Chapter 336: Predicting Each Other
After a week of Constant State training, Obito's mind was now dominated by three questions:
Where did I come from?
Who am I?
Where am I going?
It was not that he wanted to abandon the ninja path for philosophy.
It was simply that thinking about those three questions was far easier than staring at the mountain of test papers Mugetsu had given him.
Obito's current limit was ten problems a day.
If he did more than that, his brain shut down and his answers turned into random scribbles.
His Breathing Technique was constantly improving, but even at his best yesterday he still racked up fifteen penalties.
That meant that even if he pushed himself every day, he still could not clear the daily backlog. The extra problems just piled up like debt.
"Is this what the life of a chunin is like? Is there a genin exam? I want to test back down to genin," Obito muttered, completely crushed.
Being a genin suddenly felt pretty good.
"There is no such exam, Obito. What are you even thinking?" Rin Nohara could not help laughing.
Exams were always for promotion.
Who had ever heard of an exam for demotion?
Obito looked at Rin with a tragic, resentful expression.
Rin was the only one of Mugetsu's disciples who did not have to do problem solving training.
If it were anyone else, Obito would definitely drag them down with him.
"Anyway, Mugetsu sensei did not set a deadline. You can take your time," Rin said gently, trying to comfort him.
"Rin, you do not understand this kind of suffering," Obito sighed.
Even without a time limit, just thinking about the nearly one hundred problems he owed made his head throb.
He did not even have the energy to compare himself to Kakashi anymore.
Right now his goal had shrunk down to only one thing.
Finish Constant State training and completely end this hellish problem solving regimen.
Might Guy was just as worn down.
He and Obito were comrades in theoretical misery.
This training was a double strike to both body and mind.
Their bodies were exhausted from maintaining Breathing Technique around the clock, and then they still had to go home and do written work, draining their mental stamina.
Under that twin pressure their focus reached a new extreme.
At this point they craved improvement more than ever, desperate to climb out of this sea of suffering.
Another week passed.
Obito became the first to successfully maintain his Breathing Technique through the entire training period, and the others quickly reached the standard as well.
"It is finally over. These painful days are finally over," Obito said, clenching his fists, his face brighter than it had been even when he became a chunin.
"After completing such harsh training, youth burns even more brilliantly," Guy declared, giving himself a thumbs up.
"Still a little short," Kakashi exhaled softly. He could feel that only a thin sheet of paper separated him from the true Transparent World, but that sheet was tougher than it looked.
"I cannot relax yet. I have to put in even more training," Shisui thought, that constant sense of urgency never leaving him since the Chunin Exams.
Mugetsu pushed up his glasses, a gentle smile on his face.
"Over? No. The second phase of training is only just beginning," he said.
If he was going to put his disciples through hell, there was no way it would end so easily.
This time he wanted them to reach full proficiency in their Breathing Techniques, greatly enhancing their ability to survive in real combat.
Every level of Breathing Technique represented a qualitative leap in power.
Once they reached proficiency and mastered Constant State, Obito and the others would basically gain a permanent strengthening buff, and their future training efficiency would increase dramatically.
"The goal of the second phase is to maintain your Breathing Technique even while sleeping."
The moment Mugetsu said that, Obito went rigid.
He thought he had misheard, but when he looked around at the others' confused expressions, he knew he had not.
"When we are asleep we do not even have consciousness. How are we supposed to keep using Breathing Technique?" Obito asked.
In his mind, Breathing Technique was essentially a special ninjutsu.
How could you use ninjutsu while asleep?
"Can you breathe while you sleep?" Mugetsu did not answer directly. He simply posed another question.
"Of course. If I do not breathe I will die," Obito answered without thinking.
His grades might not be great, but he still had this much common sense.
"Since you can breathe, why can you not use Breathing Technique?" Mugetsu said slowly.
Following that line of logic, Obito could not find a rebuttal.
"You can create Shadow Clones to supervise yourselves," Mugetsu continued. "Once you fall asleep and start breathing normally instead of using the Breathing Technique, the Shadow Clone will immediately attack and wake the main body."
"To prevent you from going easy on yourselves, you can swap Shadow Clones. Let each other's clones supervise you. Every time you are woken up, that is four problems."
As soon as Mugetsu finished speaking, cold sweat ran down Obito's temples.
Mugetsu's tone was gentle, the weather was warm, but Obito still felt an icy chill crawl over him.
He could already see the hard days waiting for him.
The previous phase of training plus problem solving had been exhausting, but at least once he lay down he could sleep peacefully.
This second phase was different.
Now even sleep itself turned into training.
If he could not keep up, he would not get a single good night's rest.
"Could Mugetsu sensei be that disappointed in our Breathing Technique progress?"
The severity of this training made even Kakashi reflect on himself.
All four disciples could feel that this regimen had been pushed to maximum intensity.
But no one complained.
They quietly followed Mugetsu's instructions and finished assigning Shadow Clones.
Kakashi and Obito swapped clones to supervise each other.
Since Guy could not use Shadow Clone, Shisui's Shadow Clone watched over him, while one of Mugetsu's own Shadow Clones went to supervise Shisui.
On the first night of the second phase, Obito lay comfortably in his bed, on the verge of falling asleep, when he noticed Kakashi's Shadow Clone sitting upright in the room.
He immediately remembered the Breathing Technique.
"I cannot let Kakashi have any openings. That guy might actually be ruthless," Obito thought, suddenly on full alert.
He kept telling himself over and over to maintain his Breathing Technique.
But the first attempt at anything usually came with some suffering.
Even though Obito had mentally braced himself beforehand, the moment he dreamed of taking Rin on a date in a field of flowers, his excitement made him forget all about his breathing.
"Rin, I…"
In the dream, Rin's shy expression made Obito's eyes shine.
Just as he was about to reach out and take her small, delicate hand, a sharp blow slammed into his chest.
The flower filled world shattered.
The endless field vanished.
When Obito opened his eyes he saw only the pitch black bedroom.
The shy Rin was gone, replaced by a masked Kakashi with a blank expression, hand still raised in a striking posture.
"Just a little more," Obito groaned, glaring at Kakashi with blazing resentment.
He wanted nothing more than to use Fire Release and smash this Kakashi into pieces.
"Four problems," the Shadow Clone said flatly.
The moment he heard the word "problems," Obito snapped fully awake.
He remembered where he was and what he was doing.
"Breathing Technique, Breathing Technique, Breathing Technique. Do not stop," Obito chanted in his heart, giving himself another round of mental suggestion.
Before drifting off again, he silently cheered on his own Shadow Clone.
"Come on, other me. Do not let Kakashi have an easy time."
His own suffering was bad enough, but the thought of Kakashi sleeping peacefully was even worse.
Right now, the biggest bad news Obito could imagine was Mugetsu telling him that Kakashi had passed the night perfectly with no penalties.
However, Obito clearly overestimated him.
Even Kakashi could not complete such harsh training perfectly on the first night.
Otherwise, the punishment Mugetsu set would be meaningless.
"The Ninja Academy will completely abolish written theory exams. This kind of theory is deeply harmful to the next generation."
In Kakashi's dream, an adult Obito sat in the Hokage's chair, cloak around his shoulders and straw hat on his head, solemnly announcing his reform proposals in the council chamber.
Next to him sat an adult Kakashi, sighing in his heart.
Being Hokage's assistant was exhausting.
Not only did he have to handle major affairs, he also had to find ways to stop the Hokage from constantly causing trouble.
Bang.
The Shadow Clone Obito's eyes lit up as he sensed Kakashi's Breathing Technique rhythm become chaotic.
He immediately drove his fist into Kakashi's chest.
"Main body, you can thank me later. I helped you get revenge," the Shadow Clone Obito said proudly.
He did not know exactly what the main body was experiencing, but he did know himself.
If he was getting beaten by Kakashi's Shadow Clone, then the main body was definitely suffering somewhere too.
"Kakashi, are you really okay? Or do you want me to go easy on you later and let you rest a little more?" the Shadow Clone Obito teased.
"No need," Kakashi exhaled and answered.
The training was severe, but it was far from meaningless.
Through this, he could gain the power to protect his comrades.
Besides, Kakashi knew Obito would never actually go easy on him.
If he agreed, Obito would immediately mock him even more.
Kakashi quickly adjusted his breathing again and drifted back into sleep.
Just before he lost consciousness, though, he could not help remembering that strange dream.
"If that guy ever became Hokage, it might really turn out like that," Kakashi thought, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
He was not surprised at all that Obito would propose such nonsense.
This was the same Uchiha Obito who could score in the single digits on theory tests and start babbling nonsense the moment he had to do too many problems.
Then Kakashi shook the thought away.
With Obito's current state, becoming Hokage was impossible.
Right now, most of Konoha believed the Fourth Hokage would come from among the Sannin.
Whether it was Orochimaru, Jiraiya, or Tsunade, each had many supporters.
The Fourth was out of the question, and the Fifth looked even less likely.
In Kakashi's view, that seat would belong to Minato or Mugetsu.
Even if they reached the Sixth Hokage one day, he still could not see Obito wearing that hat.
Compared to Obito, Shisui was far more suitable for the role.
Strength alone was not enough to become Hokage.
You could not afford any glaring weaknesses.
To be honest, Kakashi felt that if he really put in the effort, his chances would be higher than Obito's.
But he had no desire for the position at all.
While picturing the scandalous future of Obito as Hokage and keeping his Breathing Technique steady, Kakashi slipped back into his dreams.
That night, none of Mugetsu's four disciples enjoyed a complete, uninterrupted dream.
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