Chapter 159: Each Their Own Countermeasures

"Alright, from now on, you can use any method to snatch the bell from me, until the sun goes down."

After saying this, Muyue simply hung the bell on his waist, leaned against a large tree, and looked as if he was resting.

Although Muyue was full of openings at the moment, none of the three jumped in immediately.

Obito and Might Guy, having been taught by Muyue for a long time, knew how terrifying Muyue's strength was—especially Guy, who had witnessed a battle between Muyue and the Six Gates Might Dai, a level of speed and power far beyond what he could currently approach.

Kakashi was already an experienced ninja, so he didn't plan to probe Muyue's strength himself; he wanted to wait for Obito and Guy to make their move, then snatch the bell opportunistically.

"What do we do? Stealing something from Teacher Muyue is so hard." Obito scratched his head, momentarily unable to think of a way to grab the bell from Muyue.

Might Guy, who preferred direct approaches, couldn't help but nod and say, "I feel like if I just charge straight in, there's no way I'll get it."

With Muyue's speed, charging head-on would just be throwing yourself away.

"Do you know anything about Captain Hanyu?" Kakashi asked after some thought.

If he could learn more about Muyue's information, it would greatly help in the fight.

"Of course I do, because Teacher Muyue is—" Obito suddenly remembered something and stopped short.

"Is what?" Kakashi asked, seeing Obito cut himself off mid-sentence.

"—He's the teacher of our summer intensive training." Obito's mind raced as he covered up.

"Teacher Muyue has a very high level of chakra control—he's really good at walking on water and climbing trees, and his Body Flicker Technique is really fast."

Kakashi was speechless. Out of the whole spiel, only "Body Flicker Technique is really fast" counted as useful information.

"So it wasn't just carelessness earlier," Kakashi thought to himself, deducing that Muyue might be a speed-type ninja.

Kakashi pondered for a while and finalized his strategy for snatching the bell. Speed-type ninjas had low margins for error, and Muyue, being a teacher at the Ninja Academy, hadn't engaged in real combat for a long time. In this regard, Kakashi, who had just been through a brutal battle, had a major advantage.

After thinking it through, Kakashi felt he had a big edge.

"Going head-on in a direct fight definitely won't work, but we just need to grab the bell. We can use traps to divert Teacher Muyue's attention," Obito said after some thought.

Back when he was learning the Shave technique, he had experienced the power of traps—if he let his guard down, he'd end up hanging from a tree, sent flying, or falling into a pit.

Might Guy nodded. Whether Obito's plan was good or not, he himself couldn't think of any better idea.

"Hey, Kakashi, aren't you going to help set up traps?" Obito looked at Kakashi's indifferent attitude and felt a bit annoyed.

"Don't end up sneaking off alone to buy food and crying by yourself."

"Your imagination is quite vivid, but I don't trust your trap-making skills. I can snatch the bell all by myself." Kakashi said calmly.

Setting traps was basic for a ninja. If you could confirm the battlefield in advance, setting traps was a must-do. Kakashi planned to set some traps too, but he didn't intend to do it together with Obito.

After watching Obito and the others set up their traps, Kakashi could only conclude that the Academy students' trap-making skills were mediocre at best—mostly harmless traps that were easy to dodge.

Kakashi figured that with Obito's trap skills, it was no different from just going straight in. After all, in bell-snatching drills, instructors usually went easy on them. With Obito's strength, if he got lucky, he might actually grab the bell.

"Kakashi, even if you beg me later, I won't share any food with you." Obito, having finished setting up the traps, wiped the sweat off his forehead and said to Kakashi.

"In the Village Hidden in the Leaves, there exists a thing called a shop, where you can buy food." Kakashi spoke as if explaining to an idiot.

"And also, I won't lose." Before Obito could get furious, Kakashi vanished from Obito's sight in a flash.

Kakashi had no idea whether Muyue's specialty cooking was any good. To him, snatching the bell was just a mission assigned by Muyue, and he was simply trying to complete it.

"Guy, here's the plan: you go faster and lure Teacher Muyue over to the trap zone. With my Fire Style and the traps holding his attention, he won't have much focus on you. Then you grab the bell." Obito said excitedly.

Having trained with Muyue for so long, he had fought Shisui and Might Guy quite a few times, but this was his first time facing Muyue.

Obito wanted Muyue's approval. Before, he had always come as a student. This time it was different—now he was a ninja. Even a trainee ninja counts as a ninja.

"Leave it to me! My youth is already burning up!" Might Guy flashed a white-toothed grin, his blood starting to boil.

Worried that getting too close would result in an instant takedown by Muyue, Guy stood about twenty meters away and threw several shuriken at Muyue.

Muyue, who had looked like he was resting with his eyes closed, instantly opened his eyes and dodged the incoming shuriken.

"Finally ready, huh." Muyue simply stretched his limbs and then charged straight at Guy.

After throwing the shuriken, Might Guy immediately turned and ran toward the trap zone. Glancing back and seeing Muyue coming after him, he directly started accelerating with the Rock Breath.

Since his goal was just to train the students, Muyue naturally didn't use full strength to grab Guy. He controlled his speed, staying just behind him.

Obito, who had been waiting for the right moment, saw the two arrive and directly pulled out a kunai to cut the rope binding the huge log. A massive log hurtled toward Muyue, but Might Guy had already prepared and dodged aside.

Whoosh!

Just as the log was about to hit, Muyue flashed and appeared on a nearby tree, evading the trap's attack.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Obito quickly formed hand seals and used a jutsu against Muyue.

A huge fireball four meters in diameter hurtled toward Muyue.

"I did it!" Obito couldn't help but pump his fist in celebration.

The distance between him and Muyue was not far. At this range, Muyue didn't have much time to dodge or use a jutsu to cancel out the Great Fireball, and Might Guy was also watching menacingly from the side.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" Muyue quickly gathered chakra and formed hand seals; a water wall rose swiftly.

"Rock Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing!" Might Guy took this opportunity to charge in using his Breathing Technique.

Just as Might Guy was about to grab the bells, he realized his hand couldn't move. He looked up and saw that his hand had been caught by Muyue.

"Such fast reflexes!" Might Guy was extremely surprised internally. He knew that the trap, fire style, and his own surprise attack had all happened in an instant, yet Muyue had smoothly countered everything.

Bang!

Might Guy was flung by Muyue and smashed into a tree.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!" To prevent Muyue from continuing his attack on Might Guy, Obito used a Fire Style jutsu again.

To ensure power, Obito didn't use the one-handed single-seal version but the normal version of Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson. A large number of shuriken, each like a small fireball, hurtled toward Muyue.

Muyue silently switched his Breathing Technique from Rock Breathing to Lightning Breathing and instantly vanished from Obito's sight.

"So fast, where did he go?" Obito looked around, trying to locate Muyue, but unfortunately couldn't find him.

"Damn it, if only I had the Sharingan." Obito was a bit envious of Shisui, who had awakened the Sharingan at age six.

The next instant, Obito felt a gust of wind from behind, but the moment he sensed it, he was sent flying and crashed into the large tree next to Might Guy.

Might Guy quickly got up, focused his breathing again, and charged at Muyue.

However, against Muyue in the Lightning Breathing state, Might Guy was destined not even to touch the hem of his clothes.

Bang!

The next moment, Might Guy flew back to the large tree even faster than he had charged, shaking the tree violently upon impact.

Witnessing Might Guy's plight, Obito, who had been about to force himself up despite the pain, sat back down. It was unrealistic to grab the bells alone; he should recover his chakra first.

After temporarily dealing with Might Guy and Obito, Muyue began searching for Kakashi.

"His speed is indeed fast, but at this position, there's a chance!" Kakashi, who had been observing from the shadows, prepared to act when he saw Muyue approach the area of his trap.

Swift! Swift! Swift!

A large number of shuriken were thrown at Muyue, forcing him to retreat backward.

Then Kakashi burst out with explosive speed, leaping into the air, drawing the short blade from his back, and slashing at Muyue.

Muyue reacted quickly, swiftly pulling out a kunai to block the incoming blade.

Kakashi's blade was fast, and every strike aimed at Muyue's vital points, forcing Muyue to retreat a small distance again.

"Got it!" Kakashi directly detonated the explosive tags he had prepared in advance.

Sensing something was wrong, Muyue quickly retreated to the side.

Boom!!

A fiery red light burst forth, accompanied by a huge explosion, creating a scorched area over five meters in diameter.

Kakashi seized this opportunity to grab at the bells on Muyue's waist.

"Nice trap, but one person's strength is not enough." Muyue caught Kakashi's hand and said.

"Such speed and reflexes!" Kakashi was shocked internally. He hadn't felt much watching Might Guy and Obito get beaten, but now that he faced Muyue himself, he realized Muyue's speed was absurdly fast.

"Why didn't you attack together with Obito and the others? If the three of you had cooperated, it would have been easier to seize the opportunity."

"Because I thought one person was enough." Kakashi replied.

"Is that so? It seems your idea is wrong." Muyue smiled slightly, and then Kakashi was also smashed into the tree beside Muyue.

Pfft!

Kakashi, who was smashed into the tree, directly turned into white smoke and disappeared.

And Kakashi's real body, who had been hiding in the shadows and ready to strike, seized the opening when Muyue launched an attack, and suddenly pulled out the White Fang Short Blade and slashed toward the bell at Muyue's waist.

"As expected, one person is enough." Kakashi thought to himself.