Training in Progress (Please Read On)

Root organization moved quickly. Mu Yue had only just submitted his report when, the next morning, a Root organization ninja silently arrived in his courtyard.

"This is Lord Danzo's order." The Root organization ninja handed Mu Yue two scrolls.

Mu Yue nodded and accepted them.

He opened the mission scroll first.

As before, the Root organization ninja did not waste any words. Once he had delivered the items, he left immediately.

After sensing the Root organization ninja's presence vanish, Mu Yue went inside to examine the scroll's contents.

It was much the same as before. The beginning was full of PUA-style rhetoric, praising Mu Yue for completing his mission well and not failing the organization's cultivation, while saying he still needed to work harder going forward.

Mu Yue focused on the latter half.

Danzo had answered Mu Yue's previous question about whether Asuma should be brought into the Root organization: there was no need.

Danzo stated that Mu Yue only needed to teach Asuma normally and become one of Asuma's important teachers. There was no need to do anything extra, and he specifically warned Mu Yue not to reveal anything unusual.

That answer was more or less what Mu Yue had expected.

Bringing Asuma into the Root organization would be like Danzo sitting in the Hokage's Office, waiting for the day he became Hokage and made everyone regret it.

Although Danzo's Root organization was not weak, its current strength came entirely from siphoning resources from the Anbu. For Hiruzen Sarutobi, the true Hokage, dealing with Root would be far too easy.

The rest was to keep a close watch on the Uchiha students, assess whether they showed any anti-Konoha tendencies, and pay attention to any geniuses who could be recruited into Root...

As for the other scroll, it contained several high-grade secret medicines that were difficult to purchase, a reward for Mu Yue's excellent completion of his mission.

Mu Yue put away the scroll containing the secret medicines and burned the other one.

"Even a peaceful life has become a luxury in this world..."

Mu Yue swept up the ashes and dumped them into the trash, gazing impassively into the courtyard.

The thought of waking up in the morning to find a fully armed ninja standing in his yard made him deeply uncomfortable.

But Mu Yue had no choice right now.

He had considered whether he should simply reveal his strength while teaching Asuma, let Hiruzen see his value, and then switch over to the Third Hokage's side. That would solve the problem of the cursed seal.

Mu Yue quickly dismissed the idea.

He could switch sides by earning Hiruzen's appreciation, but not by exposing his strength.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not know his exact strength or the Ninjutsu he had learned. As long as he did not reveal a Ninjutsu like Water Severing Wave, he could mostly explain things away.

But Danzo was different. The original owner of this body had been trained by Danzo, who knew far too much.

If Mu Yue switched sides by exposing his strength, Danzo might reveal Mu Yue's information to the Third Hokage and have him treated as a spy.

Mu Yue believed there were only three circumstances in which he could reveal his strength. The first was if Danzo intended to use him as expendable material. Then he would expose his strength and find a chance to run.

The second was when his strength reached the level of the Sannin. Then he could act during wartime and come to Konoha's aid in its hour of need.

Even if no one knew where all his strength had come from, Mu Yue would only become a hero, not a spy.

The third was when he had the power to overthrow Konoha. At that point, it would not matter whether he exposed himself or not.

After composing his expression, Mu Yue headed to the Ninja Academy. With a gentle smile, he entered the office, then the classroom.

Until he had enough strength, he should remain the gentle, warm man everyone liked.

On Saturday, Obito arrived at the training ground early and began training.

He picked up a palm-sized block of ice, placed it on his hand, and gathered Chakra in his palm to practice Nature Transformation.

About ten seconds later, the ice block vanished. The wet mark on the ground was proof that it had once existed.

Mu Yue, standing nearby, nodded.

Six days ago, Obito had melted ice more slowly than it would melt naturally.

Reaching this level after six days of training had exceeded expectations.

After all, he had never expected to unlock the Chef skill, much less that this life skill could be useful for Nature Transformation training.

Mapo Tofu had made a tremendous contribution to Obito's rapid progress.

"You've already grasped the basics of Nature Transformation. Next, you need to continuously increase your maximum output." As Mu Yue spoke, he took a block of ice the size of a human head from the wooden bucket and placed it on the ground.

"Your next goal is to melt this block of ice within ten seconds." Mu Yue announced that the training had entered its next stage.

"Huh? Isn't that way too big?" Obito scratched his head as he looked at the head-sized block of ice. The increase was far too drastic.

"This time, you're pursuing the limits of instantaneous Nature Transformation output. Don't worry about Chakra consumption. Use everything you have. Rest when you're tired, then keep training once you've recovered."

This stage simply required time and grinding, unless one had vitality and Chakra like Naruto's. Then they could recklessly create a large number of Shadow Clones to gain experience.

Obito could not compare to a cheat like Naruto, but compared to ordinary people, he was already doing quite well. After all, the teaching skill was somewhat useful, and he also had the buff from special dishes.

Near noon, Mu Yue had his three students stop training.

"You must be getting tired of eating roughly the same dishes every day. Today, we're having hot pot," Mu Yue said with a smile.

Although the skill's effects meant the students would likely be happy even if they ate the same dish every day, Mu Yue was aiming for even higher trust, so he had to do better.

"Great, I finally don't have to eat that insanely spicy tofu anymore." Obito excitedly jumped to his feet.

It wasn't that Mapo Tofu tasted bad—it was just that eating it every day made going to the bathroom incredibly painful.

"I only prepared the soup base. As for the ingredients, that depends on what you manage to find later," Mu Yue continued.

"I want fish!" After saying that, Obito pulled out a kunai and jogged toward the river, ready to spear some fish.

"I'll help you!" The enthusiastic Might Guy heard that Obito wanted fish and immediately dove into the water with a hundred-meter sprint, sending water splashing everywhere.

Obito, who had been looking around for a chance to spear a fish, was instantly drenched to the bone.

"Guy!" Obito's fists clenched.

The next moment, Might Guy surfaced holding two fish, looking at Obito in confusion. "Obito, did you call me?"

"Yeah, I was just saying Guy, you're such a good guy. That's what good brothers are for." Seeing the two fresh fish in Might Guy's hands, Obito instantly changed his tune and praised him.

Shisui dug up some wild vegetables and mushrooms in the forest.

The three of them also worked together to kill a wild boar.

Might Guy drew its attention, Shisui handled the main attack, and Obito supported him. The three of them joined forces to bring down the boar.

Mu Yue first cooked the soup base, then processed the ingredients they brought back.

He split off several Shadow Clones to divide the work and quickly prepare the ingredients.

In truth, only the wild boar and fish were somewhat troublesome. The wild vegetables and mushrooms merely needed to be washed, cut in half, and tossed in.

They did not even start a fire. Instead, they had Obito hold his hands beneath the pot as a human-shaped heater, which also counted as training.

The master and his three disciples thus gathered ingredients from the forest and settled their lunch on the spot.

Though there were no complicated preparations, and the ingredients had all been gathered locally, making it less tasty than Mu Yue cooking a proper dish himself, Shisui ate happily and felt a warmth in his heart.

It was a feeling he had rarely experienced since losing both his parents at a young age.

Disciple Shisui Uchiha's Trust Level has increased. Current Trust Level: 3

Mu Yue smiled as he picked up a piece of fish from the pot and ate it.