"Mokgetsu, sorry, I have to excuse myself," Minato apologized to Mokgetsu while bidding him farewell. He originally planned to chat with Mokgetsu for a bit, but the sudden situation required him to take action.
Without waiting for Mokgetsu's response, Minato disappeared in front of him with a Flying Thunder God.
"What's going on, he's just gone, I can't see where he went at all," Obito looked left and right but couldn't see Minato's figure, expressing his confusion.
Generally, even if the speed is too fast to see, one can detect the movement through extremely fast motion, yet Obito felt that Minato vanished into thin air.
"It should be a kind of space-time ninjutsu," Mokgetsu explained to Obito.
"You can think of it as a very powerful Instant Body Jutsu."
Although Flying Thunder God has other uses besides fast movement, Mokgetsu simplified it for Obito to better understand.
"It feels like a very strong person, worthy of being recognized by you, Teacher Mokgetsu," Obito didn't fully understand Mokgetsu's words but sensed Minato's greatness.
He recalled that when he first met Minato, Mokgetsu had mentioned Minato's formidable strength.
Obito thought, if Mokgetsu, who is stronger than a candidate for the Raikage, said Minato is powerful, then Minato must be very strong, probably as strong as Mokgetsu.
"So fast!" Kakashi expressed surprise as he saw Minato disappear.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, what should we do now?" Might Guy looked at Mokgetsu and asked.
Under normal circumstances, they would need to join the war upon seeing the signal, but the specifics depend on Mokgetsu's arrangements.
"Help your companions in the village defeat the enemies while ensuring your own safety," Mokgetsu thought for a moment and replied.
The highest level alert signal had already been raised. Although they were only here to complete a C-Class mission, they had to join the battle at this moment.
"Although unexpected, it's also a rare opportunity to showcase abilities," Mokgetsu planned his next actions in his mind.
Mokgetsu intended to gradually display his strength because in this ninja world, power speaks volumes. The stronger the perception of your strength by the public, the easier it is to act.
If not for demonstrating extraordinary educational abilities to be promoted to Special Jonin, matters like special training and main course internships wouldn't be possible. An ordinary teacher isn't qualified to propose these, and even if proposed, they'd be ignored.
Of course, demonstrating strong power without reason will only bring about suspicion and danger unless one is strong enough to ignore everything.
To make his strength seem more reasonable, Mokgetsu laid various plots such as showcasing strong Fuinjutsu talent in front of Minato and Kushina.
While teaching Asuma, Mokgetsu not only displayed proficient Water and Fire Release, but also presented himself as having a strong learning ability, mastering powerful B-Class Wind Release Ninjutsu from initially not knowing any Wind Release.
His background in the Root Organization added more legitimacy to Mokgetsu's strength since that is a place even darker than the Anbu.
Under normal circumstances, due to the special nature of the Root Organization, Danzo must have a sufficient understanding of his subordinates' strengths because the Root's missions are assigned directly by Danzo, unlike ordinary ninja missions which are accepted through commissions. Without understanding his subordinates' abilities, he cannot reasonably allocate tasks.
So Danzo established a rule that Root members must undergo an ability test once a year to give him more understanding of his subordinates.
But members like Mokgetsu, cultivated in violation of rules, cannot be brought to light. For the sake of secrecy, members like Mokgetsu who are not officially listed are tested every two years.
Now Mokgetsu had been taken out of the Root Organization by Sarutobi Hiruzen for half a year, meaning Danzo's information on Mokgetsu is data from two and a half years ago. As long as Mokgetsu doesn't become exceedingly strong, even if Danzo finds out, he would only be slightly surprised.
From Danzo's perspective, Mokgetsu is in a golden period of strength growth, and two and a half years is enough for Mokgetsu to grow significantly. After leaving the Root, he might have received Sarutobi Hiruzen's training.
Sarutobi Hiruzen considers him a Root elite, an unrecognized genius ninja, while on Danzo's side, he has ample gaps to exploit. In so doing, Mokgetsu considered all possible effects on both sides of Konoha.
"Indeed, contrary to what Kakashi said, this time we have to fight," Obito stretched his body, ready for combat at any time.
Kakashi couldn't argue against Obito's words; after four consecutive incidents, this time escalating to a highest alert level war, he himself was beginning to lose confidence.
"Go, protect our companions, and defeat our enemies," Mokgetsu silently activated the Byakugan and led his disciples to support the distant battlefield.
Even though Mokgetsu was no longer the inexperienced person he was when he first traveled here, having witnessed over ten people dying and killing ninjas himself, the brutality of war still made him slightly surprised.
The ground was dirty and chaotic, littered with various limbs, stones, and broken wood. Red blood stained the soil. It was rare to see scattered ninjas lying on the ground, both from Konoha and Hidden Rock.
Regardless of whether they were young, adolescent, or middle-aged, everyone was killing each other the same, possibly not knowing one another before this battle. Yet on this battlefield, because of the different headbands they wore, they slaughtered each other as if they had an unfathomable vendetta.
"This is war..." Obito stared dumbfounded at the gruesome scene before him, the kunai he once tightly gripped now hanging loosely.
The brutality of war far exceeded Obito's imagination. In his mind, war was just a battle, but with more participants.
The numerous corpses scattered across the battlefield, the various severed body parts, and the bloodstained traces everywhere all viciously assaulted Obito's nerves.
This was Obito's first time seeing so many dead people. His moment of daze allowed him to notice a Konoha ninja nearby about to be pierced by a kunai.
"Watch out..." Obito instinctively shouted a warning, yet failed to notice several shuriken speeding towards him. By the time he realized, the shuriken were already dangerously close.
Clang clang!!
Mokgetsu drew out a kunai, swiftly deflecting all incoming shuriken, and instructed his disciples:
"In such chaotic wars, always be keenly aware of your surroundings and avoid getting hurt."
Power must be showcased, and reputation built, but not at the expense of safety. For him, his disciples mattered most.
The three disciples solemnly nodded their agreement, for the terrifying scene spoke louder about the perils of war than any words could.
Due to the signal flare, more and more Konoha ninja joined the battle.
Thanks to his Byakugan, Mokgetsu could oversee the entire situation and discern the war's direction. He could monitor most of the low to medium-level ninja battles, and even the fights between stronger opponents as long as they weren't too distant.
"Two Jinchuriki at once, no wonder the highest alert signal was sent."
Watching Jiraiya on high alert, then gazing at the two Hidden Rock ninja nearby who emanated terrifying chakra, Mokgetsu identified the top combatants in this conflict.
Of course, Jiraiya had no intention of single-handedly challenging the two Jinchuriki. Elite Jonin, including Minato, were by his side.
The Hidden Rock's Jinchuriki also weren't acting alone, flanked by their elite.
At such a great distance, Mokgetsu could only see without hearing their exchange. However, it was evident that the Hidden Rock side was pompous, while Jiraiya was consciously separating their top-tier battleground from the ordinary ninja fights.
"Worried about the Tailed Beast Ball?" Mokgetsu could guess Jiraiya's intentions.
Even if Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, his Immortal Techniques weren't potent enough to cancel out a Tailed Beast Ball, and its aftermath could decimate numerous mid-level ninja.
His 360-degree, blindspot-free Byakugan allowed Mokgetsu to closely observe everything around him. He temporarily disregarded the top-tier battlefield, focusing instead on dealing with the nearby Hidden Rock ninja.
Reputation arises from discussion, and with so many Konoha and Hidden Rock ninja present, demonstrating his prowess would ensure his name resonated in other countries.
All these thoughts occurred in an instant. From Obito's perspective, Mokgetsu deflected the incoming shuriken for him, then swiftly leaped to save a Konoha Chunin in peril.
"Thank you." The rescued Konoha Chunin barely had time to utter gratitude before diving back into battle, as there were too many Hidden Rock ninja present.
Mokgetsu maintained his Breath of Rock state, wielding a standard kunai to quickly eliminate every Hidden Rock life around him.
While every Breathing Technique had its unique applications, whether the flames enhanced by Breath of Flame or the lightning and explosions from Breath of Thunder, Mokgetsu's daily preference was Breath of Rock.
Breath of Rock lacked the dazzling effects of other techniques, but its augmentation of physical abilities was unparalleled, and its boosts from training were the strongest.
Even Mokgetsu, who seldom trained in Taijutsu, developed the physique of a Taijutsu ninja through constant cultivation in Breath of Rock. Without using any additional abilities, simply maintaining Breath of Rock, Mokgetsu wielded a strength surpassing ordinary Jonin.
Although the Hidden Rock ninja Mokgetsu killed were insignificant in the larger war context, nearby Konoha ninja noticed his formidable stature.
"Such speed and power."
"Which newly promoted Jonin is this? I feel like I've never seen them before."
The Konoha ninja saved by Mokgetsu, and those relieved of pressure as he killed enemies, all recognized the extraordinary might Mokgetsu exhibited, effortlessly dispatching Hidden Rock with Taijutsu alone.
"Any Jonin around? There's a tough adversary here." Mokgetsu heard a call for assistance and used his Byakugan to spot a bared-arm Hidden Rock ninja severely wounding several Konoha Chunin in waistcoats.
Mokgetsu assessed the Hidden Rock ninja, finding him to have over five thousand chakra, with his most skilled techniques maxing out at the proficient level of 2,500. Instantly, he dashed forward.