Chapter 376: Mission Privilege
Chapter 376: Mission Privilege
"So fast! Even if I saw it coming, I wouldn't have time to react," thought Itachi as he quickly climbed to his feet.
He wasn't surprised, though. After all, this was Mu Yue, and she had already held back considerably. If she went all out, Itachi suspected he wouldn't even be able to see her movements.
"In that case, I'll have to maintain a high speed for an extended period," Itachi thought, not giving up but instead contemplating a counterstrategy.
While it was impossible for him to truly defeat Mu Yue, he only needed to complete the training exercise, which he believed was still achievable.
Mu Yue would undoubtedly hold back to some extent and give them opportunities to succeed; otherwise, with her Rock Breathing, Transcendent Breath, and All-Seeing World, how could they even get close? If they could seize the chances she offered, they might just be able to complete the training.
After knocking Itachi back, Mu Yue didn't pursue him. Instead, she smiled at Shizune and said, "Why don't you give it a try? Even if you're not aiming for the reward, it'll be good for gaining some practical combat experience."
Shizune glanced at Itachi and Anko before hesitating for a moment. Finally, she stepped forward, using the Basic Breathing technique and assuming a taijutsu stance.
Both of her teammates had taken a beating, and she didn't want to seem out of place by not joining in.
With a serious expression, Shizune focused on Mu Yue and exhaled sharply, throwing a left hook at her.
She knew she had no chance of getting the bell, especially since Itachi, who was far stronger than her, had been swiftly defeated.
But Shizune wasn't one to slack off just because failure was inevitable. Just as she always tried to persuade Tsunade not to drink herself into a stupor, she knew Tsunade wouldn't listen, but one had to try regardless.
Mu Yue reached out to grab Shizune's fist, but her left hook was a feint. The chakra that had gathered in her leg erupted as she kicked out with a graceful spiral kick.
However, in Mu Yue's eyes, Shizune's speed was painfully slow. Mu Yue blocked the spiral kick with her right hand and, in a swift motion, sent Shizune flying as well.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Kick!"
Itachi, who had been waiting for an opportunity since he got up, immediately gathered his chakra and spat out a large amount of fire, followed by a barrage of shuriken.
Swoosh! Swoosh!!
Each shuriken was imbued with a ball of fire as they sped toward Mu Yue.
The Phoenix Flower Kick was much faster than a Fireball Jutsu, and Mu Yue showed his respect by dodging to the side instead of trying to block it directly.
Boom! Boom!!
The fiery shuriken exploded on impact with the ground, charring the earth.
"What a powerful fire jutsu," Anko exclaimed as she witnessed the might of Itachi's Phoenix Flower Kick and the destruction it wrought. She thought of her own Small Fireball Jutsu, and the gap between their strengths seemed immense.
The difference between her, the second-best student of the year, and Itachi, the top student, might even be wider than the gap between her and the worst student in the class.
Anko was genuinely curious about Itachi's training methods. They all had two eyes, two ears, and one nose, so how did he manage to surpass everyone else so dramatically?
"Oh, that's right. Itachi's eyes can turn red," Anko suddenly remembered. Perhaps there was something inherently different about Itachi; regular people's eyes wouldn't turn red like that, no matter how sleep-deprived they were.
"Illusionary Flash!"
Itachi swiftly performed a series of hand seals, and over twenty afterimages of himself appeared on the field, all running around Mu Yue at high speed.
Mu Yue didn't use his Byakugan or All-Seeing World. Instead, he remained still, waiting for Itachi's next move.
Suddenly, one of the Itachi afterimages charged at Mu Yue from the front.
Mu Yue casually slashed the air with his left hand, sending a blast of chakra that instantly hit the approaching afterimage, causing it to dissipate like an illusion.
Mu Yue wasn't surprised. Who would run in circles only to attack from the front? It was clearly a decoy.
As Mu Yue expected, just as he waved his hand, the Itachi on the left side of the training field flashed toward him, aiming for his waist.
Sizzle! Sizzle!!
Mu Yue's right hand erupted with dazzling purple electricity, which then split into multiple currents, rushing toward the attacking Itachi.
Crackle! Crackle!!
The Itachi charging from the side instantly dissipated upon contact with the electricity, and due to the wide coverage of the attack, several nearby afterimages vanished as well.
Seeing Mu Yue's Lightning Style, another Itachi pounced from the right side.
Bang!
Mu Yue, sensing the movement, slashed his right hand to the side, and the charging Itachi turned into smoke—this time, it was a Shadow Clone.
"Now's my chance!"
The real Itachi, who had been moving constantly, narrowed his eyes. He instructed the remaining Shadow Clone and afterimages to create a final distraction while he gathered his chakra, preparing to move at top speed to seize the bell while Mu Yue was occupied.
"Amazing!" Anko exclaimed as she watched the dizzying battle unfold. She felt like buying some dango to eat while enjoying the show; it was too exciting.
Just as Anko thought Itachi would succeed, Mu Yue appeared beside him when Itachi's finger was less than three centimeters away from the bell, sending him flying once again.
"If you were just a little faster, you might have made it," Mu Yue said with a gentle smile of encouragement.
The gap between their abilities was too wide, and it stifled Itachi's motivation. It was like saving up for a house; with a monthly income of over ten thousand, one might have some hope. But with an income of four to five thousand, it was hopeless.
"Since I can't deceive you, it's time to show my true strength!" Anko declared, puffing out her chest and marching toward Mu Yue with her head held high.
Shizune looked at her with confusion. Seeing how even Itachi had lost, she wondered where Anko's confidence came from. Did she have some hidden power that she hadn't revealed until now?
"This jutsu is incredibly powerful. Even a strong opponent like you, Teacher Mu Yue, might not be able to withstand it. If you don't believe me, come closer and experience it for yourself," Anko said with feigned seriousness as she continued walking toward Mu Yue with confident strides.
"In that case, I'd like to see just how terrifying it is," Mu Yue replied with a smile, allowing Anko to approach him.
If it had been Obito, he might have been fooled by Anko's act. But Mu Yue was her homeroom teacher, and he knew her tricks well.
"Hmph, then watch closely, Teacher Mu Yue!" Anko said, her hands moving swiftly through a series of hand seals.
"Genjutsu: Seduction Technique!"
Bang! Bang!!
Several puffs of smoke appeared, and out stepped several adult versions of Anko, wearing fishnet stockings and black silk outfits.
"If I succeed this time, I'll treat you all to dango," Anko thought excitedly as she gazed at the bell, which was now within reach.
Although the technique was ineffective against female ninjas, Anko recalled that it had a peculiar effect on male ninjas, thanks to her brothers' modifications.
And so, Anko devised a plan: she would use an excuse to get close to Mu Yue, then use the Seduction Technique to distract him and finally snatch the bell.
Slap!
Faster than Anko's palm reaching for the bell was Mu Yue's finger, which tapped her on the forehead.
Mu Yue tapped his index and middle fingers together and said, "This isn't terrifying at all."
He wasn't a perverted teacher like Iruka or Hiruzen; such a technique wouldn't work on him.
Shizune: ...
She never expected that Anko, who seemed rather cute, would be so quick to judge.
Whether it was her confident approach or the ninjutsu she used later, even someone as quiet as Shizune couldn't help but want to point out the flaws.
Kakashi, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised.
Although his physical body was in the South Border Forest for training, he always sent a shadow clone to class, and when the clone dissipated, its memories would return to him. So, he considered himself to have been classmates with Anko for almost two years and knew her well.
Anko was usually bold and unbothered by others' opinions. Kakashi wasn't surprised by any of her actions.
After a short rest, Kakashi began another round of attempting to grab the bell.
Shizune and Anko, aware of their insufficient strength for direct combat, did their best to think of ways to snatch Mu Yue's bell.
However, whether they fought individually or teamed up, with Kakashi creating opportunities, they still failed to grab the bell from Mu Yue's waist.
As the sun gradually moved westward, the sky darkened from morning to evening, and by nightfall, no one had completed the training.
"Everyone has worked hard today. Let's call it a day. Tomorrow, I'll take you on a mission," Mu Yue announced, bringing the first day of the internship to a close.
Mu Yue wasn't surprised by this outcome.
Kakashi had joined the internship with a purpose—to graduate early and improve his strength.
To help Kakashi feel a sense of pressure and promote better growth, Mu Yue intended to challenge him from the start. This training was designed so that unless Kakashi made a breakthrough, completing it would be impossible.
The next day, the four of them assembled at the training field before heading to the Hokage Building together.
"Teacher Mu Yue, what kind of mission are we going on? I hope it's not fighting enemy village ninjas. I think that's a bit too early for us. Are there any ordinary bandit suppression missions?" Anko asked curiously on their way.
"Rest assured, I won't let you fight ninjas just yet," Mu Yue replied with a faint smile.
When they arrived at the mission registration desk in the Hokage Building, Anko was taken aback. It was indeed safer than she had imagined, but too safe.
"Why are all these missions about moving things and picking up trash? Are these really ninja missions?" Anko scoffed as she looked at the D-rank missions.
"These are designed with the safety of intern ninjas and recent graduates in mind," the registering ninja explained briefly.
Anko scratched her head, feeling relieved that the pay wasn't too bad, with each mission offering about five thousand ryo.
Subsequently, Mu Yue led Anko's team on a speed-clearing spree, completing 20 D-rank missions in a single day.
The standard internship wouldn't be enough to satisfy the growth needs of her team, so Mu Yue needed to obtain the same privileges as the last time.
However, to gain privileges, they first had to demonstrate their strength; otherwise, they would be breaking the rules of Konoha.
Over the next week, Mu Yue alternated between missions and training—a mission on Tuesday followed by training on Wednesday and another mission on Thursday.
Apart from the bell-grabbing exercise on the first day, the rest of the time was spent on regular training, with Mu Yue teaching ninjutsu and taijutsu.
Mu Yue planned to conduct the bell-grabbing exercise once every three weeks. After all, they couldn't possibly make a breakthrough every day.
During this period, Mu Yue also taught the completed Wind Breathing to Asuma. Having practiced the Basic Breathing for several months, Asuma picked up Wind Breathing relatively quickly, similar to when he learned Water Breathing from Yahiko.
Witnessing the wonders of Wind Breathing, Asuma couldn't contain his excitement.
"I knew you were the most talented ninja, Teacher Mu Yue. The old man calls himself a jutsu professor, but his jutsu can't compare to Wind Breathing," Asuma said proudly.
Asuma had thought that Basic Breathing was already amazing, as it enhanced his body and accelerated his chakra growth.
But after learning Wind Breathing, he realized that Basic Breathing was just the foundation.
Wind Breathing almost shattered Asuma's understanding of ninjutsu. He never imagined there could be such a technique that strengthened the Wind Release nature and amplified wind-style jutsu. Moreover, upon reaching a certain level, one could enter the Wind Breathing Chakra Mode and release all wind-style jutsu without hand seals.
"The Third Hokage's forte is different from mine. He excels more in combining jutsu," Mu Yue explained with a shake of his head.
While the breathing technique was powerful, the Five Nature Transformation jutsu of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, was also formidable.
Before teaching Wind Breathing to Asuma, Mu Yue had been straightforward, telling him that it was a secret technique she had developed through hard work. If Asuma wanted to teach it to someone else, he must first inform her.
Asuma didn't feel anything special about this condition, given the power and profundity of the technique.
When Asuma had previously learned the Fire Release secret technique of the Sarutobi clan, he had also been warned. However, he felt that the Fire Release secret technique paled in comparison to Wind Breathing.
Another noteworthy event was the sudden increase in Obito's mission progress.
Combining the chakra reward hints from Obito and Kakashi's completed missions with the fact that he still couldn't sense the Flying Thunder God Technique, Mu Yue deduced that Minato was taking Obito and Kakashi on missions to the battlefield, where Obito's performance had been impressive, hence the rapid increase in mission progress.
To become the Hokage, one needed three things: strength, merit, and reputation.
Merit and reputation could be gradually accumulated through missions, and the battlefield provided the ideal environment for this.
Mu Yue made a rough estimate. If the current rate of increase continued, Obito's mission progress would reach 20% in about four months.
In the second week, as Mu Yue's team swiftly cleared D-rank missions, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, eventually granted them permission to take on C-rank missions in advance.
"A capable team like yours should shoulder greater responsibilities," Hiruzen said with a benevolent smile.
While the words sounded pleasant, the truth was that if Mu Yue's team continued at this pace, the other intern teams would have no missions left to take.
"Hooray! We don't have to do odd jobs anymore. Hokage-sama, you truly have an eye for talent!" Anko cheered, giving Hiruzen a thumbs-up.
A faint smile appeared on Kakashi's face. Doing only D-rank missions wouldn't provide the kind of growth he desired, comparable to that of Might Guy and his team. They needed to leave the village for more challenging tasks.
After thanking Hiruzen, Mu Yue began to select their mission.
Choosing a mission was a skill in itself. Mu Yue had to pick one that was likely to have unexpected developments but wouldn't present challenges beyond her capabilities.
It should be close to a war zone but not in the middle of the battlefield, and there shouldn't be any powerful ninjas lurking about.
"The northern part of the River Country..." Mu Yue spotted a suitable mission to subjugate mountain bandits.
(End of Chapter)
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