Chapter 16: Trust Level Up

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Obito quickly formed hand seals, gathering all his chakra in his mouth, completing nature transformation and shape transformation at the fastest speed, and spat out a fiercely burning fire dragon that shot toward Uchiha Tekka.

Uchiha Tekka had grown increasingly astonished during the close-quarters fight with Obito.

He hadn't expected that in just one vacation, Obito had improved so much, far more than when he was in third grade.

Seeing Obito form hand seals to release a jutsu, Uchiha Tekka immediately began forming seals as well, preparing to clash head-on with a jutsu—he refused to believe that Obito could have improved so much in taijutsu and still make any progress in ninjutsu.

He didn't believe he would lose to Obito in a ninjutsu clash.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Uchiha Tekka burst out chakra, blowing a fireball as tall as a person toward Obito.

On one side was a vicious fire dragon with fangs bared; on the other, a roaring, blazing fireball—the two jutsu were about to collide.

"I'm so jealous of them—they've already learned offensive jutsu."

Many watching students felt a bit envious; some of them hadn't even mastered the Three Basic Techniques yet, let alone learned new jutsu on the side, and they had no way to learn them anyway.

"Wait, you call this guy dead last?" Students from other classes were stunned. They had come to see Uchiha Tekka's strength, but instead found that Obito could pull off such a convincing Fire Release jutsu.

At this level, he could hardly be called dead last—he was more like a top student.

"But I still think Uchiha Tekka is stronger—his fireball looks much bigger than Uchiha Obito's fire dragon," someone commented.

He felt that in a ninjutsu clash, the bigger-looking Great Fireball would definitely win.

"As expected of an Uchiha. I didn't think this Uchiha Obito was hiding so much. Even if he's not as good as Uchiha Tekka, with this strength he could still take first place in my class—it's a shame his theoretical grades are too poor," Kimura Shanto sighed as he scored both of them.

Those students from prestigious ninja clans were indeed different; when he was a student, he was happy enough just to master the Three Basic Techniques.

Based on the taijutsu performance and the ninjutsu displayed, even if Obito lost in the first round, he would give him a decent score.

Just as the two jutsu were about to collide, the fire dragon suddenly rose upward, not clashing with the great fireball, but continuing to bite toward Uchiha Tekka.

Meanwhile, Obito moved quickly, evading the great fireball while controlling the Great Dragon Fire.

Uchiha Tekka hadn't expected Obito to fight so dishonorably, refusing to continue the ninjutsu clash, but he had no way to deal with it—the Great Fireball couldn't turn.

Seeing the fire dragon closing in, Uchiha Tekka wanted to dodge but realized it was too late; he could only grit his teeth and brace himself, ready to take the hit.

Just then, Muyue, who had been prepared, used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Uchiha Tekka, pulled him away, carried him out of the combat area, and set him down.

"Thank you, sensei," Uchiha Tekka thanked Muyue. If Muyue hadn't acted, he would certainly have been injured.

Muyue nodded in acknowledgment, then announced the result of the match:

"First match, Uchiha Obito wins."

Some of the watching students hadn't yet reacted; the situation had changed too drastically in an instant.

They had been ready to watch a Fire Release clash, but then Obito pulled a clever trick and ended the fight instantly.

If the teacher hadn't intervened, Uchiha Tekka might have been injured.

"This Uchiha Obito can't be underestimated," a watching student said, eyeing Obito warily.

Uchiha Tekka's person-tall fireball looked impressive, but in practice it was not that easy to hit with.

Obito's Great Dragon Fire Technique was different—though its attack range wasn't large, it was very flexible and easier to land on an opponent.

"Good job, Obito!" Nohara Rin cheered for Obito with a delighted face.

She was genuinely happy for Obito; beating Uchiha Tekka head-on in the practical exam meant that even if his theoretical grades were poor, no one would ever call him dead last again.

In the end, a ninja's worth is measured by strength.

As soon as Obito walked over, he heard Rin's praise, and a smug grin instantly spread across his face as he proudly said:

"Hehe, I told you it'd be fine."

At that moment, Obito felt immensely grateful to Muyue.

He knew exactly why everything had changed—it was all because he had become Muyue's disciple and received his careful guidance every day.

If it had been the old him, he would probably have been knocked around by Uchiha Tekka in the taijutsu phase, unable to find his bearings.

【Disciple Uchiha Obito trust level increased. Current trust level: three】

When Mu Yue was reading the exam list, the system popped up a message.

He glanced at Obito, who was currently smiling widely and saying something to Rin Nohara.

"It seems having a lovesick brain isn't without its benefits," Mu Yue thought to himself.

Trust level is very difficult to raise, because even raising it by one level brings a huge increase—directly doubling the gains, and also enhancing the effect of the disciple return.

Don't think that the chakra returned from disciple to master was small before; it's because Shisui and the others haven't yet reached the period of rapid growth in strength.

If they reached that period, if Shisui increased by ten thousand chakra, at one higher trust level, that would be an extra ten thousand chakra.

Mu Yue's expectation was that one student would reach trust level three within one semester.

Obito reaching level three in one month was an unexpected gain.

The following battles were not as intense as the first one; basically there was no need for the teacher to intervene. Mu Yue sat on a chair scoring based on student performance, chatting intermittently with Kimura Sugito.

If it weren't for proctoring, Mu Yue would have wanted to wander around using Appraisal to see if there were any overlooked geniuses.

He has four disciple slots, currently only three used, and one still empty.

Without knowing whether he can increase the number of disciple slots, Mu Yue does not intend to use this slot for someone with potential below S.

The higher the disciple's upper limit, the more rewards he can obtain in the future.

There are many geniuses in Konoha, and the ninja world is vast; there's no rush to fill the slot. Adding one more disciple won't bring much improvement in the short term.

Mu Yue opened his panel and looked at his own attributes.

【Name: Hanyu Mu Yue】

【Age: 18】

【Chakra: 5300】

【Skills: Water Release: Water Severing Wave, Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique, Water Release: Water Formation Wall, Wind Release: Pressure Damage…】

【Evaluation: You have mastered many ninjutsu, including various high-level ones, which allows you to handle all kinds of situations. Ordinary jōnin are not your match.】

Actually, his speed of improving strength was relatively fast; in one month he increased chakra by a thousand points, and his ninjutsu went from only two to dozens, including powerful techniques like Water Severing Wave. Just looking at the panel, he could easily defeat himself when he first transmigrated.

Half a day passed, and the first two rounds ended quickly.

However, Might Guy was not able to vindicate himself like Obito, because his opponents were relatively ordinary. Although Might Guy dealt with them cleanly and decisively, it didn't reach the point of overturning everyone's impression of him.

But Mu Yue knew this was only a matter of time, because in the afternoon the class's internal combat exam would end, and then the two sides would determine the class champion.