Chapter 257: Something Off About the Disciples

After the disbandment, Shisui went to a ninja tool shop named "Rotating Rotating Rotating".

"Has my custom-made tachi been completed?" Shisui asked the young shop owner.

Before proposing the appreciation party, Shisui had already thought of giving a gift to Muyue, because Muyue had previously given him a short blade, so Shisui planned to give Muyue a weapon.

Although he really wanted to forge a weapon himself to give to Muyue, he was still too young and it was inconvenient, so Shisui settled for the next best thing and chose to custom-make a good weapon for Muyue.

But since it happened to coincide with the appreciation party, Shisui planned to give the gift at the party.

"It's already finished, I'll take you to see it." The young shop owner smiled and nodded, called his wife down to watch the shop, then led Shisui out the door and to the backyard warehouse of his home.

The young shop owner walked to the weapon rack and handed the finished tachi to Shisui.

Shisui took the tachi and examined it closely. The overall color was red; the hilt was a deep blood red, while the scabbard was a flaming orange-red with patterns of burning fire on it.

Shisui nodded inwardly. This was his special request, because Muyue taught him Flame Breathing.

The one-meter-long tachi was already close to Shisui's height; Shisui, who had not yet turned seven years old, was currently 1.23 meters tall.

But Shisui was a ninja, so he easily drew the tachi from its scabbard. Under the light in the warehouse, the silver-white blade gleamed with a cold white light, and the blade had flame-like patterns.

Shisui was very satisfied; although he didn't know much about swords, this sword looked good.

The young shop owner brought over a wooden dummy and a rock, smiling at Shisui and saying, "Come try the sword."

Shisui nodded and walked to the wooden dummy. Without using chakra, he swung the tachi and struck the dummy's arm.

Thud!

The tachi effortlessly cut off the dummy's arm, and the wood fell to the ground with a sound.

Swish! Swish!

Shisui did not stop; he swung the tachi extremely quickly, instantly cutting the wooden dummy to pieces. The cut surfaces were very smooth.

Then Shisui gathered chakra in his hand, used chakra to strengthen the blade, and swung twice to cut the rock into four pieces.

The young shop owner was secretly shocked at this sight, thinking to himself that ninjas really were different; even a child could have strength far exceeding that of an adult.

"Very good. Here is the agreed amount." Shisui sheathed the sword and took out 640,000 ryo from his person, handing it to the young shop owner.

Before this, he had also paid a deposit of 160,000 ryo, so the total cost of this tachi was 800,000 ryo.

Although he spent a lot of money, Shisui felt it was worth it. Muyue had also not spared expense on him; although that short blade was forged by Muyue himself, he spent a lot on materials, and he also prepared training secret medicine for him.

Shisui didn't care much about money; after becoming a ninja, he definitely would not lack money.

Then Shisui brought the tachi home and began making a gift box himself.

He couldn't forge the sword himself, but making a gift box himself was no problem.

Shisui breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried earlier that he wouldn't be able to finish it before the appreciation party, but it ended up being done ahead of time.

At the same time, Kakashi, who was at home, also breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's finally almost done." Kakashi looked at the brush that was gradually taking shape, and a smile appeared on his face without his mask.

Although he hadn't been with Muyue for very long, Muyue held an important place in Kakashi's heart; he could feel Muyue's care for him.

Because Muyue liked calligraphy, Kakashi thought of making a brush himself to give to Muyue.

After a period of learning, he successfully learned how to make a brush.

Now Kakashi also had some understanding of brushes, knowing that brushes made from different hairs each had their own strengths. After carefully looking at the calligraphy Muyue had given him, Kakashi judged that Muyue probably used a goat-hair brush, so he made himself a goat-hair brush.

"If I give a brush, I feel like I might overlap with others," Kakashi thought.

Since all the disciples knew about the calligraphy point, and couldn't think of any special gifts, they would probably all give calligraphy-related items. Kakashi thought that ordinary people would give brushes.

Kakashi continued to refine the details. "Even if it overlaps, it's nothing; it shows that everyone put thought into it."

The next day, on his way to the Southern Frontier Forest in the morning, Kakashi saw a golden figure.

Kakashi thought it was Muyue, but after getting closer, he found it was Minato Namikaze, who looked like Muyue.

Kakashi originally wanted to just say hello and then hurry to the Southern Frontier Forest to train, but he remembered that yesterday he had mentioned that Minato was on the battlefield and couldn't be asked. Since he ran into him now, he definitely couldn't let it go.

"Good morning, Minato-senpai." Kakashi greeted Minato.

"Good morning, Kakashi." Minato, who was buying breakfast, responded with a gentle smile.

Because he would soon become his student, Minato's gaze toward Kakashi was very kind at this moment.

Kakashi noticed that Minato's attitude seemed to have changed somewhat, but he didn't pay too much attention and directly asked:

"Minato-senpai, what kind of gift do you think Muyue-sensei would like? The team is about to disband, and I want to give a gift to Muyue-sensei."

Kakashi's words made Minato ponder. If he were giving Muyue a gift, it would either be his experience in practicing sealing techniques, or simply a sealing technique.

But Kakashi was just a child and definitely couldn't give a gift like that, so Minato tried hard to recall if Muyue had any clear preferences.

After thinking for several minutes, Minato still couldn't come up with anything. In his impression, Muyue didn't seem to have clear preferences in other areas.

"I think you just need to convey your feelings. Give whatever you want to give." Minato finally replied.

Based on his understanding of Muyue, that should be enough.

"Sorry for bothering you, Minato-senpai. Thank you." Since he hadn't gotten useful information from Minato, Kakashi didn't show a frustrated expression. He thanked him and then headed to the Southern Border Forest to train.

He thought what Minato said made sense. Since he really couldn't figure it out, there was no need to be stubborn.

Minato watched Kakashi's departing figure and smiled.

He wondered if one day Kakashi would also put so much effort into preparing a gift for him, and he looked forward to his future life as a supervising teacher even more.

Although he had been delayed a little on the way, Kakashi had started early enough, and he sped up later, so he wasn't late—he just arrived last.

"Kakashi, you don't value training time either! You should get up a bit earlier and come train earlier." Obito immediately seized the opportunity to get back at Kakashi for yesterday's disturbance.

Kakashi glanced lightly at Obito and said, "I always get up early. I just ran into Minato-senpai on the way, so I wasted some time."

Obito instinctively thought about how to continue retorting Kakashi, but suddenly realized Kakashi said he had met Namikaze Minato, so he quickly pressed:

"Isn't Minato-senpai at the battlefield? How did you run into him?"

"The front-line war is on hiatus, so Minato came back to rest." Muyue answered Obito's question for Kakashi.

Only then did Obito remember that Muyue was right there. They couldn't discuss the thank-you event. So Obito gave Kakashi a look and didn't continue the conversation.

"We'll talk after training."

Kakashi understood Obito's meaning and didn't speak again.

Muyue watched this scene with some slight confusion. They quieted down after just two sentences—not like Kakashi and Obito's style.

Muyue silently walked over to Obito and asked with a smile, "Obito, you've been training in the Constant state of Total Concentration Breathing for a while now. Lately, have you felt your Total Concentration Breathing lasting longer?"

"No special feeling. Maybe it's because I've been training less at home. I've had some things to do recently, busy with other matters at home." Obito answered honestly.

He thought his progress hadn't met the pace Muyue had planned.

"But Muyue-sensei, don't worry. I always focus when I train. I'll definitely train more when I have time." Obito added.

Muyue patted Obito's head and said cheerfully, "Of course I know you train very hard. As for extracurricular time, it's your free time to manage. You can arrange it as you see fit."

Then Muyue walked over to Might Guy, watched his training for a moment, and said:

"Guy, how is the training of the Eight Gates? Do you have a feeling for opening the third gate?"

Might Guy shook his head and replied, "No feeling at all."

"Could it be that I've been slacking off due to preparing gifts recently?" Might Guy couldn't help thinking.

If Muyue asked like this, it usually meant the expected level hadn't been reached.

"Maybe I've been training a bit less recently. I'll double my training today to make up for it!" Might Guy shouted passionately.

"No need for that. I was just asking. Just train normally according to my schedule." Muyue said with a gentle smile, patting Might Guy's shoulder.

"There's an issue." After briefly asking about Might Guy and Obito, Muyue guessed that his disciples might be busy with something he didn't know about after training hours, and that they were intentionally keeping it from him.

"Is it because graduation is coming up, so they're holding a celebration and giving me gifts?" Muyue speculated.

After all, all three disciples had a trust level of four. Based on Muyue's observations, a trust level of four was almost like treating him as family.

Although Kakashi wasn't at four yet, he was still in a state of relatively high trust.

Given their relationship, combined with graduation approaching, Muyue would naturally assume they were planning a celebration party.

Although the Naruto world is full of lunatics, no one is crazy enough to murder a teacher for a thrill at graduation, and his students were currently perfectly normal.

Muyue stopped thinking about it any further; he couldn't apply the caution he had for Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo to his students—that would be too exhausting.

When training began in the afternoon, Muyue stopped Shisui and Obito, who were about to start, and announced a new special training.

"Before, I was the one chasing you. This time, I'll give you a chance to fight back. I'll limit my speed to match yours, and you can use any means to attack my shadow clone, while the shadow clone won't attack you," Muyue explained the rules of the new training.

This training was essentially similar to the previous one, but with a different focus: the previous one emphasized positioning, while this one emphasized offensive ability.

"There aren't any problems, right?" Obito asked tentatively.

It sounded very similar to the previous special training, and he was worried that it would lead to a large number of problems, which would eat into the time he had to prepare a gift.

"Not for now," Muyue replied with a smile.

Originally, Muyue's plan had included a penalty: if they never hit the shadow clone, it would be five problems per minute, with immediate settlement upon hitting, up to a maximum of ten minutes.

But sensing that Obito and the others might be preparing a graduation celebration, Muyue temporarily changed his plans.

He had never been a rigid person; if his students needed more free time, he wouldn't put too much pressure on them.

"Alright!" Obito cheered.

He completely ignored the "for now" part; a special training without problems was a good training.

Shisui also breathed a sigh of relief. Although his gift was essentially ready to be given, he still wanted to perfect it, putting more effort into the gift box. If there were too many problems, his focus would inevitably be split.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Muyue formed hand signs and created two shadow clones, each moving a distance apart.

Shisui and Obito both changed their breathing rhythm, entering a state of total concentration breathing, drawing in large amounts of oxygen to strengthen themselves.

"Begin!" Muyue called out when he saw both were ready.

Obito directly raised his fist and charged at Muyue's shadow clone.

The shadow clone did not dodge away, but stood still waiting for Obito's attack, then sidestepped to avoid Obito's straight punch.

Obito quickly swung his arm at the clone's head while simultaneously kicking out with his left foot, but both attacks were seen through by the clone, who easily dodged Obito's combo with a backward step.

Obito stubbornly activated his two-tomoe Sharingan, his eyes turning blood-red, and continued his assault.

Then Obito found that activating the Sharingan only made him more frustrated, because he could clearly see that he was just barely missing Muyue.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Obito directly formed hand signs and used a ninjutsu, since Muyue had said they could use any means.

As the hand signs were made, a large amount of chakra gathered in Obito's throat, then he spat out numerous small fireballs aimed at the shadow clone.

At the same time, Obito sprinted at full speed, trying to catch the opening when Muyue dodged the ninjutsu and land a hit.

However, Muyue handled it much more calmly than Obito expected, using the large trees of the Nankai Forest to nimbly neutralize all of the Phoenix Sage Fire, rendering Obito's Fire Release attack ineffective.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Shisui concentrated chakra and spat out a massive amount of flames. The blazing orange fire quickly formed a two-meter-tall fireball roaring toward Muyue.

But that was not all; without forming hand signs, Shisui spat out another Great Fireball of similar size, and the two fireballs hurtled toward different directions.

In fact, this could be called "Great Fire Linked Ball," allowing two fireballs to be spat at once in quick succession. The individual fireball's power decreases, but the coverage area increases.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!" Muyue's shadow clone formed hand signs and used Earth Release. A thick earthen wall rose up, blocking both fireballs.

Shisui was momentarily stunned, but quickly recalled that the shadow clone was only forbidden from attacking them; Muyue hadn't said the clone couldn't use ninjutsu.

Shisui activated his Sharingan and began the next round of attack. After five minutes of combat with the shadow clone, he obtained a hidden piece of information.

Only when he attacked with ninjutsu would the shadow clone occasionally use ninjutsu to defend. If he didn't use ninjutsu offensively, no matter how dangerous the situation, the clone would not use ninjutsu. Once he almost touched the clone, but it still didn't use any ninjutsu.

"Is this training meant to sharpen the grasp of battle timing?" Shisui speculated in his mind.

If his guess was correct, then the timing of using ninjutsu would be crucial, requiring a very delicate balance.

He couldn't let the shadow clone realize that it couldn't dodge without using ninjutsu, yet at the same time he truly needed the ability to disrupt the clone's positioning.

Although Shisui had this idea, it was still difficult to put into practice. Until the ten-minute training ended, Shisui had not successfully hit the shadow clone even once.

"Both of you had no hits in ten minutes," Muyue announced the results.

"It's so hard. Isn't this basically like fighting a weakened version of you, sensei?" Obito thought for a moment and said.

"My shadow clone didn't even attack you. If it were a real fight, you would have been defeated long ago." Muyue knocked on Obito's head with two fingers together.

Obito's Sharingan had not yet been deactivated at this moment, and he watched helplessly as he was knocked, unable to dodge at all.

"The difficulty isn't much greater than the last training session. If you make a breakthrough, you can complete it. You need to think more during battle." Muyue looked at Obito and reminded him.

Among his few disciples, the one with the strongest combat ability was Kakashi, followed by Shisui and Might Guy. As for Rin Nohara, there was insufficient data to analyze properly. Obito was essentially at the bottom.

If all their abilities were equal, Muyue felt that Obito's chance of defeating Kakashi was very small.

Kakashi has strong battle analysis skills and rich combat experience. Although his current raw power can't compare to Obito, Might Guy, and the others, once his abilities catch up, his strength won't be weak.

"I understand. I'll strive to become stronger in combat through this training." Obito laughed sheepishly and scratched his head in reply. He understood Muyue's intentions.

In this regard, he was indeed inferior to Might Guy and Shisui. In his past battles with Might Guy, he had overturned his advantage many times.

4.8k. Today I managed to write 7.8k. Tomorrow I'll strive for more. I was in such a hurry to publish that I even forgot to name the chapter. And only the editor can change that. What a hassle...