A few days passed, and it was time for Mutsuki to begin training the ANBU and Root members. The training will last a total of two and a half months, coinciding with the end of the second semester at the Academy when Mutsuki would also complete the training.
Before the training officially began, Mutsuki received some information about the participants. However, since they were all members of Root and ANBU, the information he could access was quite basic.
Of course, this information was sufficient for Mutsuki, as it was just a small training session lasting less than three months.
There were a total of thirty Ninjas participating in the training, split evenly between Root and ANBU, with fifteen from each. Shimura Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen referred to them as newcomers, but where could so many newcomers come from? These two departments usually only recruited a few each year, and even during wartime, the number wouldn't increase significantly.
Mutsuki estimated that they had included some members who had been with ANBU and Root for less than three years in the group of newcomers. Before receiving the information, he had guessed there would be fewer than fifteen people.
This result was somewhat unexpected for him; despite being only thirty people, these were elite members from ANBU and Root, and among the stronger Ninjas, even the current Kakashi and Obito might not be able to win against them.
Although it was an unforeseen situation, it was a good thing for Mutsuki. From the perspective of system rewards, having more and better Ninjas made it easier to trigger favorable rewards. From a practical standpoint, it showed that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo valued him.
At the training ground, Mutsuki casually chose a relatively remote location with a forest, a river, and mountains nearby. He arrived at the training ground a bit early, and the thirty Ninjas who were about to undergo training also arrived before the start; no one was late.
The Root Ninjas and ANBU Ninjas formed two lines, standing in front of Mutsuki in an orderly fashion.
"I am Mutsuki Yumi, the person in charge of this training," Mutsuki began with a brief self-introduction.
Currently, Mutsuki is somewhat well-known in Konoha, but to prevent any unnecessary awkwardness, he decided to give a brief introduction.
While speaking, Mutsuki continuously scanned the Ninjas in front of him.
Perhaps because the training wasn't considered an official mission, they were all unmasked. However, wearing masks wouldn't hinder Mutsuki's use of Identification Jutsu.
[Name: Tobita Kenji]
[Chakra: 8700]
[Skills: Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 100/15000), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient: 2600/3000), Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind...]
[Name: Sarutobi Shinji]
[Chakra: 10050]
[Skills: Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 300/15000), Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient: 1500/3000), Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu...]
Among the fifteen ANBU members, the stronger ones had already achieved Mastery level in Nature Transformation, and their corresponding Ninjutsu Proficiency levels were also quite high.
Next, Mutsuki went through the panels of all the Root members.
[Name: Yamanaka Hiroshi]
[Chakra: 7200]
[Skills: Mind Body Switch Jutsu (Proficient: 2800/3000)...]
[Name: Migu Yukihira]
[Chakra: 9800]
After reviewing all the Ninja panels, Mutsuki found that ANBU Ninjas were generally stronger than Root Ninjas.
While Mutsuki was assessing the training Ninjas, they were also quietly evaluating him.
Some true newcomers were fine, but those ANBU members who had been around for one or two years found it somewhat perplexing, including Tobita Kenji.
He had heard of Mutsuki's reputation and knew that he was a powerful Jonin who had previously assisted Jiraiya in repelling a Jinchuriki on the battlefield. However, Tobita Kenji didn't believe that Mutsuki could help him improve his strength in such a short amount of time.
He looked at Mutsuki and estimated his age to be around the same as his own, roughly nineteen years old.
Tobita Kenji found it hard to imagine how a peer could help him improve his strength in just two and a half months.
Most of the Jonin among the thirty trainees shared Tobita Kenji's thoughts; some even believed that this training was merely a formality to help Mutsuki gain recognition for promotion.
However, they were ultimately ANBU and Root Ninjas, and even if they held such opinions, they would not show it or discuss it openly.
In the world of Ninjas, strength speaks for itself, and Mutsuki's abilities, along with the attention he received from the Hokage, made it clear that they would not embarrass themselves.
"To facilitate better training going forward, I need to understand your strengths. All of you can attack me now using your most proficient Ninjutsu," Mutsuki said with a calm smile.
He had a hunch about some of the Ninjas' thoughts and intended to establish his authority first.
Even in the world of the ninja, there was a notion of seniority, and Mutsuki's youth was something that could easily be underestimated.
Of course, another reason is that Mutsuki does not have particularly outstanding achievements. The most widely known is that he assisted Jiraiya in repelling the jinchuriki, but that was ultimately just support, and the effect wasn't very impressive.
If Mutsuki were to spread the stories of his missions by himself, no one would underestimate him. In the Ninja world, if your strength is sufficient, you can ignore seniority; if someone had the power of Senju Hashirama, they might be pushed into the Hokage position even if they didn't want it.
"Are we all going to attack together?" Tobita Kenji couldn't help but ask, feeling either he had misheard or that Mutsuki had lost his mind.
What would it mean for all thirty of them to attack at once?
Tobita Kenji didn't know what the situation was like on the Root side, but among their fifteen ANBU members, there were three Jonin, two Special Jonin, and the rest were elite Chunin. Such a team would be capable of carrying out extremely significant S-Rank missions.
Yamanaka Hiroshi looked at Mutsuki in shock; on their side, there were two Jonin and two Special Jonin, with the rest being elite Chunin.
"There are at least eight Chunin-level ninjas on the field, and the rest are not ordinary Chunin either. Where does he get his confidence?" Yamanaka Hiroshi thought to himself, extremely puzzled.
He didn't know what the situation was like on the ANBU side, but normally, ANBU would only be stronger than Root. Their thirty-man team was stronger than many ninja organizations in the ninja world.
"Testing each one individually would be too troublesome, so you can all attack together," Mutsuki replied with a warm smile.
At that moment, Mutsuki had activated his Byakugan and noticed some ninjas hiding in the shadows, quietly observing them.
This was something Mutsuki had anticipated. The reason he wanted to face thirty at once was partly to refresh Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo's perception of his strength and abilities, making his status as a genius even more solidified.
Hearing Mutsuki's response, the thirty ninjas exchanged glances, surprised by how intense the first day was.
"Just use your full strength. I will report any outstanding performances to Third-sama and Danzo," Mutsuki continued, without anyone making a move.
Yamanaka Hiroshi exchanged glances with his teammates in Root and then nodded in agreement.
Swish, swish, swish!!
Three Root ninjas swiftly moved to three different positions and hurled several shuriken at Mutsuki.
They weren't naive enough to think that ordinary shuriken could defeat Mutsuki; the shuriken were merely to restrict his position, while the real killing move was Ninjutsu.
"Mind Body Switch Jutsu!" Yamanaka Hiroshi immediately unleashed his family's secret technique.
Even though his teammates were helping to block his position, Yamanaka Hiroshi opted for the more flexible Mind Body Switch Jutsu instead of the straightforward Mind Body Switch Jutsu, which only moved in a straight line.
Under the cover of numerous shuriken, Yamanaka Hiroshi's consciousness rapidly surged towards Mutsuki.
Whoosh!
"Nice idea, but to think you could hold me back with just shuriken is rather naive."
Mutsuki maintained a gentle smile on his face, and then, to Yamanaka Hiroshi's astonishment, he vanished from sight.
Yamanaka Hiroshi's eyes darted around, quickly searching for Mutsuki's position.
"Such speed, I can't even see him!" Yamanaka Hiroshi realized he had lost sight of Mutsuki.
"Not good!"
Then Yamanaka Hiroshi suddenly remembered something, and his expression turned grim. He immediately tried to retract his consciousness that he had thrown out, but it was already too late.
Bang!
Mutsuki, having flashed behind Yamanaka Hiroshi, delivered a powerful kick that sent him flying.
Boom!!
Due to the fact that his opponent was a Jonin, Mutsuki used a bit of force, and Yamanaka crashed through six large trees before finally coming to a stop.
--Silence
At this moment, the training ground was eerily quiet, with no one speaking, all faces serious as they looked at Mutsuki.
Defeating Yamanaka Hiroshi wasn't particularly impressive, as he wasn't a well-known or powerful Jonin. What surprised them was Mutsuki's speed and the manner in which he defeated Yamanaka Hiroshi.
Just a moment ago, some Root ninjas and ANBU ninjas had intended to take action while Yamanaka Hiroshi was executing his secret jutsu, but none of them were able to react to Mutsuki's speed. By the time they came to their senses, Yamanaka Hiroshi was already sent flying.
"Not only does he possess extraordinary talent in Ninjutsu, but his Taijutsu is also impressive," Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded as he watched the scene from the Hokage's office through a crystal ball.
Mutsuki's Body Flicker Jutsu was indeed impressive; it was normal for the ANBU ninjas to be unable to react. It wasn't that they were weak; Mutsuki's speed was just too fast.
"But how will you respond next?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, placing his pipe in his mouth and exhaling a cloud of smoke, curious about the upcoming battle.
Since there were no orders from the Elders, initially, ANBU and Root would not all attack at once.
But now it was different. Mutsuki's overwhelming defeat of Yamanaka Hiroshi had made the ninjas on the field aware of his terrifying strength. They would undoubtedly hold nothing back in their attacks, especially since this was Mutsuki's own request.
Mutsuki's strength was indeed formidable, but the thirty ninjas present were not ordinary either. A one-on-thirty situation was completely different from a one-on-one duel.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
"Secret Jutsu: Insect Ball!"
The remaining twenty-nine ninjas all launched their respective signature Ninjutsu attacks on Mutsuki, with some even coordinating with their teammates to use Combination Jutsu.
In a short amount of time, a deluge of various attacks rushed toward Mutsuki.
These ninjas were indeed members of ANBU and Root; although they had not fought together before, they displayed impressive coordination without chaos, avoiding issues where their own Fire Release and Water Release would cancel each other out.
Mutsuki calmly created two Shadow Clones and began forming hand seals.
Tobita Kenji, who had been fixated on using Lightning Release to interfere with Mutsuki's dodging, felt confused.
"Is he really planning to block so many Ninjutsu by himself?" Tobita Kenji thought, a bold and terrifying hypothesis forming in his mind.
He could only describe this situation as terrifying, knowing that these were Ninjutsu executed by many ANBU and Root ninjas, including several Jonin.
If Mutsuki could indeed withstand their attacks with Ninjutsu alone, it would imply that his strength was qualitatively different from that of an ordinary Jonin.
There are also differences among Jonin; no ordinary Jonin would consider themselves a match for Orochimaru, Jiraiya, or Tsunade.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Mutsuki's main body completed the hand seals first, and a large amount of Chakra was instantly transformed into fire attribute Chakra, which, once exhaled, immediately formed a vast area of high-temperature flames.
The flames, dancing like a dragon, turned everything flammable around them to ash and began to raise the surrounding temperature.
Ninjas who were slightly closer couldn't help but take a few steps back. The Fire Dragon Flame Bullet used by Obito during the Chunin Exams was nothing compared to Mutsuki's version; Mutsuki's flames surpassed Obito's in intensity, range, and temperature.
Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen was not present on the scene, he could feel the ferocity of Mutsuki's Fire Release through the images observed with Telescope Jutsu.
"Fire Release must be his strongest ninjutsu," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself.
Even if the same-aged Sarutobi Hiruzen were to use the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, he wouldn't dare guarantee that he could perform it better than Mutsuki.
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
Immediately after, Mutsuki's Shadow Clone completed its Wind Release as well.
A ferocious whirlwind was expelled from the mouth of the Shadow Clone, instantly causing a violent storm in the arena, with mud, stones, and leaves flying everywhere.
The already fierce Fire Dragon Flame Bullet received such terrifying wind power, causing it to expand rapidly. Vast areas of grass and tall trees were consumed by the flames, as if the entire training ground was turning into hell.
"Such a large-scale Combination Jutsu can actually be used!" Sarutobi Shinji exclaimed, his eyes wide in disbelief.
He had only seen such a terrifyingly powerful Combination Jutsu from one person before, and that was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Boom!!
A massive explosion sounded, and the ground seemed to crack under the immense energy impact. For a moment, smoke of various colors filled the training ground, with black smoke from the fire and yellow smoke from the rising dust.
The Ninjas on the field quickly retreated to avoid being affected by the powerful collision.
The Parasitic Insects rushing toward Mutsuki first turned to black ash, and the Earth Release attacks was burned to nothing under Mutsuki's terrifyingly high-temperature flames. Fire Release of the same nature was also crushed by this dreadful inferno. In an instant, Mutsuki's Combination Jutsu overwhelmed the Ninjutsu jointly used by the ANBU and Root Ninjas, forcing them to retreat and evade.
As the smoke gradually cleared, an incredibly devastated training ground was revealed, with large craters and charred earth bearing witness to the terrifying power of the recent Ninjutsu.
"It seems he just split off two Shadow Clones," Sarutobi Shinji suddenly noticed something.
Mutsuki had indeed created two Shadow Clones, but only one of them was using Wind Release Ninjutsu to assist his main body in blocking the incoming attacks.
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