Chapter 598: Wind Dragon Breaks Through the Dark Clouds
Sōsuke had short brown hair and wore a long white robe. A gentle smile rested on his face.
Roshi had the strange feeling that even if no one told him this was Sōsuke, he still would have recognized him at a glance.
It had little to do with appearance. More than anything, Sōsuke carried a certain air about him, something Roshi found difficult to describe. Still, he felt instinctively that this was exactly the kind of presence a true Ninja Master should have.
As Mugetsu stepped onto the platform, the crowd that had parted for him quickly closed in again.
"But in weather like this, what if it starts raining?" Roshi shifted his gaze away from Sōsuke and looked up at the pale gray clouds that blotted out the sun.
He did not mind standing through the lecture, but teaching outdoors in the Land of Rain was asking for trouble. After spending several days here, Roshi had already learned that much.
"Hello, everyone. I am Sōsuke, and I will be teaching you again this time." Mugetsu smiled and swept his gaze across the crowd as he spoke.
The moment Roshi heard Sōsuke's voice, his eyes returned to him.
Compared to Roshi, an outsider, Sōsuke ought to understand the weather of the Land of Rain far better.
"There are still ten minutes before class officially begins. During that time, I will randomly call on a few ninja. Anyone selected may ask me one question related to their training."
Mugetsu glanced over the crowd, confirmed there were no issues, and continued.
He would not begin the lecture early, but he did not mind giving a small benefit to those who had arrived ahead of time.
The ninja below instantly brightened. Rising early had truly paid off.
This was one-on-one guidance from a Ninja Master. Even money would not necessarily buy something like that.
Mugetsu casually pointed toward a ninja from Amegakure, then motioned for the others to stay quiet for the moment.
"Me?" The Rain ninja looked startled. He clearly had not expected to be the lucky one.
He had assumed the person selected would be the Grass ninja standing beside him. After all, though Amegakure and the Shinobi Sect were on cooperative terms, they rarely interacted directly, so the relationship still felt a little awkward.
Only when Mugetsu flicked a soft gust of wind against him did the Rain ninja confirm that he was indeed the one being called on.
Instinctively, he glanced toward Hanzō, who stood a little farther ahead.
From where he stood, he could only see Hanzō's profile, but when he saw that Hanzō's expression had not changed, he relaxed and, after a moment's thought, asked, "Could you explain some techniques for Water Release chakra nature transformation? Everyone says Water Release is well-suited for nature transformation, but my forms always end up unstable."
"When carrying out nature transformation, you cannot completely ignore the nature you are trying to transform. Different chakra attributes require different methods. You cannot apply the same transformation process to all of them."
Mugetsu first explained the reason behind the problem, then demonstrated three different forms of chakra nature transformation on the spot.
The Rain ninja thanked him repeatedly, while the other Water Release users in the crowd all showed thoughtful expressions.
Next, Mugetsu called on an Iwagakure ninja and answered his question.
Since most Stone ninja specialized in Earth Release, Mugetsu used Earth Release chakra nature transformation to address that one as well.
The third person he chose was a Grass ninja who trained in Fire Release.
Mugetsu truly was selecting people at random, but his choices were not without structure. He deliberately spread them across different elemental natures, choosing one person for each attribute so that as many listeners as possible could gain something from the exchange.
Nature transformation and chakra nature transformation were the foundation of the entire chakra system. Someone like Might Guy, who trained almost exclusively in taijutsu, was an extreme exception.
At first, no one noticed the pattern. But by the time the fourth person was called, and yet another nature was represented, the crowd realized that every ninja chosen specialized in a different element.
A great many people admired him even more.
As expected of Ninja Master Sōsuke. Even something as simple as calling people up to ask questions had clearly been planned to benefit as many listeners as possible.
Some also became curious how Sōsuke managed to choose so accurately.
Although most Iwagakure ninja used Earth Release, there were still some who specialized in other styles. If he had called up a Stone ninja who used Fire Release instead, would that not have been awkward?
"Well deserved indeed," Roshi murmured inwardly.
In just ten minutes of answering questions, Sōsuke had fully displayed both his mastery of ninjutsu and his ability to teach. What Roshi appreciated most was the ease with which Sōsuke handled everything.
If Sōsuke had simply started class early because most people had already arrived, that would have been unfair to the ninja who came exactly on time.
The lecture time had been set by Sōsuke himself. Those who were not late should not be penalized by missing even a portion of the lesson.
Handling it as a kind of pre-class bonus was different. It rewarded the early arrivals without affecting the official lecture.
More importantly, Sōsuke had truly chosen at random. Among the five people selected, there were ninja from large villages, small villages, and even unaffiliated shinobi.
When the scheduled time arrived, Mugetsu coughed lightly and said, "Please settle down. We will now officially begin. This morning's main topic will be Fire Release and Wind Release chakra nature transformation."
The crowd, which had been buzzing with excitement, quieted almost instantly, falling more and more silent until not a single voice remained.
Most of the thousands present had attended the previous unrestricted lecture. They already knew the rules and treasured this opportunity. As for those who were new, the atmosphere itself was enough to keep them from making any noise.
Boom!
At that very moment, a huge peal of thunder rolled across the sky, followed by a flash of white lightning that lit up the dark clouds.
Drip.
The next instant, rain began to fall.
Rain was an everyday occurrence in the Land of Rain. The Land of Fire might not rain fire, but the Land of Rain truly did seem to rain all the time.
Many of the ninja lifted their eyes toward Sōsuke, quietly waiting to see what he would do.
Nothing like this had happened during the previous unrestricted lecture. Though the weather had not been bright and clear every day, rain had never fallen during class.
If they had been ordinary people, many would likely have panicked and run for shelter the moment the rain began.
But everyone present was a ninja. Some had endured brutal training, others had survived deadly missions. A sudden shower was hardly enough to unsettle them.
Roshi, too, watched Sōsuke with curiosity.
Getting wet for a little while was not a serious issue for ninja, but Roshi still felt Sōsuke was unlikely to simply ignore it and let everyone sit there drenched.
Mugetsu lifted his face toward the sky and silently shifted from Rock Breathing to Wind Breathing, driving himself into Wind Breathing Chakra Mode.
He had never planned his lectures around the weather, because no matter how hard it rained, he already had a way to deal with it.
Whoosh!
Chakra exploded from his body as Mugetsu leaped into the air. Fierce winds rose with him, making his long white robe whip loudly in the storm.
Then, while suspended in the air, he formed three hand seals at astonishing speed.
Strictly speaking, he did not actually need hand seals for this. Still, in order to make it harder for anyone to connect his two identities, Hayate Mugetsu and Sōsuke, he usually maintained the appearance of forming them.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Hurricane!"
The moment he completed the Dragon seal, Mugetsu exhaled the Wind Release chakra he had already refined.
Whoooosh!
A white storm dragon burst from his mouth. A terrifying gale swept across the entire area, forcing the ninja on the ground to steady themselves with chakra to avoid being blown off their feet.
Roar!
With an angry roar, the white storm dragon plunged straight into the dark clouds overhead.
The next instant, a hole was torn open in the clouds.
Golden sunlight streamed through the gap and fell directly onto Mugetsu as he descended, drawing every eye in the field to him alone.
Then another thunderous rumble shook the sky, and the ninja standing below suddenly felt the entire world brighten several shades.
They looked up again and found the sun hanging high and clear. The dark clouds had been scattered so thoroughly that no one even knew where they had gone.
"Now then, let's continue. This morning's lecture will focus on Fire Release and Wind Release chakra nature transformation."
After landing, Mugetsu smiled calmly as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.
Though he had only repeated what he had said moments earlier, every Wind Release user present now looked at him with burning eyes.
They could not say for sure how strong Fire Dragon Dance really was, but that Wind Release technique just now had been undeniably monstrous. Even standing so far away, they had all felt its force.
Hanzō's face remained perfectly composed, but inwardly he was astonished.
"He really has mastered a Wind Release of this level."
Although Hanzō himself was not particularly skilled in Wind Release, he had fought specialists before.
In terms of both scale and raw power, the Wind Release Sōsuke had just displayed was the strongest Hanzō had ever seen.
He truly could not understand how Sōsuke had achieved something like this.
Did this man have a hundred hours in a day?
He looked no older than his late twenties or early thirties, yet he had mastered seven different chakra natures, and none of them seemed shallow. The ones he excelled at were terrifyingly deep.
"Is Fire Release truly his strongest ninjutsu?"
Before now, Hanzō would have answered yes without hesitation. After all, Sōsuke's Fire Release had overwhelmed Hanzō's Water Release even when Hanzō should have held the elemental advantage.
Now, though, Hanzō could no longer say with absolute certainty.
The Wind Release Sōsuke had just used did not feel quite as outrageous as Fire Dragon Dance, but who could say whether Sōsuke had used his full strength?
This was not a battle. He had only been clearing away rainclouds.
Hanzō stopped himself from thinking any further. If his speculation was right, it would be too frightening.
Soon, everyone's attention returned fully to the lecture, and the weather no longer occupied their minds.
By the time the midday break arrived, Roshi was still completely absorbed in what he had heard. His thoughts were full of Sōsuke's teachings.
"If I'd had a teacher like him from childhood, I'd be at least twice as strong as I am now," Roshi sighed inwardly.
He did not practice Wind Release, but he did use Fire Release.
His most powerful combat style, Scorch Release, was a bloodline limit created from Fire Release and Earth Release chakra.
"He truly knows what he's doing. Even I found it interesting," the Four Tails said in agreement.
The Four Tails had been born with Scorch Release and had never trained in ninjutsu the way humans did. Yet after sitting through Mugetsu's lecture, even it felt tempted to go practice Fire Release for fun.
[Lecture complete.]
[Evaluation: S]
[Reward obtained: Insight into Chakra Nature Transformation, Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation +20, Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation +89, Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation +122, Lightning Release…]
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