Chapter 177: Harvest
[Disciple Might Guy diligently completed the entrusted mission. Growth reward: +300 Chakra.
Led personally by the teacher: additional +150 Chakra.]
[Disciple Uchiha Obito diligently completed the entrusted mission. Growth reward: +300 Chakra.
Led personally by the teacher: additional +150 Chakra.]
[Disciple Kakashi Hatake diligently completed the entrusted mission. Growth reward: +300 Chakra.
Led personally by the teacher: additional +150 Chakra.]
[Total Chakra gained from disciples: +1,350 Chakra.]
Although no extra rewards like new Ninjutsu were granted, this amount of Chakra was already excellent.
It was worth noting that Mugetsu's original Chakra capacity had been just a little. Now, with this mission alone, his limit had risen by more than a thousand.
Of course, if one compared only the amount of Chakra gained, spamming D-Rank missions might actually yield more over time.
Ten D-Rank missions per day would bring around 450 Chakra—meaning three days of those simple errands could equal the gains from this A-Rank mission.
But the difference lay in quality.
D-Rank missions offered little in growth—nothing but repetitive tasks that taught nothing new. And besides, Konoha didn't have enough low-level missions to assign endlessly.
An A-Rank mission, however, was different. Traveling long distances honed stamina. Rest stops allowed time for focused training.
And facing enemy shinobi in real combat forced mental and tactical growth—an experience no D-Rank could ever match.
Overall, it was far more beneficial for his disciples' strength development.
Mugetsu glanced at his current status panel:
[Name: Hayate Mugetsu]
[Chakra: 33,200]
His Chakra had grown significantly—he was getting closer to his next goal of 50,000.
Just from his students' mission completions, he had gained nearly 2,000 Chakra.
Instead of returning home, Mugetsu went straight to Minato's residence.
Fortunately, Minato was home—not with Kushina, and not out on a mission. He sat at his table, quietly reading a scroll.
Seeing Mugetsu enter, Minato's eyes lit with recognition. "Ah, right—the Sealing Technique scroll."
He stood and handed Mugetsu a well-preserved scroll wrapped in protective seals.
"Thank you," Mugetsu said, accepting it with a slight nod. He didn't leave immediately but stayed to chat for a while.
"Minato," Mugetsu said after a pause, his tone serious. "If you're assigned to an overseas mission soon, be cautious. You may run into Hidden Cloud shinobi."
He then recounted the events of his recent mission—the ambush, the Lightning Release users disguised as Iwagakure ninja, and his conclusion that Kumogakure was trying to escalate hostilities.
The mission wasn't classified, so there was no need for secrecy.
"Such a thing actually happened…" Minato's expression darkened, his usual calm giving way to concern.
If Konoha had truly believed Iwagakure was behind such an ambush, the village would likely double its deployments against them—further fueling the already blazing war.
Mugetsu's report made Minato re-evaluate his impression of him.
Until now, he had thought of Mugetsu as an outstanding teacher—a Chunin-turned-Special Jonin recognized for his educational ability, not his strength.
But taking down multiple high-level enemies on foreign soil? That was no ordinary feat.
It seemed Mugetsu's lack of promotion to Jonin had more to do with circumstances than with actual capability.
It didn't change Minato's friendship with him—but it did make him feel reassured. In times like these, having strong friends was a comfort. Weakness, after all, often led to tragedy on the battlefield.
"I'll be careful, Mugetsu," Minato replied earnestly. "You should be cautious too. Try not to take missions near Land of Grass or the Land of Hot Water."
Those two regions were the collision points between Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure—zones where war was constant and unpredictable.
Mugetsu smiled faintly and nodded. "Don't worry. I've no plans to wander into those places. The outskirts are fine enough for now."
He knew his own limits well. His destructive output was high—he could defeat most Jonin with ease—but his stamina and Chakra recovery rate couldn't sustain prolonged battles.
He could crush opponents like Troy, but against monsters like the Third Tsuchikage or Fourth Raikage, he'd only be able to escape with Lightning Breathing.
His Chakra limit wasn't the only problem—the recovery speed was another.
The reason was simple: his Chakra reserves had been enhanced by the system through unknown means, bypassing the natural growth process.
His capacity was now over five times that of an average Jonin, yet his recovery speed was only marginally better—and that was thanks to the Breathing Techniques he constantly practiced.
This left him at a disadvantage in drawn-out battles.
When everyone else's Chakra ran low and they began refining again, his recovery lagged behind.
It wasn't a fatal flaw, but it was still a weakness—and one Mugetsu was determined to fix.
He had thought of many solutions.
One was to develop a Sealing Technique similar to Tsunade's Byakugō Seal—a stored Chakra reserve he could draw upon in battle. It wouldn't solve the root cause, but it would ease the strain.
Another was far more ambitious—capturing a Tailed Beast and sealing it within himself, using its Chakra as a power source.
But with his current strength, that idea was still out of reach.
If he wanted a true, fundamental solution, there was only one path left: changing his very physique.
If I had the body of the Senju or the Uzumaki—the so-called Sage Body—then I'd never have to worry about stamina again.
However, changing one's physique was far too difficult.
Hashirama's cells could easily lead to death if not properly controlled, and finding disciples from the Senju or Uzumaki clans to gain their physiques through the system was nearly impossible.
Moreover, Mugetsu no longer had any available disciple slots.
For now, he would focus on a symptomatic solution.
Fortunately, he possessed genius-level talent in Sealing Techniques—a path that could still yield results.
Upon returning home, Mugetsu unrolled the scroll Hiruzen had given him and began to examine its contents.
To his surprise, the Third Hokage had been unusually generous this time—he had provided not one, but three Ninjutsu.
However, not all of them were Sealing Techniques.
One was a Wind Release Ninjutsu, and the scroll came with a note in Hiruzen's handwriting:
"This is unrelated to your performance at the Academy. It is a special reward for significantly improving Asuma's abilities through your guidance."
"Vacuum Sphere," Mugetsu murmured, reading the name.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Another advanced Wind Release I can now use openly."
Even though he had already mastered this technique, a gift was still a gift—free knowledge was never a loss.
Setting the Wind Release scroll aside, Mugetsu turned to the remaining two Sealing Techniques.
"Sealing Fire Seal… and Evil Sealing Method," he read softly, his eyes narrowing as fragments of memory surfaced.
The Evil Sealing Method—that was the same technique Kakashi had once used to suppress the Cursed Mark on Sasuke's body.
As for the Sealing Fire Seal, its name alone revealed its purpose.
Konoha's Sealing Techniques had their roots in the Uzumaki clan's teachings, and Mugetsu's own knowledge came from Kushina herself—meaning his understanding came from the purest lineage of Uzumaki-style seals.
After studying the two B-Rank techniques for a while, he had already grasped their core principles.
The Evil Sealing Method isolated foreign Chakra within a host's body—it was, in essence, a technique for sealing Chakra itself.
The Sealing Fire Seal, however, was different. Instead of sealing Chakra, it could store flames generated through Nature Transformation.
Before transmigrating, Mugetsu had often wondered while watching the anime—
Why didn't anyone just seal Ninjutsu into scrolls and release them in battle?
But after learning the art of Sealing firsthand, he finally understood why.
For example, if one tried to use the Sealing Fire Seal to store a Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique inside a scroll, what would be released later wouldn't be a moving fireball—but merely a stationary sphere of flame.
Completely useless in real combat.
That said, there were special Sealing Techniques capable of storing and releasing Ninjutsu effectively.
The Uchiha's Transcription Seal, for instance—it was how Itachi placed Amaterasu inside Sasuke's eye, and how Madara sealed Izanagi within his own Sharingan for revival.
Based on his knowledge, Mugetsu concluded that these were exclusive to the Sharingan—Eye Techniques designed to seal ocular powers, not regular Ninjutsu.
Even so, while neither of the Sealing Techniques he'd received were particularly high-tier, Mugetsu was satisfied.
They were perfect for refining his fundamentals and experimenting with Chakra isolation.
Extracting the isolation mechanism from the Evil Sealing Method could help him address his Chakra recovery issue.
After all, the Yin Seal's Chakra storage principle was essentially a refined version of the same isolation process.
For the rest of the day, Mugetsu immersed himself in Sealing research until evening fell.
He began with the Evil Sealing Method, eager to master the Chakra isolation component as soon as possible.
By now, he was far from a beginner. He had studied Sealing Techniques for nearly eight months, developing a solid theoretical and practical foundation.
After two hours of focused work, his proficiency with the Evil Sealing Method had already reached fifty.
He didn't plan to waste a proficiency scroll on this; techniques of this level weren't worth such investment—unlike the Four Symbols Seal, which truly demanded one.
Mugetsu estimated that if he ever wanted to learn the Four Symbols Seal, he would have to rely on Minato or Kushina.
The Third Hokage likely wouldn't hand over a seal of that caliber so easily.
The Four Symbols Seal was far superior to the Five Elements Seal, and Konoha had used it to bind the Nine-Tails itself.
Within the Uzumaki Sealing system, it was among the top-tier techniques.
Stronger Sealing Techniques did exist, but each came with severe restrictions or prices—
The Adamantine Sealing Chains, for instance, could only be performed by members of the Uzumaki clan, while the Reverse Four Symbols Seal and Dead Demon Consuming Seal both demanded the caster's life.
Before turning in for the night, Mugetsu reviewed everything he had gained from the recent mission.
His combat strength was greater than he had expected. Even a Jonin with a Bloodline Limit and 20,000 Chakra could be obliterated with ease.
In that battle, he had held back significantly.
If he had truly wanted to, he could have activated Lightning Breathing and the Mark, ending the fight instantly.
The sheer speed unleashed by Lightning Breathing would have rendered his enemies powerless to react.
But he had chosen restraint—to test and sharpen his combat ability instead.
Perhaps due to the combined effect of the Byakugan and Transparent World, even though it was his first time killing, Mugetsu felt no tension or hesitation.
There was no remorse… just calm clarity.
"The enemies were too weak," he thought quietly. "If their Chakra had been twice as high, the fight might've been worth more."
He had claimed to be training his combat skill, but in truth, the strength gap had been too vast.
No real training could occur when the enemy couldn't even withstand a serious strike.
"Not counting my recovery weakness, my current strength should be on par with Minato or the Fourth Raikage," Mugetsu estimated.
A faint spark of anticipation flickered in his eyes.
He wanted to test his limits against shinobi of their caliber.
But revealing his full power to Minato right now wasn't wise—and as for the Fourth Raikage, he was the son of the Third, never traveling without heavy escort.
Encountering him would only bring unnecessary trouble.
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