"Bi." Celebi let out a cheerful sound, flapping its wings as it flew beside Mokgetsu, rubbing its head against Mokgetsu's face.
Mokgetsu patted Celebi's head and said to Obito:
"Don't be fooled by its cute appearance; it's actually quite strong."
Though Celebi's combat abilities are not outstanding among other mythical creatures, compared to ordinary Pokemon, Celebi's strength is certainly not weak.
"Bi!"
Celebi stood on Mokgetsu's shoulder, slightly lifting its small head as if to signal Obito not to underestimate it.
"Eh!" Obito widened his eyes, carefully inspecting this little onion-shaped head.
Looking at Celebi's tiny body with slender arms and legs, Obito was curious about where its strength lay.
Since Mokgetsu said Celebi is strong, it must be strong, without question, because Mokgetsu wouldn't lie about such things.
When he couldn't discern anything specifically, Obito scratched his head, bid farewell to Mokgetsu once again, and walked out of Mokgetsu's tent.
Meanwhile, Mokgetsu began examining Celebi's stats.
[Name: Celebi]
[Chakra: 102,000]
[Skills: Wood Release (Proficient Level), Power of Time and Space (Entry Level), Yang Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Master Level), Yin Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Proficient Level), Water Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Proficient Level), Earth Attribute Chakra Nature Changes (Proficient Level), Telekinesis…]
Pokemon usually have a substantial amount of chakra, but Celebi having 100,000 right from hatching made Mokgetsu feel a bit emotional.
He had worked hard for a long time to push his chakra to 100,000, while Celebi was born with an amount most ninjas could never reach.
"As expected, it retained the ability to travel through time." Looking at the Power of Time and Space in Celebi's skill list, Mokgetsu showed a thought-provoking expression.
Time travel is incredibly powerful.
Not to mention, if Mokgetsu had Celebi when he first crossed over, he could have directly traveled to Naruto's Jonin Academy period to take on apprentices, accelerating his growth.
Naruto is not only talented but also a chakra powerhouse, able to provide Mokgetsu with great feedback.
Although traveling back to take Hashirama as an apprentice would be an opportunity, Celebi's time travel could alter history. If not necessary, Mokgetsu didn't want to travel back in time to alter history.
If he ended up erasing himself, that would be a real disaster.
Mokgetsu first signed a contract with Celebi, then created a Shadow Clone and used Flying Thunder God to relocate to a secluded area to familiarize himself with Celebi's abilities.
The stats on the panel were just numbers; only through actual demonstration could Mokgetsu truly understand Celebi's capabilities.
Mokgetsu used the Byakugan to find a wild boar and, with a Kunai, injured it to a critical state before letting Celebi heal it.
Under the healing glow of green light, the wounds on the wild boar healed rapidly, leaving no scars in the end.
"Healing truly is its strength..." Mokgetsu thought as he watched the wild boar dash away immediately.
Even as a newly hatched Celebi, its healing ability had already surpassed Nohara Rin's Milotic.
Next, Mokgetsu tested Celebi's Wood Release.
Although not highly proficient, with 100,000 chakra it was quite impressive, and Mokgetsu felt it was more than enough against a Jonin.
As for the Power of Time and Space, Mokgetsu didn't let Celebi take him through time.
Since Celebi had just hatched and was unfamiliar with its abilities, it might accidentally transport them to the battlefield of several thousand years ago during the battle between the Six Paths Sage's brothers and Otsutsuki Kaguya.
Although the probability was low, it wasn't impossible.
"By harnessing the power of the Dragon Vein and Celebi's time-space power, could it be possible to precisely travel to another parallel world?" Mokgetsu pondered.
Compared to past or future travels, parallel worlds are a better option, as they wouldn't result in uncontrollable changes due to the butterfly effect of time travel.
Finally, Mokgetsu used Transformation to scan Celebi and then performed Transformation.
However, when Mokgetsu checked his status panel, he didn't see Celebi's Power of Time and Space.
"As expected, it didn't work." Mokgetsu was not surprised.
Transformation has its limits; it can replicate the Sharingan and Ice Release, but not the Rinnegan.
And time travel is undoubtedly a highly noble ability and thus couldn't be copied, as Mokgetsu had anticipated.
Finally, Mokgetsu canceled the Transformation and returned to the camp with Celebi.
Upon returning, Mokgetsu immediately canceled the Shadow Clone, receiving its memories.
After a thorough review, Mokgetsu discovered that no one had come to inquire about the green light.
It was understandable. The light from hatching was bright but not excessive; coupled with the tent's obstruction, not many noticed it.
Since it was Mokgetsu's tent, no one would ask about it, given Mokgetsu's formidable strength.
After tidying up the tent, Mokgetsu went out, taking Celebi to get acquainted with his students.
As his Summoning Beast, Celebi would spend a lot of time with Obito and the others going forward.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, what is this ninja beast? It's so cute." Nohara Rin's eyes lit up as she looked at the fairy-like Celebi, thinking it was even cuter than Zorua.
"Bi." Hearing Nohara Rin's praise, Celebi let out a happy sound, circling around Nohara Rin.
"You can call it Celebi," Mokgetsu replied.
In the Naruto World, there would only be this one Celebi, so there was no worry about duplication in names.
"Kakashi, should we make a bet?" Obito suddenly asked Kakashi.
"Bet on what?" Kakashi moved his gaze from Celebi and looked at Obito.
"Bet on Celebi's strength. I bet it's incredible!"
"No bet." Kakashi immediately declined.
"Why?" Obito asked, baffled as he looked at Kakashi.
With Celebi looking so weak, Kakashi wouldn't bet.
"Because it's Teacher Mokgetsu's Summoning Beast," Kakashi answered plainly.
Another reason was that he sensed Obito's intention to trick him.
When Obito opened his mouth, Kakashi could already guess what he was up to.
Obito was speechless, as that explanation was indeed irrefutable.
One day later.
A response from the higher-ups reached Mokgetsu, and he took his students and four hundred ninjas to the Land of Grass to support Jiraiya.
...
Land of Grass, Konoha Ninja Squad encampment.
Jiraiya sat gloomily in his tent, studying the map and devising defensive strategies.
This time, the Hidden Rock Squad displayed the same unfathomably adept intelligence capacity as before, leading Jiraiya to suspect espionage.
However, after a thorough investigation, he found nothing.
"They've developed some truly troublesome techniques. If only this level of effort could be applied elsewhere," Jiraiya sighed.
Despite knowing of the likely presence of spies in the squad, they could even disguise their chakra, which was excessively advanced, and not something Jiraiya could detect, even in Sage Mode.
"Mokgetsu, hurry and come," Jiraiya thought silently to himself.
He had already sent a request to Konoha's higher-ups, asking for Mokgetsu to lead the team for support.
Only Mokgetsu's Perception Ninjutsu could break through the Hidden Rock spies' stealth, and Mokgetsu himself was an extremely rare and powerful force.
Jiraiya was not one itching for combat, but even he was a bit irritated by the Hidden Rock's antics.
Whenever Konoha faced any trouble, the Hidden Rock capitalized on the opportunity to make things worse, constantly forcing Jiraiya to the battlefield and keeping him from creating new works.
"If I write a new book, drawing inspiration from Mokgetsu might be good—a top-tier respected by all with extraordinary cooking skills—is a nice element," Jiraiya mused, stroking his chin.
For his second novel, he didn't want to write about a ninja slowly growing stronger because he felt the story would be repetitive.
As an author, Jiraiya didn't wish to write repetitive content.
Reflecting on Mokgetsu's experiences, a light bulb went off in his head.
"A strong figure disillusioned by an event involving the village thus relinquishing his position to teach at the Ninja Academy. Initially, he didn't take the role seriously, seeing it merely as a way to while away the time, but through interaction with students..."
Although Mokgetsu became a renowned strongman only after leaving the Ninja Academy, and wasn't disillusioned by the village, Jiraiya intended to borrow elements rather than write Mokgetsu's biography.
"No, I should focus on the defense plan now," Jiraiya forcefully interrupted his train of thought.
Though he was indeed interested in writing novels, protecting Konoha was more pressing.