https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-476-The-Sharingan-that-Painted-the-Transparent-World-Crimson/12558660/
Chapter 475: Who is Konoha's Top Young Ninja?
Chapter 475: Who is Konoha's Top Young Ninja?
Around noon, Minato Namikaze, just as he had done previously, packed a meal and left the Mu Yue household, heading towards the Sealing Techniques House where Kushina Uzumaki was located.
Unexpectedly, this return to a long-lost routine brought a sense of relief to Minato.
Even for a seasoned shinobi like him, prolonged stays on the battlefield could be oppressive.
Upon Minato's arrival, the ANBU agents responsible for protecting Kushina chose to ignore him.
Given Minato's relationship with Kushina, he had the clearance to enter this special area.
Minato offered a slight smile and greeted the ANBU agents when he noticed them.
Although Kushina disliked the ANBU, who were supposed to protect but ended up monitoring her, Minato understood that they were just following the village's orders.
The Bijuu's destructive power was terrifying, and in the event of an accident, its power could pose a significant crisis for Konoha. Thus, these security measures were necessary.
The two ANBU agents nodded in response to Minato's greeting and returned his smile. After all, the person greeting them was none other than Konoha's newest powerhouse, the Yellow Flash.
"What time is it? Why isn't it lunchtime yet? Who decided that we should have three meals a day instead of six?" Kushina's continuous complaints could be heard from inside the room even before Minato knocked on the door.
Minato smiled wryly and knocked on the door.
"Is it food delivery? Why is it so slow? Can't you be faster next time...?" Kushina was about to complain about the ANBU as well, but when she opened the door, she was surprised to see that it was Minato.
Kushina's eyes lit up at the sight of the lunch box in Minato's hand. "You're back, Minato! Your timing is perfect. I'm starving."
Kushina quickly took the lunch box from him and laid out the food on the table in the room.
With her movements restricted and living under the constant gaze of the ANBU, Kushina looked forward to mealtimes as one of the few things that brought her happiness, especially when it came to Mu Yue's cooking.
Of course, by "meals," she specifically meant Mu Yue's culinary creations.
Minato understood Kushina's feelings, which was why he had rushed back the night before.
Without exchanging any words, the two of them immersed themselves in their lunch, only looking up at each other when they were done eating.
Kushina casually wiped the oil stains from the corners of her mouth with a paper towel, her delicate fingers stroking her chin as she studied Minato's face.
Noticing her gaze, Minato wondered if he had something on his face and subconsciously reached up to touch it, but found nothing.
"Kushina, what are you looking at?" Minato asked, perplexed.
"Your face, of course," Kushina replied matter-of-factly.
Minato: ...
He suddenly felt like he had wasted half a minute of his life.
"Actually, I was thinking that if you wore black-rimmed glasses, your cooking skills might improve," Kushina said, gesturing at Minato's face.
Minato sighed. "Even if you think that, Kushina, it's impossible for my cooking skills to match Mu Yue's."
Minato had once considered learning Mu Yue's cooking, and he had even taken the first step by asking Mu Yue to teach him.
Under Mu Yue's guidance, his culinary skills had indeed improved significantly, but compared to Mu Yue, he could only look up in admiration, akin to gazing at a towering mountain.
"Hehe, I was just joking. How could that ever happen?" Kushina chuckled.
"Minato, did you know that Mu Yue has gained quite a reputation lately? They've given him the title of 'Solar Mu Yue,' and many people are discussing whether you or he is the strongest among the young generation of Konoha ninjas."
Minato nodded. Konoha had heavily publicized Mu Yue and Orochimaru's great victory on the Eastern Front, largely to boost morale. So even on another battlefield, Minato had heard about Mu Yue's achievements on the Eastern Front.
"Minato, have you ever fought Mu Yue? Which one of you is stronger?" Kushina's inner gossip monger was ignited.
On one hand, there was a good friend, and on the other, her future husband. Both had many similarities, and Kushina was incredibly curious as to who was truly the strongest.
If it had been before, Kushina would have thought it was Minato.
Not because of any bias towards her future husband, but because Minato's strength was indeed formidable.
Although Minato had risen to fame in the ninja world only after participating in wars for some time, Kushina was well aware that Minato had always been strong. It was just that the rigors of war had made him even stronger, and his reputation had skyrocketed as a result.
As for Mu Yue, before he went to the Eastern Front, Kushina had never even heard of him defeating any enemies, nor had she seen him in action. Therefore, she would have undoubtedly considered Minato the stronger of the two.
"I haven't fought Mu Yue before, so I can't say for sure," Minato replied with a shake of his head.
If Minato had been present during Mu Yue's battle on the Eastern Front, he might have been able to deduce the outcome of their clash.
However, Minato had only witnessed Mu Yue fight once, and that was two years ago when they had fought together against a jinchuriki in the Grass Country.
Clearly, Mu Yue had made rapid progress in the last two years, so the strength he displayed in the Grass Country could not represent his current power.
"But Mu Yue and I will be having a sparring match soon. I'll tell you the result after we're done," Minato said after a moment's thought.
Kushina's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Where will you be fighting? I want to watch."
"Don't even think about it. It's not possible," Minato said, his eyes darting subtly towards the door.
Currently, the largest area that Kushina could move around in was the large barrier set up in the heart of Konoha's main district. Until Kushina could completely suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra, she couldn't step out of the barrier.
Minato and Mu Yue were both high-level ninjas, and it was out of the question for them to fight within the city. Otherwise, their battle might be halted by the ANBU or the Uchiha clan, and even if it wasn't, the destruction caused would likely bankrupt them both.
With Minato's reminder, Kushina quickly understood, and her face fell, a clear look of displeasure on her features as she pouted.
"Everything is always a 'no' with you. It's so annoying," Kushina grumbled, her cheeks puffed out as she sat on the bed.
"There's no other way. The Third Hokage and the others are just looking out for your well-being," Minato said gently, running his hand through her vibrant red hair as he stood by her side.
"I'll do my best to describe the battle to you afterward."
Hearing this, Kushina's expression softened a little.
Minato then shared some amusing stories with Kushina about his interactions with Mu Yue as his disciple.
"Why is Obito only increasing in strength and nothing else?" Kushina asked, her voice loud with derision.
Kushina had met Minato's three disciples, even though she couldn't leave the barrier. Obito, Kakashi, and the others could come to visit her.
However, due to various inconveniences, Kushina hadn't met with them often, and her impressions of them were mostly based on Minato's stories.
After spending half an hour with Kushina, Minato bid her farewell.
He had been busy lately, which was why he had only been able to visit her during lunchtime. He had been occupied with various matters in the morning.
...
In the afternoon, a member of the ANBU approached Mu Yue.
"Lieutenant Husher, I'm here to escort you to the ANBU headquarters to collect some essential items for ANBU members," the masked ninja explained, his face hidden behind a cat-faced mask.
Although Mu Yue's position had a somewhat honorary feel to it, he was still officially part of the ANBU, and there were certain procedures to follow.
Mu Yue nodded and followed the ninja.
He was actually a shadow clone, but collecting these items was a minor task that didn't require the involvement of his original body.
As they entered the ANBU base, Tobirama removed his cat-faced mask and greeted Mu Yue again, "Teacher Mu Yue, my apologies. I was on a mission on the way here, so I couldn't remove my mask."
The ANBU had strict rules, and under normal circumstances, they had to wear their masks while on duty.
Even though Tobirama had been trained by Mu Yue and held him in high regard, he didn't reveal his identity until they reached the ANBU base.
"I understand. After all, you're part of the ANBU," Mu Yue replied with a faint smile.
In truth, Mu Yue recognized Tobirama at first glance. Even though shadow clones couldn't use Identification Techniques, Mu Yue remembered everyone he had taught, and he could identify Tobirama by his physique alone.
As they proceeded, Mu Yue encountered many ANBU members who greeted him.
However, not all of them had been trained by Mu Yue; some had only heard of his exploits. After all, during his previous stint with the ANBU, Mu Yue had only instructed fifteen members, with the other fifteen being Root members.
Although Mu Yue encountered numerous ANBU ninjas, he didn't come across any of the important characters from the original story.
Since the familiar ANBU members from the original story weren't yet part of the organization, it was natural that he didn't recognize anyone.
After collecting the items, Tobita Kenji led Mu Yue to the ANBU captain's office.
"Lieutenant Husher, please take a seat," the ANBU captain said with a kind expression.
Mu Yue didn't hesitate and sat in one of the two chairs in the office.
Tobita Kenji then took the initiative to leave the office and closed the door behind him.
"Allow me to introduce myself first, as I don't have a reputation like yours, Lieutenant Husher," the ANBU captain said amiably.
"I am Sarutobi, the captain of the ANBU."
Looking at Sarutobi's face and considering his surname, Mu Yue vaguely guessed his identity.
"Lieutenant Husher, I've long admired you, and I'm glad we finally have the chance to chat today," Sarutobi said with a smile.
Even before Mu Yue gained fame for his battlefield exploits, Sarutobi had heard endless praise for him from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Sarutobi Asuma.
In his father's eyes, Mu Yue was a super genius and the most suitable ninja to inherit his legacy, while in his younger brother's eyes, he was an unparalleled teacher and a perfect person without flaws.
Sarutobi could understand Asuma's admiration, as Hiruzen was a strict teacher, and it was only natural for Asuma to like and admire Mu Yue, who was both strong and approachable.
However, Sarutobi felt a little uncomfortable with Hiruzen's attitude, as he often compared him to Mu Yue, making Mu Yue seem like the more successful child.
Initially, Sarutobi felt a bit unresigned to this comparison, as he was also an ANBU captain and part of the ANBU leadership.
Now, however, he had to admit that Mu Yue, as one of the key contributors to the temporary cessation of hostilities on the Eastern Front, was indeed more accomplished than him.
"Here is the list of participants for this training session, along with their profiles. Including the Root members, there are a total of forty people, consisting of twenty-five ANBU ninjas and fifteen Root ninjas," Sarutobi said as he handed the documents to Mu Yue.
Since Root was nominally a subordinate organization of the ANBU, their information was submitted to the ANBU first, and then passed on to Mu Yue.
After taking the documents, Mu Yue quickly browsed through them. Half of the forty participants had undergone training in the previous session, while the other half were new.
Mu Yue guessed that the Third Hokage wanted some of them to master the Hand Seals of Darkness thoroughly, with the secondary goal of popularizing the technique among the group.
After all, the former would accelerate the progress of the latter.
"Lieutenant Husher, how is your training plan coming along? Can you give us a sneak peek?" Sarutobi asked curiously.
The last time Mu Yue trained the ANBU members, the results were astonishing. In just two and a half months, he helped fifteen ANBU ninjas improve their overall strength.
While Sarutobi wasn't clear about the progress of the Root ninjas, he knew that the fifteen ANBU ninjas who underwent Mu Yue's training performed exceptionally well afterward.
"For now, I've only finalized the new technique for the Hand Seals of Darkness. The rest is still under consideration," Mu Yue replied after some thought.
For this training session, he intended to focus on breathing techniques and nature transformations, primarily because he had two goals: to develop the Yang Breath and to improve his proficiency in Wood Release.
The development of the Yang Breath was the most critical, as he needed the "Intermediate Lecture S-Rank Evaluation" reward to enhance his understanding of the "Improve Lecture Content" skill.
"You've even created a new technique for the Hand Seals of Darkness. I'm so envious that I want to join the training myself," Sarutobi said half-jokingly.
He had tried to cultivate the Hand Seals of Darkness using the method Mu Yue provided, and while he could be considered successful, his proficiency was lacking.
Mu Yue smiled but remained silent, as he wouldn't dare to teach Sarutobi if he came to the training.
As the captain of the ANBU, Sarutobi's strength was undoubtedly that of an elite Jonin, and he would be a very qualified student.
The two didn't chat for long before Sarutobi had to leave the office for another matter. Mu Yue's shadow clone didn't linger either and soon left the ANBU base.
After traveling some distance from the base, the shadow clone dispelled itself, sending its memories back to Mu Yue's main body in the Southern Forest.
PS: Regarding Hiruzen Sarutobi's eldest son, some say his name is Sarutobi Shinobu, but I couldn't find the original source for this, so I've taken the liberty of creating a name for him.
Also, there will be another chapter coming soon!
(End of Chapter)
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