Chapter 351: Flying Thunder God Technique
"It is really amazing. The Land of Snow is probably having a blizzard right now, but here you cannot even see a single snowflake," Obito said, standing at Konoha's gate and squinting up at the scorching sun.
Mugetsu had briefly explained the principle behind it during the trip back, but Obito still could not wrap his head around it. In his mind, it was nothing more than one of nature's strange miracles.
"That is right. It will still be a while before Konoha sees snow, and even then it will never be as heavy as in the Land of Snow," Rin said with a nod.
"It really is a good thing you brought your camera this time, Obito. A scenery like that is worth remembering."
"Hehe." Obito chuckled proudly. From now on, he planned to bring his camera on every mission.
At first, he only wanted to share those sights with Rin, but somewhere along the way he had started to genuinely enjoy recording the different landscapes of the ninja world.
"Everyone, you are dismissed for now. You have tomorrow off. Regular training resumes the day after tomorrow," Mugetsu said, as calmly as ever.
Strictly speaking, the mission itself had not been too difficult for his disciples. Mugetsu had been the main force. But their journey home had been long, and a day of rest was still necessary.
The three disciples all nodded.
Mugetsu then turned and headed for the Hokage Building to make his report.
Because they had stayed in the Land of Snow until the Snow God Festival ended, Sosetsu had already sent a messenger ahead to Konoha, explaining the mission changes and offering additional payment.
Even so, Mugetsu still needed to report in person. Procedures were procedures.
As Mugetsu's figure disappeared down the street, Obito glanced sidelong at Kakashi.
His body was tired from the long march back, but he did not actually want to rest. What he wanted was to go straight to training and polish his Breathing Technique, to perfect his incomplete Fire Release Chakra Mode as soon as possible.
In Obito's ideal scenario, Kakashi would go home and sleep. If he trained one more day while Kakashi trained one less, he would be two days ahead in one stroke.
Keep that up, and he would surpass Kakashi again in no time and crush him handsomely in front of Rin.
"Ah, my body is really tired. I should definitely get a good rest," Obito said, rolling his eyes dramatically before stretching his arms.
In his experience, once people saw others resting, they would subconsciously become lazier too. He was trying to provoke Kakashi into going home to sleep.
"After all, we did sprint all the way back. We will feel much better after a good night of sleep," Rin said with a gentle smile.
Mugetsu hated wasting time on the road. On the return trip, he had them travel at full speed, which both saved time and served as physical training.
"What Rin said makes a lot of sense. We really should go to bed early," Obito thought smugly, praising her in his heart.
Yes, Kakashi should ideally sleep for an entire week.
"I am fine. This is much easier than the training we did before," Kakashi said, shaking his head. He did not feel particularly tired.
Compared to the hellish period when they were first forced into Constant State Breathing, this was nothing. Back then, Kakashi could fall asleep standing up without even realizing it.
Obito's smile froze. That attitude clearly meant Kakashi was going to train.
"It is exactly because I am worried the training the day after tomorrow will be just as tough that I want to rest," Obito insisted. "Rest is so we can train better."
Kakashi's expression grew thoughtful. There was some logic in that.
"It looks like you have grown from this mission, Obito. It is rare to hear you considering so many things," Rin said, chuckling as she covered her mouth.
"It is just that you have never noticed, Rin. I, Uchiha Obito, am someone who likes to think, and is very good at thinking," Obito said, puffing out his chest.
Kakashi went silent.
Liking to think was one thing. Maybe Obito's bizarre logic came precisely from thinking too much. But being good at thinking was another matter entirely. What kind of genius thinker scored in the single digits on written tests?
Rin let out a small laugh and praised him anyway. Obito really had performed well on this mission.
"Maybe. Mugetsu sensei also said it is good to balance work and rest," Kakashi finally said.
He did not feel like arguing with Obito any further. He would let Obito rest while he himself followed his own training plan.
That way, he could end this pointless bickering and maintain his lead in strength a little longer.
Obito's face lit up instantly. In his mind, he could already see Kakashi lying defeated at his feet.
"The reason I surpassed you is not that I have more talent than you, but that I used all the time you spent resting to train," Obito thought, rehearsing his future victory speech.
"Obito, why are you suddenly smiling so happily?" Rin asked, puzzled.
Kakashi also looked over, wondering why Obito's smile suddenly looked so suspicious.
Realizing he had gone too far, Obito quickly tried to force his expression back to normal, but the corners of his mouth refused to relax.
"Ahem. I was just imagining Koyuki opening her present and discovering it is all test papers," Obito said smoothly.
Rin pressed a hand to her forehead and smiled helplessly.
"You kept saying you wanted to protect the princess before, but now you are doing something like that to Koyuki, a real princess," she said.
Obito's behavior was really hard for her to comment on.
Obito just chuckled without answering, afraid that saying too much would give Kakashi more clues.
To throw Kakashi off, he deliberately left first, heading straight for the Uchiha compound.
Rin had originally considered going to train a bit longer, but after seeing both Obito and Kakashi talk about resting, she decided to just go home as well. She really was quite tired.
While the disciples were busy with their own schemes, Mugetsu quickly finished his report.
"Mugetsu, you did very well this time. The Daimyo of the Land of Snow praised you highly in his letter. Very few ninja receive that kind of commendation from a Daimyo," Hiruzen said, taking the pipe from his mouth and smiling.
Even a small country's Daimyo was still a Daimyo, and there were not many of them in the entire world. Moreover, the Land of Snow rarely commissioned missions from Konoha.
Mugetsu's performance this time had earned Konoha considerable prestige there, effectively opening up a new market.
Mugetsu did not pretend to be overly humble. He nodded calmly, acknowledging the praise.
He had indeed put in tremendous effort. In a sense he had crushed Doto's coup almost single handedly.
"How about this, Mugetsu? Is there any particular ninjutsu you want? I will grant you one technique as a special reward, any rank," Hiruzen said after a moment's thought.
Although the village's Ninjutsu Pavilion housed many high rank techniques, the most valuable A and S rank jutsu were not placed there.
"I would like the Flying Thunder God Technique," Mugetsu replied after thinking for a moment.
He already possessed many types of ninjutsu, including several powerful ones, but there were still a few techniques he truly desired. Flying Thunder God was one of them.
His reaction speed would not lose to Minato's. He could strengthen his nervous system with Lightning Release and had the Transparent World to boot. With that as a foundation, Flying Thunder God would become a genuine power up.
On top of that, it offered unparalleled mobility.
Many of Mugetsu's ideas required the ability to move quickly over long distances. Thunder Breathing could explode with enough speed, but covering long ranges with it consumed too much stamina.
"Flying Thunder God, huh…" Hiruzen's expression grew a little complicated.
It was not that he considered Flying Thunder God too powerful to hand over. Rather, he knew too well how difficult it was.
Hiruzen suspected that even a genius like Mugetsu would most likely fail to learn it.
Flying Thunder God was fundamentally different from ordinary ninjutsu.
It required a special talent for space time.
Even someone like Hiruzen, brilliant in ninjutsu, had never successfully learned it.
Mugetsu's performance was impressive enough to call him a genius, but space time talent was something almost mystical.
Since its creation, only two people in Konoha had ever truly mastered it: its inventor, the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, and Jiraiya's disciple Minato Namikaze.
"Mugetsu, are you sure you want Flying Thunder God? It is indeed powerful and is considered the Second Hokage's proudest creation," Hiruzen said slowly.
"Do not be fooled by the fact that Minato also learned it. To this day, only the Second Hokage and Minato have ever succeeded."
In Hiruzen's eyes, learning Flying Thunder God was not just a matter of hard work. It was like gambling.
Without space time talent, there was hardly any hope at all.
He worried that Mugetsu's relationship with Minato might be influencing him. With such a close example in front of him, and given his own genius, Mugetsu might simply assume he could pull it off as well.
"Thank you for the reminder, Sandaime sama. I am sure. I want Flying Thunder God," Mugetsu answered without hesitation.
He himself was not certain that he could learn it, but if he did, the payoff would be enormous.
He had accumulated a large number of ninjutsu proficiency scrolls. Once he managed to grasp the basics, he could use those scrolls to raise Flying Thunder God to mastery in one go.
And if he failed, then he had simply tried and learned his limit. There was no real loss.
Hiruzen took a deep drag on his pipe, exhaled a cloud of white smoke, and realized that Mugetsu's mind was already made up.
"I will have someone deliver your reward to you," Hiruzen said, no longer trying to persuade him.
He knew that geniuses like Mugetsu would never be satisfied until they tried for themselves.
He had spent plenty of time in his youth wrestling with the Flying Thunder God Technique, and had only given up after confirming he had no talent for it whatsoever.
Moreover, a thought had already sprouted quietly in his heart.
If Mugetsu truly did possess talent for space time techniques, it would be an incredible thing. Konoha might gain another Yellow Flash.
"Sandaime sama, have you ever tried combining chakra natures yourself to develop a bloodline limit?" Mugetsu suddenly asked, turning the topic toward chakra nature transformation.
"I tried for a while," Hiruzen answered, shaking his head. "But it is far too difficult to merge two natures into an entirely new nature. It requires a certain opportunity."
He had long ago mastered all five basic chakra natures and knew from theory that combining them could create bloodline limits.
But despite repeatedly experimenting, he had never succeeded.
In the end, he chose to specialize in combination techniques instead. Combination ninjutsu using multiple natures already had frightening power.
He did not think he had chosen wrongly either. His current strength was proof enough.
There were many ninja in the world with bloodline limits, but how many of them could confidently claim to be stronger than Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"Could it be that you…" Hiruzen trailed off, a sudden possibility flashing through his mind as he gazed at Mugetsu in surprise.
If his guess was correct, then Mugetsu's future would have to be reevaluated from the ground up.
Mugetsu did not leave him in suspense for long.
Dazzling blue white light shone from his palm, and soon a small block of ice took shape in his hand.
"Ice Release," Hiruzen murmured, naming the bloodline limit as he stared at the ice.
A strange emotion stirred in his chest.
Bloodline limits were not like ordinary ninjutsu. They could be passed on to descendants.
If Mugetsu's children and grandchildren were not too incompetent, a brand new clan might very well be born.
"In the Land of Snow, there is a type of Snow Ninjutsu that looks very similar to Ice Release, but is not the real thing," Mugetsu began, calmly recounting his fabricated path to developing the bloodline limit.
He was not worried about arousing suspicion.
In this world, no one could possibly imagine that Mugetsu had a system.
To them, there were only two explanations for him using Ice Release.
Either he was a spy from the Hidden Mist, or he had developed it on his own.
The first option simply did not hold water.
Mugetsu was Konoha born and raised, both parents having died in the war. He had even been in Root.
That left only one answer. Mugetsu had developed Ice Release himself.
"If we gather ninja in the village who have already mastered both Water and Wind chakra and have them learn Snow Ninjutsu from the Land of Snow, perhaps the village can increase its number of Ice Release users," Mugetsu suggested.
In truth, he knew this was unlikely.
If it were that easy, the Snow ninja would have developed a real bloodline limit ages ago.
But if he was going to pretend to have developed it himself, then he might as well act the part thoroughly.
"Mugetsu, you are underestimating yourself," Hiruzen replied with a small laugh. "Those Snow techniques may have played some role, but they were certainly not the decisive factor. What really gave birth to Ice Release was your talent."
With his experience, Hiruzen could see the problem clearly.
Having Konoha ninja learn weakened Snow Ninjutsu that did not even work properly outside the Land of Snow would only waste their time.
If bloodline limits were that easy to create, he would have done it himself long ago.
Still, Mugetsu's suggestion came from wanting to strengthen the village.
That alone put Hiruzen in an excellent mood.
What had originally been a simple move to train disciples had actually grown to this level. It was truly a tremendous gain.
After the explanation, Mugetsu deliberately showed a look of sudden understanding.
Once all the formalities were complete, Mugetsu created a shadow clone and sent it home, while his real body headed directly for the South Border Forest.
At that exact moment, in the South Border Forest, Obito and Kakashi were staring at each other.
"Kakashi, did you not say we should balance work and rest? Why are you out here in the South Border Forest?" Obito could not help asking.
"Did you not say you were tired and needed to rest so you could train better afterward?" Kakashi shot back.
The two went silent at the same time.
Obito was speechless. He felt like he had wasted a lot of effort for nothing.
If he had just gone straight to training, he might have ended up working with Rin.
Instead, after all his scheming, he had managed to end up training with Kakashi again.
Kakashi saw no reason to keep talking and immediately began his exercises.
Seeing that, Obito hurriedly started his own training as well.
"Cunning, hateful Kakashi," Obito thought as he gritted his teeth. "Once I surpass you again, I am going to challenge you every single day."
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