Asuma's Perseverance

"Mu Yue-sensei, when will we start Nature Transformation training? I've been reading the manual you gave me every night lately. I really want to try it out." Obito, who was pacing back and forth atop the river, asked.

Tree Climbing and Water Walking every day were just too boring.

Besides, Mu Yue's Nature Transformation manual had truly inspired him. He suddenly felt like his Fire Release was about to take off.

"Do you find Water Walking boring? Have you already trained it to a decent level?" Mu Yue asked with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Obito nodded quickly. He could already jog across the water.

"Alright, then. Let me test your level and make Water Walking a little more interesting while I'm at it." Mu Yue rapidly formed hand seals, and Chakra erupted.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

A massive water dragon swiftly took shape and rolled through the river, instantly turning its tranquil surface violent as waves occasionally surged high into the air.

"Urgh..." Obito carelessly plunged headfirst into the water and gulped down a mouthful.

Mu Yue instantly fished Obito out and said with a smile, "See? You still haven't mastered it."

"Mu Yue-sensei, how am I supposed to handle you suddenly pulling something like that?" Obito complained.

There was a classmate here, as well as a younger member of the clan. He still needed to save face.

"Then give it another try." Mu Yue smiled.

Water Walking greatly tested a ninja's ability to maintain a steady Chakra output. With the Water Dragon Bullet distracting him, he also had to watch out for the splashing waves. If he could still maintain a stable, continuous output under those circumstances, it would mean his Chakra Control was quite good.

Obito talked tough, but his strength did not match his words. He fell into the water again after only a few minutes.

"The shoes I wore today don't fit properly. They affected my performance." Obito spat out the river water in his mouth as he explained, then placed his shoes on the bank and walked across the water barefoot.

Mu Yue merely smiled and said nothing.

After a while, Obito fell into the water again.

"Ah, I must have stayed up too late reading yesterday. No wonder I'm so tired today and making so many mistakes."

Obito stretched his limbs, cracked his neck, rolled up his sleeves, and said with a serious look in his eyes, "Now I'm going to get serious."

Splash!

The sound of someone falling into the water rang out again.

After Mu Yue quickly pulled Obito out, Obito's eyes were lifeless and his face expressionless. He did not say another word.

"Obito, it's okay. I know you're doing this because you want to learn how to swim," Shisui comforted him.

Obito covered his face with both hands and said, "Shisui, go do your thing. I just need some time alone."

"Do you think your performance was too awful?" Mu Yue crouched beside Obito. Instead of looking at him, he gazed into the distance.

As the saying went, there was no harm without comparison.

Before Obito had even begun Chakra Control training, Shisui had already started.

And Shisui had progressed at an astonishing rate. He had skipped Tree Climbing right from the start, and Water Walking came easily to him as well. Even with Mu Yue interfering, he could remain atop the water for a long time.

With Shisui, his younger clansman, performing like that, Obito had kept talking tough. He could admit that he might not be as good as Shisui, but he should not have been this far behind.

"Actually, the reason I left last Saturday afternoon was because I went to the Hokage's house to tutor someone," Mu Yue said.

"The Hokage has a younger son. You should know him too—Sarutobi Asuma. He's only one year above you."

Obito nodded. He did know him.

"When he was training Water Walking, I also used Water Dragon Bullet to interfere with him. He fell into the water at least dozens of times that afternoon, but on his final attempt, he held on for five minutes."

"Asuma actually..." Obito had not expected Asuma, the top student from their Ninja Academy days, to have suffered so badly as well. What was more, he had persevered through an entire afternoon under those conditions.

Obito gained a newfound respect for Asuma. When they had known each other before, he had never realized Asuma was so determined.

"Sensei, I understand. I'm rested now. Let's start training!" Obito took a deep breath and said energetically.

If Asuma could persevere, why couldn't he? His goal was to defeat Kakashi in front of Rin and claim first place!

"Eat something before you continue training." Mu Yue handed Obito a serving of Anko Dango he had bought earlier.

"Yeah, thank you, Sensei!" Obito shouted spiritedly. He quickly finished the dango and walked into the river.

You gifted your disciple Anko Dango. Because your disciple was extremely grateful, the reward critically struck. You obtained the skill Chef.

Chef: The food you make is delicious enough to induce hallucinations.

"Eh, it actually gave me a skill—and it's even a life skill." Mu Yue was somewhat surprised.

Although Teaching Disciple Returns Reward could occasionally produce rather random rewards, like Water Nature Transformation Mastery from Might Guy, he could not understand why Obito had given him Chef.

Still, it did not stop Mu Yue from being happy, because judging by the skill description, it was quite powerful.

Being able to cook delicious food was a huge advantage.

If he had obtained this skill earlier, he could have pretended that the cooking equipment at home was broken, then gone to Minato's house to cook and display his extraordinary culinary skills. Perhaps Kushina and Minato would have taken the initiative to befriend him.

He could also quickly raise his disciples' favorability. With a teacher whose teaching quality was maxed out and whose cooking was exceptional, who would not like him?

After his disciples finished their training, Mu Yue returned to Konoha's Main City Area early. He wanted to see just how delicious the dishes made with his new skill would be.

Mu Yue chose two dishes: egg fried rice and fried Tempura.

He had made egg fried rice before, since he rather liked foods with eggs. He had never made fried Tempura, though.

From the moment he picked up the eggs, Mu Yue felt something profound settle over him. Although the steps were still roughly the same as before, everything was perfectly timed.

After finishing the egg fried rice, Mu Yue stared blankly at the distinct grains, golden all over and faintly gleaming with golden light.

I didn't add any fluorescent powder while cooking, so why does it look like it's glowing?

Mu Yue took a spoonful to taste it. The tenderness of the egg, the springiness of the rice, and the fragrance of the chopped scallions all burst across his tongue. He had never eaten such delicious egg fried rice.

Mu Yue could even vaguely see a strong rooster running and flying across a grassy field, so free and utterly exhilarated.

"It really is delicious enough to cause hallucinations." Mu Yue shook his head and quickly came to his senses.

Mu Yue switched to a frying pan and began preparing to make fried Tempura.

He first prepared the batter, then heated the oil. He coated the prepared shrimp in batter and placed them into the pan to fry.

Soon, the Tempura coating gradually began to change color, and the unique fragrance of frying filled the kitchen before drifting into the distance.

Trusting his instincts, Mu Yue removed the Tempura from the oil, placed it on a plate, and carried it to the table.

Just as Mu Yue picked up a piece of Tempura to taste it, someone knocked on the door.