Chapter 30: Attempting the Training Mission (Please Follow)

Muyue first had Obito try climbing a tree.

In the forest on the eastern border of Konoha, there was nothing else but plenty of trees; trees over ten meters high were everywhere, and even taller ones were common.

Muyue casually pointed at a twenty-meter-tall tree and told Obito to first try gathering chakra on the soles of his feet and climb.

Obito nodded, then took a deep breath, gathered chakra on his feet, and charged upward.

Obito rushed straight up to about ten meters, then on the next step he accidentally lost control of his chakra, stomped a footprint into the tree, and fell down.

Muyue jumped up and caught Obito, nodding inwardly. Although he wasn't at Asuma's level yet, it was still acceptable—at least he didn't fall after just a few steps.

There wasn't much to say about this kind of training; it was nothing more than persistent practice, with no special tricks.

After demonstrating a few times for Obito, Muyue left a Shadow Clone to watch over him and let Obito practice on his own, while his main body went to find Might Guy, who was training his physique.

Among Muyue's three disciples, Might Guy's training regimen could be said to be the most boring and tedious.

Obito, when tired of taijutsu, could cast a few ninjutsu to change his mood, but Guy's training consisted of nothing but practicing the Leaf Whirlwind and building his physique.

Building up the body was not something that could be done overnight; this was an area where even Muyue's teaching skill could not help.

His teaching skill could allow Might Guy to learn taijutsu faster and spend less time improving it, but it could not accelerate Guy's physical training effects.

The training effect gained from doing one push-up was still just one push-up.

When Muyue walked up to Might Guy, Guy was doing push-ups with a boulder about his own size strapped to his back.

"Guy, how is your Leaf Whirlwind coming along?" Muyue asked.

He wanted to test the trigger conditions for a training mission. Might Guy, who, like Obito, was at Trust Level 3, was the best choice.

Hearing Muyue's words, Might Guy stopped his movements but kept his body still, replying, "It's a little faster than during the exam, but still not fast enough."

After answering, Guy removed the boulder and stood up, then suddenly kicked out a lightning-fast Leaf Whirlwind at a wooden post nearby.

Muyue nodded. Compared to before, there was indeed some improvement—his kicks were more fierce and decisive.

It should be from the battle with Hyuga Hizashi.

Training the body wouldn't show results that quickly; improvement in physique would take at least months.

"How do you think one can become stronger?" Muyue asked a question that puzzled Might Guy.

"Training, of course," Might Guy immediately voiced his thoughts.

He thought Muyue's question was a bit strange—to become stronger, one must persistently train.

Muyue shook his head and asked again, "Training can lead to improvement and is the most important part of increasing strength, but are there other ways?"

Might Guy scratched his head, then thought of his improved Leaf Whirlwind and the practical exams at the ninja academy. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. "Battle!" he said.

"That's right. Battle is also an important part of improving strength. In battle, you can better convert the results of your practice into your own power." Muyue showed a smile.

"The battle I'm talking about is not the kind of fight you had with Obito earlier. That was not a normal battle."

"To improve, you must challenge the strong, and fight the strong you want to challenge in a fair and square battle."

Hearing Muyue's words, a person gradually appeared in Might Guy's mind.

That person had white hair, always wore a mask, and was a famous super genius of Konoha.

There was no other name—that was the lifelong rival Might Guy had set his sights on: Hatake Kakashi!

After improving his strength by studying under Muyue, Might Guy had long had the idea of challenging Kakashi, but he had been holding back.

He wanted to wait until he had fully mastered the Leaf Whirlwind technique before challenging Kakashi.

But now Might Guy changed his mind. Would fully mastering the Leaf Whirlwind allow him to defeat Kakashi? Not necessarily.

Was he afraid of experiencing failure once? No.

Then why not fight Kakashi? It could even better improve his strength.

"Muyue-sensei, I understand," Might Guy said solemnly.

Looking at Might Guy's face, Muyue roughly knew that his guidance had worked. Knowing Guy's level of initiative, he might go find Kakashi as soon as he got home tonight.

However, what disappointed Muyue was that no training mission called "Defeat Kakashi" appeared.

"What other condition could there be?" Muyue wondered inwardly.

Going by the original Naruto manga, at this point Might Guy definitely had a strong "desire" to defeat Kakashi.

The title of super genius, the identity of a rival — Might Guy had far too many reasons to want to beat Kakashi.

Carefully recalling the details of Obito triggering his training mission, Muyue noticed a problem.

Obito's attitude was pleading, and his words expressed that he absolutely needed Muyue's help — that only if Muyue taught him a powerful, imposing Fire Release could it be accomplished.

"Does achieving the result require fulfilling a necessary need for the teacher?" Muyue guessed inwardly.

If that were the case, then Might Guy not triggering a training mission just now would make sense.

Just now, at most, Might Guy had been ignited with a passion to challenge Kakashi, and probably didn't think about it being impossible without Muyue.

Having a rough guess, Muyue didn't probe further; he would wait until after Might Guy failed in his challenge against Kakashi before making his move.

By then, he would let the disciple who lost the battle feel the warmth of their teacher.

After finishing the lesson, Muyue went to the house in the main city district.

After eating, Muyue first went to the park where he had previously encountered Minato and Kushina.

Luckily, he ran into Kushina and Minato there again.

Perhaps the people nearby all liked coming here, so the two weren't surprised to see Muyue.

"By the way, last time you left so quickly, I forgot to ask you something." Kushina suddenly remembered something and asked.

"Did you agree to the Third's offer to be a private tutor?"

Muyue nodded.

"I heard that kid is a bit rebellious and doesn't even listen to the Third. Will he listen to you?" Kushina asked curiously.

Muyue smiled and told them the process of how he trained Asuma.

Kushina didn't know how Asuma felt being taught that way, but she certainly found it amusing to listen to.

Especially how, on the second day, Asuma tried to slack off and resist but ended up being tricked into training until he was exhausted — that made Kushina exclaim that the shrewd Third could actually have such a foolish son.

Minato was also surprised by Muyue's teaching approach, how he could get even a student unwilling to learn to cooperate with the training.

Muyue didn't just talk about himself; he also asked Minato and Kushina some questions, and the atmosphere of their chat was very harmonious.

Muyue felt that if he could get along with them like this for a while and become friends, he could then casually show his interest in sealing techniques and curse marks.

Transition chapters are really hard to write — I cut and revised this chapter, removing a thousand words, which is why I posted it so late.