Chapter 580: The Second Mokuton Ninja?
Chapter 580: The Second Mokuton Ninja?
"It was also a coincidence that we managed to capture the Iwagakure spy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to achieve victory with our smaller numbers." Mu Yue replied humbly.
"It's not a coincidence, Mu Yue. It's a testament to your abilities," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile as he put down the documents in his hands.
"If it weren't for your ability to discern malicious ninjutsu, Mu Yue, it wouldn't have been a simple victory. Instead, we would have suffered another major defeat."
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi had not expected that there would still be transformation techniques in the ninja world that could evade the detection of sensory ninjas before Mu Yue uncovered the "Iwagakure spies."
It would not have been merely a defeat; the presence of spies with various identities would have caused widespread panic and distrust.
If a spy were found in another clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi might have simply conducted an investigation, but if the Uchiha clan were involved, he would undoubtedly suspect them of plotting a coup in league with other ninja villages.
When it came to the Uchiha, all of Konoha's high-ranking officials were skeptical, given their history.
"You're right, Third Hokage. Without the Byakugan, it's challenging to guard against Iwagakure's spies. I think we should select some ninjas with perceptive talents and teach them the Byakugan," Mu Yue said, taking the opportunity to steer the conversation toward the topic of the Iwagakure spies.
"With only me possessing the Byakugan, it's difficult to keep an eye on too many places."
Since he was going to teach it anyway, he might as well take the initiative and save face for everyone involved.
"Your concern is reasonable, Mu Yue, but it will be a great burden on you," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his smile growing warmer.
He was very pleased with Mu Yue's performance.
"As expected, Mu Yue is a ninja with the Will of Fire," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself.
Mu Yue had an exceptional sense of the big picture and took the initiative without needing any prompting from him.
It wasn't that he coveted Mu Yue's ninjutsu; the Byakugan was genuinely crucial for Konoha.
If Mu Yue hadn't passed on the Byakugan and something unexpected had happened, resulting in his death on the battlefield, Konoha would have been left blind to Iwagakure's spies in the future.
"It's my duty as a Konoha ninja," Mu Yue replied solemnly.
"Not every Konoha ninja can make the same contribution as you, Mu Yue. Is there any ninjutsu that you're interested in?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile.
"As long as it doesn't involve certain taboo techniques, you can have anything you want from me."
This time, Mu Yue had not only made a great contribution but also proactively offered his self-developed sensory ninjutsu. As long as Mu Yue didn't choose something like the Reanimation Jutsu, an ultimate taboo technique, Hiruzen Sarutobi was willing to grant his request.
The Reanimation Jutsu was undeniably powerful, but it was inhumane, playing with the souls of the dead and requiring living sacrifices.
Unless Konoha was facing a life-or-death situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not allow anyone to research the Reanimation Jutsu.
"I want access to all the village's information on Mokuton ninjutsu," Mu Yue said, feigning contemplation before making his request.
He wanted to legitimize the source of his wood-style ninjutsu.
Currently, his persona was that of a ninjutsu prodigy who had surpassed Hiruzen Sarutobi, and with the precedent of him developing the ice-style, it wouldn't be too far-fetched for him to develop Mokuton as well.
Mu Yue's primary concern was Yamato; by bringing his Mokuton out into the open, it would be easier for Yamato to free himself from his current predicament.
With Mu Yue, a new generation's first Mokuton user, taking the spotlight, Yamato's existence would attract less attention and seem more plausible.
"Mokuton?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was a bit surprised. Mokuton ninjutsu required the Wood Release kekkei genkai to use.
"Could it be that Mu Yue..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled the origins of Mu Yue's ice-style ninjutsu.
Before completing the Snow Country mission, Mu Yue hadn't known ice-style ninjutsu, but after witnessing the snow secret technique similar to ice-style in the Snow Country, he had independently developed it.
"If it's Mu Yue, he might actually be able to do it," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought, considering Mu Yue's displayed talent.
If it were anyone else, even if Orochimaru himself came along, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have advised against wasting time.
But Mu Yue was different; he had successfully developed ice-style ninjutsu before.
"I want to see if I can learn from the experiences of my predecessors and develop Mokuton," Mu Yue replied honestly.
It was undeniable that establishing a persona was beneficial. If Mu Yue hadn't been set up as a genius, Konoha's higher-ups would likely have only two guesses about the source of his Mokuton: experimentation with Hashirama Senju's cells or an illegitimate child of the Senju clan.
"I'll have someone prepare the materials as soon as possible. Once they're gathered, the ANBU will deliver them to you," Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed.
"If you don't make any progress, don't get too discouraged. Focus on cultivating other abilities to continue strengthening yourself, and you can research Mokuton when you have more time in the future."
First, Mu Yue had only unlocked one Ice Release, and it could have been a coincidence.
Second, the only ninja who possessed Wood Release was the Ninja God, Senju Hashirama, and even his descendants were unable to awaken it. Subconsciously, the ninja of Konoha believed that Wood Release was superior and more powerful than other kekkei genkai.
As someone who had been through it all, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want Mu Yue to waste his prime training years obsessing over it.
In his opinion, even without Wood Release, Mu Yue was still the ninja genius who had surpassed him.
If Mu Yue continued to train for another decade, even without a kekkei genkai, he still had the potential to become the strongest in the ninja world.
It was just that if Mu Yue cultivated Wood Release, his potential would be even greater, and he might even become the second Ninja God.
"The second Ninja God is still an exaggeration. After all, his chakra is truly incomparable to that of mortals," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself, shaking his head.
Senju Hashirama's chakra, even within the Senju clan, was unmatched.
"Thank you for the reminder, Third Hokage," Mu Yue said gratefully.
"Are there any other jutsu you desire, Mu Yue?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile.
He wasn't offering Mu Yue a single choice, but rather, he was open to providing any jutsu that Mu Yue was interested in, within reason.
"I don't need anything else for now. I want to focus on researching Wood Release," Mu Yue replied.
Even for a genius, it would be excessive to ask for too much, and it was best to take things one step at a time.
Moreover, the jutsu that Mu Yue found interesting were mostly forbidden techniques like Impure World Reincarnation, which Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't allow him to learn.
"If you develop an interest in any other jutsu in the future, you can come to me. The village will be holding a memorial ceremony for the heroes who sacrificed themselves, and all the ninja in the village will be in attendance. You can use that opportunity to see if there are any hidden Rock ninja spies among them," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, bringing up the topic of rooting out the spy.
Standard sensory jutsu were ineffective against the Rock ninja spies, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other higher-ups felt uneasy unless Mu Yue inspected them personally.
Mu Yue nodded, indicating that he understood and would do so.
Then, Mu Yue proceeded to report some other matters regarding the battlefield.
As he was about to leave the Hokage's office, Mu Yue handed over a scroll containing the training methods for the Perception Observation jutsu to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Third Hokage, the Perception Observation jutsu is quite different from ordinary sensory jutsu, and it requires a certain level of proficiency to discern good from evil using this technique," Mu Yue explained.
Since he was leaving behind the complete version of the Perception Observation jutsu, Mu Yue felt it was necessary to clarify to avoid any misunderstandings due to the jutsu's complexity.
"I see," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his expression thoughtful.
After Mu Yue left, the curious Hiruzen Sarutobi unrolled the scroll Mu Yue had left behind.
As a jutsu instructor, he naturally had a good understanding of sensory jutsu.
"What a genius idea! This sensory jutsu can not only be used for reconnaissance but also provide great assistance in battle," Hiruzen Sarutobi marveled.
......
"Give me the latest issue of the Konoha News." Kakashi walked into his usual bookstore and pulled out a paper bill from his wallet.
The Konoha News, being the official newspaper of Konoha, could be found in most large bookstores in the village.
"Konoha's Ninja Might Shines! Frontline troops achieve a great victory over Iwagakure with a smaller force, defeating over 1,600 enemies!"
Kakashi's eyes immediately fell on the bold and striking headline as he picked up the newspaper.
He continued reading.
"Recently, Iwagakure Village, in pursuit of its evil invasion goals, has sent a large number of ninjas to assault our country's borders. The total number of ninjas they dispatched exceeds 2,000!"
"Compared to the Iwagakure ninja forces, our forces only had 1,200 ninjas, resulting in a significant disparity in numbers."
"Despite the overwhelming numerical disadvantage, under the leadership of Uzuki Muyu, our forces braved the challenges and embodied the Will of Fire, overcoming one difficulty after another. They successfully protected the Fire Nation and Konoha, putting the Will of Fire into action..."
"As expected, it was mainly led by Teacher Mu Yue," Kakashi thought, unsurprised.
Although Jiraiya and Mu Yue were both appointed as commanders by the Konoha higher-ups, it was only right to give credit where it was due.
Kakashi quickly finished reading the entire newspaper.
While the article focused on the battle that took place in the Grass Country, it didn't elaborate on the process. Instead, it emphasized how formidable the Konoha forces were and highlighted the exceptional leadership of their commander, Uzuki Muyu.
What surprised Kakashi was that they were mentioned again in the most inconspicuous corner of the newspaper.
Because this time it was a massive brawl, Kakashi and the others didn't use any chakra-draining techniques like the breathing method or Chakra Mode, so their performance on the battlefield wasn't particularly outstanding.
"It's probably because of Teacher Mu Yue," Kakashi said as he folded the newspaper.
In addition to the main content about Mu Yue, Namikaze Minato also occupied a significant portion of this issue of the Konoha Newspaper.
With the exceptional performance of their two teachers, and their own performances, which weren't outstanding but not bad either, it was only natural for them to get some mention.
After finishing the newspaper, Kakashi sped towards the Southern Border Forest.
When Kakashi arrived at the Southern Border Forest, he saw only Yamato and Might Guy.
However, not long after Kakashi's arrival, Itachi also appeared at the forest.
The others took a bit longer to arrive.
Obito showed up half an hour after Kakashi, and Yahiko even later, arriving fifty minutes after Kakashi.
If it had been before, Kakashi might have been interested in teasing Obito for his tardiness, but the current Kakashi didn't have the energy for such things.
This was because Kakashi had resorted to using Shadow Clone training.
Of course, with Kakashi's physical and chakra limits, he couldn't handle the backlash of maintaining multiple shadow clones.
So, Kakashi had his main body cultivate Lightning Release blade techniques while a shadow clone studied the Yang Seal from some materials.
Even so, when Kakashi canceled the shadow clone after a certain period, he still felt a noticeable sense of fatigue.
"But this level of fatigue is acceptable," Kakashi thought to himself.
The gains outweighed the tiredness, and he could endure it.
Kakashi wanted to learn the Yang Seal as soon as possible and improve his Lightning Release blade techniques, so he had to endure the hardship.
On the other side, after finishing his Fire Release training, Itachi and Obito swapped shadow clones to practice the Observation Eye.
Hu!
Obito's shadow clone showed no mercy, each punch and kick powerful and heavy, stirring up gust after gust of wind.
But Itachi, with his eyes closed, seemed to have rehearsed with Obito's shadow clone beforehand, as he dodged every single attack.
"Itachi, have you succeeded?" Obito's shadow clone asked in surprise.
Itachi shook his head. "Not exactly. I just have a bit of a feeling for it."
The reason he could dodge all the attacks was mainly that Obito's attacks were straightforward and loud.
"That's still impressive," Obito's shadow clone said, giving him a thumbs-up.
While the main body was getting pummeled, Itachi had already found his footing with the Observation Eye.
"Obito, you can make your attacks more compact and varied. I need higher intensity," Itachi said after some thought.
It seemed that his innate talent for Yin Release was even better than his Fire Release, and Itachi felt that he could also take the lead in the Observation Eye training just as he had with the Armed Eye.
When dinnertime came, the disciples returned to their respective homes for their evening meals.
After dinner, Obito chatted with his grandmother for a while before heading upstairs to his bedroom.
He then took out a book titled "100 Common Small Team Combat Tactics" from the bookshelf and began studying it earnestly at his desk.
After failing the written test of the Jonin exam, Obito had bought a bunch of books to improve himself.
But he hadn't lasted more than a few days before giving up.
And with his subsequent return to the battlefield and his promotion to Jonin through military exploits, he hadn't paid much attention to those books.
Recently, however, Obito had rekindled his desire to improve himself.
Even an exceptional ninja like Namikaze Minato had to strive to do his best to become the Hokage.
With his current abilities, if he didn't continue learning, how could he compete with others?
Losing to others was one thing, but if he lost to Kakashi in their competition, and Kakashi became the Hokage, Obito would be mortified.
That naturally evil white-haired guy would lord his authority over him if he became a captain, and it would be even worse if Kakashi became the Hokage.
PS:
The temperature has been soaring lately, and I caught a cold from overusing the air conditioning.
Fortunately, I wrote a portion of this yesterday, or I wouldn't have been able to maintain my daily update today.
For tomorrow, Xiao Ju will try her best not to take a break.
I haven't taken a day off this month yet, and I want to keep it that way until the end of the month.
(End of Chapter)
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