"By the way, Mugetsu-sensei, the second stage doesn't require a fee… right?" Obito suddenly remembered the most important detail.
"For your first clear of stage one, you get one free attempt at stage two. After that, the fee's the same as the first stage," Mugetsu explained.
"A free run—perfect!" Obito brightened. That meant three fewer test papers.
"Mugetsu-sensei, let's start already!" He was raring to go.
Mugetsu led him to the riverbank and laid out the rules.
"The river here is fifteen meters across. You have ten seconds to get from one bank to the other without falling in."
Then Mugetsu formed signs and split into more than ten shadow clones. They lined the bank, readying ninjutsu.
Ten full seconds for fifteen meters had Obito grinning—until he saw all those clones. A bad feeling crept up his spine.
The clones moved in unison. Thick Water Dragons erupted across the surface, surging back and forth until they practically carpeted the river.
Obito stared. So this was "a certain degree of interference"? With Water Dragon Bullets churning end to end, there wasn't much river left to step on.
"Obito, ready? If so, I'm starting the timer," Mugetsu called out.
Being on a river made Water Release far easier; away from water, even Mugetsu's chakra reserves would make this setup tough.
"I'm ready. Start," Obito said through clenched teeth.
He'd committed—no backing out now. His mind raced for a plan. Dodging one Water Dragon Bullet during water-walking training was one thing; this was a storm. Back then, he just avoided the single rolling dragon and the wake it left. Now the river was a maze of dragons, and finding a foothold demanded sharp eyes.
"Begin!" Mugetsu shouted, hands still weaving.
Obito plunged onto the water.
He tried to brute-force it—fifteen meters in ten seconds couldn't be that bad, right? A heartbeat later, a Water Dragon Bullet slammed into him, dropped him into the river, and he swallowed a mouthful of cold water.
"Unfortunate. Challenge failed." Mugetsu dispelled the technique, hauled Obito up, and set him on the bank.
"Mugetsu-sensei, this is too hard! How am I supposed to cross with that many Water Dragon Bullets?" Obito sputtered.
"You had ten seconds. Why not stop first and read the Water Dragons' patterns before moving?" Mugetsu reminded him.
Acting first, thinking later—that was Obito all over. Even he should start thinking after failing three times.
"Then I'll try again," Obito said, realizing he'd rushed in blindly.
"If you retry, it costs a ticket—one hundred questions. You sure you want to go now?" Mugetsu asked with a smile.
Obito pictured the three test papers he'd just earned yesterday… and wilted. Even with the hint, this wasn't going to be easy. If he failed again, he'd be paying in questions, and that was a price he did not want to pay.
"Let's train first. Today I'll teach you a special chakra application that boosts speed. If you master it, you should be able to sprint the river," Mugetsu said.
"Mugetsu-sensei, you're my Six Paths Sage!" Obito lit up, hope flooding back.
"Then train well." Mugetsu tapped him lightly with two joined fingers.
"I'm always training well!" Obito grinned.
Mugetsu began breaking down a portion of Shave's mechanics for him.
…
At 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Mugetsu kicked off the first strength test.
This time he didn't ask the Academy instructors for help; instead, he made two shadow clones—one to grade each group.
"Kotetsu," Clone-Mugetsu called, checking names off a form.
Kotetsu jogged forward.
He snapped through hand signs, performed Transformation, Clone, and Substitution in sequence, flowed into a short taijutsu set, then drew and threw a shuriken at a target thirty meters away.
"Minor improvement. Keep at it," Mugetsu said after marking the sheet.
"Okay, thanks, Mugetsu-sensei." Kotetsu nodded, satisfied with the praise.
"Izumo," Mugetsu called next.
Izumo stepped up and ran through his routine.
Grading done, Mugetsu noted that Izumo's progress closely matched Kotetsu's—fit for Gate Guardian brothers, even their gains stayed in sync.
"Anko," Mugetsu continued.
Anko trotted up, flashed Mugetsu a bright smile, and launched into her ninjutsu sequence.
Hearing Anko's name, Izumo and Kotetsu tensed, then relaxed after watching her. She was stronger than they were, but not by enough to jump straight to Group B—her score would just sit a bit higher.
"Izumo, in next week's practical we're going to make waves," Kotetsu said, thinking of their nearly perfected Enemy Confusion Technique. A grin crept across his face.
"Yeah. With Ebisu-san's genius idea, we'll sweep Group C," Izumo nodded.
"It's a shame Ebisu-san's so indifferent to fame. He won't even let us say the idea was his," Kotetsu sighed.
"He might not want the spotlight, but we can still give it to him. If we run the table, we're dragging Ebisu-san with us to share the credit," Izumo said firmly. Gratitude mattered.
"Izumo, it's always you," Kotetsu clapped his shoulder. "Otherwise, I'd definitely mess it up." The two shared a smile.
Guys What do you think of a fanfic based on Tensura (That Time i got reincarnated as a slime?)
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