"So fast, even if I can see it, there's no way to react." Shisui quickly got up, thinking to himself.
This didn't surprise him; after all, this was Mutsuki. Such speed was already a major restraint on his part—if Mutsuki went all out, Shisui felt he wouldn't even be able to see him clearly.
"In that case, I'll have to maintain high-speed movement for a long time," Shisui didn't give up but instead started thinking about countermeasures.
Actually beating Mutsuki was, of course, impossible, but completing the training was still within reach.
Because Mutsuki would certainly hold back to some extent and give him opportunities. Otherwise, with Mutsuki's Stone Breathing, Total Concentration, and Transparent World, how could they even get close to him? If he could seize the chance Mutsuki provided, then he might be able to complete the training.
After knocking Shisui away, Mutsuki didn't pursue but smiled at Shizune and said, "Want to give it a try? Even if not for the reward, you could still gain some real combat experience."
Shizune glanced at Shisui and Anko, hesitated for a moment, then began using basic breathing techniques as she approached Mutsuki, assuming a Taijutsu stance.
Both of her teammates had already taken a hit; if she didn't step up, it would seem a bit antisocial.
Shizune looked at Mutsuki with a serious expression, let out a light breath, and swung a left hook at him.
She knew in her heart that getting the bell was impossible. Even Shisui, far stronger than her, was quickly defeated, so what chance did she have?
But Shizune wouldn't slack off just because failure was certain. Just as she always urged Tsunade not to drink and get hungover—even though Tsunade never listened—she still did what she had to do.
Mutsuki reached his hand toward Shizune's swinging fist, but Shizune's left hook was merely a feint. Chakra gathered in her leg exploded as she unleashed a beautiful Whirlwind Kick.
But in Mutsuki's eyes, Shizune's speed was simply too slow. Mutsuki blocked the incoming Whirlwind Kick with his right hand and then countered by tossing Shizune aside.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Shisui, who had been waiting for the right moment after getting up, immediately gathered his Chakra and unleashed a torrent of flames, followed by a hail of shuriken.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
Each shuriken was engulfed in flames, flying rapidly toward Mutsuki.
The Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson was much faster than the Great Fireball, and Mutsuki, out of respect, dodged it instead of taking it head-on.
Boom, boom, boom!!
The fiery shuriken hit the ground and exploded, charring the surface black.
"What a powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu." Anko watched the force and destruction of Shisui's Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson and thought about her own Small Fireball, realizing the huge gap between them.
The difference between her, ranked second in their grade, and Shisui, who was ranked first, might be even greater than the gap between her and the grade's lowest-ranked student.
Anko was really curious about how Shisui trained. They all had two eyes, two ears, and one nose—so how was he so much more extraordinary than everyone else?
"Oh, right, Shisui's eyes can turn red." Anko suddenly remembered that Shisui was indeed different from them; normal people's eyes wouldn't turn this red, no matter how much they stayed up.
"Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"
Shisui quickly formed hand seals, and over twenty of his figures appeared on the field, all sprinting around Mutsuki at high speed.
Mutsuki didn't use the Byakugan or Transparent World; he quietly waited in place for Shisui's next move.
Suddenly, one of the Shisuis charged at Mutsuki from the front.
Mutsuki's left hand sliced through the air, sending a powerful force forward, instantly striking the incoming Shisui and causing it to vanish like a mirage.
This didn't surprise Mutsuki—who would circle around so many times only to attack from the front? It was obviously a decoy clone.
Just as Mutsuki expected, at the moment he waved his hand, Shisui darted out from Mutsuki's left side, aiming for his waist.
Sizzle!!
Mutsuki's right hand erupted with dazzling purple lightning, then split into several streams of electricity that surged toward Shisui, who was attacking from the side.
Crackle!!
The Shisui coming from the side vanished the moment he made contact with the electricity, and due to the wide area covered by the lightning, several nearby illusions disappeared as well.
Seeing that Mutsuki used a Seal-less Lightning Release, another Shisui on the right side rushed forward.
Bang!
Sensing the movement, Mutsuki immediately swung his right hand to the right, hitting Shisui, who then turned into smoke and dissipated—it was a Shadow Clone this time.
"Here's my chance!"
The real Shisui, who had been constantly moving, saw an opportunity and quickly commanded his remaining Shadow Clone and illusions to continue distracting Mutsuki, while he gathered his Chakra, preparing to seize the bell at the fastest possible speed while Mutsuki was off guard.
"Amazing." Watching the dizzying battle, Anko couldn't help but feel like buying some dango to eat while watching—it was so thrilling.
Just as Anko thought Shisui was about to succeed, Mutsuki's figure flashed to Shisui's side when Shisui's fingers were less than three centimeters away from the bell, sending him flying.
"If you were just a little faster, you might have succeeded," Mutsuki encouraged with a warm smile.
The gap was simply too wide to be inspiring.
"If I can't deceive you, then I'll show my true strength!" Anko straightened up and confidently walked toward Mutsuki.
Shizune looked at Anko in confusion, wondering where she got her confidence, especially after seeing the strong Shisui lose. Could it be that Anko had been hiding her strength all along?
"This Ninjutsu's power is terrifying—so much so that even someone as strong as you, Yumi-sensei, might not be able to withstand it. If you don't believe me, Yumi-sensei, you can come closer and feel it for yourself," Anko said, walking toward Mutsuki with an air of confidence.
"Then I'll have to see just how terrifying this power is," Mutsuki replied with a smile, letting Anko approach.
If it were Obito, he might have been bluffed by Anko, but Mutsuki was her homeroom teacher—he knew exactly what Anko was capable of.
"Hmph, then watch closely, Yumi-sensei!" Anko said as she swiftly formed hand seals.
"Confusion Jutsu!"
Poof, poof!!
A few puffs of smoke appeared, revealing several adult Ankos dressed in fishnet stockings and black outfits.
"If this works, I'll treat you all to dango," Anko thought excitedly, looking at the bell that was almost within reach.
While it didn't work well on female ninja, Anko remembered her friends saying this Jutsu had a great effect on male ninja.
So Anko came up with this plan—to get close to Mutsuki with an excuse, then use Confusion Jutsu to distract him and finally snatch the bell.
Smack!
But before her hand got anywhere near the bell, Mutsuki's fingers tapped her on the forehead.
With his index and middle fingers together, Mutsuki lightly flicked Anko's forehead and said, "That wasn't terrifying."
He wasn't Chen-sensei or Sarutobi Hiruzen; a Jutsu like that wouldn't work on him.
Under Mutsuki's tap, Anko took two steps back, putting more distance between herself and the bell she wanted so badly.
"Darn it, that was useless! Next time I see them, I'm giving them a punch," grumbled Anko, deciding that instead of treating her friends to dango, she'd treat them to her fists.
Shizune: …
She hadn't expected her cute-looking junior to be so hard to evaluate. Both the confident approach and the Jutsu she used afterward had so many issues that even someone as reserved as Shizune couldn't help but want to criticize.
Shisui, however, wasn't too surprised.
Although he trained daily in the southern forest, he always sent a Shadow Clone to attend school, and when it dispelled, the memories would return to him. So he'd essentially been Anko's classmate for nearly two years and knew her well.
Anko was always bold and unconcerned with others' opinions; nothing Anko did would surprise Shisui.
After a short rest, Shisui began a new round of attempts to grab the bell.
Shizune and Anko, lacking the strength to face Mutsuki head-on, did their best to come up with ways to snatch the bell from him.
But whether they fought individually or worked together to create an opening for Shisui, they ultimately failed to grab the bell from Mutsuki's waist.
As the sun gradually moved westward and the sky darkened, no one had managed to complete the training by evening.
"You all worked hard; let's call it a day. Tomorrow, I'll take you on a mission," Mutsuki announced, marking the end of their first day of training.
This result didn't surprise Mutsuki too much.
Shisui's goal in participating in the internship was to gain strength and prepare for early graduation. To help Shisui feel pressure and grow, Mutsuki had planned to set a high difficulty level from the start. Unless Shisui achieved a breakthrough, this training would remain impossible to complete.
The next day, the four gathered at the training field before heading together to the Hokage Building.
"Yumi-sensei, what kind of mission are we going on? It's not going to be a fight against ninja from enemy villages, is it? I think that might be a bit much. Maybe we could start with some ordinary bandits to practice first?" Anko couldn't help but ask along the way.
"Don't worry, I won't have you fighting ninja right now," Mutsuki replied with a calm smile.
When they arrived at the Hokage Building's mission office, Anko was stunned. It was definitely safer than she had imagined, but it was too safe.
"Why are all these missions about moving stuff and picking up trash? Is this what ninja do?" Anko complained, looking at the D-Rank missions.
"This is for the safety of the internship ninja and those who just graduated," the registering ninja explained briefly.
Anko scratched her head, relieved that the pay wasn't too bad—each mission was worth around five thousand ryo.
Next, Mutsuki took Anko and the others on a fast-paced mission spree, completing 20 D-Rank missions in one day.
Ordinary internships wouldn't satisfy the growth needs of his team, so Mutsuki needed to earn the same privileges as last time.
But to earn those privileges, he had to show his strength first, or else he'd be breaking Konoha's rules.
Over the next week, Mutsuki alternated between missions and training—tasks on Tuesday, training on Wednesday, and more tasks on Thursday.
Aside from the first day when Mutsuki conducted the bell-snatching challenge, the following days were dedicated to normal training, where Mutsuki taught Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.
Mutsuki planned to hold the bell-snatching challenge once every three weeks, as it would be impossible to have a breakthrough every single day.
During this period, Mutsuki taught Asuma the Wind Breathing technique, which Mutsuki had just developed. Asuma had already been practicing basic breathing for several months, so he was able to pick up Wind Breathing relatively quickly, much like when he learned Water Breathing from Nohara Rin.
After experiencing the wonders of Mutsuki's Wind Breathing, Asuma was extremely excited.
"I knew it, Yumi-sensei, you're the most talented ninja! Old man calls himself a Ninjutsu professor, but the Ninjutsu he developed can't compare to Wind Breathing!" Asuma said proudly.
Asuma had originally thought that the basic breathing technique, which enhanced his physical abilities, was already very strong, especially since his Chakra growth had sped up after practicing it.
But after learning Wind Breathing, he realized that basic breathing was just the foundation.
Wind Breathing almost shattered Asuma's perception of Ninjutsu. He hadn't imagined that there could be such a technique—one that enhanced wind-element Nature Transformation to increase the power of Wind Release. At a certain level, it could even enter Wind Breathing Chakra Mode, allowing for the release of Wind Release without seals.
"Third's strength is different from mine; he excels at Combination Jutsu," Mutsuki shook his head and said.
The bonus from the Breathing Technique is powerful, but Sarutobi Hiruzen's Five Release Ninjutsu, when fully unleashed, is not weak.
Before Asuma started learning, Mutsuki had clearly told him that Wind Breathing was a secret Ninjutsu he had worked hard to develop for a long time. Asuma needed to inform him if he wanted to teach it to anyone.
Asuma didn't feel particularly bothered by this, since it was such a powerful and profound Ninjutsu.
Asuma had been given a similar warning when learning Sarutobi Clan's Fire Release Secret Jutsu, but he felt that Wind Breathing was superior to that Fire Release Secret Jutsu.
Another notable point was that Obito's mission progress had suddenly increased.
Based on the Chakra rewards from the tasks Obito and Kakashi had completed, as well as the Flying Thunder God coordinates that had still not been sensed, Mutsuki assumed that Minato had taken Obito and the others on missions on the battlefield. Since Obito had performed well, his mission progress had increased.
To become Hokage, there are actually three things you need: first, strength; second, achievements; and third, fame.
The second and third can be accumulated gradually through completing missions, while the battlefield is the best environment for accumulating them.
Mutsuki roughly estimated that if the progress continued at this rate, Obito's life mission could reach 20% in about four months.
In the second week, with Mutsuki's team rapidly clearing D-Rank missions, Sarutobi Hiruzen ultimately granted them the privilege to take on C-Rank missions ahead of schedule.
"Your outstanding team can handle greater responsibilities," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a kind smile.
Though the words were pleasant, it was also because if Mutsuki's team kept going at this rate, other rookie teams would run out of missions.
"Yay! Finally no more grunt work! Hokage-sama, you're truly perceptive," Anko said cheerfully, giving Sarutobi Hiruzen a thumbs-up.
Shisui smiled faintly. It was clear that sticking to D-Rank missions wouldn't lead to the same kind of improvement as what Guy and others experienced. Leaving the village was the only way.
After thanking Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mutsuki began selecting missions.
Choosing missions was also a skill, because Mutsuki had to pick one that was likely to have accidents, but not ones he couldn't handle.
It had to be close to the war, but not too close to the heart of the battlefield, and there couldn't be any too powerful ninjas in the area.
"North of the Land of Rivers..." Mutsuki saw a good mission to hunt down mountain bandits.
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