Chapter 229: The Meaning of Learning
Happy times are always fleeting—this was the first thought that crossed Obito's mind the morning after his birthday.
"Considering it was your birthday yesterday, I didn't bring out the training problems," Mugetsu said with a smile, handing two neatly stacked test papers to Obito. "But today, we'll start."
Yesterday's training had only involved physical drills and breathing exercises. The dreaded written work had been spared—until now.
"Actually, I think I made a mistake when I registered my birthday," Obito said weakly, staring at the crisp white papers filled with black ink. "Today's my real birthday."
Smack!
Mugetsu's finger landed cleanly on Obito's forehead. "Even if every single one of the next three hundred and sixty-five days is your birthday, you'll still have to do these. You'll be returning to school for exams in ten days. You don't want to go back to getting scores in the teens, do you?"
"Ugh… why do we even have exams when we're not in class this semester?" Obito grumbled, his expression twisted in despair.
Mugetsu smiled faintly. "Perhaps to test your internship results."
He continued, "When the school announces the results, they'll also publish the internship performance reports. The number of missions you completed will be written beside your score."
"Then Might Guy and I will definitely rank first!" Obito said proudly, puffing out his chest.
He remembered the mission hall clerk mentioning that most intern teams were only allowed to take D-Rank missions. Such tasks never escalated in difficulty, so other teams had no chance to experience a C-Rank, let alone anything higher.
But he and Might Guy? They had completed two A-Rank missions and one B-Rank mission. Compared to their peers, they were miles ahead.
"There's no problem getting first in mission quality," Mugetsu said, nodding, "but mission performance won't raise your theory scores."
Obito scratched his head, frustration creeping in. If people saw his outstanding mission record but noticed his theory grades barely scraping the twenties, it would be embarrassing.
"You have three days to finish these," Mugetsu said. "After that, come to me for explanations."
After giving Obito his assignment, Mugetsu handed another set of papers to Shisui.
The questions were tailored differently for each of them. Obito's covered general Ninja Academy material, while Shisui's focused on history and politics—complex essay questions like 'Analyze the changes brought by the establishment of Ninja Villages and their long-term effects on the world' or 'Discuss the historical roots of conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.'
It wasn't realistic for Mugetsu, as an outsider, to resolve that ancient rift himself. The key to solving it lay within the Uchiha Clan—and Shisui was the ideal candidate to start that change.
Mugetsu's purpose behind these assignments wasn't simply to raise their theory scores or to punish them. It was to expand their knowledge and sharpen their ability to think.
At first, Shisui didn't take it too seriously. It was only two papers—he could easily have a Shadow Clone complete them later. But when his eyes landed on the first question, his casual expression disappeared.
The more he read, the more serious he became. Every question demanded deep reflection. Each one carried weight and complexity.
He finally understood why Obito and Might Guy feared these problem-solving sessions so much. If he had to answer a hundred of these in one sitting, even he might lose his mind.
Mugetsu gave Shisui the same deadline—three days. However, if he couldn't finish, he could apply for installment solving. The catch? More problems would be added.
After receiving their assignments, the two disciples began their Constant State Breathing training, maintaining Total Concentration Breathing through every movement, even basic exercises.
Sweat poured down Obito's face, blurring his vision. His body trembled, his clothes soaked through—but he refused to stop until his strength gave out.
"Tomorrow's another problem-solving session… I have to dodge at least once this time. Otherwise, I'll have to do installments again," he muttered between breaths. That thought alone became his motivation to push harder.
Fifty-five problems—he could barely handle that in three days. But if another fifty-five were added tomorrow, it would be a disaster.
Having gone through this before, Obito knew well how the cycle worked. Once installment problem-solving began, it never ended. The questions would only pile higher and higher until he was buried alive beneath them.
From a distance, Kakashi watched Obito's determined training during their break. "This guy… is he working this hard just so I don't catch up to him?" he said in disbelief, unable to hide his surprise.
Seeing Obito's determination, Kakashi couldn't sit still. Even though he hadn't rested properly, he began practicing Lightning Breathing immediately.
"Tonight, I'll add another two and a half hours to my training time," Kakashi resolved silently.
No one under Mugetsu's tutelage ever slacked off. Everyone trained with serious dedication, and Kakashi, unwilling to fall behind, decided to push himself even harder.
"Everyone's youth is burning with passion today!" Might Guy declared, inspired by his companions' intensity. Fueled by the fiery spirit of competition, he pushed his body further.
"Gate of Opening—open! Gate of Healing—open!"
In that moment, Might Guy suddenly realized he had succeeded. After weeks of effort, he had finally mastered opening the second gate—this time without relying on Breathing Techniques to forcibly trigger it.
"Rock Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!"
He focused his breath, channeling it with perfect precision. His physical power surged as energy coursed through every muscle.
"This is power!" Guy clenched his fist, his face alight with excitement. During his last mission, he had tried to refine Noon Leopard, but without the second gate, he had lacked the explosive strength to perfect it. Now, that barrier was gone.
"Noon Leopard!"
Guy's body exploded into motion. Chakra from the Eight Gates erupted, amplifying his speed to a blinding level. When he reached his peak, he launched a ferocious kick at a massive boulder—his leg cutting through the air like a leopard's strike.
Boom!!
The huge rock shattered instantly, fragments scattering in all directions as dust filled the air.
As the debris settled, Guy stood tall, chest heaving, his expression overflowing with exhilaration.
The noise drew everyone's attention.
"He can already use that move normally?" Kakashi muttered, astonished. He remembered how Guy once had to push his body to its limits to perform that technique. Now, he could unleash it with ease.
"Such speed… such power," Shisui said, visibly impressed. It was his first time witnessing Guy combine Total Concentration Breathing with the second gate. The result was undeniably overwhelming.
"Isn't that the same move he used in our last battle?" Obito said, his voice trembling slightly. "If you get hit by that, you're either crippled or dead." Just imagining Guy challenging him again made his eyelid twitch involuntarily.
After a long day of training, Obito dragged his exhausted body home. On the way, he passed by the familiar dango shop he had once visited with Rin and decided to stop by to recharge.
"Obito, what's up? You look beat," a familiar voice called out.
Turning around, Obito saw a boy with a senbon in his mouth—Shiranui Genma—waving at him, with another student wearing sunglasses, Ebisu, sitting beside him.
"Nothing much. Just tired from training," Obito said, buying three skewers of dango before sitting down at their table.
Although they were in different classes, they were from the same grade and knew each other. After that summer's joint training, they'd become even more familiar.
"Who's your internship teacher? Is the training really that intense?" Genma asked curiously.
"It's Teacher Mugetsu," Obito replied casually, taking a bite of dango. "The training isn't that harsh—it's just me pushing myself. If I want to get stronger, there's no other way."
"What?! Your teacher is Mugetsu-sensei? You're so lucky!" Genma's face lit up with envy.
Everyone who had ever trained under Mugetsu knew how rare it was to be his student. His methods and results were on an entirely different level from the average instructor.
"After training with Mugetsu-sensei, your strength must have skyrocketed," Genma said with a grin. "You'll definitely take first place in practical combat this time. Might Guy won't stand a chance."
"Uh…" Obito hesitated. "Might Guy is in my class too—and he's also training under Mugetsu-sensei."
A brief silence followed.
"Oh… so Guy's with you, huh?" Genma said with an awkward laugh. "Then that'll be a tough fight. I'm really looking forward to it."
"It's alright," Obito said between bites. "What about you Guys? How's your internship going?"
"It's… fine, I guess," Genma sighed. "Feels like class time turned into errand duty."
"Yeah," Ebisu added, frowning. "I thought we'd be doing real missions, but it's just chasing cats, finding dogs, picking up trash, and farm work. Honestly, I'd rather be in class."
It was clear they weren't satisfied with their assignments.
Obito straightened his back proudly. "I think it's fine. Not as boring as you Guys make it sound."
Compared to them, Obito suddenly realized how extraordinary his own experience had been. He'd fought alongside his team against enemy Jonin and even encountered a Raikage candidate.
"No wonder you're getting stronger so fast," Genma sighed. "Not only do you train harder than anyone else, but you also carry yourself like a real ninja."
Obito chuckled, embarrassed. "Hehe, it's not that big a deal."
In truth, he had been hoping they'd ask about his missions so he could brag about completing two A-Rank tasks. But by the time he finished his dango, neither of them had asked—and that left him just a little disappointed.
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