On Sunday morning, Mokutsuki went to the Southern Forest as usual, ready to start a new round of teaching.
However, he didn’t immediately start teaching the breathing techniques. Instead, he first had Might Guy and Obito compete in their running race.
Yesterday, he used his appraisal technique to check Obito’s progress in learning Soru. He was almost at the entry-level. With a bit more effort today, he should be able to master it.
“Today, we’ll make a small change to the rules. The winner’s questions will be added to the loser’s,” Mokutsuki said with a smile.
“Huh? So the loser might end up with eighty questions?” Obito was already a bit panicked.
According to Mokutsuki’s new rules, if the winner’s questions were entirely exempted and the loser didn’t push past their limits, the loser would face eighty questions.
He had won before, but he had lost more often. With the new rules, the number of questions could double.
Even Might Guy had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He won more often, but he hadn’t always won.
“This is a special event for Sunday. After today, it will go back to the old rules,” Mokutsuki explained.
Obito and Might Guy both breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was just for one day. If this were the norm, the pressure would be too much.
They had once endured a period of over a hundred questions per battle, but that tough time was already buried deep in their memories.
“Why is there a special event today? Is it a special day?” Obito asked in confusion.
“Because today marks my 111th day as a teacher,” Mokutsuki replied.
Although it was an excuse, it was indeed his 111th day as a teacher and his 111th day in the Naruto world.
“Alright, let’s start the race,” Mokutsuki said.
After quickly completing their warm-up exercises, Obito and Might Guy stood at the starting point Mokutsuki had designated.
“Obito, good luck,” Rin Nohara, who was training nearby, smiled and cheered for Obito.
“I won the actual combat test against Guy, so this race won’t be any different,” Obito said confidently.
“Eighty questions, and with Rin watching, I absolutely can’t lose this time!” Obito thought to himself.
“Ready, go!”
Whoosh!
As soon as Mokutsuki finished speaking, Obito burst out with chakra and made a powerful start.
With the pressure of eighty questions, Might Guy was equally motivated and also used Soru for a super start.
Sensing the increasingly loud running sounds, Obito felt more urgent. He gritted his teeth and continued running, ignoring the fatigue in his leg muscles. He then used Soru again.
But Might Guy wouldn’t lose in terms of determination. Seeing Obito start to speed up, Might Guy also mustered his strength and began to accelerate, rapidly chasing Obito’s shadow.
His physique was more muscular than Obito’s, and he had already mastered Soru. So, as long as he gets close to Obito, Obito will almost certainly lose.
As they got closer to the finish line, the distance between Might Guy and Obito narrowed.
Whoosh!
Seeing the finish line approaching, Might Guy switched to sprint mode, disappearing from his original position and moving forward by a large margin.
Obito also began his sprint, using his not-yet-fully-mastered Soru to dash towards the finish line.
The distance between them decreased, and out of the corner of his eye, Obito could see a rapidly moving green figure—that was Might Guy in his tight-fitting outfit.
“Oh no!” Obito thought in dismay. He knew Might Guy had made some progress again this time.
“I absolutely can’t lose!” Obito poured all his strength into his legs, running with all his might.
“Soru!”
They both used Soru simultaneously, their bodies disappearing from their original positions.
“Who won?” Rin Nohara could only see their figures blur suddenly, and in the next moment, they both appeared at the finish line together.
“Obito wins, Guy, seventy questions,” Mokutsuki announced.
In the final sprint, Obito had fully learned Soru and mastered the technique of triple layering, winning the race with a slight advantage due to the shorter distance.
“Huff, huff, huff,” Obito collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. His chest felt like it was on fire, and even breathing was hot.
Although he was exhausted, Obito was pleased. This meant he had eighty fewer questions to do, which was equivalent to two fewer losses, and he had won in front of Rin Nohara.
Thinking of Rin Nohara’s presence, even with his tired legs, Obito struggled to stand up.
“Obito, do you want to rest a bit more?” Rin Nohara asked with concern.
“It’s fine, just a little run, no big deal,” Obito said, trying to keep his legs from shaking and pretending to be relaxed.
“So it was a bit short. Let’s double the distance tomorrow,” Mokutsuki said with a look of realization and a smile.
Obito: …
“So you still have some strength left, Obito. Let’s run again; I feel I have room for improvement,” Might Guy said with a face full of enthusiasm, temporarily suppressing his fear of the questions.
Aside from the need to answer questions, Might Guy enjoyed the race. Although he had lost just now, he had indeed improved.
Obito didn’t know if Might Guy was undermining him or really wanted to run again.
“Actually, I was using a literary technique, and you misunderstood my meaning,” Obito tried to bluff his way through.
Rin Nohara intervened, poking Obito’s thigh with her finger, causing it to tremble uncontrollably.
“Obito, don’t push yourself too hard. You’re already shaking like this. If you double the distance, you might collapse,” Rin Nohara sighed.
Obito felt exhausted and thought, “Let everything be destroyed; I’m tired.”
He just wanted to show off a bit in front of Rin Nohara, but why was it so difficult?
“Alright, rest up and get ready to learn a new ninjutsu. This time, I’ll be teaching you a very difficult secret technique, so you must take it seriously,” Mokutsuki said.
“A very difficult secret technique? That means it must be powerful,” Obito said excitedly. Generally, the more complex the ninjutsu, the more powerful it was.
“Yes, it’s very difficult to learn, but if you master it, it will greatly enhance your strength,” Mokutsuki nodded.
Breathing techniques, after being localized, had great power but were extremely difficult to learn. If graded according to Naruto’s system, the two breathing techniques he had were both S-rank forbidden techniques.
Especially Rock Breathing, which was as difficult as learning the Eight Gates and required intense practice.
“Teacher, do I have to learn it too? I’m slow at learning ninjutsu,” Might Guy scratched his head and asked.
His talent for ninjutsu was poor, and he struggled with even the basic three techniques.
“You will learn it, but it’s different from what they will learn. Just believe in yourself,” Mokutsuki replied.
After the two rested, Mokutsuki called Shisui and prepared to start teaching the breathing techniques.
(End of Chapter)
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