Chapter 379: Changes in Disciple Strength and Flying Thunder God
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Anko gathered a thick surge of chakra in her throat, shaped it with Fire Release, and blasted a massive fireball straight at Mugetsu.
At the same time, from another angle, Shizune flung a rapid volley of shuriken, trying to seal off Mugetsu's footing.
The fireball missed.
The shuriken were stopped just as easily.
Then Shisui, hidden in the shadows, seized the opening and used the Body Flicker Technique to burst forward, striking at Mugetsu's flank.
Mugetsu seemed to have predicted it. He stepped back once, cleanly, and Shisui's attack cut through air.
Anko and Shizune immediately followed up, pushing in for close quarters, both searching for even a hairline gap.
But even with six hands pressing in, the difference in strength was too large. Mugetsu handled them with ease, swatting away their momentum whenever it formed. Only Shisui, cautious as always, managed to avoid being tagged.
As if deciding to gamble everything at the end, Shisui stopped relying on Body Flicker to reset distance. He charged straight at Mugetsu, who was calmly walking toward him.
Bang!
The Shisui in front of Mugetsu turned into smoke and dispersed.
The real Shisui erupted with chakra from behind, reaching for Mugetsu's waist.
"Still a little too slow," Mugetsu said with a gentle smile, turning in an instant and catching Shisui's outstretched hand.
Thud!
With a simple motion, Mugetsu tossed Shisui down beside Anko and Shizune, leaving all three of them sprawled neatly in a row.
"This is brutal," Anko sighed, flat on her back, staring at the sky. "We've tried to grab that bell five times, and only Shisui managed it once."
The bell training happened once every three weeks, and it was the session Anko looked forward to the most. In her head, if she grabbed a bell, Mugetsu would immediately reveal some peerless ninjutsu like the mysterious master in ninja novels.
Instead, after five attempts, she had not even gotten close enough to admire the bell properly. Every time she approached, she ended up kissing the dirt.
When Shisui succeeded in the third session, Anko had been so jealous she nearly cracked a tooth. And yet, Shisui still did not seem to have used whatever he earned from it.
"Training is meant for improvement," Mugetsu said. "If it were easy, it would be pointless. If you can beat Shisui, I can just hand you a bell directly."
The bell training existed to force breakthroughs. Forget winning. If Anko could last three minutes against Shisui at full power, Mugetsu would already consider that a major leap and give her a bell on the spot.
"Beat Shisui?" Anko sat up, scratching her head, completely baffled. "Is that even something that can happen in real life?"
She lost to him in sparring, and her academics were even worse. Anko genuinely could not imagine a path where she defeated Shisui.
Maybe in Ninja Kill, if the cards loved her for once.
"If you can become as strong as Kakashi, you should be able to defeat me," Shisui said calmly.
Even after three months of intense training, Shisui still was not confident he could beat Kakashi.
If his past self fought Kakashi now, he might have a chance. But Kakashi would not sit still for three months either.
"I think I'll just lie down a bit longer," Anko said, returning to the ground like it was her true calling.
Kakashi was a legend, a genius who had graduated years ago and still haunted the Academy as a ghost story teachers used to scare students into studying.
Anko remembered a teacher once saying Shisui and Kakashi were comparable. So in her mind, Kakashi was simply an older Shisui with better posture.
Catching up felt impossible.
"Shisui, you're overrating Kakashi," Obito's voice cut in. "He's just showing off. Once our Sharingan becomes Three Tomoe, we'll beat him easily."
As it happened, Kakashi, Obito, and the others arrived at the South Border Forest after finishing a mission. They walked in just in time to catch Shisui and Anko's conversation.
The moment someone praised Kakashi, Obito, Kakashi's lifelong rival, could not hold back. He had to correct the world before it spread dangerous misinformation.
"What if you don't win?" Kakashi asked blandly.
"Don't win, don't…" Obito froze.
He was talking big. His Sharingan had not even reached Three Tomoe yet. How could he possibly know if it would guarantee victory?
"I haven't thought about it," Obito said, forcing confidence through clenched teeth. "Because losing is impossible."
Rin was nearby, and there were Academy juniors present. Obito could not afford to look weak.
Kakashi's mouth curved into the faintest smile. "If you lose, how about you run a lap around Konoha's main city while shouting, 'Obito is inferior to Kakashi.'"
Sweat appeared instantly on Obito's forehead, then on his back.
That bet was vicious. If he did that, he would have to move out of Konoha with his grandmother overnight.
"Anyway," Kakashi added calmly, "you won't lose. So the penalty doesn't matter."
Obito stared at him, speechless.
If he refused, it would prove he was bluffing.
"You… you're right," Obito said, trying to sound steady while sweating like a waterfall. "Three Tomoe is very… very powerful."
In his heart, Obito made a decision on the spot.
If he still could not beat Kakashi after reaching Three Tomoe, he would temporarily stop using the Sharingan so nobody could confirm the truth.
At the same time, he prepared for a new level of training. Hiding was not a long term solution. He needed to win.
"What if you lose, Kakashi senpai?" Anko asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.
Kakashi had been very enthusiastic about Obito's punishment, but suspiciously quiet about his own.
"That's right!" Obito seized the opening like it was a lifeline. "You can't punish me if I lose and then give yourself nothing. I'm definitely not losing, but since you started this, you're in it too."
"Since it's a bet," Anko said eagerly, "it should be equal. If Obito senpai loses, he shouts 'inferior to Kakashi senpai.' If Kakashi senpai loses, he shouts 'inferior to Obito senpai.'"
Now Kakashi was boxed in by his own words.
"No problem," Kakashi replied with the same calm tone as always.
But his heart felt heavier than his mask.
It seemed he needed to devote even more time to training.
Obito was not fully confident he could beat Kakashi, but Kakashi also was not one hundred percent confident he could beat Obito once Obito reached Three Tomoe.
If he had to run around Konoha shouting that he was inferior to Obito, Kakashi would stop wearing his mask outside.
He would wear a hood instead.
Shisui glanced at Anko and realized something he had somehow missed for two years.
Anko had a frightening talent for fanning flames.
What could have stayed a joke suddenly became a real duel of pride, with consequences.
Obito and Kakashi, both unwilling to lose, immediately threw themselves into training like their lives depended on it. The atmosphere in the South Border Forest grew even sharper.
Watching them train with that level of desperation, Mugetsu thought that if Rin had possessed Anko's ability to stir competition, those two would have been locked in an arms race long ago.
Was the best fourth member of Minato's team an Academy student who had not even graduated?
Still, it was a good thing.
The shinobi world was growing more dangerous by the day. In this chaos, strength was not a luxury, it was survival.
After they trained for a while, Mugetsu also tested their current strength.
For the past few months, Obito and the others had mostly been completing missions on the battlefield, only returning occasionally. Fortunately, the Enlightenment skill's effect on system disciples could be adjusted directly through the panel, so the benefits they received were similar to training in Konoha.
Since they had not been back for two months, Mugetsu needed an updated read on their strength to keep the training plan precise.
To make the evaluation accurate enough, he tested them individually instead of having them fight as a team.
By combining the feeling from live combat tests with the numbers from the Appraisal skill, Mugetsu quickly understood how much they had grown over the past three months.
The battlefield truly tempered people.
On paper, their growth rate looked average. But in real combat, their improvement was obvious.
Now, Kakashi and Obito were both true jonin level fighters. Based on merit alone, they were already qualified for promotion.
And because Kakashi had Transparent World while Obito had Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, their peak output surpassed ordinary jonin.
But there were drawbacks.
Both of them shared the same weakness. They could not sustain long fights at full output.
Kakashi's Thunderclap Flash consumed enormous chakra and stamina.
Obito's Flame Breathing Chakra Mode consumed even more.
Because activating the Sharingan had triggered a period of chakra surge, Obito's reserves were far greater than Kakashi's. Even so, in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, Obito still could not fully unleash two Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullets.
They had gained abilities that suited them, but those abilities demanded a price.
If Kakashi had activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his chakra would likely be insufficient to fully release even a single Purple Lightning at maximum power.
This was not a flaw in their talent.
It was their age.
They were still too young. If they were eighteen, it would not be like this.
Rin surprised Mugetsu.
Among the three, she had the most overall improvement.
Her medical ninjutsu progressed rapidly, and the battlefield's pressure also sharpened her Water Release and taijutsu. She was now excellent among chunin.
But that excellence referred to utility, not raw combat power.
If the current Rin fought the Obito and Kakashi from a few months ago, she would still lose quickly.
Mugetsu planned to teach Rin more Water Release techniques that focused on support and control. At this stage, she was not suited for direct output. She needed a few more years to grow.
Mugetsu estimated that in a few years, Tsunade would likely develop Creation Rebirth. Once Rin learned the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Creation Rebirth, she would be able to handle both output and support.
Obito's return also made Mugetsu genuinely happy for another reason.
Minato had returned too.
And Mugetsu's Flying Thunder God Technique was stuck at ninety nine proficiency. To push it through, he needed Minato's guidance.
Once he got over the hurdle, it would not be troublesome anymore.
Mugetsu not only had Ninjutsu Proficiency Scrolls, he also had a Ninjutsu Mastery Scroll. He could raise Flying Thunder God straight to mastery the moment the foundation was stable.
That evening, Minato came to Mugetsu's house as usual.
"Minato," Mugetsu said as he cooked, "I've hit a wall with Flying Thunder God. Do you have time tonight?"
Minato nodded. "After dinner, I'll explain."
He did not have many days to spare, so if Mugetsu needed help, he would do what he could.
When the food was ready, Minato first used Flying Thunder God to deliver a portion to Kushina, then returned and ate with Mugetsu.
He had already met Kushina once since coming back, so he was not rushing to talk.
"Mugestu," Minato said, looking slightly embarrassed, "Obito and the others will have to trouble you again for a while."
He felt like he was failing as a teacher, always leaving his disciples in Mugetsu's hands.
"It's no trouble," Mugetsu replied with a gentle smile. "I'm their teacher too."
Minato continued, explaining the reason.
"The village assigned me a mission to cooperate with Orochimaru sama and quickly resolve the Kumogakure situation in the Land of Hot Springs."
Kirigakure declaring war was not empty talk. Their forces had already begun operating along the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
That pressure forced Konoha to act. Ending one battlefield quickly would free up shinobi to deal with Kirigakure.
As for why they targeted Kumogakure instead of Iwagakure, it was simple.
Kumogakure, with their Eight Tails jinchuriki in trouble, looked easier to break.
Iwagakure had two jinchuriki.
Konoha did not want to face three great villages at once. Even if they were not coordinating, it would still grind Konoha down and risk crippling its strength.
Fighting across three fronts meant Konoha shinobi would effectively have to win one against three on average.
That was an ugly equation.
"Besides," Mugetsu added, "you're doing this to protect Konoha, and to protect them. Kirigakure joining the war has put the village under too much strain."
Minato nodded. "Kirigakure stepping directly onto the mainland of the Land of Fire is the one situation the village least wanted."
Konoha's general plan was now clear.
End the Land of Hot Springs front first.
Then concentrate forces to drive out Kirigakure.
After that, deal with Iwagakure.
Minato understood the pressure better than most. He was being used like a brick, moved wherever it was needed, with almost no rest.
Mugetsu listened quietly as Minato spoke about the battlefield.
As a shinobi in the rear, and a teacher, it was hard for him to access the newest intelligence, especially information about Kirigakure. The war had only just begun, and only those assigned to missions knew much.
It was not top secret, just not widely circulated.
After dinner, Mugetsu used Enlightenment on himself and laid out every part he did not understand. No matter what happened on the front lines, strengthening himself remained the priority.
Minato thought for a moment, then nodded. "That's simple. You just need to do this…"
At first, Mugetsu struggled to follow.
Mugetsu's problem was like a complex question, and Minato had written the final answer without showing the steps.
But with Minato's patient explanation, Mugetsu finally grasped it completely.
[Skill: Flying Thunder God Technique (Beginner: 1/500)]
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