"Seal!"
On Monday afternoon, in the Southern Border Forest, Mokgetsu was practicing the One-Finger Seal that Kushina taught him.
Since it was a sealing technique used to seal Chakra, Mokgetsu experimented using his own Shadow Clone.
"Unable to gather Chakra, it worked." The Shadow Clone reported.
"But it feels like I could break through it if I used my full strength." The Shadow Clone added.
Mokgetsu nodded, no wonder Minato said this sealing technique had no practical value.
Though he had just learned it, the fact that a Shadow Clone with only half his Chakra could break it instantly showed the weak binding power.
"But at least I learned it, could it be that I have a talent for sealing techniques?" Mokgetsu thought.
The sealing technique was given by Kushina last night, and he had already mastered it today. According to Kushina, he was a genius in sealing techniques.
Strictly speaking, he hadn't even practiced for half a day. He practiced for a while last night and then again for a short time this afternoon.
Many guesses flashed through Mokgetsu's mind: the original self's talent, his own talent, or perhaps a combination of both...
The reason didn't matter because this was absolutely good news.
Even if he didn't learn powerful sealing techniques for the future, just limiting it to the present, he saw a glimmer of hope in breaking the Root's Curse Seal.
After reading books on sealing techniques and curse seals, and learning a sealing technique, Mokgetsu knew that curse seals were actually a subset of sealing techniques.
The Tongue Curse Seal was essentially a type of sealing technique, a rather special one.
Sealing techniques can generally be solved in two ways.
The first is to break through directly with strong Chakra, the second is to use the corresponding unsealing technique to remove the seal.
Relying on Chakra to forcibly break through the seal seemed unreliable to Mokgetsu, because the level of the Tongue Curse Seal wasn't low. If he could break it by force, killing Danzo wouldn't be a big deal.
Therefore, Mokgetsu planned to learn more sealing techniques, then study his own Tongue Curse Seal, and eventually develop the unsealing technique for it.
He deliberately kept a Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll unused just for the sealing techniques.
The system rewarded him with corresponding nature transformation knowledge for Chakra attribute ninjutsu he hadn't mastered, so Mokgetsu deduced that if he elevated a sealing technique to a proficient level, he might also gain some sealing technique knowledge.
Mokgetsu didn't intend to use the Skill Scroll on the One-Finger Seal. He felt this sealing technique was akin to the Three-Body Jutsu among sealing techniques, and using a Skill Scroll on it seemed wasteful.
After finishing the disciples' training, Mokgetsu went straight to the main city.
Since Kushina and Minato treated him to a meal yesterday, Mokgetsu naturally invited them over to his home for dinner.
Today, Mokgetsu made spicy sautéed eggs, tempura, and stewed potatoes with meat.
Mokgetsu's personal favorite was the spicy sautéed eggs, a dish his mother often made for him in a past life.
Mokgetsu could be said to love eating eggs very much, whether steamed, boiled, fried, or sautéed, he could accept, especially paired with his preference for spicy food. Hence, in his house, there were rarely leek sautéed eggs, mostly spicy sautéed eggs.
First, he cracked the eggs into a bowl, quickly beat them with chopsticks, then directly mixed in the peppers into the egg mixture, and poured it into a pan.
Even with his chef skills that had surpassed his past life, every time he made this dish, it brought back memories from before.
"Mokgetsu, what's up? Afraid your own dish might be too spicy for you?" Kushina joked, seeing Mokgetsu pick up a piece of spicy sautéed egg but not eating it immediately.
"It's amazing, that spicy sautéed egg is really delicious." Minato praised.
If he had to cook, he definitely wouldn't think to combine peppers with eggs, let alone fry them together like that.
"Yeah, spicy sautéed eggs are awesome." Mokgetsu stopped reminiscing, smiled warmly, and then put a piece into his mouth.
"Mm, delicious."
The three chatted while eating, eventually discussing the sealing technique Mokgetsu was learning.
"Mokgetsu, can you perform that One-Finger Seal now?" Kushina asked.
Mokgetsu shook his head, replying, "Every time I rehearse it in my mind, it goes well, but I just can't execute it smoothly, like something's missing."
Mokgetsu didn't want to reveal that he learned it in half a day—it seemed too startling, especially since Kushina claimed it took her a day.
With Anbu watching Kushina, Mokgetsu didn't want to stand out too much.
He planned to pretend it took him seven days to master it, so he wouldn't seem too genius while still showing some talent in sealing techniques.
"That's normal, very few people can learn it in a day; you're within the norm." Minato comforted him.
Concerned that Kushina's previous remarks might affect Mokgetsu's mindset.
"Yes, as long as you learn it within a month, it's fine." Kushina added.
"If you don't understand something, just ask us, no need to be polite." Kushina said, eating.
Minato nodded, indicating no problem.
"As long as it's not a bother for you." Mokgetsu said with a smile.
...
Thursday afternoon, Konoha Southern Border Forest.
"Obito eighty-five questions, Might Guy thirty questions." Mokgetsu announced the results of today's afternoon battle.
"Only eighty-five!" Obito couldn't hide his excitement.
He felt the beatings from Kakashi hadn't been in vain; this was the fewest questions since the battle rules changed, showing his improvement—getting hit less, hitting more.
Obito planned to reduce forty percent of the training time, tackle ten percent on that day, and handle the remaining fifty percent in installments. After distributing, he even felt the number of questions wasn't that many.
"Amazingly, thirty questions!" Might Guy clenched his fists in disbelief—this was the most questions since the rules changed.
Even maximizing the training-to-question ratio, he still had to tackle twelve questions.
"Not bad, you both improved a lot. Today, if you want to pay in installments, you can do so interest-free." Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Obito's eyes instantly lit up, feeling he could pay in more installments.
Might Guy thought installment without interest was practically free, so he also applied for installments with Mokgetsu.
After training ended, Might Guy found Shisui, hoping he could help with some intensive training.
Obito's progress filled him with a sense of urgency. Although his advantage remained significant, in battles, Obito wasn't allowed to use ninjutsu, only showcasing less than half his power.
Might Guy recalled Mokgetsu's words that battle was crucial for power growth—not the training kind with Obito, but truly intense battles.
"Full strength?" Shisui inquired.
Might Guy nodded in confirmation.
"Then I'm going to strike." Shisui announced ahead.
Might Guy braced his muscles, ready to unleash Taijutsu at a moment's notice.
Yet in the next instant after Shisui spoke, a large tree burst from the ground, binding Might Guy.
As Might Guy puzzled over Shisui's ninjutsu, the tree suddenly vanished, and Shisui stood with a kunai to his throat—battle over.
Might Guy realized he had fallen for Shisui's Genjutsu.
"The path to the strongest is long indeed." thought the effortlessly defeated Might Guy.
"Please, once more!"
The road is long, but Mighty Guy will never surrender!