Chapter 147: Plan Improvement

Another weekend arrived. On Saturday afternoon, Mutsuki brought his intern training plan to Asuma's house.

Upon arrival, Hiruzen was nowhere to be seen, only Asuma's mother, Sarutobi Biwako. Mutsuki wasn't surprised; it was normal not to encounter the Third at this time. Hiruzen tended to appear more frequently when returning home.

"Biwako-sama, I'm taking Asuma to practice," Mutsuki reminded.

"Yumi-sensei, thank you," Biwako said with a smile.

Though they hadn't exchanged many words, Sarutobi occasionally heard about Mutsuki from Hiruzen and Asuma, knowing him to be a good sensei.

"Yumi-sensei, are we practicing Nature Transformation and the Great Dragon Fire today?" Asuma inquired.

"Yep, training in Nature Transformation is crucial. Once you've made progress in that area, I'll teach you something else," Mutsuki replied. He had a training plan for Asuma.

Mutsuki understood one thing: Asuma played a significant role in why Hiruzen was willing to pull him out from the roots.

Currently, Asuma acted as a link between Hiruzen and Mutsuki. If he could educate Asuma well, Mutsuki's future prospects in Konoha wouldn't be too bleak.

Although Mutsuki's goal wasn't to excel in Konoha, he still needed time to develop. He had to leverage Hiruzen to secure that time for his growth.

So, Mutsuki taught Asuma as if he were his disciple, except for some things that couldn't be revealed yet. Mutsuki was doing his best to instruct Asuma.

"I wish Yumi-sensei knew Wind Release. After mastering Fire Release, I'd like to learn Wind Release," Asuma expressed regret.

He remembered Mutsuki already knew Water Release and Fire Release. Typically, Jonin only mastered two elemental Ninjutsu, so Asuma assumed Mutsuki only knew those two.

"Wind Release, huh? It's possible. As long as I learn it before teaching you," Mutsuki said with a grin.

"Yumi-sensei, that's so cool!" Asuma was touched because his teacher was willing to learn before teaching his students.

"Maybe it's just talk. After all, I haven't had much experience with Wind Release, so I'm not sure if I can learn it," Mutsuki didn't want to make any promises.

"Perhaps you're a Wind Release genius, Yumi-sensei," Asuma said with a smile, genuinely hoping for it.

Asuma felt that his Jonin mentor was much weaker compared to Mutsuki.

If it weren't for Mutsuki's teaching commitments at the Academy, Asuma would have asked Third to spend more money to have Mutsuki teach him every day.

After teaching Asuma for the afternoon, Mutsuki accompanied him home and saw Hiruzen finishing work at Asuma's house.

"Third-sama, here are the specific arrangements for the ninja interns I mentioned earlier," Mutsuki handed the documents to Hiruzen.

Hiruzen nodded as he took the documents.

"For practical training, the top fifteen scores are divided into five groups for internships, with excellent teachers selected as guiding sensei. During the internship, D and C-level missions are limited..." Hiruzen quickly scanned through the materials with a pipe in his mouth.

After a moment of contemplation, Hiruzen spoke up, "Mutsuki, you're being too conservative. In the fourth grade, there are over three hundred students, and there are more than just fifteen outstanding students. Double that number, and there are still students who won't be included. Also, I think the internship period can be extended. Not only during the second semester holiday but also skipping classes in the third semester and including it in the internship period. One month is too short; students won't get enough training."

As Mutsuki expected, Third even began to feel there were too few participants. However, the idea of adding internship time in the third semester caught Mutsuki by surprise.

If the internship time is added in the third semester, this so-called internship would basically mean graduating a semester early.

"I'll make the changes and show you again when I get back," Mutsuki replied humbly.

Regardless of whether there are more participants or the internship time is added in the third semester, Mutsuki feels there shouldn't be a big problem. In fact, it could benefit the students in many ways.

In Mutsuki's opinion, given the teaching quality at the Academy, it's difficult for even the top thirty students to learn much in the final semester. It's better to go out and get familiar with missions, learn Ninjutsu from excellent Chunin sensei, and so on.

Of course, the premise is that they won't be assigned war missions. Even logistics tasks on the battlefield are unsafe.

Mutsuki feels that given the current situation, interns at this level shouldn't be sent to the battlefield. If that were the case, it wouldn't just be the top thirty students, but at least all fourth-grade students would be involved.

And if it truly came to that point, whether they interned or not wouldn't matter much. The school might just issue headbands and diplomas directly, which would be easily arranged if Konoha's Elders desired it.

On Sunday evening, Obito and Shisui had their final battle.

"Starting tomorrow, you can enhance your Breathing Technique with Chakra, but you can't use Ninjutsu," Mutsuki said.

"This is the last one; I really want to win this time," Obito ignited his fighting spirit.

For a whole week, he and Shisui had battled countless times, yet Obito hadn't won a single match.

Finally, Obito understood why Mutsuki said he couldn't beat Kakashi now. According to Mutsuki, even Shisui without using Sharingan would have a hard time against Kakashi.

If Shisui without Sharingan couldn't match Kakashi, and Obito struggled against Shisui without Sharingan and without using Ninjutsu, then facing the even stronger Kakashi would be even more difficult.

In their final match, Obito displayed remarkable resilience, engaging Shisui in a prolonged Taijutsu battle before resorting to Total Concentration Breathing to turn the tables.

Shisui chose to clash head-on with Breathing Technique, but Obito's Breathing Technique was stronger, compensating for his other shortcomings. However, even after the Total Concentration Breathing state ended, he could only slightly reverse the situation, just easing the disadvantage.

Fortunately, both of them used Total Concentration Breathing, so Obito didn't fall into a worse situation.

Just as he was about to falter, the frustration within Obito erupted completely. In a situation where he had almost no energy left, he broke through his limits once again and entered the Total Concentration Breathing state.

"This is my last breath!" Obito felt his strength skyrocketing, as if a raging fire burned within him.

With the augmentation of the Total Concentration Breathing, Obito pushed Shisui back step by step.

Watching from the sidelines, Mutsuki tightened his fists. Suddenly, Shisui's breathing rhythm changed dramatically as he also reentered the state of total concentration, directly catching Obito's incoming punch.

"Obito, though you desire to win, I won't lose," Shisui began to counterattack.

With his superior overall proficiency in combat, Shisui ultimately maintained his undefeated record, while Obito failed to achieve a first win.

Mutsuki watched as both of their proficiency levels increased and nodded in satisfaction. Indeed, there was something to be said about breakthroughs in battle.

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