Chapter 146: Combat Training

[Disciple Uchiha Obito's Training Task]

[Training Task: Defeat Kakashi]

[Reward: Depends on the completion of the task and the growth of strength during the task]

Mutsuki silently nodded to himself. It had to be Kakashi, who single-handedly supported Guy and Obito's training tasks.

"First, grasp the Flame Breathing. In a few days, you will spar with Shisui to become familiar with using the Breathing Technique in combat," Mutsuki said, outlining the upcoming arrangements.

Obito nodded. In truth, he preferred sparring with Guy because their fights were evenly matched and more dignified.

But sparring with Shisui... Obito couldn't guarantee he'd win, especially now that Shisui had activated his Sharingan.

In the evening, after Mutsuki finished cooking, Minato entered Mutsuki's home alone.

"Is Kushina not coming today?" Mutsuki asked as he brought the cooked dishes to the table.

At this time, Kushina and Minato were not living together; she just often spent the day at Minato's house.

"Kushina is currently on a secret mission, so she won't be able to come over for some time," Minato explained with a smile.

"If you encounter any problems with Sealing Jutsu in the future, just ask me."

"I see, that's a pity. I made braised pork with preserved vegetables today," Mutsuki said with some regret.

"Can I take some to go? I have urgent matters to attend to and need to leave soon," Minato said with a slightly red face, feeling a bit embarrassed to ask for takeaway food while visiting someone else's home.

However, he had no choice. Although he wanted to eat, it wasn't to the extent of taking food away. If he had time, he would eat; if not, he would skip it.

The one who truly needed takeaway food was Kushina. She said that if Minato didn't bring her food, she would knock out an ANBU and come over to Mutsuki's house to eat before returning.

Minato was helpless; he believed that Kushina might actually do something like that.

Kushina was currently in a very dangerous situation, and Minato didn't want anything to happen to her.

Due to the changing situation in the ninja world, the Konoha Elders hoped that Kushina, as the new Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, could become a trump card for Konoha in war. Therefore, they instructed Kushina to undergo training to control the Tailed Beast.

However, controlling the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the Tailed Beasts, was not easy, especially since Kushina had only recently become a Jinchuriki.

Using the power of the Nine-Tails carried the risk of being influenced by its power. With the immense strength of the Nine-Tails, if the Jinchuriki were to go berserk, it would cause tremendous damage to Konoha. Therefore, Kushina's movements were restricted, and she had to spend most of her time in a building with reinforced sealing effects.

Considering Kushina's needs, the Elders sent someone to create a huge sealing barrier centered around this building. While the barrier's effect was not as strong as being inside the building, it still had the effect of restraining the Nine-Tails. As long as she didn't stay outside for too long, it was fine.

"Takeout? Sure, no problem. I can't finish all of this by myself anyway," Mutsuki smiled and nodded, then filled two lunch boxes with food and handed them to Minato.

"Is it perhaps too much? Can you finish it all, Minato?" Mutsuki asked.

"Thank you, Mutsuki. There's no problem with enjoying such delicious food," Minato replied with a smile.

Originally, he had intended to bring the food to Kushina and just eat a little for himself. But since Mutsuki had packed so much, he didn't have to deprive himself. However, he realized that his image might change to that of a big eater in Mutsuki's eyes from now on.

Watching Minato's disappearing figure, Mutsuki activated his Byakugan and observed the surroundings for a while, but he didn't see any ANBU who used to be on constant surveillance here.

"One of the cameras leading to Sarutobi Hiruzen's place is missing," Mutsuki thought to himself.

Back when Kushina used to visit frequently, there were usually two ANBU keeping an eye on this place almost every day.

Being watched by the ANBU wasn't necessarily a bad thing; Mutsuki had done quite a few things utilizing those two cameras.

For example, showcasing his talent in Sealing Jutsu and also expressing joy when he was promoted to Special Jonin. When talking about the Third Hokage, he had appeared extremely grateful for the attention he received.

"Secret mission, could it be training to control the Nine-Tails?" Mutsuki speculated.

Knowing Kushina's status as the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Mutsuki certainly wouldn't think that Kushina was off on some dangerous S-rank mission.

During wartime, unless the situation escalated to the point where they absolutely needed the Tailed Beasts, Kushina would be restricted within the village. It was unimaginable for her to be allowed to leave.

Although Mutsuki hadn't been to the battlefield and didn't know the current situation there, he was sure that Konoha, Iwagakure, and the Hidden Cloud either hadn't officially started the war or were engaging in probing attacks against each other.

Because Minato was still in Konoha; if a real war had broken out, Minato wouldn't have the leisure to come and get food from him. He would have been sent to the battlefield.

Minato was a crucial figure in the Third Great Ninja War. As long as Minato appeared nonchalant in Konoha, Mutsuki could roughly gauge the state of the war.

After some simple speculation, Mutsuki decided not to make any more wild guesses. Even without him, Kushina and Minato would live well until the end of the war. There was no need for him to worry.

Instead, his disciples might suffer even more in the future. Guy watched helplessly as his father opened the Gate of Death to save him, while Obito was first crushed on one side of his body and then witnessed his close friend kill the person he loved.

...

A few days later, Shisui also adapted to the training of Total Concentration Breathing. Next, they would deepen the content taught by Mutsuki to start Beginner Flame Breathing.

Mutsuki had Obito and Shisui spar to familiarize themselves with the Breathing Technique.

"Combat practice is divided into three stages. In the first stage, only use the Breathing Technique without Chakra. In the second stage, use both the Breathing Technique and Chakra, but no Ninjutsu. In the third stage, all previous restrictions are lifted, and additionally, Sharingan is prohibited," Mutsuki announced the upcoming combat training plan.

The dynamic vision of Sharingan greatly enhances Taijutsu, so without it, Obito felt he couldn't play properly.

"Not using Chakra, huh? Maybe I can win then," Obito instantly felt a glimmer of hope for victory.

In purely comparing the progress of their Breathing Technique practice, he might even be slightly ahead of Shisui.

"Not using Chakra means that the Breathing Technique itself doesn't require Chakra. Techniques like Soru that need Chakra for Taijutsu are still allowed," Mutsuki added.

For the Fire Shadow Form of the Breathing Technique, there are two options: one can choose to use Chakra alongside breathing or not use it at all.

Not using Chakra will result in many effects being lost. For example, Stone Breathing's enhancement to the body will be significantly reduced, Flame Breathing won't have the acceleration effect of Nature Transformation, and all Breathing Techniques in Mark State require Chakra to activate; they won't work without it.

After hearing this, Obito felt his chances of winning shrink from considerable to minimal, especially since Shisui had trained his Body Flicker Jutsu better than him.

However, compared to stage three, Obito still had a significant advantage in stage one because his Ninjutsu skills were not as good as Shisui's.

"Are the rules clear to everyone?" Mutsuki asked.

"Yes, clear," Shisui and Obito nodded in response.

"Then prepare for battle. We'll start with stage one combat for a week," Mutsuki said.

The two positioned themselves as directed by Mutsuki, preparing for battle.

"Begin!" Mutsuki shouted.

Both Shisui and Obito instantly entered the Breathing Technique state, inhaling a large amount of oxygen to strengthen their bodies.

But just as Obito was about to charge towards Shisui, he found Shisui appearing directly in front of him.

"So fast!" Obito was greatly surprised. Despite practicing Soru as well, Shisui was much faster than him.

Fortunately, since nobody could use Chakra to enhance the Breathing Technique or Ninjutsu, Obito, though a step behind, was only at a slight disadvantage.

"Flame Breathing, Total Concentration Breathing." Obito attempted to turn the tables, directly entering the Total Concentration Breathing state to greatly increase his strength.

Instead of confronting him head-on, Shisui opted to avoid his attack using Soru, creating distance between them.

Although the disadvantage disappeared, Obito couldn't capitalize on it because he couldn't catch up to Shisui, and using Total Concentration Breathing consumed a lot of his stamina.

In the end, Shisui seized the opportunity and defeated Obito in one fell swoop.

Pap!

"The issue we talked about a few days ago is cropping up again," Mutsuki said, tapping Obito's head with two fingers.

"Don't use Total Concentration Breathing lightly," Mutsuki emphasized once more.

Considering Obito and their current stamina and Chakra levels, Total Concentration Breathing is like a special move. If you use it upfront, how can you continue the game afterward?

"I thought that not using Total Concentration Breathing would put me at a greater disadvantage in the end, so I just used it," Obito scratched his head, revealing his thoughts during the battle.

"The greater the enemy's advantage, the easier it is to find weaknesses. You should use it when you're in a major disadvantage to more easily turn the situation around," Mutsuki said.

"And you should know, Shisui is faster than you. If you simply enter the Total Concentration Breathing state like that, he'll likely avoid engaging with you directly."

Mutsuki wasn't trying to completely negate Obito's thoughts. Sometimes, in battles, you can't directly fall into a disadvantage from the start, as it puts you directly into the opponent's attacking rhythm. What he hoped for was that Obito could flexibly assess the strategy needed for each battle.

"You know Shisui's intel, don't waste that," Mutsuki emphasized.

He didn't want Obito to end up learning a bunch of Ninjutsu and Secret Jutsu only to falter in real combat. Combat prowess was crucial.

"I got it!" Obito replied, appearing to have an epiphany.

He had just carefully recalled the battles where he defeated Guy. It seemed like he had utilized Guy's intel in those battles, albeit unconsciously.

After a rest, Shisui and Obito had another bout.

This time, Obito listened to Mutsuki and refrained from using Total Concentration Breathing too soon. Though he didn't win, he lasted a bit longer than the first fight.

In the third round, still not victorious, but he held on for an extra half-minute. Obito felt he was improving.

As the first day of combat training ended, Obito hadn't won yet. In the final bout, Obito executed Total Concentration Breathing well, and after Shisui's victory, he felt a bit tired.

"Obito, sorry, but I won't lose under Yumi-sensei's watch," Shisui silently thought, determined to meet Mutsuki's expectations.

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