Chapter 499

The Land of Rain.

News of the unrestricted lecture spread, and the area around the Shinobi Sect base grew lively.

Some ninjas from farther away arrived early and settled nearby, waiting for the legendary ninja instructor to officially begin his class.

Since Muyue started lecturing at nine in the morning, which was early, even the most interested Rain ninjas from not-too-far distances chose to come the night before and stay over.

The thoughts of others were unknown for now, but the innkeeper and vendors near the Shinobi Sect base were immensely grateful to Muyue, wishing he would hold more events like this.

As the leader, Hanzo naturally wouldn't rush over to the Shinobi Sect base early in the morning to attend the lecture, so he came ahead of time as well.

Disguised as a wandering ninja, Hanzo observed the crowds coming and going nearby.

"Iwa-nin, Suna-nin, even Konoha has sent people." Looking at the mixed crowd, Hanzo already sensed the chaos that was about to unfold.

Among those ninja villages were enemies currently at war — when foes meet, their eyes blaze with hatred, and it's perfectly normal for them to start fighting.

"Those who wish to fight, please leave the town on your own. Fighting inside the town will be treated as provoking trouble, and you will be required to compensate for all damaged property." A Shinobi Sect ninja on patrol shouted.

Hanzo searched around without changing his expression, spotting Pakura at a street corner, completely without disguise.

Some ninjas were discussing Sōsuke's battle achievements.

On the open ground of the Shinobi Sect base, the long-awaited ninja instructor's class was about to begin.

"But Nagato, you've really changed a lot. I feel like you're getting stronger and stronger," Yahiko praised.

"Haha, I know that, I was just kidding." Yahiko interrupted, throwing his arm around Nagato's neck and laughing loudly.

Working alongside Sōsuke, Yahiko realized he had far too many shortcomings; the original Akatsuki would have found it too difficult to grow to the level of the Shinobi Sect.

"He sure prepared a lot." Hanzo withdrew his gaze and returned to the inn, but was drawn by a shout.

Saying Sōsuke had changed the Land of Rain might not yet be sufficient, but he had indeed changed them, made them all better.

He wasn't naive to that extent — strengthening the Shinobi Sect couldn't be done that way either.

There was no lavishly decorated venue, no tables or chairs, and even the instructor, Sōsuke, only had a slightly elevated platform so others could see him.

However, the content would likely not be friendly to him, since as Sōsuke's defeated opponent, coming to listen clearly proved he had been convinced in battle.

Hanzo sneered inwardly — what was Pakura compared to him? The demigod Hanzo himself had come out of curiosity.

"Yeah, a powerhouse so young, yet before defeating Hanzo there was no news of him at all — truly deep waters."

"I wonder what he'll talk about. I hope it's not some basic jutsu."

But now Nagato could not only speak, but also explain things logically.

Before, Nagato had been very quiet — one had to actively find topics, and even then he would only give a little response.

The wandering ninjas were extremely astonished.

Even Sōsuke, the renowned ninja instructor famous across the ninja world, didn't have a seat, so it was only natural that they all stood.

"Sōsuke used Fire Release when he defeated Hanzo. Fire is countered by Water, so normally he should be best at Fire Release to do that — maybe he'll explain Fire Release?"

Muyue also considered that too many ninjas might cause chaos — his attitude was that fighting was allowed, but not interfering with ordinary people or disrupting his class.

"So this is Sōsuke, who defeated the demigod Hanzo. He looks so young, maybe at most thirty years old."

"Yeah, it's really nice for everyone to move forward together in a good direction." Yahiko stretched his arms and smiled.

The wandering ninjas around gasped again upon spotting Kitsuchi — Kitsuchi's fame was no less than Pakura's, and because he was the Tsuchikage's son, it was even greater.

If anyone in the Shinobi Sect recognized Muyue the most, Yahiko might not be absolutely first, but certainly among the top — to avoid trouble for the Sect, he had even disbanded the Akatsuki, which had carried his growth and dreams.

"Isn't that the Sand Hero, Pakura?"

To her, the vast majority of people here were nothing more than ants she could crush at any time.

"Kitsuchi of the Rock Fist is here too. I wonder if other big shots have come, just disguised or not showing themselves," someone speculated boldly.

"A ninja of her level actually came to listen to Sōsuke's lecture?"

For them, someone at Pakura's level was already extremely strong — an untouchable big shot.

The next day.

"So lively! Truly worthy of Teacher Sōsuke—just raising his arm brings so many ninja to respond. If they could all join the Ninshū, the Ninshū's strength would at least multiply several times." Yahiko, who was patrolling from a high vantage point, exclaimed.

"Kitsuchi? Why is he in Rain Country again?" Hanzō spotted Kitsuchi, who likewise had not disguised himself.

Pakura noticed the gazes and faint murmurs from those around her, but she paid them no mind.

Hanzō silently returned to the inn.

Hanzō figured that if he hadn't disguised himself, tomorrow's ninja world headline would be him and Sōsuke.

"Everyone is, after all, under Teacher Sōsuke's guidance." Nagato looked into the distance as he replied.

"Moreover, many among them are ninja from the ninja villages, whether from the perspective of personal interest or..."

"This appearance—no mistake—it's that Sunagakure hero with the Scorch Style."

Even though conditions were crude, most ninja had no complaints.

"Uh, that should be impossible. Even rogue ninja wouldn't join an organization so easily." Nagato thought for a moment and replied.

Some were also curious about the content of the upcoming lecture.

Hanzō overheard the discussions of those nearby, staring expressionlessly at the podium.

Muyue stood on the podium, activated his Byakugan, and briefly scanned the crowd below. Including the Ninshū ninja, there were roughly over a thousand.

Among them, the majority were ninja from surrounding small ninja villages and scattered independent ninja, with few from the large ninja villages.

This number was within Muyue's expectations.

After all, it was during the Third Great Ninja War; not many ninja had free time, and they likely didn't have the time either.

If it were peacetime, the number would be larger.

Since the number was not small, Muyue did not use Appraisal on each one individually, but instead looked at the status panels of those ninja with relatively strong chakra.

【Name: Kitsuchi】

【Chakra: 】

【Skills: Earth Nature Transformation (Proficient: 4000/), Earth Release: Rock Fist (Proficient), Earth Release: Mountain Earth (Proficient)...】

After confirming there were no issues, Muyue began the lesson.

"Hello everyone, I am Sōsuke. I will be giving the lecture from now on. Please try to remain quiet." Muyue spoke in a raised voice, while simultaneously releasing a degree of his own presence.

In the ninja world, which is a world where individual power exists, the strong receive respect. To prevent unnecessary minor trouble, Muyue didn't mind letting some people know the true worth of Ninja Teacher Sōsuke before the lecture.

Powerful chakra swept across the entire open space. Some chunin who were closer turned slightly pale, shocked in their hearts.

"Such a powerful aura." Pakura was secretly startled.

Under Muyue's gentle and reasoned discourse, the entire venue became quiet. No one chatted idly anymore; everyone looked toward Muyue.

"The course will last a total of seven days. The main content includes chakra nature transformation and form transformation, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and so on." Muyue explained briefly.

In order to aim for the S-rank advanced course reward, Muyue had put considerable effort into lesson preparation, because besides the number of attendees, course quality also affected the final evaluation.

The attendees came from various different ninja villages far and wide. To accommodate everyone, Muyue had to teach content that would be useful to most.

"Such broad content—is this really okay?" Kitsuchi was somewhat surprised.

He had thought Muyue would teach his specialty, Fire Style, but now it sounded like Muyue intended to touch on a bit of everything.

"Nature transformation of chakra — I'm sure everyone is familiar with it." Muyue began the formal lecture.

Many ninja below nodded. Except for rare cases like Might Guy, the vast majority of ninja would make nature transformation the focus of their training.

Only with stronger nature transformation can one use stronger ninjutsu; taijutsu specialists are ultimately a minority.

"Earth can control the ground and change the hardness of all things." Muyue formed hand signs and created an earthen pillar beside himself.

"Wind can make your chakra thin and sharp like a blade, capable of cutting objects."

Muyue placed his hand on the earthen pillar; wind blades emerged from his palm, instantly cutting the pillar into large stone blocks.

"Lightning has strong penetrating ability and is also suitable for diffusion."

A bolt of lightning shattered the stone, reducing it to a pile of rubble.

"The characteristic of fire lies in its temperature and combustion."

Blazing high-temperature flames erupted from Mu Yue's hand, adding more scorch marks to the broken stones.

"Water chakra is easy to deform, making it suitable for various shape transformations."

After entering the water-nature chakra nature transformation, Mu Yue waved his hand and created a stream of water that he could knead at will; under his control, the stream turned into a soft whip or a sharp sword.

In the blink of an eye, Mu Yue completed a demonstration of the five chakra nature transformations and explained their characteristics.

"Truly impressive. Even though he didn't say much, every word was essential," a ninja in the crowd sighed inwardly.

He was training in wind-nature chakra nature transformation, and he felt that no matter how much his previous teachers had said, the essence was simply thinness and sharpness—he should delve deeper in that direction.

"Is that all?" Ye Cang found it somewhat dull.

Although Mu Yue's explanation was good, for a ninja like her, this was basic knowledge.

"We all know that chakra natures have a mutual suppression relationship. Making good use of this relationship can give you an advantage in battle."

"This is precisely the important reason why we must constantly deepen our study of chakra nature transformations. If your level of nature transformation is high enough, the suppression relationship is not absolute—even Fire Release can suppress Water Release."

The ninjas nodded. The reason their teacher Sōsuke had earned his current reputation was that in the battle against Hanzo, he had used Fire Release to defeat him, proving his extraordinarily high level of Fire Release.

Hanzo's face darkened. Although Mu Yue hadn't mentioned a name, he felt he was being singled out.

As Mu Yue delved deeper, Hanzo became more serious. He wanted to know exactly how he had lost that day—despite having the advantage of the rainy weather, he had still been defeated by Mu Yue, who specialized in Fire Release.

Midway through the lecture, Mu Yue felt that mere words were hard to understand, so he asked the crowd to step back a little, entered the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, compressed his chakra, and flicked a spark toward the ground.

"Now I will randomly select a ninja to come up and try to extinguish it with water," Mu Yue said, scanning the crowd.

Hanzo frowned slightly, lowered his head, and tried to make himself less noticeable, while the ninjas around him were eager to try—this was an opportunity to interact with their teacher Sōsuke.

"May I invite that friend wearing the mask to come up and give it a try?" Mu Yue pointed at Hanzo.

Hanzo:...

He seriously suspected that Mu Yue had already recognized him; otherwise, why, out of so many ninjas, had he been chosen?

"You're so lucky—a one-in-a-thousand chance and you got it," the surrounding ninjas said to Hanzo, envy in their eyes.

Hanzo was speechless. He only felt that his luck had completely run out.

Hanzo walked expressionlessly toward Mu Yue. He thought it might be a coincidence—his disguise skills were strong, and he hadn't exchanged words with Mu Yue; there was no reason he should have been recognized.

Now that so many people were watching, refusing would be abnormal and might cause Mu Yue to discover his true identity.

To avoid making tomorrow's shinobi world headlines, Hanzo didn't want to expose himself.

"What should I call you?" Mu Yue asked Hanzo with a smile.

"Hattori," Hanzo answered casually and dismissively.

"Hattori, if you have mastered Water Release, you can try to put out the fire with Water Release. If you don't know Water Release, we have a water hose here for you to use," Mu Yue explained the interaction rules.

Hanzo nodded and looked at the high-temperature flame.

This flame was extraordinary. As he approached, Hanzo could clearly feel that the temperature was higher here.

"Water Release: Water Bullet!"

After thinking, Hanzo performed hand seals and used a basic Water Release technique, spitting water toward the flame.

Although he wanted to use a full-power Water Release to extinguish the fire, it would most likely expose him.

Sizzle!

The water rushing toward the flame was rapidly evaporated, while the momentum of Mu Yue's compressed fire showed no sign of weakening.

"Please use a stronger Water Release technique," Mu Yue gave a new instruction.

Hanzo exerted a little more power, making it look difficult, and spewed a thick stream of water rushing toward the flame, but the result remained unchanged.

"Now, who else wants to try?" Mu Yue temporarily let Hanzo off and asked the crowd.

"Me, me!"

"Pick me, I'm very good at Water Release!"

The ninjas all volunteered to try to extinguish Muyue's Fire Release.

Muyue used Appraisal Technique to select a few ninjas with decent proficiency and had them attempt it.

Without exception, the Water Release was evaporated, and Muyue's flames continued to burn.

The ninjas attending the class were all astonished, feeling that Muyue's Fire Release had become superhumanly strong.

This was indeed the case: Perfect-level Fire Nature Transformation, enhanced by the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, and further amplified by Muyue's Compression Technique.

Although these flames were not as powerful as the inextinguishable Amaterasu, they were not something an ordinary Water Release ninja could handle.

"Interesting." Yecang showed an intrigued expression; this pure Fire Release actually seemed even stronger than her Scorch Release.

Muyue dismissed the jutsu, walked back to the podium, and resumed the lecture, explaining the key points of Fire and Water Nature Transformations in a simple and profound manner.

"Is Souyusuke's Water Release also that strong?" After the lecture, Hanzo developed a terrifying conjecture.

He listened to Muyue's explanation of Water Release and actually gained some insights, feeling that there were indeed aspects he had not perfected.

"Or perhaps his foundation is solid or he has extensive theoretical knowledge," Hanzo speculated inwardly.

Unnoticed, time quickly reached 1 PM. When Muyue announced a break, many ninjas realized that four hours had already passed.

Even ninjas who were not training in Fire or Water Nature Transformations listened intently, partly because Muyue taught well, and partly because Muyue would expand the content, occasionally touching on other Nature Transformations.

"I really came to the right place. I never expected Souyusuke to have such a profound understanding of Water Release," a Rain Ninja exclaimed.

Although due to his level he couldn't fully grasp some of the more advanced content, he consolidated his foundation and his future path became clearer, gaining far more than he had expected.

"Yeah, I don't know how things turned out this way. I feel Lord Souyusuke is a strong person who is easy to talk to," said the Rain Ninja beside him, puzzled.

Facing them, former enemies, and a large number of ninjas unrelated to the Ninja Sect, Muyue still took such an attitude to teach seriously. He didn't believe that Muyue was what Hanzo had been propagandizing.

"Shh, don't speak carelessly."

The Rain Ninja quickly covered his friend's mouth and looked around, worried that Rain Ninja Anbu might also be present. Only after discovering that the only one nearby was the rogue ninja who had just interacted with the teacher did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Just study hard in class. Don't think about things like 'Lord Souyusuke is good, Lord Hanzo is bad' and so on."

Although he also thought Muyue was good, they were still Rain Ninjas after all. Discussing a few words privately was fine, but if heard by certain people in public, they might be labeled as spies.

"With just one class achieving such results, the title 'Ninja Teacher' is indeed not wrong at all," Hanzo thought as he looked at the Rain Ninjas.

Because he had once wanted to destroy the Ninja Sect, Hanzo had conducted a series of negative propaganda in the Rain Village against Muyue and the Ninja Sect.

Now it seemed to be futile, and might even backfire on his reputation.

After a one-hour break, the class resumed, and not a single ninja left.

In the afternoon, Muyue chose Lightning and Earth Nature Transformations. There were too few Wind-natured ninjas, so Muyue planned to cover them together with Yin-Yang Nature Transformations the next morning.

As the afternoon class ended, lines of black text flashed across Muyue's panel.

【Completed one Advanced Teaching. Beginning settlement.】

【Evaluation: S】

【Rewards obtained: Nature Transformation Insight, Fire Nature Transformation +10, Water Nature Transformation +122, Earth Nature Transformation +96, Lightning Nature Transformation...】

【First time completing Advanced Teaching. Acquired Skill — Solve Doubts.】

With Muyue's thorough preparation, he ultimately succeeded in the breakthrough.

The rewards for an S-rank Advanced Class looked similar to an Intermediate Class, except that "Understanding" was replaced with "Insight". The boost to skills related to Nature Transformations was greater. Muyue could feel that its effect was more than just increased panel proficiency, but since it was the first time obtaining it, it was hard to scrutinize.

Muyue turned his gaze to the newly acquired skill.

P. S.: This chapter is 5k words. There will be another chapter later, time uncertain. Everyone can read it when they wake up tomorrow.

Today I'm stuck on writing, going slow. Need to pull an all-nighter. Recently got on a recommendation list, feel like I need to update more.