steady, Mu Yue resumed his training. As his main body focused on practice, his shadow clone scanned through the few remaining jutsu books at home. Realizing he had finished them all, Mu Yue decided to visit the Konoha library.
Konoha's grand library, established during the Second Hokage's era, contained a vast collection of books, including D-rank and C-rank jutsus. However, forbidden or higher-rank jutsus were not available, and the borrowing cost for ninjutsu was high.
This didn't concern Mu Yue since he wasn't interested in borrowing jutsu. His focus was on materials related to sealing techniques, particularly those connected to binding curses. He hoped to study these to crack the Curse of Tongue Eradication placed on him.
As Mu Yue wandered through Konoha's bustling streets, a sense of disorientation swept over him. It had been more than half a month since he'd crossed into the Naruto world, and this was his first time strolling through the village in his actual body. Usually, he sent shadow clones for mundane tasks like grocery shopping. The dangers of this world and his unique identity often made him anxious.
However, after over two weeks of training, learning more jutsus, and increasing his chakra reserves, Mu Yue felt a bit more confident that he wouldn't die from some random wide-area attack.
Arriving at the library, Mu Yue handed his ninja registration book to the attendant. The library was only accessible to ninja, and after a quick glance at his credentials, the librarian allowed him entry.
As Mu Yue walked toward the rows of books, he suddenly encountered a familiar figure. A man with golden hair and a gentle smile was heading his way. Sensing Mu Yue's gaze, the man turned to look at him, and they exchanged brief nods before continuing in opposite directions.
[Name: Namikaze Minato]
[Chakra: 40,000]
[Potential: S]
[Evaluation: Kills Jonin like slaughtering cattle; a single glance and you'll explode.]
Mu Yue's expression remained neutral, but his mind was racing. This was the first time he had encountered someone with a chakra level in the tens of thousands—40,000, to be exact, which was equivalent to 80 six-year-old Shisuis.
The evaluation was equally shocking. It suggested Minato could slaughter Jonin with ease.
At this point in time, Minato had yet to earn the title "Yellow Flash." While many saw him as a promising Jonin, his mentor, Jiraiya of the Sannin, was far more famous and a top contender for the Hokage seat.
Reflecting on the situation, Mu Yue realized that the assessment wasn't wrong. With his proficiency in the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato could indeed eliminate ordinary Jonin without much effort. A ninja with such blinding speed was practically invincible against weaker foes.
"If only Minato already had a son in the ninja academy," Mu Yue thought wistfully. It would have given him a reason to get closer to Minato. He wanted to befriend him, especially since Minato's expertise in sealing techniques intrigued him.
Cursed seals, after all, were a branch of sealing techniques, and having a master like Minato as an advisor would make breaking the Curse of Tongue Eradication much easier. As for Kushina, Minato's wife, her status as a Jinchuriki was too sensitive. Mu Yue didn't want to bring unnecessary trouble upon himself.
After selecting two books related to sealing techniques and three others unrelated to ninja arts, Mu Yue checked them out and left the library.
In the forest south of Konoha, Mu Yue was guiding his students in their pre-exam training.
"Don't forget what you promised earlier. You both need to pass the theoretical exam tomorrow," Mu Yue reminded Obito and Might Guy.
"Of course! If we fail, we'll accept any punishment from you, sensei!" Obito replied confidently.
Although they spent most of their time training in jutsu and only occasionally focused on theory, Obito had just taken a past exam and scored 30 points, which was a few marks above passing. The passing line was generally around 50, so he felt secure.
"Right! And if we fail, we'll run 800 laps around Konoha!" Guy added with enthusiasm, having also scored 30 points.
"Not only will I pass the theory exam, but I'll take first place in the practical!" Obito boasted, feeling that Mu Yue's training had made him much stronger.
"You won't get first place without a fight!" Guy challenged, refusing to back down.
Mu Yue smiled but said nothing. He knew the overall strength of the fourth-year class and understood that while both Obito and Guy had potential, neither had fully unlocked it yet. Obito hadn't awakened his Sharingan, and Guy hadn't learned the Eight Gates.
However, Mu Yue kept an eye on Shisui, who was quietly reading. He was confident that Shisui would easily take the top spot in both the theory and practical exams, likely crushing the competition across the entire school.
"I wonder if the system will reward me if my students perform well on the exams," Mu Yue thought with amusement.
(End of Chapter)