https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-268-The-Strongest-Ninjutsu-that-is-Hard-to-Defend-Against/12558300/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-270-The-Feasibility-of-Going-Home-Minato-s-Assessment/12558307/
Chapter 269: Progress on Life Missions
Chapter 269: Progress on Life Missions
Even though most of Mu Yue's disciples had graduated, her daily life remained largely unchanged, except that she now taught one student instead of five, which certainly lightened her load and gave her more time to practice her own skills.
The afternoon after the disciples were divided into classes, Mu Yue sat down to rest after practicing the Great Waterfall Technique for a while. She opened the Master-Disciple panel in her system to check on her disciples' life mission progress, a habit she had formed whenever she had some free time.
The last time she checked, Might Guy had the most progress, reaching 0.5%. Danzo and Kakashi, on the other hand, hadn't shown any movement yet.
"How did it increase so much all of a sudden?" Mu Yue fell into deep thought as she stared at Obito's 3% progress.
"Is it because of Minato being Jiraiya's disciple?" Mu Yue instantly realized the key factor.
Not everyone could become the Hokage. The First Hokage was chosen by all the Konoha ninjas, but the subsequent Hokages were usually somewhat related to their predecessors.
For example, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the disciple of the First Hokage, Minato was Hiruzen's grandson-in-law, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade was Hiruzen's disciple, and the Sixth Hokage Kakashi was Minato's disciple.
However, it wasn't just about connections; abilities played a more significant role. Take Minato's teammates, for instance; they were also trained by Jiraiya from a young age, but due to their insufficient abilities, no one considered them potential Hokage candidates.
Mu Yue believed that the Hokage lineage was akin to a buff in the Naruto world—the stronger one's abilities, the more significant the boost it provided. Thus, possessing both a strong connection to the Hokage lineage and formidable strength increased one's likelihood of becoming a Hokage.
One needed both capability and connections to succeed.
Mu Yue estimated that once Minato became the Hokage, this buff would increase even further. By then, Obito would be the grandson-in-law of the previous Hokage and a disciple of the current Hokage, stacking the buffs to his advantage.
Aside from Obito's sudden surge, Danzo and Might Guy's progress remained unchanged.
After finishing dinner, Mu Yue paid a visit to Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence. It had been a while since she sought his guidance on the Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique, and now she wanted to consult him about the Great Waterfall Technique to further solidify her reputation as a ninjutsu prodigy and lay the groundwork for future strength enhancements.
"Third Hokage-sama, do you have time now? I've encountered some problems in my recent training of the Great Waterfall Technique," Mu Yue asked after greeting Hiruzen.
"I'm free now," Hiruzen replied, nodding, as he had just been about to go for a post-meal walk to aid digestion.
"However, we can't perform the Great Waterfall Technique in the yard; let's go to the nearby river instead," Hiruzen said, opting to avoid flooding his own home, as he had done during their previous training session in the backyard.
"I want to come too!" Asuma piped up, eager to join in on the action.
"What are you coming for? You don't even learn Water Style," Hiruzen said, not too keen on the idea of Asuma tagging along.
He knew that Asuma would likely start praising him to the skies again, and he wasn't particularly fond of such flattery from his own son.
"I'm not coming to learn Water Style from you. What can I learn from you demonstrating it once and explaining it a few times? I just want to see if Teacher Mu Yue's ninjutsu has become even more powerful," Asuma retorted bluntly.
"That's because I always explain the essence and key points," Hiruzen asserted, wanting Asuma to acknowledge that his teaching abilities were no less than Mu Yue's.
With his mastery of countless ninjutsu and proficient use of all seven chakra nature transformations, having also mentored the legendary Sannin, he couldn't fathom why Asuma seemed to think he was a lesser teacher than Mu Yue.
"I don't know about key points or essence; I just know that I learn things faster when taught by Teacher Mu Yue," Asuma stated, sticking to the facts as he saw them.
He was aware that his father had three exceptionally strong disciples, but Asuma himself had also been taught by Hiruzen, and he couldn't deny that Mu Yue was the better teacher.
Asuma could rank the teachers he'd had—first was Mu Yue, followed by Hiruzen, and then his own Jonin-level teacher.
Just as Hiruzen was at a loss for words, Mu Yue stepped in to smooth things over. She first affirmed that Hiruzen's guidance had indeed been helpful, and then spoke up for Asuma.
"Let Asuma come along. I've recently made significant progress in Wind Style nature transformation, and I can teach him a thing or two," Mu Yue said with a smile.
At this point, it was obvious that something needed to be done to ease the tension, and the best course of action was to appease both sides while maintaining a pleasant atmosphere.
After all, Asuma was Hiruzen's son, and Hiruzen wouldn't stay truly angry with him for long. By speaking up for Asuma now, Mu Yue could even earn some extra favor with Hiruzen.
"Since you have something to teach him, Asuma, you can come along.
"Since you learn faster with Mu Yue, you must study diligently. The Chunin Exams are approaching, and if your skills are up to par, your teacher will recommend you for the exams," Hiruzen reminded him.
"I know, Dad. I will definitely study hard," Asuma replied, still unable to fully suppress the tension in their interaction.
As they made their way to the river, their conversation continued in a similar vein. Although Asuma's words were a bit sharp, the overall atmosphere remained amicable, resembling the playful bickering of family members who cared for each other despite their differences.
Upon arriving at their destination, Hiruzen immediately asked Mu Yue to demonstrate the Great Waterfall Technique before inquiring about her questions and providing answers and demonstrations.
Asuma quietly observed their exchange, not wanting to interrupt. Once Mu Yue's practice session revealed significant progress, he couldn't help but voice his admiration.
"Teacher Mu Yue, you're too humble! Calling yourself a genius would be an understatement after witnessing your performance," Asuma exclaimed, both surprised and excited.
His surprise stemmed from Mu Yue's exceptional display, while his excitement was fueled by his anticipation of learning wind-attribute chakra nature transformation from her.
Given Mu Yue's humble nature, Asuma was certain that she must have made considerable progress for her to acknowledge it.
"Thank you, Third Hokage-sama, for your guidance," Mu Yue smiled, giving credit to Hiruzen.
"The credit goes to your exceptional ninjutsu talent. My role is merely to provide some direction," Hiruzen stroked his goatee and shook his head modestly.
Although he considered himself a capable educator, teaching Mu Yue was different from instructing his disciples. He could only offer her pointers, and her rapid mastery of these two A-rank ninjutsu techniques was a testament to her extraordinary learning abilities.
Hiruzen entertained the idea of taking Mu Yue as his disciple. Despite having three renowned disciples who shook the ninja world, he regretted that none of them had inherited his full repertoire of ninjutsu or his powerful combination techniques.
Mu Yue's performance reminded him of a weakened version of himself, and he couldn't help but wonder if, with his personal tutelage, she could become the next ninja professor.
"Let's wait until the war is over," Hiruzen thought, temporarily setting aside the idea of taking Mu Yue as his disciple.
With the chaotic state of the ninja world, he was too busy to devote sufficient time to mentoring her. It wouldn't make sense to take on a disciple without being able to teach them properly.
After providing guidance, Hiruzen bid them farewell and returned home, reminding Asuma to go straight back after his lesson and not to wander off.
"Come on, I'm a ninja now, not a child. You don't need to tell me that," Asuma grumbled.
"It has nothing to do with being a ninja or not. You're only ten years old, and the Third Hokage is just concerned about your safety," Mu Yue smiled and gently tapped Asuma's head.
"Never mind that. Teacher Mu Yue, please teach me the nature transformation now," Asuma said eagerly.
Mu Yue nodded and began instructing Asuma on wind-style chakra nature transformation.
There were about ten days left until the ninja school reopened, and he intended to spend some time teaching Asuma to improve his skills.
...
"Little Rin, don't be afraid when we encounter enemies. Stay by my side, and I'll protect you," Obito reassured his junior, Wildflower Rin, as they made their way to the Hokage Building.
As they had performed exceptionally well during their training the previous day, Minato decided to assign them a mission.
"Well, we probably won't encounter any enemies today. I just want to manage your expectations," Minato said, not wanting Obito to be disappointed.
"Usually, newly graduated genin like you can only accept D-rank missions. Obito, you should be familiar with the nature of D-rank missions from your internship," Minato explained.
"Yes, D-rank missions are mostly odd jobs like cleaning, garbage collection, and farm work," Obito nodded, having completed quite a few of those himself.
"But during our internship, we were allowed to take on C-rank missions. Surely we won't be demoted now that we're official ninjas," Obito argued, confident that they could handle C-rank missions.
After all, he had even completed an S-rank mission, so it didn't make sense for him to be restricted to D-rank missions.
Minato considered Obito's words and felt that his optimism might be a bit excessive. The special treatment Kakashi's team received from Hiruzen was due to their affiliation with Mu Yue's class, but now that they were under his leadership, the rules of the ninja world were more stringent.
In the registration hall, Obito spotted a familiar face among the ninjas—Itachi Uchiha. He immediately greeted him enthusiastically, "Good morning, Itachi-senpai!"
"Morning. Congratulations on becoming a full-fledged ninja," Itachi acknowledged, noticing the forehead protector on Obito's head.
"Oh, then we won't trouble you, Uncle Danzo. We'll choose one ourselves," Obito replied.
"Your squad can only accept D-rank missions, not C-rank," Danzo explained earnestly, then took out a D-rank mission scroll.
"Ah?" Tobirama was taken aback, not expecting things to be so strict; they'd have to start with D-rank missions again.
Kakashi, on the other hand, wore a knowing expression, having anticipated this outcome. After all, even as a Chunin joining a rookie team, he had to start with menial tasks, and while Tobirama's resume was impressive among students, it wasn't enough to break the rules.
"Uncle Danzo, weren't we given the right to perform C-rank missions by the Third Hokage? We've even completed an S-rank mission before. Isn't it a bit unreasonable that we can only accept D-rank missions now?" Tobirama asked, perplexed.
On their way there, he had been talking to Rin about the dangers of missions and how to deal with them, so he was naturally displeased at the prospect of doing odd jobs now.
"That was during your internship with Mu Yue's class. Now that you're in a different class and team, you have to follow the standard rules for new genin," Danzo explained the reason, leaving no room for special treatment unless the Third Hokage intervened.
"Even if you have the ability to take on C-rank missions, you should consider whether your teammates have the same capability."
Tobirama recalled Rin's display of super-strength and felt that C-rank missions should be manageable.
Things unfolded as Minato expected, and he began browsing through the D-rank missions. Although he knew his disciples were capable, he couldn't force Danzo to assign them higher-level missions; that wouldn't be ethical.
Tobirama, however, had an idea as he looked at the D-rank mission scrolls.
When they first started their internship, they could only handle D-rank missions. It was only after they completed those that the Third Hokage allowed them to try C-rank missions.
"Minato, just take ten for us. We'll finish them quickly so that Rin can get used to missions," Tobirama suggested, deciding to go all out and complete as many D-rank missions as possible.
"Then we'll take all the missions on this scroll," Minato said to Danzo.
"That's fine," Danzo agreed, knowing the efficiency of Tobirama and Kakashi. He was confident they could complete ten D-rank missions swiftly.
"Kakashi, let's use Shadow Clones later to increase our efficiency and finish the missions faster," Tobirama suggested as they left the Hokage Building, intending to include Kakashi in his plan.
Tobirama could create two Shadow Clones, and so could Kakashi, meaning they'd have seven people working on the missions together.
"Why use Shadow Clones? It'll just tire us out," Kakashi questioned, unsure why Tobirama had suddenly become so enthusiastic.
"Don't you remember? The last time, we were allowed to take on C-rank missions only after finishing the D-rank ones. Maybe it'll be the same this time," Tobirama explained his brilliant plan.
"Maybe, but it's not certain," Kakashi replied, feeling that such matters were hard to predict and there were no specific standards.
"Then let's compete to see who completes more D-rank missions. You're a Chunin, so you shouldn't be afraid of losing to me, a genin, right?" Tobirama challenged.
Kakashi: ...
Although it was a low-level provocation, he had to admit that Tobirama's words irritated him, so he agreed.
Their speed of completing missions even inspired Rin to work harder, and her movements became faster.
Through their tireless efforts, the team finished thirty D-rank missions in a single day. After dispelling their Shadow Clones, Tobirama was exhausted, but he decided to continue this strategy the next day and beyond, until there were no more D-rank missions left, as he was eager to take on the C-rank missions that would allow them to leave the village.
As Tobirama's team worked diligently, Mu Yue received system rewards.
[Ding! Disciples Kakashi and Tobirama worked hard to complete commissioned tasks, gaining a growth reward of +5 Chakra.]
[Ding! Disciples Kakashi and Tobirama worked hard to complete commissioned tasks, gaining a growth reward of +4 Chakra.]
Perhaps due to their stronger foundations, the rewards they received for completing D-rank missions were now pitifully low, with each mission granting only a few points at most. Fortunately, the number of missions they completed made up for the low individual rewards, and their total Chakra gain was still significantly higher than what they would have earned from a day of classes.
Since she wasn't the one leading the team, Mu Yue felt like she was reaping the benefits without doing any work, watching her Chakra pool increase while doing nothing.
(End of Chapter)
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