Trying Out a Training Task (Please Keep Reading)

Mu Yue first had Obito try Tree Climbing.

There were plenty of trees in the Konoha Eastern Border Forest. Trees over ten meters tall could be seen everywhere, and even taller ones were not uncommon.

Mu Yue casually pointed at a twenty-meter-tall tree and had Obito try gathering Chakra beneath his feet and climbing it.

Obito nodded, then took a deep breath, gathered Chakra beneath his feet, and rushed upward.

Obito charged up to around ten meters in one go, but his next step lost control of the Chakra. He left a footprint in the trunk and fell.

Mu Yue leaped up and caught Obito, nodding inwardly. Though he could not match Asuma's level, he was decent enough. At least he did not fall after only a few steps.

There was not much to say about this kind of training. It was simply a matter of persistent practice, with no special tricks involved.

After demonstrating several times, Mu Yue left behind a Shadow Clone to watch over Obito and let him practice on his own. His main body went to find Might Guy, who was training his physique.

Among Mu Yue's three disciples, Might Guy's training regimen was undoubtedly the most dull and tedious.

When Obito grew tired of taijutsu, he could cast a few Ninjutsu to change his mood. Might Guy, however, did nothing but practice the Konoha Hurricane and train his physique.

Training one's physique was not something that could be accomplished overnight. Even Mu Yue's Teaching Skill could do nothing about it.

His Teaching Skill could help Might Guy learn taijutsu faster and improve his taijutsu in less time, but it could not accelerate the effects of physical training.

The training effect gained from one push-up was still just that of one push-up.

When Mu Yue walked over to Might Guy, he was doing push-ups with a boulder nearly as large as himself strapped to his back.

"Guy, how is your Konoha Hurricane coming along?" Mu Yue asked.

He wanted to test the triggering conditions for Training Tasks, and Might Guy, whose Trust Level was also three like Obito's, was the best choice.

Hearing Mu Yue's words, Might Guy stopped moving, held his body steady, and replied, "It's a little faster than during the exam, but not fast enough."

After answering, Might Guy removed the boulder and rose to his feet. He then unleashed an incredibly swift Konoha Hurricane at a wooden post in the distance.

Mu Yue nodded. Compared to before, he had indeed improved somewhat. His kick was sharper and more decisive.

He must have gained something from fighting Hyuga Hamon.

Physical training could not show results so quickly. Improvements in physique took months at the very least.

"How do you think you can improve your strength?" Mu Yue asked, posing a question that left Might Guy confused.

"Training, of course," Might Guy immediately voiced what was on his mind.

He found Mu Yue's question rather strange. If one wanted to grow stronger, then one naturally had to train persistently.

Mu Yue shook his head and asked again, "Training can bring improvement, and it is the most important part of increasing strength. But are there any other methods?"

Might Guy scratched his head. Then he thought of his improved Konoha Hurricane and the Practical Exam held during every Ninja Academy test. In an instant, inspiration struck him. "Battle!"

"That's right. Battle is also an important part of becoming stronger. Through battle, you can better turn the results of your practice into your own strength." Mu Yue smiled.

"The battle I mean is not the kind of battle you had with Obito before. That was not a normal battle."

"If you want to improve, you must challenge the strong and fight the strong opponents you wish to challenge openly and fairly."

As he listened to Mu Yue, a person gradually appeared in Might Guy's mind.

That person had white hair, wore a mask every day, and was Konoha's famous super genius.

There was no second name that came to mind. It was Hatake Kakashi, the lifelong rival Might Guy had acknowledged!

Might Guy, whose strength had improved after studying under Mu Yue, had long wanted to challenge Kakashi. He had merely been holding himself back.

He had wanted to wait until he had completely mastered the taijutsu of Konoha Hurricane before challenging Kakashi.

But now, Might Guy changed his mind. Would completely mastering Konoha Hurricane guarantee that he could defeat Kakashi? Not necessarily.

Would he be afraid of a single defeat? No.

Then why not fight Kakashi and improve his strength even further?

"Mu Yue-sensei, I understand," Might Guy said solemnly.

Seeing the expression on Might Guy's face, Mu Yue roughly knew that his guidance had worked. With Might Guy's initiative, he might even go find Kakashi tonight.

However, to Mu Yue's regret, no Training Task called Defeat Kakashi appeared.

"What other condition is there?" Mu Yue wondered.

According to the original story of Hokage, Might Guy definitely had a strong "desire" to defeat Kakashi at this point.

The title of super genius, the identity of a rival—Might Guy had far too many reasons for wanting to defeat Kakashi.

As Mu Yue carefully recalled the details of Obito triggering the Training Task, he noticed a problem.

Obito's attitude had been pleading, and his words had expressed that he absolutely needed Mu Yue's help. Only if Mu Yue taught him a mighty Fire Release could he accomplish it.

"Does achieving the result have to include a necessary need for the teacher?" Mu Yue guessed inwardly.

If that was the case, then it made sense why Might Guy had not triggered a Training Task just now.

At most, Mu Yue had just ignited Might Guy's enthusiasm for challenging Kakashi. He probably had not been thinking about what would happen without Mu Yue.

With a rough guess in mind, Mu Yue did not continue testing. He would wait until Might Guy failed in his challenge against Kakashi before acting.

At that time, he would let his defeated disciple feel the warmth of a teacher.

After finishing his teaching, Mu Yue went to his house in the Main City Area.

After dinner, Mu Yue first went to the park where he had previously met Minato and Kushina.

Luckily, Mu Yue ran into Kushina and Minato there again.

Perhaps people living nearby simply liked coming here, because neither of them was surprised to see Mu Yue.

"Oh, right. You left too quickly last time, so I forgot to ask you something," Kushina said as she suddenly remembered.

"Did you agree when that old man Third Hokage asked you to become a tutor?"

Mu Yue nodded.

"I heard that kid's kind of rebellious. He doesn't even listen to that old man Third Hokage, so will he listen to you?" Kushina asked curiously.

Mu Yue smiled and told them how he had trained Asuma.

Kushina did not know how Asuma, the one being taught, had felt, but she found it quite entertaining.

Especially when Asuma had tried to slack off and resist on the second day, only to be talked into training until he was utterly exhausted. Kushina exclaimed that the shrewd old man Third Hokage had somehow produced such a foolish son.

Minato was also surprised by Mu Yue's teaching methods. Even students who did not want to learn could be made to cooperate and complete their training.

Mu Yue did not merely talk about himself. He also asked Minato and Kushina about various things, and the conversation was very pleasant.

Mu Yue felt that if they spent some time together like this and became friends, he could casually reveal his interest in Sealing Jutsu curse marks.

Transition chapters were really hard to write. I cut and revised this chapter, removing a thousand characters, which was why it was posted so late.