Chapter 235: Master-Level Taijutsu
Chapter 235: Master-Level Taijutsu
"You can never underestimate Guy. Though his offensive repertoire consists solely of taijutsu, his prowess in it is truly remarkable," said Hiashi, full of admiration.
Initially, he had higher hopes for Obito, as he was already adept in ninjutsu and had now demonstrated formidable taijutsu, showing no apparent weaknesses.
"I wonder if Might Guy's father was a formidable taijutsu shinobi. To think he would be this strong," Ebisu mused.
The onlookers couldn't help but join in the discussion. The recent display of might by Guy and Obito had far exceeded the expectations of ordinary students.
"I never thought you had this up your sleeve, Guy," Obito remarked, sounding a little dispirited.
Having borne the brunt of Guy's full-power kick and elbow strike, enhanced by the One Blow Heat Fist and Deep Breath, Obito felt that he would have fainted by now if not for his Fire Release.
"Haha! I just never had the chance to use it before," Guy replied, his mouth stretching wide in a grin, revealing his prominent teeth.
He hadn't intentionally kept it a secret; it was just the first genjutsu he had managed to dispel after learning the technique.
Guy reached out his hand to Obito, who took it, and Guy helped him out of the combat area. There was another match coming up—the final four would be narrowed down to two.
"Obito, are you alright?" Rin Nohara asked with a concerned look on her face.
Hearing Rin's words, Obito felt instantly soothed, as if all his pain had been alleviated. He straightened his back and walked proudly in front of Rin, dismissing Guy's assistance. "I'm fine. It was just a couple of hits."
"Really?" Rin eyed him skeptically, poking at his waist where he had been struck by the elbow attack.
"Ouch!" Obito winced as a sharp pain shot through him, his eyes widening as he drew in a breath.
"And here you are saying you're fine. Your face turned pale from the pain," Rin said, fixing her gaze on Obito.
"I watched your fight with Guy the entire time. When you were knocked down, it looked like the ground was about to crack. How could you possibly be fine?"
Obito remained silent, choosing not to voice his thoughts. He wanted to be the strong one in Rin's eyes, and the strong didn't complain about pain.
"Let me help you with the treatment," Rin offered, her expression softening as she prepared to lead Obito to the side for healing.
"Guy, you come too. You must have been injured by the Fire Release as well. It won't do to have that affect your upcoming match," she added.
Guy nodded in agreement. He wasn't yet at the level where he could withstand ninjutsu unscathed. While he had endured the Phoenix Flower Attack, he had still sustained some injuries, which he was bearing through with sheer willpower.
Mu Yue witnessed this exchange and decided against offering her own healing services. She didn't want to compete with Rin for such trivial matters.
The three of them moved away from the crowd and began the healing process beside a quiet, towering tree.
Rin's hands glowed with a soft, green chakra light, which she placed on Obito's abdomen.
Having studied medical ninjutsu for over five months now, she was capable of performing basic medical treatments.
"Thank you, Rin. I appreciate your help," Obito said, scratching his head gratefully.
Despite feeling a bit down about his facade of strength being seen through, he was sincerely grateful for Rin's concern.
Guy also expressed his thanks, giving Rin a thumbs-up. "I feel as good as new thanks to you!"
"I may not possess powerful Fire Release like you two or exceptionally fast taijutsu, but you can always count on me for healing," Rin said, a smile spreading across her face.
"Especially you, Obito. Don't be stubborn. If you need treatment, make sure to tell me, or do you not believe in my abilities?" She placed her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffing up slightly as she looked at Obito expectantly.
"Of course not!" Obito quickly denied.
While he wasn't particularly adept at pleasing girls, he knew better than to agree with her at a time like this.
"It's just that sometimes I really don't feel anything is wrong," Obito replied, unable to come up with a better answer and choosing to be stubborn instead.
"You really give me a headache," Rin said, shaking her head in exasperation.
Her concern for Obito extended beyond this moment; she worried about what would happen after their graduation. Without Mu Yue and her by his side, and with teammates who might not be as reliable as Kakashi and Guy, what would become of him if he got injured during a mission?
"Hehe," Obito chuckled, unable to suppress his joy at Rin's words. Despite their tone of reproach, they were a testament to how much she cared for him.
After the treatment, the group returned to the examination site.
Before long, the final match of the final four concluded, setting the stage for the decisive battle of this practical exam.
However, half of the spectators had already left, feeling there was no need to stay. They were certain that Guy would emerge as the winner.
The remaining half also predicted Guy's victory, though some among them stayed simply because they had already watched the previous matches and wanted to see the conclusion.
"Guy wins!"
Just as they had expected, Guy emerged victorious, and he did so in a swift and decisive manner.
His opponent wasn't Obito, and Guy didn't even need to utilize the Eight Gates. With just his Deep Breath and taijutsu, he swiftly overwhelmed his opponent, causing the proctor to declare his victory as soon as the match began.
"My youth burns brightly today!" Guy exclaimed, giving himself a thumbs-up for securing first place in their grade.
Once again, he had claimed the top spot, steadily progressing toward his dream.
"Guy, congratulations on achieving first place in your grade. You performed exceptionally well today," Mu Yue said with a timely smile as she offered her disciple her congratulations, along with a piece of her calligraphy.
"I believe in you, and I know you will succeed in becoming the strongest in taijutsu." Mu Yue responded with a warm smile.
[You have gifted your disciple with your calligraphy, and your disciple is extremely grateful. Reward: Critical Hit - Mastery of 'Tile Break'].
When Mu Yue saw this reward, she was momentarily taken aback, wondering what 'Mastery of Tile Break' meant and if it referred to exceptional proficiency in breaking tiles.
It was only when the system's skill cultivation memory was transmitted to her mind that she recalled the origin of this skill.
'Tile Break' was a Fighting-type move in the Pokemon world, where the user chops down with an open hand and can destroy barriers such as Light Screen and Reflect.
After the system's localization, 'Tile Break' had been transformed into a taijutsu with two variations.
The first was a close-range 'Tile Break', where chakra was concentrated on the hand to enhance penetration before chopping down with an open palm.
The second variation was a long-range attack that consumed more chakra, resulting in slightly less power compared to the close-range version. However, it could strike enemies from a distance, similar to the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.
After briefly organizing the cultivation memory, Mu Yue was pleased with this reward as the taijutsu not only offered two attack methods but also packed a decent punch.
Although it seemed like a simple hand chop, it was evident that it couldn't be compared to an ordinary strike. Just like Tsunade's Super Strength, it might appear to be an ordinary punch, but in reality, it involved highly technical chakra control.
While 'Tile Break' didn't require as intricate control as Super Strength, it wasn't something that could be easily pulled off. The key was to compress the chakra to increase its density and power.
"Maybe I should rename it to 'Konoha Hand Chop' instead of 'Tile Break', which sounds a bit odd," Mu Yue mused, thinking that she could rename the technique when teaching it to her disciples.
In addition to congratulating the victorious disciple, Mu Yue also remembered to comfort Obito, who had failed. After their conversation in the Southern Border Forest, even though she knew that no further rewards could be triggered, she still gave Obito a piece of her calligraphy.
With the ninja school exams concluded, the holiday for Mu Yue's disciples had come to an end, and they resumed their previous cultivation routine.
On the first day after the exams, to help her disciples regain their focus, Mu Yue intensified their training. Danzo and Obito underwent an intensive quiz session, while Kakashi and Mu Yue's shadow clone practiced combat using Lightning Breath.
"This time, I aim to keep the number of questions under thirty," Obito declared enthusiastically, as the number of questions had decreased with each training session.
"Just dodge as we did before," Stop assured himself, confident in his ability as he had successfully evaded Mu Yue's attacks before, even without activating his Sharingan.
The training commenced, and the duo ran in opposite directions, with Mu Yue's shadow clone in pursuit.
Stop immediately activated his Sharingan to observe the movements of Mu Yue's shadow clone.
Even though he had successfully dodged once before, Stop didn't stubbornly stand his ground and wait for the attack.
He knew that such an optimal state wasn't always achievable, and to minimize the number of hits, he had to reduce the number of attacks from Mu Yue.
When the moment to dodge inevitably arrived, Stop halted his steps, his crimson eyes fixed on Mu Yue's fingers.
"I will accomplish what my grandfather could not. I will end the prejudice against the Uchiha clan. As your first disciple, I will evade this attack!" Stop's expression relaxed, but his eyes shone with determination.
"Breath of Fire, Total Concentration Breathing!"
With each breath, Stop felt as if his body was ignited with flames, fueling him with relentless power.
In the end, Mu Yue's fingers barely grazed Stop's hair, and he had succeeded.
A slight smirk appeared on Stop's face, and he instantly used the Body Flicker Technique to create distance and continue evading Mu Yue's pursuit.
"Obito was hit seventeen times and dodged twice, resulting in a total of thirty questions as punishment. Stop was hit fifteen times and dodged twice, for a total of twenty-six questions," Mu Yue announced the training results after the session.
"You only need to answer twenty-six questions! I'm so jealous," Obito exclaimed, looking at Stop with admiration.
Although he had made progress, it paled in comparison to Stop's remarkable improvement.
"It's just a difference of four questions," Stop smiled, comforting Obito. He was content with his performance.
"It's still four questions!" Obito felt that people's emotions couldn't be understood, as four questions couldn't be described as 'just'.
Smack! Mu Yue's finger tapped Obito's head, and he subconsciously dodged with all his might. However, Mu Yue's finger accurately landed on his forehead, and she said, "If you think it's too much, you can always pay in installments."
"No, no, I'd rather try my best to finish it in one go," Obito replied, determined to break his habit of procrastination.
The day after the exam, Obito didn't head directly to the Southern Border Forest in the morning. Instead, he went to the Ninja Academy as it was the day the exam results were announced. Mu Yue had told him that he could check his results before continuing his training, and Obito couldn't wait to see the expressions of his peers when they saw his outstanding performance reflected in his mission record.
(End of Chapter)
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