After returning to Konoha, Mutsuki gave his disciples a day off as usual and went to the Hokage's office to report on their mission.
Normally, a B-Rank mission wouldn't require a special report to Hiruzen, but the unexpected situation they encountered was a bit unusual.
Knock knock!
Mutsuki knocked on the wooden door of the Hokage's office.
"Come in."
Hearing Hiruzen's voice, Mutsuki immediately pushed the door open. "Third-sama, it seems that Ninja from other villages may have disguised themselves as Konoha Ninja to attack Hidden Sand."
"Mutsuki, please explain in detail," Hiruzen said with a serious expression.
Three of the five great Shinobi villages were already at war with Konoha, and Hiruzen did not want the last remaining village, Hidden Sand, to join in.
"It's like this. I took on a mission to escort someone in the Land of Rain. On the way, we were surrounded by a Sand team led by Pakura. They attacked us under the guise of an investigation," Mutsuki began explaining the circumstances of their encounter with Pakura.
"Pakura," Hiruzen said, his expression thoughtful.
Pakura was not an unknown figure in the ninja world. Hiruzen had heard of her before—she was a powerful bloodline ninja.
"Mutsuki, you didn't kill any of those Sand Ninja, did you?" Hiruzen asked after thinking for a moment.
Pakura was well-known in the ninja world as a strong warrior, while Mutsuki was more famous within Konoha. However, in terms of strength, Hiruzen did not believe that Pakura could defeat Mutsuki.
Mutsuki was proficient in five Chakra Nature Transformations, possessed the Kekkei Genkai Ice Release, had learned Flying Thunder God Jutsu, and was skilled in many high-level Ninjutsu. Additionally, he had an intelligence advantage. Pakura wouldn't be able to defeat Mutsuki.
So, Hiruzen wasn't worried about Mutsuki getting injured; his main concern was that Mutsuki might have lost control and accidentally killed some Hidden Sand Ninja.
In that case, no matter who from the Sand had actually killed them, the blame would fall on Konoha.
"I was forced to fight back, to the extent that we could talk things out. There were no casualties," Mutsuki replied. "Afterwards, Pakura admitted it was their mistake and said they would conduct a new investigation."
With his current strength, fighting against Pakura's Sand team was like bullying amateurs. There was no chance of an unintended accident.
"Mutsuki, you handled it well," Hiruzen said with a smile, offering praise. "Next, I'll arrange for ANBU to investigate."
This mission showed Hiruzen Mutsuki's ability to handle affairs. Not just in teaching and Ninjutsu, but in other aspects, Mutsuki's skills were exceptional.
"I'm glad I discovered him in time; otherwise, Mutsuki wouldn't be able to fully utilize his abilities," Hiruzen thought to himself, giving himself a pat on the back while stepping on Danzo.
In Hiruzen's view, a talent like Mutsuki could never remain anonymous forever. It was clear that Root's dark restrictions had limited Mutsuki.
Hiruzen felt deeply regretful about this. If Mutsuki had revealed such talent earlier, perhaps he would have directly taken Mutsuki as his disciple.
At the moment, Hiruzen considered Jiraiya to be the best candidate for the Fourth Hokage, followed by Tsunade. However, to Hiruzen's frustration, neither of them wanted to become Hokage.
Hiruzen had tried many times to pave the way for Jiraiya, but Jiraiya simply rejected the idea, almost as if he wanted to carve the words "I don't want to be Hokage" on his face.
As for Tsunade, it was even worse. Jiraiya still gave Hiruzen a bit of respect, but Tsunade couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge him.
Hiruzen's other disciple, Orochimaru, had expressed an interest in becoming Hokage, but Hiruzen, unfortunately, did not want Orochimaru to become Hokage.
Because Orochimaru had changed too much. The Orochimaru of his childhood was merely a bit withdrawn and indifferent, but now, the Orochimaru he saw gave Hiruzen the feeling that he was gradually losing his humanity.
Such an Orochimaru could serve as a Konoha Elder, but he could not become Hokage.
After the report, Mutsuki returned directly to his home.
This time, Hiruzen didn't give any special rewards, only some training resources for Ninja. After all, Hiruzen had already rewarded Mutsuki with the right to freely borrow Ninjutsu texts, so in terms of Ninjutsu, Mutsuki was already well-equipped.
In terms of position, Mutsuki only held a position at the Academy, where he was the Vice Principal. Hiruzen could never his Principal position to Mutsuki.
"There are many wandering Ninjas, many Ninja organizations, and also Ninjas from other major villages." After sorting through the intelligence from the Land of Rain, Mutsuki realized that the situation there aligned perfectly with his disciple recruitment plan.
Mutsuki's plan was as follows: first, he would leave a deep impression on Yahiko, Nagato, and the others in the Akatsuki Organization. Then, he would make a name for himself in the Land of Rain, establish a master-like image, and attract them to recruit him again.
However, Mutsuki would still not immediately agree to them. He would reject them once more and continue building his reputation in the Land of Rain. When the time was right, he would set up some tests and naturally become their mentor.
As for how to make a name for himself, Mutsuki would definitely choose the most rewarding method.
Not only could he gain recognition, but he could also earn rewards, and without a doubt, that would be through teaching. He could earn rewards by holding classes.
By then, many Ninjas from the Land of Rain would be Mutsuki's students.
Mutsuki didn't worry about not having any Ninjas willing to attend his classes, as he had already been validated many times in this field.
When the time came, Mutsuki would just need to display a little of his own strength, and those Ninjas would be eager to attend his classes.
...
After the meeting, Kakashi didn't immediately go to train. Instead, he went to the Konoha library to look for information on Rinnegan.
It wasn't that Kakashi didn't trust Mutsuki, but he was simply curious about more details.
However, Kakashi was disappointed as he didn't find any records on the abilities of Rinnegan. Instead, it was mostly just myths and legends.
Since he was already there, Kakashi decided to search for information on the Tailed Beasts. But once again, he found nothing of value and still didn't understand why the Tailed Beasts would go berserk.
After leaving the library, Kakashi went to find Guy.
After returning from Roran, Kakashi went to find Guy, but that time Guy was out on a mission, so Kakashi couldn't find him.
"My dear friend, are you here to challenge me? I've been waiting for this day for a long time!" Guy asked excitedly.
It had been more than half a year since he last defeated Kakashi, and Guy had been wanting to fight Kakashi again.
During these six months, Guy had never slacked off and had been training diligently. He had a feeling that he was just a little bit away from opening the Fifth Gate.
"I'm not here to fight you, I need to talk to you," Kakashi shook his head and replied.
He wanted to tell Guy about the future and have him join them in working to change it.
Hearing that Kakashi wasn't there to fight, Guy's face quickly shifted from excitement to disappointment. He had already planned how to start the battle.
"If you really want to be challenged, I suppose that's not impossible," Kakashi said after thinking for a moment, seeing Guy's disappointment.
"Looks like we still need a battle full of youth and passion!" Guy laughed and gave Kakashi a thumbs up, his big white teeth gleaming brightly.
"But it's limited to rock-paper-scissors," Kakashi added.
Fully revived, Guy seemed to have been hit by a fatal blow, collapsing like a wilted cabbage.
"Scissors, rock, paper!"
Although Guy was a bit disappointed, he still took the game seriously.
"You win," Kakashi said, raising the scissors in his hand.
Guy glanced at his fist and sighed. He still preferred to fight Kakashi with punches, feeling that winning that way would be much more satisfying.
Silently adding this victory to his overall record against Kakashi, Guy followed Kakashi to a secluded grove.
"We took the mission to investigate the Prime Minister in Roran, and encountered a Ninja from the future..."
Kakashi briefly explained how they encountered Naruto and the others, and then went into detail about the intelligence from the future, explaining everything to Guy.
Not only the future intelligence, but Kakashi also shared all the latest information about the Akatsuki Organization that they had obtained in the Land of Rain.
Guy was very surprised that Kakashi and the others had encountered a Ninja from the future, but he believed Kakashi without hesitation and didn't question it.
"To change the future, we need your strength," Kakashi said seriously.
"That's exactly why I've been training to become stronger," Guy replied with a bright smile.
Mutsuki-sensei, Obito, and Rin were all companions that Guy recognized, and he would do everything in his power to protect them.
"Don't tell anyone else about this, aside from us," Kakashi reminded him.
Guy nodded seriously.
Then, Guy and Kakashi went to the southern border forest. Kakashi needed to discuss something with Mutsuki and the other disciples, which was related to the reason he had declined to fight Guy earlier.
"To help everyone improve their strength faster, I propose that we have a combat test every three months, with the bottom two being punished," Kakashi shared his idea.
While others might consider them super geniuses for having such strength at the age of ten, Kakashi felt it wasn't enough. This level of strength wasn't sufficient to change history; they needed the power of someone like Naruto or Yamato.
"Rin-chan doesn't need to participate in this, since you mainly practice Medical Ninjutsu," Kakashi said, looking at Rin.
When estimating combat ability, Kakashi considered Rin as a regular Chunin, since a medical Ninja's Chakra should primarily be reserved for healing.
Rin reluctantly nodded. She wanted to participate, but the gap in strength made it meaningless.
"I agree, and today seems like a good day to start. Let's begin the first combat test right now!" Guy was the first to support Kakashi.
"I think it's a good idea," Shisui nodded in agreement.
Although Shisui wasn't confident that he could defeat any of the three, Kakashi, Guy, or Obito, he felt that this approach would be more beneficial for improving their strength.
"I have no objections, but what's the punishment?" Obito asked curiously.
"It's simple. The punishment will be whatever each person dislikes the most," Kakashi answered.
Because of individual differences, some punishments might be a reward for certain people. Kakashi thought it would be best to tailor the punishments to each person.
Obito's face showed an ominous expression, and he quickly spoke up, "I really hate…"
"For example, Obito, you don't like studying or doing assignments, so your punishment will be studying and doing assignments," Kakashi interrupted.
"I think I hate eating green peppers more. How about I just eat ten green peppers instead?" Obito tried to change his punishment.
"After all, I know myself best."
Kakashi gave Obito a cold look. "If you really hated eating green peppers more, you wouldn't have suggested switching it."
Obito certainly understood himself well, but sometimes, he would deceive himself.
"Assignments are definitely Obito's weak point," Rin said with a light laugh, remembering how Obito looked completely lifeless when he was punished to do assignments.
"After all, with his level of knowledge, doing assignments is indeed a big challenge," Kakashi added with a quick jab.
Obito blushed, trying to defend himself. "I got 80 points in the Chunin exam! 80 points!"
Although this result was partly thanks to Mutsuki's help, Obito had put in his own effort as well.
"So what you're saying is that you're not afraid of assignments, huh? Then you shouldn't have suggested a replacement," Kakashi said with a smirk, looking at Obito's red face.
Obito didn't know how to counter that, so he could only mutter an expletive to himself and reluctantly accept that this was his punishment.
Kakashi was tough on Obito, but also on himself. He quickly stated his own punishment.
"If I'm one of the last two, for an entire week, no matter what Obito says, I won't argue back," Kakashi said seriously.
In Kakashi's view, this punishment was pure torture, because Obito would definitely bombard him with all kinds of annoying remarks.
With Obito and Kakashi setting the example, Shisui and Guy didn't hold back either, each assigning themselves a difficult punishment.
Then the official battle began.
The four of them drew lots to determine their first-round opponents. The two who lost in the first round would face punishment, while the two winners would battle again, and the victor would become Mutsuki's strongest disciple for the next three months.
Since she wasn't participating in the battle, Rin took care of the chores and helped Obito and the others with the drawing.
"Shisui is number one, Obito is number two, Kakashi is number three, and Guy is number four," Rin announced the results.
"Buddy, this is the bond between us!" Guy laughed heartily and gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, his earlier disappointment completely gone.
Kakashi's expression turned serious. No matter how strong Guy was, he had to win this battle. Otherwise, he didn't dare imagine how arrogant Obito would be over the next seven days.
Shisui and Obito exchanged a glance, both igniting with a strong fighting spirit.
Shisui was eager to win, not just because of the punishment but also due to his own desire for victory.
Shisui was the youngest of Mutsuki's disciples, but he was also the first to start learning from Mutsuki. Rather than being the weakest, he was more accustomed to being the strongest.
"Obito, your Flame Breathing Chakra Mode is strong, but you don't know that I've already grasped Armament Haki, do you?" Shisui's confidence came from his Armament Haki.
From the very beginning, Shisui's progress with Armament Haki had been ahead of Obito and the others. While the others were still in the dark, Shisui was already able to use the Haki, albeit intermittently.
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