Chapter 336: Kakashi: Shisui, Have You Ever Lost?

Ninja Academy Teacher: I Get Stronger Just by Teaching, Chapter 254: Kakashi: Shisui, Have You Ever Been Defeated? "Fire Style: Fireball Technique!"

Anko completed the hand seals with a very standard sequence, then gathered chakra in her throat for nature transformation, finally spitting out a fireball the size of her head.

Watching the flames leave a scorch mark on the ground, Anko showed a proud smile.

"Hehe, it's gotta be me—I'll definitely take first place in Group C next time!" Anko said with her hands on her hips, laughing.

Next to her, Kotetsu, who had only produced some tiny arcs of lightning, quietly stopped practicing.

"Izumo, don't you think Fire Style is easier to learn? It seems like everyone studying Fire Style picks it up pretty fast," Kotetsu said to Izumo, who was practicing Water Style: Water Cutter nearby.

Izumo nodded and even analyzed with a serious expression, "I think so too. Maybe Teacher Muzuki is best at Fire Style, so he teaches it better than the others."

Anko was annoyed and complained, "Is it that hard to admit I'm just too good? No matter how much you badmouth my skills, they're still real."

"It's hard," Kotetsu replied honestly.

If he had to genuinely praise Anko for being outstanding, he'd rather go head-to-head with his cousin.

"In my mind, there's only one genius in our class—that's Shisui. Since you've also learned Fire Style ninjutsu, why don't you try challenging Shisui sometime? If you win, I guarantee the whole school will call you a genius," Izumo encouraged.

Izumo admitted Anko had some skill, but compared to Shisui, even this year's Anko might not be able to beat last year's Shisui.

Although Shisui didn't attend the special training this year, Izumo thought Shisui was probably receiving stricter training in his clan, learning clan ninjutsu and such, so his strength was definitely still growing.

"Why don't you go? If you can win, I'll even call you big brother," Anko said, not falling for it.

Honestly, the idea of the whole school calling her a genius was quite tempting for Anko, but she wasn't stupid. She had seen Shisui fight—his Fire Style a year ago was already much more powerful than hers now. There was no way she could win; she'd only get beaten up.

Izumo showed a disappointed expression, feeling that Anko had been fooled so many times she had developed antibodies and couldn't be tricked by ordinary words anymore.

"Everyone, gather up," Muzuki's voice rang out at that moment.

Hearing Muzuki's words, the students from all three groups quickly stopped their training and gathered around Muzuki's main body. Although it was close to the end of class, the students hadn't rested for dismissal; they were all still training.

"The Third Hokage has heard that everyone is studying diligently, so he plans to come watch and guide during the final exam," Muzuki said directly, without keeping them in suspense.

This wasn't too surprising, because Hiruzen Sarutobi had also come last year. But since he was the Third Hokage, he was very popular among the students, and this could be used to further boost their motivation for training.

"It's all because of Teacher Muzuki's prestige. Last year, during the second special training, the Hokage-sama didn't come."

"Maybe we should thank the teachers from that training. If they hadn't performed so poorly, Teacher Muzuki might not have taken up the special training again."

The students first showed surprised expressions, then started complaining about the second special training from the previous school year.

Back then, Muzuki was in charge of the internship program, and Hiruzen Sarutobi thought it would be good to develop other educational talents, so he selected a few teachers who usually performed well in class to take over the special training.

Without comparison, there is no harm. After going through the second special training, the students realized more deeply how powerful Muzuki's teaching skills were—there was a gap even among teachers.

"Izumo, looks like our chance is coming again!" Kotetsu said solemnly, looking at Izumo.

"Yeah, it's been a year already. Maybe the Hokage-sama has forgotten us. We need to leave a deeper impression," Izumo nodded, showing a serious expression.

In his eyes, this was a very important opportunity. If he and Kotetsu could successfully leave a deep impression on the Hokage, they might get important assignments right after graduation.

"But aside from the Deception Technique, we don't seem to have any other notable ninjutsu. And we already used the Deception Technique last time. What do we do?" Kotetsu's face showed a hint of worry.

He also thought this was a rare opportunity, but Kotetsu couldn't think of how to show himself off.

"True. Even though the Deception Technique is excellent, using it a second time might not yield good results," Izumo showed a thoughtful expression.

"Izumo, you have lots of ideas. Think of something quickly," Kotetsu placed his hopes on Izumo, who often came up with good plans.

"I can't think of any good way for now," Izumo shook his head, but he still gave an idea that wasn't really an idea.

"We can brainstorm and go ask Ebisu-niisan for help. If Ebisu-niisan has no solution, then we'll go to Asuma-niisan."

Kotetsu's eyes lit up, feeling that Izumo made a lot of sense.

Of course, they didn't forget to invite their good buddy Anko.

But Anko was busy training to claim the top spot in Group C and wasn't interested in their plan.

The two of them complained about Anko together, then, without giving Anko a chance to react, went to find Ebisu.

For some reason, seeing Kotetsu and Izumo looking at him with eager anticipation, Ebisu felt a sense of foreboding.

"Ebisu-niisan, we need your help!" Kotetsu and Izumo declared solemnly.

"Please teach us how to make a deep impression on the Third Hokage."

Hearing this, Ebisu's mouth twitched. He recalled memories of the special training from the previous school year. Rather than leaving an impression, Ebisu wished the Third Hokage would forget everything related to him.

"I see. How about this: when the exam ends, you follow the Hokage-sama and challenge him. Use your best deception techniques to challenge the Hokage-sama, so he can see your resolve as shinobi." Ebisu said after thinking it over.

To avoid being dragged into trouble, Ebisu decided to strike first, so there was no way he would get involved.

"As expected of Ebisu-nii!" Kotetsu Hagane thought this was a great idea.

Izumo Kamizuki also nodded in agreement. Although it was a bit direct, sometimes directness could yield unexpected results.

…………

After a week of Phase Two training, Obito finally understood what real difficult training was like.

Exhausted from training during the day, he had to do homework when he got home, then be woken up while sleeping at night, and after dispelling the shadow clone in the morning, the fatigue from staying up late would return to his body.

If Obito had to describe how tired he was right now, it would be that during breaks he had no mind to talk to Rin Nohara and would close his eyes to rest for a while.

Of course, Obito wasn't the only one tired; everyone else was also physically and mentally exhausted. Apart from training and sleeping, they couldn't think about anything else.

The training intensity was high, but the results of persevering were obvious. They couldn't guarantee uninterrupted breathing during sleep yet, but while awake, all four disciples could basically maintain the Breathing Technique continuously, which improved their training efficiency and made their bodies more enduring.

Perhaps because he was too tired and triggered some protective mechanism, Obito unknowingly completed the second phase of training. On Saturday of the second week, he managed to have a good night's sleep, without a single break in his Breathing Technique.

On the same day, Kakashi also had a good sleep, while Shisui completed the goal on Sunday, and Might Guy only finished in the third week.

Might Guy's progress was slightly slower because he had focused on training the Eight Gates for a period, which caused his proficiency in the Breathing Technique to lag behind a bit.

Moreover, although all completed Phase Two, not all disciples had reached the proficient level in the Breathing Technique. Only Kakashi and Obito's Breathing Techniques had reached proficient level, while Shisui and Might Guy's were still a bit short.

This was because Kakashi and Obito's Breathing Technique ceilings were already high enough—one had entered the Transparent World early, and the other had half-opened the Crimson Mark. Before the constant-breathing training started, they were just a little short of proficiency, so after completing uninterrupted breathing, they immediately reached the proficient level.

Actually, normally one would need to finish Phase Three special training to reach proficient level. Phase Three is an enhanced version of Phase Two: maintaining breathing twenty-four hours a day while also using concentrated breathing to raise the ceiling of the technique.

After Phase Two ended, Mu Yue did not immediately start Phase Three training but temporarily resumed normal daily training.

After all, they had been training at high intensity for about a month, and the Chunin Exam period had also been intense. Obito and the others needed a breather.

"Shisui, can we have a match?" During the midday break, Kakashi challenged Shisui.

He had originally planned to challenge Shisui after recovering, but Mu Yue's constant-breathing training was so exhausting that Kakashi didn't want to move after training, much less fight.

After returning to normal training for a couple of days, Kakashi felt his energy and spirit had peaked, so he immediately challenged Shisui.

Kakashi had never forgotten those three consecutive losses—first losing to Might Guy, then to Obito and Shisui. Having never been defeated by peers before, he lost three times in a row.

Those three defeats once made Kakashi doubt his life, thinking he wasn't a genius but just an ordinary ninja.

Now that he had regained his confidence, having already defeated Obito and Might Guy in the Chunin Exam, he only needed to defeat Shisui to remain the invincible genius among his peers, Kakashi.

"No problem." Shisui hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Mu Yue and finally agreed.

He knew in his heart that his chances of winning were small, but Shisui didn't want Mu Yue to think he was a coward afraid of failure.

Mu Yue, as usual, acted as referee while the other resting disciples gathered to watch.

"Go Shisui, I'm rooting for you!" Obito hoped Shisui would beat Kakashi up in front of Rin Nohara.

"What a youthful day! My rival, after the fight, have a match with me too!" Might Guy shouted, fired up.

"Alright, but only rock-paper-scissors." Kakashi replied expressionlessly.

Might Guy's smile immediately fell. Although it was also a contest, how could rock-paper-scissors compare to a fist-to-fist battle?

"Begin combat!" After the two formed the opposing seal, Mu Yue announced.

"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration!"

"Thunder Breathing, Total Concentration!"

Both focused their breathing to let the Breathing Technique provide greater power.

Shisui knew from his Chunin Exam fight that Kakashi was now very strong, so he was very cautious.

And although Kakashi didn't know how much Shisui's strength had grown, Shisui's consistent performance as a super genius made Kakashi dare not be careless.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Chain!"

Shisui rapidly formed hand seals, gathered chakra, and consecutively spat out two Great Fireballs at Kakashi.

Although the power of a single Great Fireball decreased, the area covered was wider, making it better for testing.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Kakashi did not use the high speed of Lightning Breathing to dodge, but instead used Earth Release to block both fireballs.

Actually, dodging would have consumed less energy and been a more cost-effective choice, but Kakashi worried that Shisui might have follow-up moves he didn't know about, so for safety he chose to defend with Earth-Style Wall.

This battle put Kakashi at an intelligence disadvantage; Shisui had seen all his moves during the Chunin Exam, while Kakashi didn't know what new ninjutsu Shisui had learned in the meantime.

If his opponent were Obito, Kakashi wouldn't think so carefully, but facing Shisui who had an intelligence advantage, Kakashi felt it was better to play it safe.

"Kakashi is definitely going to use Shadow Clones to fool people again." Watching the earth wall rise and block the view, Obito complained.

He had been tricked by Kakashi's Shadow Clones countless times; he had gained experience from being tricked.

"Not necessarily, last time during the Chunin Exam, Kakashi didn't use Shadow Clones," Rin Nohara spoke up.

"That's because he knew I was too smart to be fooled, so he didn't use them," Obito explained with a somewhat smug expression.

Rin covered her mouth with a light laugh and said nothing. In the fight with Obito, Kakashi indeed didn't use Shadow Clones to trick Obito, but because Obito misjudged and used Fire Dragon Flame Bullet to burn the ground, in a sense, he was still fooled.

Unlike Obito and Rin who were focusing on Kakashi, Might Guy paid more attention to Shisui. He was curious to what extent this genius who had never lost a single battle had grown.

In Might Guy's eyes, Shisui was also an undeniable genius, having the strength to defeat a genin even in the first grade. No matter how hard he trained, he had never managed to win a single victory against Shisui.

"Teacher Muyue, who do you think will win?" Obito asked Muyue, who was sitting nearby.

No one should understand their strength better than Muyue.

"Just watch calmly, you'll know the answer soon. However, you can be a bit more confident in your current strength..." Muyue didn't directly answer Obito's question, instead giving a subtle hint.

Shisui was certainly a genius; the fact that he could maintain the title of strongest disciple at the youngest age for a long time was the best proof.

But Kakashi and the others' current strength was not just the result of hard training; it was power gained from struggling on the brink of life and death. The two life-or-death crises with the Cloud jonin and the Mist jonin brought about their transformation.

From Muyue's perspective, he could intervene at any time to ensure his disciples' safety, but it was different for the disciples. Those two times Muyue was not by their side, and from their perspective, they were real life-or-death crises.

4k, still can't stay up late. Yesterday I fell asleep after 3 AM, and while writing today my mind was full of mush and I didn't know how to write. Today I'll just do 4k. Sleep early, wake up early, update early, try to write more during the day.