The afternoon's reward was somewhat less interesting compared to the morning, just an ordinary Water Release and Earth Release.
But as a reward for four hours of classes, Mokgetsu thought it was pretty good.
At night, Mokgetsu continued training Shisui, Might Guy, and the others in the Breathing Technique.
The three of them still hadn't found the breathing sensation of the Breathing Technique, remaining at the initial breathing training stage.
"Remember, it's about breathing with technique, not just taking a deep breath and calling it a Breathing Technique," Mokgetsu repeatedly emphasized.
"Technique, technique, technique..." Obito kept murmuring this word, trying to hypnotize himself into breathing with technique.
"If you're going to suggest things to yourself, do it silently in your mind," Mokgetsu said, poking Obito's abdomen with a finger.
Obito winced in pain and inhaled sharply.
He never imagined that breathing, something natural at birth, could actually have techniques and be so hard to learn.
It's much harder than the Mighty Dragon Fire and Chakra Nature Changes.
Training in the Mighty Dragon Fire didn't succeed, but at least he could spit out some sparks; progress in nature changes was slow, but using his hand's warmth could somewhat melt some ice.
However, while practicing the Breathing Technique, Obito just felt like he was practically drinking the wind and still didn't breathe anything out.
Obito felt that at this rate, his Great Fireball progress would improve with his inhaling and exhaling, yet he still might not learn the Breathing Technique.
However, seeing that Shisui was also clueless made Obito feel relieved. If even Shisui was like this, it must be genuinely tough.
With Obito and Shisui both struggling with the Breath of Flame, Might Guy had it even harder with the Breath of Rock, with no progress as well.
However, Mokgetsu wasn't too worried about Might Guy. His hard-working, resolute, rock-solid will was very fitting for the Breath of Rock. Might Guy just needed to keep training diligently as he usually does.
On the second day of training, all three disciples still had zero proficiency.
On the third night, finally one disciple made a breakthrough from zero, achieving a bit of proficiency; it was Obito, who was training in the Breath of Flame.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I think I felt something different. Did I succeed?" Obito suddenly said during his breathing practice.
"Not quite learning it yet, but you've officially entered the path of the Breathing Technique," Mokgetsu replied, having been observing closely, and noticed that Obito's proficiency was finally not at zero.
He had thought Shisui would complete the breakthrough first, but didn't expect it to be Obito.
Mokgetsu figured it might be because Obito's personality matched the Breath of Flame better, hence he caught onto the feeling first.
The Breath of Flame is suitable for those with warm, cheerful, and fiery hearts. Shisui wasn't introverted, but fell a bit short of being passionate as fire.
"Yes, hold onto that feeling and go deeper; once you're familiar, you can progress to the next training," Mokgetsu nodded and said.
This inhaling and exhaling breathing practice was just the entry of entries. There were many training stages ahead.
The next training stage involves guiding the breath through adjusting body posture, achieving different enhancement effects.
In the original Breath Technique, this stage trained in different breathing techniques, but after localization it no longer required holding a sword, now resulting in various enhancement effects.
Since beginners just started learning, they needed specific postures to guide it; once learned, they could control it freely within their body.
"Finally starting real training," Obito couldn't help but celebrate with a fist punch, glad to finally get some feedback after three days of drinking the northwest wind.
Bang!
Mokgetsu rapped Obito on the head with his fingers together, pointing to the still-training Shisui and said, "Don't disturb others' training; focus on familiarizing with that feeling."
Obito closed his mouth and nodded, smiling with satisfaction as he resumed training.
Shisui's talent was comparable to Kakashi, and yet he learned before Shisui. Rounding up would mean he won against Kakashi once.
With the third day of training wrapped up, Shisui and Might Guy made no progress, while Obito caught a bit of the sensation.
On Wednesday's training, Shisui kept exercising, while his mind was occupied with thoughts of the Breathing Technique.
This really was his first time feeling clueless about something.
During a break, Shisui saw Obito bragging about each other's Fire Release with Asuma, and decided to approach Obito and ask:
"Obito, can you describe in detail that feeling of breathing?"
Obito thought for a moment, then began to describe: "It's like eating a bowl of hot ramen, a warm stream of air flowing throughout the body..."
Obito worked hard to express his feelings, also using body language to explain.
"Feeling the heat flow..." Shisui showed an expression of contemplation.
On the side, Asuma was a bit confused, feeling that their conversation was all over the place, especially Obito, seemingly not knowing what he was talking about.
Asuma didn't mind this little incident, and seeing Yuhi Kurenai began training again, he followed along to train.
Following that, Shisui kept thinking about Obito's response, trying to gain some inspiration from it. Even while having dinner after class, he was contemplating whether he should have ramen that day.
"Shisui, sometimes I feel pain in my feet when using the Instant Body Jutsu. What's up with that?" Uchiha Tekka asked when he saw Shisui.
"Didn't feel the warm stream," Shisui replied with a response even he felt made no sense.
As Uchiha Tekka showed his confusion, Shisui quickly revised and said, "It might be that you didn't manage the amount of foot chakra properly, causing injury to your feet."
"So that's the reason. Shisui, what were you thinking about earlier? I called you twice before you responded," Uchiha Tekka curiously asked.
"Thinking about training," Uchiha Shisui replied.
"No wonder even those graduated Genin aren't your match. You're already so strong yet always thinking about training," Uchiha Tekka exclaimed.
He felt a bit ashamed, having become the laggard of Uchiha. There were three Uchiha in Group A, with Shisui and Obito coming first and second in the strength tests, while he got eliminated in the third round.
Shisui didn't respond, feeling that Uchiha Tekka might have misunderstood him. Even Might Guy wasn't thinking about training all the time; it was just because his Breathing Technique wasn't making any progress that Shisui dwelled on it.
A misunderstanding was okay, Shisui didn't explain. After dinner at home, he went to Mokgetsu and continued training the Breathing Technique under Mokgetsu's guidance.
The fourth day of Breathing Technique training ended quickly, similar to the third day, with only Obito having a slight grasp.
Finally, on the fifth day, a new change arrived: Shisui's Breath of Flame also showed a bit of proficiency.
"A flowing warmth like hot ramen..." Shisui found Obito's description surprisingly fitting. He could feel a stream of air being inhaled through his mouth, coursing through the chakra meridians.
The fifth day of Breathing Technique training concluded, leaving only Might Guy without any proficiency in the Breathing Technique, still striving to find the Qi Sensitivity.