Monday afternoon, Ninja Academy.
The homeroom teachers for all the first-year classes had already reminded their students that the theory class would be held in the large auditorium, so there wasn't any awkward incident of a class not showing up for the first big lecture.
"There are so many people."
"Isn't that Uchiha Shisui from Class 1?"
"And from Class 4..."
For most students, this was their first time attending such a big class. They were full of curiosity and were eagerly chatting about all sorts of things with their friends.
Knock! Knock!
"Everyone, please quiet down, class is about to begin," Mokgetsu said warmly, tapping the table as he walked into the classroom.
Everyone in Class 1 instantly closed their mouths. Most students from other classes also stopped talking, except for a few bold ones who continued whispering.
"This seems to be the famous Teacher Mokgetsu who was rumored to be great last semester."
"We'll find out soon enough if he's truly great."
Mokgetsu didn't bother with the soft whispers that didn't interrupt the class. He continued, saying:
"Everyone, take out your textbooks. Today we're learning Konoha History One."
"During the Warring States Period, there was a great Ninja Clan centered on compassion, the Senju of the Forest..."
Even though it was Konoha's history, it didn't start after Konoha's establishment; instead, it began with how Konoha was founded and rose during the war-torn times.
As a teacher, Mokgetsu had read all three volumes of Konoha History multiple times.
What can I say, overall, it was similar to the history he had in mind, just that the specifics used some artistic techniques.
For example, the praise for the Senju was more, even though in Mokgetsu's eyes, both the Senju and the Uchiha were Ninja Clans fighting for themselves. However, in the textbooks, the Senju Clan was portrayed as righteousness personified, whereas the presence of the Uchiha Clan was downplayed, with Uchiha Madara being the biggest villain in Konoha's history.
On the point of Uchiha Madara, Mokgetsu agreed somewhat, as Madara could indeed be considered the biggest villain in Konoha's history, since at that time Madara had been completely misled by Black Zetsu, and he didn't care what happened to Konoha.
Mokgetsu was very familiar with the textbooks, so he rarely read from the book during his lectures. He already had a timeline in his head, so he could just go on, while talking about historical tidbits simultaneously.
This was something he learned from his high school history teacher. Back in high school, his history teacher would give lectures like this, teaching knowledge points while telling interesting stories and sharing various historical anecdotes.
However, Mokgetsu didn't dare to play Konoha history jokes in class, because on the surface, Konoha seemed like an ordinary city, but in essence, it was a military base.
"This teacher is indeed better than our previous theory teachers." The students who hadn't attended Mokgetsu's classes before had to admit that his lessons were a bit more interesting.
After all, some theoretical knowledge is inherently dull and boring, and if the teacher just reads from the textbook line by line, it's enough to make someone fall asleep.
[Completed a large class teaching session]
[Evaluation: A]
[Reward received: Water Release: Water Dragon Bomb Jutsu, Lighting Release: Pseudo-Darkness]
Mokgetsu was already skilled in the Water Dragon Bomb Jutsu, and upon receiving it again, he noticed the proficiency gauge on his skill panel increased. On the other hand, the Lighting Release: Pseudo-Darkness was his first time receiving it.
"Let's focus on Chakra this semester," Mokgetsu thought for a moment and decided to change his teaching strategy, focusing more on Chakra than sharing it halfway.
Currently, he had mastered a lot of Ninjutsus, not only the basic Five Elements Ninjutsu, but also quite a few from Medical Ninjutsu of Yang Release and Genjutsu of Yin Release. Whether it was for teaching students or for combat, it was more than enough, but his Chakra was currently just over double that of an ordinary Jonin.
If he had as much Chakra as the Third Hokage, even if he couldn't stand above the sky, he wouldn't need to pretend anymore.
Of course, just changing battle strategies alone wouldn't increase his Chakra that much.
After all, a regular small class only gave him twenty points. Switching from half to full focus in a week just added a hundred points of Chakra, but now with big classes, the gain would be a bit higher.
After school, Mokgetsu went to the Southern Border Forest. Today, Obito and Might Guy had basically been training there the whole time.
Even though he had the skill teaching boost, Might Guy still couldn't learn Shadow Clone in just a few days. In the end, Mokgetsu created a Shadow Clone with a small amount of Chakra to use the Transformation Jutsu and attend classes in Might Guy's place.
However, to ensure that Might Guy's theory knowledge didn't regress, Mokgetsu would spare some time to tutor Might Guy on theoretical knowledge without affecting his training.
After all, there were always breaks during training, so learning some theory during those breaks wasn't a bad way to relax.
"I am the flame, I am the flame, I am burning..." Obito squatted by the fire, feeling its heat while trying to hypnotize himself.
Mokgetsu appraised Obito, and his proficiency was still fifteen points from the morning. Obito's self-hypnosis tactic wasn't working.
Seeing Mokgetsu's main body coming over, Obito sighed and said:
"Teacher, this training is too difficult. I've been roasting by the fire today until I'm about to get heatstroke, but I haven't felt anything special."
Realizing the flame, understanding the fire, all of this felt too abstract. Obito felt like he had tried everything, but he couldn't sense any change at all.
"Don't be impatient. This secret technique suits you well; it's just that the difficulty is quite high." Mokgetsu comforted him.
"Starting tomorrow, you and Shisui can have lunch and dinner here every day. I'll cook some fiery dishes, and maybe that will speed up the progress," Mokgetsu thought for a moment and suggested.
When Obito was cultivating Fire Attribute Chakra Nature Changes, the dishes that could induce hallucinations worked. Perhaps the process of understanding the Breath of Flame could also follow a similar path.
"Shisui, you can start the next step of training tomorrow," Mokgetsu said to Shisui.
Even though Shisui was initially behind Obito, he was more diligent in his training than Obito. He performed well during the second step, and now his progress was equal to Obito's, both reaching a proficiency of fifteen.
"Huh?" Hearing Mokgetsu's words, Obito instinctively tensed up a certain fragile part of his body.
That was really a memory he'd rather forget. Going into the bathroom just fine, but coming out needing to brace against the wall.
Even Shisui had a look of impending doom on his face when he heard Mokgetsu's words. This wasn't something to be taken lightly.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I think our progress is actually pretty good, considering how difficult this secret technique is. It's normal to have zero progress for a day," Obito felt that maybe he could stall a bit longer.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I haven't even started the perception training. How about letting me try the normal training first to see how it goes?" Shisui suggested after some thought.
Mokgetsu found Shisui's suggestion reasonable and nodded, "Then Shisui, you can skip tomorrow. Obito will eat first."
Obito looked at Shisui with a face full of question marks. So, you're only looking out for yourself, huh?
"After thinking it through, I still believe Teacher Mokgetsu's idea is great. It's definitely beneficial for our training. Also, it's a hassle to cook separately, so why don't we all eat the same thing?" Obito proposed.
It's impossible to suffer alone. If you want to save yourself, then don't blame him for dragging everyone down with him.
"Why do you keep changing your mind?" Mokgetsu suddenly appeared in front of Obito and gave him a knock on his head.
This time, Shisui's suggestion clearly made more sense.
Currently, both Shisui and Obito are at a proficiency of fifteen. Next, Obito will eat and Shisui won't. If Obito progresses significantly faster, it would indicate the method's effectiveness. Mokgetsu plans to cook fiery dishes for both Obito and Shisui, and also figure out how to make some heavy dishes for Might Guy.
However, Mokgetsu couldn't think of any dish related to rocky terrain for the moment. He certainly couldn't just use stones and mud for cooking.
Mokgetsu thought that if stones were edible, they might taste good with the system skills' enhancement.
"I'm just worried about everyone's training. I'm also concerned about you getting tired, Teacher Mokgetsu," Obito rubbed the spot where he got knocked and chuckled.
"Don't worry about wearing me out. As long as you achieve results in your training, that's fine." Mokgetsu replied with a laugh.
Obito thought to himself, oh no, this time he really might be the only one suffering.
"Sage Mokgetsu, please bless me. I really hope Shisui doesn't make any rapid progress in his training tomorrow," Obito clasped his hands and silently prayed.
If Shisui actually learns something tomorrow, it would be worse than him learning nothing at all, because it would mean he'd be the only one suffering from then on.
Obito would rather have Shisui join him in eating incredibly spicy dishes and surpass him at lightning speed, rather than being the only one coming out of the bathroom clutching the walls.
After finishing today's training, there was no progress in Obito's Breath of Flame.
When he got home, Obito noticed a Shadow Clone lying on his bed reading a novel and realized he had forgotten to dispel it.
Obito immediately dispelled the Shadow Clone. He had really gone through a lot of trouble to have it attend school for him.
The moment the Shadow Clone was dispelled, all of the day's school memories flooded back into Obito's mind.
In that instant, Obito felt like he had just sat through a half-day of dull, long-winded math class.
"Damn it, math is so annoying," Obito moaned as he collapsed onto his bed.
He realized a problem: even though the Shadow Clone attended the classes, when the memories flowed back, the feeling was indistinguishable from attending the classes himself—the boredom and pain were all there.
"Wait a minute, maybe..." Obito thought of something, and made another Shadow Clone using hand signs, then tempted it to solve a math problem.
As soon as the problem was solved, Obito immediately dispelled the Shadow Clone. The memory of solving the problem rushed back into his mind, feeling as if he had just done it himself.
Obito collapsed onto the bed, deciding to revoke Senju Tobirama's "Immortal of the Shadow Clone" honorific.
It was completely useless. Solving problems in class essentially tortured the spirit, and when the memory flowed back, it was just as impactful as if he had done it. Wasn't it the same as doing it himself?
Obito felt the Shadow Clone technique really needed improvement. For example, if there were an option for the memory to either flow back or not, that would be much better.
"It still has to be Sage Mokgetsu and the Six Paths Sage," Obito concluded, feeling that Senju Tobirama fell a little short.