"Yumi-sensei, this move has a strange name. Why does it start with 'Legend of Mi Long'?" During a break, Guy asked Mutsuki.
He could understand Blade and Sword and Golden Skyline. Blade and Sword is named because the move involves using a chain-linked stick, while Golden Skyline is named for its effect. However, he really didn't understand the 'Legend of Mi Long' at the beginning.
"It's named by the developer in honor of a Ninja named Mi Long," Mutsuki thought for a moment and said.
Then Mutsuki transformed the story of Mi Long and Mi Long II into a narrative suitable for the ninja world and shared it with Guy.
Mi Long became separated from his sister during the war when they were young. To let her know he was alive, to show her he had the ability to protect her, and to bring her back, Mi Long didn't hesitate to fabricate lies and collaborated with a dark Ninja organization, staging a performance to mold himself into a powerful hero.
Mi Long II once had the chance to receive help from Mi Long and greatly admired him.
By chance, Mi Long II accidentally discovered the connection between Mi Long and the dark Ninja organization. They wanted to silence Mi Long II by killing him, but Mi Long's strength was a façade; he couldn't protect the child who idolized him.
Feeling immense guilt for his actions, Mi Long couldn't bear to watch the dark Ninja organization kill the child who looked up to him as a hero. Thus, he stepped forward to expose the truth, admitting he was not a hero, but an ordinary Ninja.
In the end, Mi Long was gravely injured and died amid the curses and disdain of the crowd. The child he saved resolved to inherit Mi Long's name and live on to fulfill the unfinished wishes of Mi Long.
"To honor Mi Long, Mi Long II named the Taijutsu he developed after learning Eight Extremes Heavens as 'Legend of Mi Long · Blade and Sword · Golden Skyline!'" Mutsuki finally said.
"That's just so youthful!" Guy exclaimed, his fists tightly clenched.
With his tear ducts abundant, he was already in tears before Mutsuki finished speaking.
"This Taijutsu must be practiced with the most youthful spirit!" Soon, Guy transformed this emotion into motivation for training and threw himself into his practice.
Mutsuki smiled and nodded at this scene, thinking that Golden Skyline was a perfect fit for Guy, who never feared any difficult challenges.
"Perhaps, in the future, there will truly be legends of Mi Long in the ninja world," Mutsuki thought.
Because Guy really shouted the name of Taijutsu during his practice.
Before long, the day was spent in teaching and researching Flying Thunder God.
The next day, in the morning, Mutsuki did not go to teach his disciples or to the Academy but instead arranged to meet Kushina.
Minato was currently the only Ninja in Konoha who had mastered Flying Thunder God, and his proficiency level was very high. Mutsuki wanted to consult Minato, but he was still on the battlefield and had not returned.
Mutsuki thought that since Kushina and Minato were so close, Minato might have tried to teach Kushina Flying Thunder God, so she might know some techniques related to it.
As usual, Mutsuki arrived at the agreed-upon location fifteen minutes early, but Kushina was even earlier; when Mutsuki arrived, he found her already waiting for him.
"Good morning, Mutsuki!" Kushina waved her arms excitedly and greeted him with a smile.
Although they hadn't seen each other for a while, Kushina didn't feel the sense of reunion that usually accompanies long separations. She thought it might be because she ate the meals Mutsuki brought her every day.
"Hmm, good morning," Mutsuki replied with a gentle smile as he walked over.
As soon as Mutsuki approached, Kushina eagerly welcomed him and took the food box he handed over.
"It's different from last time," Kushina said as she opened it and found ordinary wagashi.
"If you keep eating the same snack, you'll eventually get tired of it," Mutsuki explained. This time, he didn't particularly want to eat it; he just wanted to change things up.
Kushina smiled and said, "If it's made by you, Mutsuki, I feel like I could eat it forever without getting tired of it."
With that, Kushina picked up a dango and stuffed it into her mouth. Instantly, her eyes lit up; even though it was a common snack, Mutsuki's version was many times better than what she could buy on the market.
Kushina continued to eat all the way to the small pavilion where they had met before.
"Ahem." Sitting down, Kushina straightened her back and said seriously, "Although your snacks are delicious, if your training in Sealing Jutsu doesn't meet my expectations, I won't go easy on you."
"Then that could be a problem." While Mutsuki's main purpose in meeting Kushina was to ask about techniques for Flying Thunder God, he was also very willing to learn a bit about Sealing Jutsu.
Not knowing is one thing, but being shocked upon examination is another. Mutsuki's progress in Sealing Jutsu left Kushina very surprised. Whether it was the Five Elements Seal or the Four Symbols Seal, Mutsuki used them with great proficiency. He answered various difficult questions from Kushina fluently.
"Most people slow down as they learn, but how come you're speeding up, Mutsuki?" Kushina was a bit confused.
But she quickly figured it out. With her right fist pounding against her left palm, she showed a look of realization. "Could it be that this is what they mean by 'thick accumulation leads to thin release'?"
Mutsuki smiled lightly but said nothing.
He had just revealed most of his Sealing Jutsu skills, so Kushina's astonishment was within his expectations. At this level of strength, there was no need to hide everything so deeply; showing a little more was actually more reasonable.
"Just as expected from the great Kushina Uzumaki" Kushina tilted her snow-white chin slightly upward, a proud smile on her face.
At this moment, she was very satisfied with her teaching ability, as she had only taught two people Sealing Jutsu: one was Minato, and the other was Mutsuki. Even though Mutsuki learned it later, his Sealing Jutsu skills were enough to surpass most of the Sealing Team Ninjas in Konoha.
Kushina was very happy, so she taught Mutsuki a few sealing techniques from the Uzumaki Clan.
Mutsuki quietly learned, and once Kushina finished teaching, he began to talk to her about Flying Thunder God.
"I'm currently learning Flying Thunder God Jutsu, but I'm struggling. I wish Minato were here in Konoha," Mutsuki expressed his difficulties with mastering Flying Thunder God.
"Flying Thunder God Jutsu, huh? This Ninjutsu is indeed hard to learn. Minato taught me before, but I just couldn't grasp it at all," Kushina recalled her time learning Flying Thunder God, running her fingers through her hair.
"However, I think Minato is partly to blame. When I asked him about the techniques, he always just said he zipped over in an instant, but he couldn't explain how he did it," Kushina complained.
Kushina's words left Mutsuki in deep thought. This was a troubling sign; if it was really as Kushina said, he might not be able to gain any insights into Flying Thunder God from either Kushina or Minato.
Mutsuki and Kushina chatted for quite a while and ultimately concluded that there wasn't much help to be gained from Kushina regarding Flying Thunder God.
Then Mutsuki shifted the topic back to Sealing Jutsu.
By noon, Mutsuki personally cooked a few hot dishes as a treat for Kushina, and then they each went home.
Although he didn't gain any techniques for Flying Thunder God from Kushina, Mutsuki wasn't too disappointed. After all, Kushina didn't know Flying Thunder God either; he had just hoped to get lucky, and Kushina had taught him new Sealing Jutsu.
In the afternoon, Mutsuki went to the Southern Border Forest to teach his disciples.
Kakashi had thought that Mutsuki would teach him a new ability today, especially since Obito and the others had learned it. However, after waiting for quite a while without any updates, Kakashi started to feel a bit anxious.
Both the Orochinagi that Obito learned and the Golden Skyline that Guy learned looked impressive, especially Golden Skyline, which had significant power.
Kakashi didn't stay anxious for long; halfway through the afternoon training, Mutsuki called a stop to it.
"Although you can now use Transparent World, which solves the reaction issue, you still need to learn the technique for enhancing cells with Thunder-style Chakra; you can use it for strengthening other body parts," Mutsuki said.
Once Thunder Breathing reaches the Constant stage, it not only enhances the nervous system but also includes techniques for strengthening other parts of the body, further increasing physical explosiveness and thereby enhancing the power of techniques.
The good news is that Mutsuki indeed taught him a new ability; the bad news is that the new ability was different from what he had expected.
He had thought it would be a powerful Ninjutsu or Taijutsu like those used by Obito and Guy, but instead, it was an advanced training technique for Thunder Breathing.
Although it was somewhat different from his expectations, Kakashi was still very serious while learning.
He knew that this was likely the most suitable technique for him at the moment, and if there were something more appropriate, Mutsuki would definitely teach it to him. After all, Mutsuki had already taught him powerful secret jutsu like Breathing Technique and Armament Haki.
If Mutsuki knew Kakashi's thoughts, he would definitely nod in agreement, as it was indeed the case.
In terms of Lightning Release Ninjutsu, Kakashi already had two powerful techniques: Purple Electricity and False Darkness. He generally used Earth Release Ninjutsu for support, which he had practiced quite a bit.
With Thunder Breathing reaching the Constant stage and mastering Transparent World, along with those Ninjutsu, Kakashi actually had a considerable array of abilities at his disposal.
Mutsuki believed that what Kakashi needed most now was to enhance his physical capabilities to increase both his Chakra and physical strength. Otherwise, with Kakashi's current Chakra level, using Thunder Flash at full power followed by Purple Electricity would barely be feasible; in such a situation, having more Ninjutsu wouldn't be helpful.
Once his Chakra increased, he could focus on learning Armament Haki. Even if he only used Thunder Breathing, Transparent World, and Armament Haki, his strength wouldn't be weak.
Due to the differences in the new abilities he was learning, Kakashi worked even harder, hoping to complete the breakthrough in Breathing Technique soon.
Mutsuki had already explained Breathing Technique to them in detail. The technique could be divided into four stages, and Kakashi was currently just entering the second stage.
Once he reached the third stage, he would be able to enter Thunder Breathing Chakra Mode, significantly enhancing his strength.
After returning home that evening, Mutsuki didn't practice Flying Thunder God; instead, he focused on researching Sealing Jutsu.
The Yin Seal he received from Tsunade was Mutsuki's main research target at the moment.
This was a completely new challenge for Mutsuki because he wasn't just learning; he needed to study how to crack the Yin Seal and develop a similar Ninjutsu.
Since the Yin Seal is also part of the Uzumaki sealing techniques, Mutsuki, who learned from Kushina, found it relatively smooth to research, feeling it was much better than learning Flying Thunder God.
With Flying Thunder God, he felt no sense of progress, while researching the Yin Seal, despite being difficult, allowed him to sense that he was moving forward.
…
In the Root office.
Bang!
"Hiruzen is just too conservative. Even at a time like this, he's still thinking about restraining the power of Root," Shimura Danzo, whose proposal had been rejected, couldn't help but pound the table in frustration.
Due to the increasingly chaotic situation in the ninja world, Shimura Danzo had repeatedly requested Sarutobi Hiruzen to expand the power of Root in order to gain more advantages for Konoha during the war, but all his requests were denied. He was only allowed to replenish losses, not to expand, with the reasoning that Konoha's current situation was good enough and did not require it.
This left Shimura Danzo speechless. He believed that since Konoha currently had the advantage, it should take the opportunity to expand its gains and obtain greater benefits from the war to solidify its position as the number one ninja village.
However, Danzo truly had no way to proceed, as not only did Sarutobi Hiruzen oppose him, but the two advisors also firmly stood by Hiruzen's side.
"Am I only left with the option of secretly developing power outside?" Shimura Danzo frowned tightly.
He had two main strategies for developing Root: one was to illegally increase the number of Root members, and the other was to covertly cultivate Root's power outside of Konoha.
The former was temporarily off the table after being warned by Sarutobi Hiruzen, so he was left with the latter option.
But the latter was the most troublesome because the ninjas trained in this way would not have the official status of Root members, and they wouldn't even be recognized as Konoha ninjas, meaning they could not receive funding from Konoha.
Although Shimura Danzo was somewhat reluctant, it seemed there were no better options. Since expansion was not allowed and he could only replenish losses, the war had even caused the overall strength of Root to decline. After all, the older members who had fallen were stronger than the new recruits.
Aburame Tatsuma, standing nearby, noticed Danzo's dilemma and spoke up, "Danzo-sama, instead of expanding, strengthening the existing members can also enhance the overall power of the organization."
As one of the elders of Root, he held a position just below Danzo and Orochimaru, so he was aware of some of the current issues within Root.
"Mutsuki Yumi is skilled in teaching, so we could let him try training the new recruits," Aburame Tatsuma suggested.
"Mutsuki Yumi…" Shimura Danzo's eyes flickered as he fell into deep thought.
He didn't actually believe Mutsuki had that capability, as teaching Ninja Academy students was different from instructing Root ninjas, who were all elite Chunin at the very least.
"Bring me the files on Mutsuki Yumi since he entered the Academy," Shimura Danzo said, concluding his contemplation.
Kakashi and Obito made a deep impression on Shimura Danzo during the Chunin Exams, and Mutsuki had also taught them. However, he was unsure of Mutsuki's exact contributions, especially considering one was the son of White Fang and the other was an awakened Uchiha.
Soon, a Root ninja brought over all of Mutsuki's teaching records since he entered the Academy, including both class results and holiday training scores.
After comparing Mutsuki's results with those of other sensei, Danzo immediately understood why Sarutobi Hiruzen had sought to recruit Mutsuki; even just keeping him to teach at the Academy was a significant asset.
Danzo decided to approach Mutsuki for a trial. If successful, it would save him a considerable amount of money; if not, there would be no significant loss.
With this thought, Danzo picked up a scroll and began to write.
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