"But next, Mokgetsu will have a practice battle with me. I'll tell you the result afterward." Namikaze Minato thought for a moment and said.
Kushina's eyes sparkled, looking a little expectant, "Where are you going to fight? I want to watch."
"Don't think about it. It's not possible." Namikaze Minato glanced subtly at the door.
Currently, Kushina's maximum activity range is within the Great Barrier set up at the core of the Main Konoha District. Kushina cannot step outside the barrier range until she can completely block the interference from the Nine-tails' Chakra.
Namikaze Minato and Mokgetsu, being ninjas at their level, definitely can't fight in the city. Otherwise, the battle might be stopped by the Anbu or Uchiha as soon as it starts. Even if not stopped, the collateral damage could bankrupt both of them.
With Minato's reminder, Kushina quickly realized this too, and her face immediately drooped, looking quite displeased.
"Every day, this isn't allowed, that isn't allowed, it's really annoying." Kushina puffed her cheeks and sat on the bed.
"There's no choice; it's for your own good, according to the Third Hokage." Minato gently ruffled Kushina's shiny red hair and spoke kindly.
"I'll try my best to describe the fight to you afterward."
Hearing this, Kushina's expression improved a little.
Then Minato shared some amusing stories of his interactions with Mokgetsu.
"Why does Obito only gain in strength and nothing else?" Kushina loudly teased without reservation.
Kushina had seen Minato's three disciples. Although she couldn't step out of the barrier, Obito and Kakashi could come in.
However, due to its inconvenience, Kushina hadn't seen much of them, and her impressions of them came from Minato's stories.
After spending half an hour with Kushina, Namikaze Minato said goodbye to her.
He would be very busy recently; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to see Kushina at noon. He had been busy with various matters in the morning.
...
In the afternoon, an Anbu Ninja approached Mokgetsu.
"Captain Habu, next I will take you into the Anbu to collect some essential items for Anbu members." The Anbu member with a cat-face mask explained his purpose.
Although Mokgetsu's position is somewhat akin to a mascot, it is still a part of the official Anbu structure, and the necessary procedures must be followed.
Mokgetsu nodded and followed.
Actually, he was a Shadow Clone, but for such small matters as collecting items, it was not necessary to trouble the main body to act.
After they entered the Anbu Department Base, Tobita Kenji removed his cat-face mask and greeted Mokgetsu again, "Teacher Mokgetsu, sorry, on the way here, it was considered part of a mission, so I couldn't remove my mask."
The Anbu has very strict regulations, and normally masks must be worn during missions.
So even though Tobita Kenji had been trained by Mokgetsu and respected him greatly, he did not reveal his identity until they arrived at the Anbu Department Base.
"Understandable, after all, you are Anbu." Mokgetsu replied with a light smile.
In fact, at first glance, Mokgetsu recognized Tobita Kenji, although the Shadow Clone couldn't use Identification Jutsu, Mokgetsu remembered all the people he had taught. He could tell it was Tobita Kenji from his physique alone.
Most of the Anbu that Mokgetsu encountered subsequently greeted him.
However, not all had been trained by Mokgetsu, and many were Anbu who had only heard of Mokgetsu's exploits. After all, last time, Mokgetsu only taught fifteen Anbu members, and another fifteen were Root Ninjas.
Although he encountered quite a few Anbu Ninja, Mokgetsu did not see any significant characters from the original work.
Mokgetsu contemplated; from what he remembers, only three originally worked as Anbu members: Kakashi, Yamato, and Uchiha Itachi.
Kakashi had undergone significant changes from the original work and might not become Anbu, Uchiha Itachi was just born, and he did not know Yamato's situation.
The original Anbu members he was familiar with are not Anbu yet, so naturally, he couldn't see familiar faces from the original work.
After collecting the items, Tobita Kenji took Mokgetsu to the Anbu Squad Captain's office.
"Captain Habu, please have a seat." The Anbu Squad Captain looked at Mokgetsu with a kind gaze.
Mokgetsu didn't stand on ceremony and sat in one of the two chairs in the office.
Tobita Kenji then eagerly exited the office and closed the door.
"Let me introduce myself first, as I don't have the same reputation as Captain Habu." The Anbu Squad Captain laughed amicably.
"I am Sarutobi Masanari, the Anbu Squad Captain."
Looking at Sarutobi Masanari's face and adding the Sarutobi surname, Mokgetsu vaguely guessed who this person might be.
"Captain Habu, I have long admired you, and today we finally have some time to chat." Sarutobi Masanari said with a smile.
Even before Mokgetsu became famous in the Ninja World for his deeds on the battlefield, Sarutobi Masanari frequently heard Mokgetsu being praised by Sarutobi Hiruzen and Sarutobi Asuma.
In his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Mokgetsu is a super genius, most suitable to inherit his mantle. In his brother, Sarutobi Asuma's words, Mokgetsu is a peerless teacher and a flawless individual.
Sarutobi Masanari could quite understand Asuma; after all, Sarutobi Hiruzen was very strict, and suddenly encountering a teacher like Mokgetsu, who is both strong and easygoing, it's hard not to admire and like Mokgetsu.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, made Sarutobi Masanari a little uncomfortable because Sarutobi Hiruzen often compared him to Mokgetsu. Mokgetsu, in his view, was like someone else's outstanding child.
Originally, Sarutobi Masanari was a little defiant because he was also an Anbu Squad Captain, a senior member of the Anbu.
Now he had nothing to say because Mokgetsu was one of the major contributors to the temporary ceasefire on the East Coast Battlefield, something Sarutobi Masanari could not compete with.
"Here is the list and relevant materials for this round of trainees, including Root Ninja, there are a total of forty people, consisting of twenty-five Anbu Ninja and fifteen Root Ninja." Sarutobi Masanari said, handing the documents to Mokgetsu.
Since Root is nominally a subordinate organization of the Anbu, Root's information is submitted to the Anbu and then provided to Mokgetsu by the Anbu.
Mokgetsu swiftly skimmed through the documents; among the forty people, half had undergone previous training, and the other half had not.
Mokgetsu guessed that the Third Hokage wanted part of the trainees to master the Breath of Darkness, while the secondary goal was to spread the Breath of Darkness.
After all, achieving the former can accelerate the latter's progress.
"Captain Habu, how is your training program coming along? Can you give me some hints?" Sarutobi Masanari asked curiously.
Last time, Mokgetsu's Anbu training results amazed him so much; in just two and a half months, fifteen Anbu members improved their overall strength.
He wasn't clear about the improvement on the Root Ninja side, but the fifteen Anbu members who received Mokgetsu's training performed very well afterward.
"Currently, the only confirmed part is the new technique for the Breath of Darkness; the rest is still under consideration." Mokgetsu thought for a moment and replied.
This time, he still intended to gain experience in the breathing technique and nature transformation, mainly because he had two requirements: developing the Breath of Yang and enhancing Wood Release proficiency.
Among them, developing the Breath of Yang is the most crucial. He needed the intermediate lecture S-level evaluation reward to improve the understanding of lecture content.
"There's even a new technique for the Breath of Darkness. You're making me want to join in." Sarutobi Masanari half-joked.
He had practiced according to the Breath of Darkness cultivation method given by Mokgetsu, and while he barely succeeded, his proficiency was lacking.
Mokgetsu smiled but said nothing, as he would indeed teach him should Sarutobi Masanari truly wish to join.
As an Anbu Squad Captain, Sarutobi Masanari's strength was definitely on the level of an elite Jonin and was a very quality student.
Not long after they chatted, Sarutobi Masanari had to leave the office due to some matters. The Mokgetsu Shadow Clone didn't stay long and left the Anbu after a while.
After walking a certain distance from the Anbu Department Base, the Shadow Clone dispelled itself, allowing its memories to flow back to the main body in the Southern Border Forest.
PS: About Sarutobi Hiruzen's eldest son, some say it's Sarutobi Shinnosuke, but I couldn't find the original source, so I made up a name myself.
Additionally, there will be another chapter soon~