Chapter 25: Potential Needs to Be Stimulated Reasonably
On Saturday morning, Obito, Shisui, and the others began training according to Mugetsu's instructions.
Obito started by following Mugetsu through the basic Taijutsu movements. After an hour of practice, Mugetsu told him to rest, handed him a bottle of water, and even wiped his sweat.
Obito immediately felt something was off. Mugetsu was a good teacher, but not one to go out of his way like this. Handing over water was normal, but personally wiping sweat? That was pushing it.
"Obito, I think you have a lot of untapped potential," Mugetsu said with a gentle smile, capping Obito's unfinished water bottle and setting it aside.
"No, no, Sensei… I think you've already fully awakened all of my potential," Obito stammered, cold sweat forming again, replacing the heat-induced sweat Mugetsu had just wiped away.
"You're underestimating yourself far too much," Mugetsu replied, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
"How about this? When you spar with Guy, for every hit you take, you'll do an extra written problem during break time," Mugetsu said with a smile. "That should unlock your true potential. Even if it doesn't, it'll help improve your theory grades."
"Sensei… that's not good. I don't mind doing problems if I get hit a few times, but what if I get hit hundreds of times? I'm worried you'll get tired from making so many test papers," Obito quickly countered, faking concern for Mugetsu'a well-being.
Cornered, Obito's glib tongue kicked in.
For him, endless test papers were a fate worse than any sparring session with Guy.
"I'm glad to hear you care about my health, Obito," Mugetsu said with a warm, approving smile.
Obito's hope ignited… only for Mugetsu's tone to shift.
"Of course, I anticipated you'd be so thoughtful… which is why I prepared a large stack of problems in advance. No need to worry about running out," Mugetsu said, pulling out a thick pile of test papers.
"If that's not enough, I can have a shadow clone make more," Mugetsu added helpfully.
"Enough! It's enough!" Obito waved his hands frantically, shaking his head. Just looking at that towering stack was enough to crush his spirit.
Even with the sun shining and Mugetsu's smile looking especially gentle, Obito felt a bone-chilling cold rise from his feet to his scalp.
With no escape from written torture, Obito quickly thought of a countermeasure. If he couldn't avoid the problems, at least he could do fewer of them.
He turned to Guy and gave him a wink, signaling him to go easy.
Guy noticed the signal, flashing his gleaming teeth in a wide grin and giving Obito a relaxed thumbs-up.
But Mugetsu wasn't done.
"As for Guy… if you don't land a hit on Obito, you'll have to do fifty problems. For every successful hit, you'll do one less, up to a maximum of forty less."
Guy's grin froze. His thumbs-up turned serious in an instant.
"You… you want me to go all out, don't you?! No, Sensei, wait!" Obito wailed, clutching his head. He could already see his future buried under piles of papers.
"For the sake of youth, I must exert all my strength!" Guy exclaimed, eyes burning. "If I don't want to suffer, I have to minimize those problems!"
In the battle that followed, Guy unleashed one hundred and twenty percent of his speed, raining blows down on Obito without mercy.
Obito, desperate to avoid the mounting number of problems, unleashed unprecedented energy. After the first dozen hits, his movements grew noticeably sharper.
Watching them, Mugetsu nodded in satisfaction. See? There's always hidden potential just waiting to be forced out.
When both of them finally collapsed from exhaustion, the training concluded.
In the end, Obito took more than thirty hits, which meant over thirty problems. Guy, after scoring several hits, whittled his number down to just over a dozen.
Mugetsu felt very satisfied with the results. At this pace, in less than two months, even Hyuga Homura wouldn't be their match.
It's just a pity Rin's talent isn't that impressive, Mugetsu thought. If I had taken Rin on as a disciple too, it would've been much easier to motivate Obito.
But for the sake of keeping a low profile, Mugetsu avoided training non-disciples.
Actually, there was an even better candidate—Kakashi. Rin could motivate Obito alone, but Kakashi's presence would motivate both Obito and Guy.
Kakashi's talent was outstanding, but he was already a Chunin, promoted two years ago, making it unlikely he'd accept Mugetsu as a teacher.
Mugetsu stayed with them until noon, had lunch together, and before leaving, left behind two shadow clones to oversee the afternoon training while his main body headed to the Third Hokage's residence to begin tutoring.
As it was still working hours, Hiruzen wasn't home. Instead, Mugetsu was greeted by a dignified middle-aged woman with a single ponytail—Sarutobi Biwako, Hiruzen's wife.
"Lady Biwako," Mugetsu greeted respectfully.
"You must be the Teacher Hiruzen mentioned," Biwako said, recalling her husband's description.
Mugetsu nodded.
"Asuma is waiting for you in the backyard," Biwako said, pointing the way, then added, "He's a bit rebellious. Please bear with him. If he's too much trouble, don't hesitate to tell me."
"I understand. I have my own methods for handling rebellious students," Mugetsu replied calmly with a smile, heading toward the backyard.
As expected, Asuma—a boy around nine—was sprawled lazily under a tree, chewing on a blade of grass with a bored expression.
Mugetsu activated his appraisal.
[Name: Asuma Sarutobi
[Chakra: 1100]
[Potential: A+]
Mugetsu frowned slightly. If it had been S-rank, or even S-, he might have been interested, but A+ wasn't enough to tempt him.
Noticing Mugetsu's arrival, Asuma spat out the grass but didn't bother to stand.
"So, you're the Teacher that's supposed to teach me?" Asuma said lazily.
Before Mugetsu could respond, Asuma added,
"Let me tell you now—unless you can make me stronger than the old man, there's no point. You can just leave."
Asuma figured it was better to lay down the rules from the start.
Mugetsu shook his head. "Of course not."
"Then leave," Asuma said casually, waving a hand and lying back down. He was sure the teacher wouldn't actually leave.
"Alright then, I'll go tell Lady Biwako you don't need tutoring," Mugetsu replied flatly and turned to leave.
Asuma's brain froze.
Huh?
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Shouldn't Mugetsu be trying to convince him to cooperate?
"Hey—hey, wait!" Asuma jumped up in a flash, panicking. If I get kicked out of tutoring before the first session, Mom will kill me!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Check my Pâtreon for Advanced Chapters
Pâtreon .com/Fanficlord03
Change (â) to (a)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9