Chapter 131: The Impending Exam
Chapter 131: The Impending Exam
As Iwagakure and Kirigakure declared war on Konohagakure, the atmosphere in the Village Hidden in the Leaves became fraught with tension, a foreboding sign of the impending conflict. Two weeks after the Jonin-level meeting, Mu Yue could hear the teachers in the office discussing the war.
Although the details of the Jonin meeting were meant to be confidential, the mobilization of ninjas made it an open secret.
"In my opinion, we should crush Iwagakure with lightning speed, intimidate the ninja world, and then ally with Sunagakure to defeat Kirigakure," one teacher passionately opined.
"Why not ally with Sunagakure first and defeat Kirigakure before taking on Iwagakure together?" countered another.
"You're naive. Let Kirigakure wear down Sunagakure, then we can defeat both Kirigakure and Iwagakure in one fell swoop, maximizing our gains," a third teacher chimed in, clearly enjoying the armchair strategizing.
War strategy discussions were rampant, and even though the middle-level ninja teachers in the office were not typically sent to the front lines, they enthusiastically shared their imaginative ideas of what they believed to be sound strategies.
"You two, war is a cruel and harsh reality, not as simple as you make it out to be," Ueda Aya interjected, seeing that the conversation between Ikegaya Isamu and Kimura Sando was becoming increasingly unrealistic.
"While the Great Ninja War is indeed brutal, Konoha has always emerged victorious, and I believe this time will be no different," Kimura Sando replied confidently, his faith in their village unwavering.
"That's right, under the leadership of the Third Hokage, Kirigakure and Iwagakure don't stand a chance against us," Ikegaya Isamu agreed, nodding.
"Don't you agree, Mu Yue?" Ikegaya Isamu turned to Mu Yue.
"Of course, I believe in the village's ultimate victory. However, as teachers, we must also do our part for the village and nurture ninjas with an even more dedicated attitude," Mu Yue stated, her tone resolute.
Konoha would indeed emerge victorious, even if they were ganged up on by the four great ninja villages, no matter how narrow the margin of victory.
"Look, we should share the same confidence in our village as Mu Yue-sensei," Ikegaya Isamu said, his enthusiasm rekindled.
"I'm not lacking in confidence for the village, but I think you two are underestimating the severity of war," Ueda Aya clarified, her expression solemn.
After organizing her things, Mu Yue left the office, heading home to cook before venturing into the Southern Forest.
The flames of war had not yet reached the Ninja Academy, nor had they touched those with specialized roles like hers.
Only when Konoha was on the brink of collapse would Mu Yue be dispatched to the battlefield.
And when that time came, even recent graduates, Genin-level ninjas, would be spared from menial tasks and sent into battle instead.
Upon arriving at her usual training spot in the forest, Mu Yue initiated a progress assessment for her students.
Obito maintained his lead, with his Fire Style: Breathing Technique proficiency reaching thirty-five points, closely followed by Itachi, who had attained thirty points. Might Guy, who had once been ahead, now found himself in last place, with a Rock Style: Breathing Technique proficiency of only twenty-five points.
Mu Yue was relatively satisfied with their progress, although she acknowledged that the ten-point gap between Might Guy and Obito was due to various factors and couldn't be helped.
"You two can proceed to the next step of your training," Mu Yue said to Itachi and Obito.
"The upcoming training will be more challenging than before, so prepare yourselves mentally," she added, a hint of seriousness in her voice.
"Don't worry, Mu Yue-sensei, we're ready for whatever comes our way," Obito chuckled, his fearlessness evident.
"It's about assuming specific poses to aid in cultivating the breathing technique," Obito replied after some thought.
"This time, I want you to be able to freely control the breath you take in without needing to assume those poses, and also be able to use ninjutsu while in the state of the Fire Style: Breathing Technique," Mu Yue explained.
It seemed like two goals, but in reality, achieving the former was crucial for completing the latter.
Some ninjas needed to perform hand seals, while others could cast ninjutsu without seals or with fewer seals.
If ninjutsu was likened to a math problem, performing hand seals was the process of solving the problem. Ninjas who didn't need seals were like those who could provide the answer directly, while those who needed fewer seals were familiar with the problem and required fewer steps.
The Fire Style: Breathing Technique was like adding an extra question to the original problem. Answering it correctly would earn bonus points and increase the power of the ninjutsu.
However, using different ninjutsu with the Fire Style: Breathing Technique was like answering different additional questions for different problems. Therefore, one must have absolute control over the breath taken in, ensuring they could answer correctly regardless of the problem.
At this stage, Mu Yue set a preliminary training goal for Obito and Kakashi: to perform various extreme sports using only the breathing technique without relying on chakra.
Sometimes, pushing oneself to the limit could bring out unexpected results.
Even someone as carefree as Obito felt a sense of panic when climbing a steep cliff without using chakra to aid his grip. Often, the footholds were barely enough for half a palm, and he had to balance on his toes to find a stable position.
To complete these challenging extreme trials without the aid of chakra or tools, Obito and Itachi could only rely on the power granted by the breathing technique.
At this step, Itachi and Obito progressed at a similar pace. Obito reached a proficiency of forty-two, while Itachi caught up to thirty-seven. It took both of them just a week to complete this training.
In theory, the training of controlling the breath had been ongoing from the very beginning, not just during the second and fourth stages. Ever since Obito and Itachi gained a sense of the breathing technique, each cultivation session helped them become more familiar with controlling the breath. The fourth stage of training was like a final summary of their progress.
Once they could freely control the breath they took in, it was time for formal ninjutsu training.
Obito, being a ninjutsu specialist, was very familiar with this type of training. He initially thought it would be a breeze, but it turned out to be more challenging than he expected.
With the added element of nature transformation brought about by the Fire Style: Breathing Technique, the power of his ninjutsu increased, but it also became more difficult to control.
However, compared to the previous stages of training, Obito felt that this step was slightly easier as it mainly involved strengthening his control and familiarizing himself with the enhanced state.
Obito spent five days getting accustomed to casting ninjutsu while in the breathing technique state.
At this moment, Obito's proficiency in the breathing technique had reached forty-six.
Itachi was slightly faster than Obito in this ninjutsu training step, taking only three days to adapt, and his proficiency rose to forty-two by the fifth day. Itachi was quickly catching up.
Might Guy, despite having a substantial amount of training, had only reached a proficiency of thirty-two due to the difficulty of the training.
On Saturday evening, Obito, Itachi, and Might Guy gathered to discuss their cultivation progress. When Obito heard that Might Guy hadn't started the extreme sports training yet, he felt even more confident about his chances.
The exam was on Monday, and this time, he was determined to secure first place in his grade!
(End of Chapter)
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