https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-362-A-Beating-for-the-Root-s-Anbu-Ninja/12558480/
Chapter 361: On the Importance of Acting Skills for Ninjas
Chapter 361: On the Importance of Acting Skills for Ninjas
When it came to matters concerning the growth of the Root Organization, Danzo Shimura was exceptionally diligent.
Even though Mu Yue's response reached him late in the evening, Danzo wasted no time in reading it through, leading by example as the leader who worked overtime.
He nodded in satisfaction at the beginning of the report, pleased that the members of Root, whom he had cultivated from a young age, remained dependable.
Even though Mu Yue was no longer a part of Root and had established herself as the vice-principal of the Ninja Academy, earning accolades on the battlefield, her reply reflected her unwavering respect for him.
However, when Danzo read Mu Yue's concern about him being blamed by Hiruzen Sarutobi for secretly training Root members, he couldn't help but frown in annoyance.
His irritation wasn't directed at Mu Yue but at Hiruzen, as his recent proposals had all been rejected by the Fire Shadow. Moreover, given his understanding of Hiruzen, he knew Mu Yue's worries were justified.
Hiruzen did not want Root to become any stronger, and the fact that he had secretly recalled Mu Yue, who was no longer part of Root, for special training was something Hiruzen would undoubtedly disapprove of.
Danzo contemplated keeping this matter hidden, knowing that discussing it with Hiruzen would likely lead to unforeseen complications.
However, he was aware that it would be challenging to conceal it from Hiruzen's ANBU, as Mu Yue also had her duties at the Ninja Academy. If she were to come to Root for training, it would have to be at night, and such frequent comings and goings would easily arouse suspicion.
"I guess I have no choice but to talk to Hiruzen," Danzo concluded after weighing the pros and cons, deciding that negotiating with the Fire Shadow was the best option.
Conducting the training in secret risked exposure, and if they were discovered, not only would Mu Yue's value as a hidden card be lost, but he might also be accused of violating regulations, giving Hiruzen an excuse to further weaken Root.
Danzo had high hopes for Mu Yue's future, believing that she could become a solid pillar of support for him. To have her potential wasted due to such a matter would be a shame.
The next morning, Danzo strode into the Fire Shadow's office in the Hokage Building.
Without bothering to knock, he pushed the door open.
"You seem to be in a hurry," Hiruzen remarked, looking up from the documents he was perusing. "Is something the matter?"
Having reprimanded Danzo numerous times recently, he chose to overlook his old classmate and assistant's lack of manners this time.
After all, Danzo was still his longtime associate and advisor, and occasional lapses in etiquette could be tolerated, though not on a daily basis.
"As you know, the Root Organization has suffered significant losses of talented members in order to gain more advantages for Konoha on the battlefield," Danzo began, opting to play the victim first instead of stating his purpose outright.
Hiruzen said nothing but stuffed his pipe with tobacco and took a long drag, exhaling a cloud of white smoke. "Haven't you already infused new blood into Root?"
Hiruzen knew Danzo wasn't lying but was exaggerating the facts. Nonetheless, he had no intention of agreeing to Root's expansion.
The Root Organization had already grown into a force almost as powerful as the ANBU, and Hiruzen would never tolerate such a powerful faction within Konoha if it weren't led by Danzo.
After all, the ANBU were directly under the Fire Shadow's command, while Root was not.
"Yes, we have recruited new members, but they cannot compare to the exceptional Root members who perished," Danzo said, his eyes fixed on Hiruzen's. "This has weakened Root's strength and impacted their performance in various tasks."
Danzo's gaze seemed to convey that Root had shed blood and endured injuries for Konoha, and he was asking if Hiruzen couldn't be more lenient with them.
Hiruzen remained silent, simply holding Danzo's gaze.
He believed he had already granted Danzo and Root more than enough leeway and didn't feel any sense of indebtedness.
"I need to call upon Mu Yue to help train the new Root members," Danzo said, his voice cold and his fist clenched. "Root needs someone with her outstanding teaching abilities."
Hiruzen didn't respond immediately. He removed his pipe and tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.
Letting Mu Yue return to Root was out of the question, as her presence would significantly bolster their strength.
After a moment, Hiruzen spoke. "Mu Yue can provide training for Root members, but it has to be a short-term arrangement, and she'll need to work alongside the ANBU."
"Since we're on the topic of training, the ANBU have also taken in some new recruits recently. It would be beneficial to train them together," Hiruzen added, curious to see if Mu Yue could replicate her teaching prowess from the Ninja Academy with more seasoned ninjas.
Danzo was about to say something, but Hiruzen cut him off.
"Don't forget the original purpose of the Root Organization, Danzo," Hiruzen said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Danzo fell silent, unable to refute Hiruzen's statement, as he had established Root with the stated goal of training ANBU ninjas.
The two men then discussed the specifics of the training arrangement, with Danzo maintaining a stony expression throughout, as if Hiruzen owed him millions of ryo.
Only after leaving the Fire Shadow's office did Danzo's expression soften.
As the leader of Root, Danzo was confident in his acting skills, and most of his performance in the Fire Shadow's office had been a charade designed to make Hiruzen feel guilty.
Despite a minor hiccup, Danzo considered his primary objective achieved, and he felt it had been a worthwhile endeavor.
In truth, Danzo was aware of the reason behind Hiruzen's consistent rejection of his proposals.
However, he believed the fault lay not with him but with Hiruzen, who, in his opinion, should have trusted him more, given his unwavering dedication to Konoha. A stronger Root would only benefit the village, he reasoned.
Considering Mu Yue's busy schedule at the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen decided to visit her after school hours.
Knock, knock!
Soon, rapid knocks sounded on the door of the Fire Shadow's office.
"Come in," Hiruzen called out after taking a sip of hot tea.
Mu Yue, who had been waiting outside, immediately pushed the door open and greeted Hiruzen respectfully.
Hiruzen responded with a warm nod.
"The ANBU and Root have both taken in new members recently," Hiruzen said without preamble. "I want you to provide special training to enhance their abilities. As for your classes at the Ninja Academy, I'll arrange for other teachers to cover for you."
Mu Yue feigned surprise and said, "The ANBU and Root are both elite forces, and I'm not sure how much I can teach them."
"Don't be modest, Mu Yue," Hiruzen said, exuding trust. "Your teaching abilities are well-known, and I'm confident you'll do an excellent job."
"Thank you for your faith in me, Third Fire Shadow," Mu Yue said gratefully. "I will do my best to help them improve their strength."
"The ANBU and Root together..." On his way home, Mu Yue pondered the new task Hiruzen had assigned him.
This differed slightly from Danzo Shimura's expectations and seemed to be a result of compromise between the two sides.
However, for Mu Yue, this was a good thing. The more students he taught, and the higher their quality, the easier it would be to trigger better rewards from his system.
If it had only been some new members of Root, Mu Yue would have been concerned about not meeting the conditions. But with the two organizations combined, it wouldn't be as difficult.
Upon returning home, Mu Yue began thinking about the special training content. This was different from the Ninja School's holiday training. Those who made it into the ANBU or Root were at least elite among the Chunin, if not Jonin.
The title of Jonin in Konoha carried significant weight, and if one's abilities were too specialized, they might only achieve the rank of Special Jonin despite their strength.
This was Mu Yue's opportunity to prove his teaching capabilities. If he succeeded, his value as a teacher would be further amplified, and he would be held in higher regard, making his future actions more convenient.
If Mu Yue were to implement significant reforms at the Ninja School, Hiruzen wouldn't feel at ease unless Mu Yue had some impressive achievements to his name.
The two holiday training sessions that Mu Yue had led at the Ninja School had produced remarkable results, but when it came to his resume, the more impressive it looked, the better.
However, Mu Yue didn't pay too much attention to this. With his current knowledge of ninjutsu and his teaching skills, helping others improve their strength wasn't a difficult task.
The two most important things for Mu Yue at the moment were developing the Power Bank and learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The backup chakra could, to some extent, alleviate his slow chakra recovery. Once he ran out, he could just draw from the backup without needing to refine it again.
The Flying Thunder God Technique would give him the ability to move long distances in an instant, which could be useful in many situations.
Mu Yue spent 20 minutes outlining a rough plan before focusing his attention on studying sealing techniques.
After studying sealing techniques for two hours, Minato Namikaze arrived at Mu Yue's house to discuss ninjutsu with him. Mu Yue taught Minato the Flying Thunder God Technique, while Minato listened to Mu Yue's insights on the development of the Rasengan. It was only when it was almost time to sleep that Minato returned home.
After Minato left, Mu Yue briefly studied breathing techniques before going to bed. Before sleeping, he checked on the progress of his disciples' life tasks.
The rewards for the life tasks were quite generous. If any disciple was close to reaching a settlement node, Mu Yue would help them accelerate their progress, just as he had done with Obito.
Mu Yue reviewed the life tasks of all his disciples and found that Obito had the highest progress, having already settled once.
Next was Might Guy, and to Mu Yue's surprise, his progress had reached 9.4%, just 0.6% away from another settlement.
In third place was Itachi, but his progress was quite low and couldn't compare to Obito and Guy.
In last place was Kakashi, the only one with zero progress. However, Kakashi's task was a bit unique, and Mu Yue couldn't say for sure who would settle first between him and Itachi.
"If he can open the fourth gate of the Eight Inner Gates in a normal state, then increasing by 0.6% shouldn't be a problem," Mu Yue thought.
Based on the life task's growth rate at different periods, Mu Yue identified the key factors for Guy's life task progress – strength and fame.
Progress would increase with improvements in strength, and the same was true for gains in fame. For example, during the third round of the Chunin Exams, with many spectators and Guy's impressive performance, his life task progress had increased significantly after the battle.
However, according to Mu Yue's records, the progress gained from improvements in strength was generally much higher than that from gains in fame.
If it was just a matter of 0.1% or 0.2%, Mu Yue might have had Guy take on some showy missions to quickly complete the task.
But for 0.6%, Mu Yue felt that training Guy to open the fourth gate would be faster, and Guy wasn't far from achieving that.
The next day, Mu Yue communicated with Kurenai Yuhi to have Guy temporarily leave his team for the special training.
However, Mu Yue always treated his disciples fairly, and he wouldn't single anyone out for special treatment.
"You guys might have to endure some hardship for a while. The upcoming training will be a bit challenging," Mu Yue said with a gentle smile.
"That's what youth is for! Training hard!" Guy exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up and laughing heartily.
The more difficult the training, the more excited Guy became, as each challenge was a step towards becoming the strongest.
Upon hearing Mu Yue's words, Obito's face paled, sensing that something unpleasant was coming.
Mu Yue rarely commented on the difficulty of training. When he did, it meant that the training would indeed be very challenging, like the previous breathing technique training for the regular ninja course.
That regular ninja course training was the most terrifying experience Obito had ever had. For the first time in his life, Obito could fall asleep standing up, and on top of the exhaustion, there were also the academic tests, which he found torturous.
Kakashi's expression turned solemn as he, too, recalled the previous breathing technique training.
Itachi's expression remained unchanged. More challenging training usually meant greater gains, and he saw this as an opportunity to overtake the others.
Shizune sensed that the atmosphere was a little unusual, but she didn't understand why. Mu Yue didn't explain further, so she dismissed it as nothing more than a difficult training session.
As if sensing Shizune's thoughts, Obito looked at her with pity.
"Such a naive child. She has no idea what she's about to face," Obito sighed.
Smack! Mu Yue's fingers accurately tapped Obito's forehead.
After a quick punishment for Obito's antics, Mu Yue swiftly began arranging the training schedule.
This special training aimed to address each disciple's unique characteristics and provide personalized training.
Guy had to be able to open the fourth gate, Kakashi had to master the Transparent World perfectly, and Obito had to achieve the Fire Chakra Mode of the Breath of Fire...
Mu Yue's approach was to help his disciples convert their foundation into strength, thereby increasing their combat power.
Although Shizune was an exchange student, she was still considered half a disciple, so Mu Yue included her in the training as well.
At the beginning, Shizune was puzzled but smiled politely. However, once the training started, she began to miss the days of learning under Tsunade.
Although Tsunade often had her do chores, Shizune felt that compared to training, doing chores for a day wasn't that tiring.
"This must be how Sakura has been training all this time. No wonder she's become so strong," Shizune thought, her image of Sakura Haruno becoming more well-rounded.
"I must not give up. When Tsunade-sama checks my cultivation progress, she'll surely be amazed," Shizune motivated herself.
(End of Chapter)
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