Obito balanced on the shimmering surface of the stream, shifting his weight back and forth.
"Teacher Mu Yue, when do we start nature transformation training? I've been reading the manual every night. I feel like my Fire Skill is about to level up."
Yuuma raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? So water-walking is boring now? You must feel confident."
"Y-yeah!"Obito puffed out his chest. "I can even jog on the water now."
Yuuma smiled faintly. "Then let's test your level—make it more exciting."
He pressed his hands together.
"Water Release—Water Dragon Bullet!"
A massive dragon of churning river water exploded upward, crashing through the current and sending rolling waves across the stream.
Obito immediately swallowed half the river.
"Blrgh—!"
Yuuma fished him out by the collar.
"You see? Not quite mastered."
"Teacher Mu Yue! How am I supposed to withstand that?!" Obito cried, glancing anxiously at Shisui and Guy nearby.
"Again," Yuuma said calmly.
Treading water was already a challenge—continuous chakra output, balancing at every second. Throw in violent currents and crashing waves, and only excellent control kept you from drowning. Obito tried again.
Failed again.
"Ugh—these shoes are slippery today!" Obito kicked them off and went barefoot.
Yuuma smirked silently.
Minutes later—
SPLASH.
Obito sank for a third time.
"O-okay, okay… I read too late last night. Low energy. Totally understandable…"He cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders."This time I'm serious."
SPLASH.
Yuuma pulled him up again. Obito stared blankly at the sky, spirit evaporated.
Shisui stepped in, earnest as ever."Brother Obito, it's okay. I know you're… trying to learn swimming."
Obito covered his face. "Shisui. Please. Go train."
Yuuma sat down beside him but looked toward the horizon.
"You think your performance is terrible, don't you?"
Obito didn't answer.
He didn't have to. Shisui's talent was monstrous. The kid skipped tree climbing entirely and balanced on water almost immediately—even while dodging Yuuma's interference.
The comparison gnawed at Obito.
"Last weekend," Yuuma said softly, "I was tutoring the Hokage's son."
Obito blinked. "Asuma?"
Yuuma nodded.
"When he practiced water-walking, I used Water Bullets to disrupt him. He fell dozens of times. He trained an entire afternoon and only managed to endure five minutes at the end."
Obito froze.
Asuma—top-rank student Asuma—struggled that badly?
He'd never thought much about Asuma's diligence. Now he suddenly respected it.
"Teacher… I get it."Obito stood, fire returning to his eyes."I'm ready. Let's start again!"
Yuuma handed him a wrapped dumpling.
"Eat first."
"Yessir!" Obito inhaled it in two bites and charged back into the river.
[System Notice: You gifted your disciple Red Bean Dumplings][Critical Gratitude Triggered][Reward Granted: Skill — Chef][Chef: Food you cook is so delicious it can induce hallucinations]
Yuuma stiffened.
"…Chef?"
Guy had given him an elite water technique.Obito… gave him cooking mastery?
But the skill description was absurdly strong.
He chuckled darkly.
"If I had this earlier, I could've 'accidentally' broken my kitchen tools and gone to Minato's place to cook. Kushina-san would be begging to be friends by now…"
A teacher who's strong, teaches well, AND cooks like a five-star shinobi chef?
That's irresistible.
When training ended, Yuuma headed back into Konoha.He wanted—no, needed—to test this skill.
He made two dishes:Egg Fried Rice and Shrimp Tempura.
From the moment he cracked the egg, he felt the skill activate—the uncanny sensation of every motion being perfect.
When he finished the fried rice, the grains shimmered… almost glowing gold.
"…I swear I didn't put anything weird in there."
He took a bite.
Tender egg. Perfect rice elasticity. Fragrance of scallions blooming like a chakra firework on his tongue.
For a moment—he hallucinated a chicken sprinting across an open meadow, wings flapping like the happiest creature alive.
"Yep. Hallucinations. This is absolutely the Chef skill."
He shook it off and cooked tempura next—clean batter, precise oil temperature, flawless fry. The scent drifted out the window like a lure.
He lifted the crisp tempura to his mouth—
Knock knock.
Someone was at the door.