Chapter 149: Accident

When the combat training entered the chakra-using stage, the fight between Shisui and Obito became even more intense.

The breathing technique without chakra and with chakra are simply two different levels of power.

Greater strength and speed, accelerated chakra nature transformation—these are all direct boosts to raw combat ability.

At the climax of the fight between Obito and Shisui, flames were basically non-stop.

Nature-transformation jutsu of the same attribute follow the principle of one-to-one cancellation, meaning one point of chakra converted into fire can block one point of chakra's worth of fire.

Back when Muyue first transmigrated, Obito, being older, had more chakra than Shisui, but later Shisui trained harder and also awakened his Sharingan, so his chakra had long surpassed Obito's.

Since he couldn't match in taijutsu and now couldn't match in chakra either, Obito felt greater pressure in the second stage of battle, and on the first day he was defeated again without lasting long.

Pressure brings motivation, especially since Rin Nohara would also glance at the fight during breaks. Obito's desire to show off drove his motivation to the max, and his breathing technique proficiency improved day by day. Relying solely on his increasingly refined breathing technique, he managed to hold out a little longer against Shisui.

When the second stage of training reached its final day, Obito fell into a disadvantage from the start, and under Shisui's calm, swift attacks, the disadvantage only grew.

Feeling he was about to lose, Obito had no choice but to use Total Concentration Breathing to block Shisui's attacks.

But Shisui could also use Total Concentration Breathing; Obito was merely prolonging his own defeat.

"Damn it, Rin is watching—I absolutely can't lose too pathetically." During the fight, Obito noticed Rin had arrived, and his weary body seemed to regain some vitality while he also became calmer.

The sudden burst of potential and calm fighting briefly made Obito think he was going to break his zero-win record.

Unfortunately, Shisui gave no opportunity, fighting steadily without showing any openings. In the end, Obito lost due to exhaustion.

"Although you didn't win, Obito, you did really well. I feel like you've gotten a lot stronger than before." Rin comforted him.

"Haha, is that so?" Obito's slight dejection instantly vanished, and he said with a silly grin.

"Mm, not bad. After the third stage ends, do some review practice, and you should have almost mastered the breathing technique." Muyue nodded.

After comforting the defeated Obito, Muyue naturally didn't forget Shisui, who maintained his undefeated record, and said with a gentle smile:

"It's clear you've put a lot of effort into training, Shisui. Not only in the breathing technique, but your taijutsu has also improved considerably recently."

"Mm, I've been practicing taijutsu after going home." Receiving recognition from someone he cared about, Shisui showed a happy smile.

"Obito, do you want to go find Kakashi to play tonight?" Rin asked.

If Rin left out a certain name, Obito would have agreed without a second thought, but having to include Kakashi meant Obito had to think it over.

To ensure he could definitively beat Kakashi in their next fight, Obito would ask Muyue after improving how much of a chance he had against Kakashi.

Currently, Muyue judged that he might win, but the chance was very small—he would have to rely on Kakashi being careless and Obito performing exceptionally plus having a power-up to possibly win. So Obito wasn't ready to challenge Kakashi yet.

"Let's go together. Training has been pretty tiring lately; it'll be nice to relax." Obito finally agreed.

Tomorrow would be the start of the third stage of combat training. Obito felt he might be in for a rough time, so he decided to enjoy tonight first.

Although Shisui had his Sharingan restricted, Obito couldn't beat him even when Shisui didn't use his Sharingan.

Facing Shisui with his jutsu restrictions lifted, Obito felt that lasting three more minutes would count as a success.

That evening, Obito and Rin went to Kakashi's house to find him.

This visit made Obito glad he had agreed to go with Rin today; otherwise, he would have missed a golden opportunity.

During this trip, Obito got two pieces of good news: one was that Kakashi wasn't home, and the other was that he could enjoy time alone with Rin.

"Could he have gone out for a walk?" Rin thought for a moment and said.

"I don't think so. He's probably still out on a mission. I came looking for Kakashi once before and happened to run into his teammate calling him for a mission." Obito said with a smile.

"When was that?" Rin asked curiously.

Obito thought back and said, "It must have been about half a month ago. His mission this time is pretty long."

"Half a month, huh. Being a full-fledged ninja isn't easy." Rin nodded, feeling a little regretful.

Then Obito and Rin went around playing for several hours, finally parting ways when the night grew deep to go home.

"Haha, Kakashi, keep doing as many missions as you want." On the way home, Obito couldn't suppress the grin on his face.

In the Hokage Building, a ninja with a weary expression walked into the Hokage's office together with Kakashi.

"Lord Hokage, please allow me to resign from my position as a Jonin instructor." The weary-looking ninja bowed and said.

"I don't want to be a Jonin instructor for the time being."

"Toda, did something happen?" The Third Hokage frowned slightly, puffing smoke as he asked.

"I failed to protect my students. I am not a competent teacher," Nagatomo Toda said, lowering his head.

"But you are a qualified ninja. At least the mission was completed," Kakashi said.

Sarutobi Hiruzen roughly understood what had happened. There must have been an accident during the mission. Although the mission was ultimately completed, both of Nagatomo Toda's students had died, leaving only Kakashi alive.

Nagatomo Toda glanced at Kakashi, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

"In that case, Toda, you take some time off," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a sigh, nodding.

He could understand Nagatomo Toda to some extent. Nagatomo Toda was a very young Jonin, and those two students were his very first. It was only natural that he had deep bonds with them.

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Third Hokage. I'll go back to rest now." After receiving Sarutobi Hiruzen's reply, Nagatomo Toda left directly, leaving Kakashi in the Hokage's office.

Looking at Kakashi's indifferent expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed smoke for a while, somewhat troubled.

He took out the records and glanced over them. He found that there was no team he could insert Kakashi into. He could only wait for the Ninja Academy students to graduate and form new teams with the newly graduated Genin.

"Kakashi, this mission was very tough. You should also rest for a while. After some time, I'll arrange for you to join a new team," Sarutobi Hiruzen said after thinking.

"Hmm." Kakashi nodded, then also turned and left.

"He still hasn't emerged from the shadow..." Sarutobi Hiruzen thought as he watched Kakashi's back. Two years ago, Kakashi had not been like this. He had changed ever since that incident last year.