[Disciple Uchiha Obito's cultivation task set]
[Cultivation task: Defeat Kakashi]
[Reward: Depends on task completion and strength growth during the task]
Mokgetsu secretly nodded to himself, it still had to be Kakashi, supporting Might Guy and Obito's cultivation tasks all by himself.
"First, master the Breath of Flame. In a few days, you'll fight with Shisui to get familiar with using the Breathing Technique in combat," Mokgetsu said, discussing the next arrangements.
Obito nodded. Actually, he wanted to fight Might Guy more, because fighting Might Guy was a mutual win-lose situation, more dignified.
Fighting Shisui, Obito couldn't guarantee winning, especially now that Shisui had activated his Sharingan.
In the evening, after Mokgetsu finished cooking, Minato walked into Mokgetsu's house alone.
"Didn't Kushina come today?" Mokgetsu asked as he brought the stir-fried dish to the dining table.
Kushina and Minato were not living together at the moment; she just often stayed at Minato's house during the day.
"Kushina is on a secret mission recently, she'll probably be away for some time," Minato explained with a smile.
"If you encounter any problems with Fuinjutsu, just ask me in the future."
"That's a pity, I made braised pork today," Mokgetsu said with some regret.
"Mokgetsu, can I take some food to go? I have urgent business after this and need to leave soon," Minato said, his face slightly flushed, feeling a bit embarrassed to both accept a meal and take more with him.
But he had no choice, as he couldn't just eat as he pleased. If there was time, he'd eat; if not, he wouldn't. The real reason for the takeaway was Kushina. She said if Minato didn't bring her food, she'd knock out the Anbu and sneak into Mokgetsu's house for a meal before returning.
Minato was helpless because he believed Kushina might actually do such a thing.
Now Kushina was in a very dangerous period; Minato didn't want anything unexpected to happen to her.
Because of the changes in the Ninja World situation, Konoha's high-ranking officials hoped that Kushina, the new Nine-tailed Jinchuriki, could become Konoha's trump card in the war, thus letting Kushina proceed with the Tailed Beasts' cultivation.
But the strongest of the Tailed Beasts, the Nine-tails, was not easy to control, especially since Kushina had just become a Jinchuriki not long ago.
Utilizing the Nine-tails' power would risk being influenced by its power. Given the Nine-tails' immense strength, if the Jinchuriki went berserk, it would cause tremendous damage to Konoha. So Kushina's actions were restricted; most of the time, she had to stay in a building with enhanced sealing effects.
Considering Kushina's personal needs, the higher-ups instructed people to establish a massive sealing barrier centered around the building. The barrier's effect wasn't as strong as inside the building but also suppressed the Nine-tails, as long as she didn't stay outside for long.
"Takeaway? No problem, there's so much I can't finish it alone." Mokgetsu smiled and nodded, then filled two lunch boxes with food and handed them to Minato.
"Isn't this a bit much? Minato, can you finish it?" Mokgetsu asked.
"No problem at all, Mokgetsu. With such delicious cooking, I can eat as much as I get," Minato replied with a smile.
Originally, the food he planned to take was for Kushina, while he was okay with having just a bit. However, since Mokgetsu packed so much, he wouldn't have to compromise, though this might make his impression as a big eater more prevalent at Mokgetsu's place.
Watching Minato's disappearing figure, Mokgetsu activated his Byakugan to observe the surroundings for a while but didn't find the previously constant Anbu surveillance.
"One camera facing Sarutobi Hiruzen is missing," Mokgetsu thought.
When Kushina often visited, there were usually two Anbu keeping watch every day.
Having the Anbu surveil them inadvertently wasn't a bad thing. Mokgetsu utilized those cameras for various matters.
Like demonstrating a good talent in Fuinjutsu and expressing joy when promoted to Special Jonin, or acting extremely grateful while discussing the Third Hokage as if acknowledging the importance placed on him.
"A secret mission, could it be training to control the Nine-tails?" Mokgetsu guessed internally.
Knowing Kushina's identity as the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki, Mokgetsu couldn't possibly think Kushina went on some dangerous S-level secret mission.
In wartime, unless the war escalated to a point where deploying the Tailed Beasts was unavoidable, Kushina would remain confined to the village; it was impossible for her to leave.
Even though Mokgetsu wasn't on the battlefield and didn't know the current situation there, he was sure that Konoha, Hidden Rock, and Hidden Cloud were either not formally engaged or were probing with tentative attacks.
Because Minato was still in Konoha; if the war had really intensified, Minato couldn't possibly have the leisure to get food from him. Instead, he would have been sent to the battlefield.
Minato played a critical role in the Third Ninja World War. As long as Minato remained in Konoha, appearing unoccupied, Mokgetsu could assess the general state of the war.
After making simple deductions, Mokgetsu stopped speculating wildly. Even without him, Kushina and Minato would survive the war and become life winners, so he didn't worry about them.
On the contrary, his disciples might face greater adversities. Might Guy would watch his father open the Death Gate to save him, while Obito would first have half his body crushed, then witness a friend kill the person he loved.
...
A few days later, Shisui also adapted to Full Concentration Breathing's cultivation. The next step was to delve deeper into the content Mokgetsu had taught before to grasp the basics of Breath of Flame.
Mokgetsu had Obito and Shisui spar to get familiar with the Breathing Technique.
"The combat practice will be divided into three stages. The first stage uses only the Breathing Technique without Chakra. The second stage uses the Breathing Technique and Chakra but no Ninjutsu. The third stage lifts all previous restrictions, but the Sharingan is banned in all stages," Mokgetsu announced the upcoming battle training plan.
The dynamic vision of the Sharingan greatly enhances Taijutsu, without banning it Obito wouldn't have a chance.
"Not using Chakra, huh, maybe I can win," Obito instantly felt a glimpse of hope for victory.
In pure Breathing Technique cultivation, he was even slightly ahead of Shisui.
"Not using Chakra refers to using the Breathing Technique without Chakra, Taijutsu like Soru that requires Chakra can be used," Mokgetsu added.
The Hokage-form Breathing Technique has two options: it can be used with Chakra or without.
Without Chakra, many effects would be lost, such as Breath of Rock would have much less physical enhancement, and Breath of Flame wouldn't have the speed boost from Nature Transformation. Furthermore, all Breathing Pattern States require Chakra, without it, they can't be activated.
After hearing this, Obito instantly felt his chance of victory dwindle because Shisui had mastered Instant Body Jutsu better than him.
However, compared to stage three, he still held a significant advantage in stage one, as he wasn't as good at Ninjutsu as Shisui.
"Got the rules?" Mokgetsu asked.
"Understood," both Shisui and Obito nodded in response.
"Then prepare for battle, a week of stage one combat first," Mokgetsu said.
The two of them assumed a fighting stance as instructed by Mokgetsu.
"Begin!" Mokgetsu shouted.
Both Shisui and Obito instantly entered the Breathing Technique state, inhaling large amounts of oxygen to strengthen their bodies.
But just as Obito was about to charge at Shisui, he found that Shisui had already appeared right in front of him.
"So fast!" Obito was very surprised. Even though he practiced Soru as well, Shisui was much faster.
Luckily, since neither of them could use Chakra to enhance the Breathing Technique nor Ninjutsu, Obito, though a step slower, only found himself at a minor disadvantage.
"Breath of Flame, Full Concentration Breath," Obito wanted to turn his disadvantage into an advantage, instantly entering Full Concentration Breath state, greatly increasing his strength.
Shisui chose not to confront him directly and used Soru to create distance from Obito.
The disadvantage was indeed eliminated, but because Obito couldn't catch up to Shisui, he couldn't gain an advantage and instead consumed a lot of stamina because of Full Concentration Breath.
Ultimately, Obito was caught by Shisui and defeated in one strike.
Clap!
"The problem we discussed a few days ago happened again," Mokgetsu tapped Obito's forehead with his fingers together.
"Don't use Full Concentration Breath lightly," Mokgetsu emphasized again.
For Obito and the others, with their current stamina and Chakra, Full Concentration Breath is akin to using a big move. If used so readily, how would it be possible to strategize later on?
"I thought not using Full Concentration Breath would make the disadvantage grow larger, so I just used it," Obito scratched his head and explained his thought process during the battle.
"The larger the enemy's advantage, the more likely they are to make a mistake, using it when at a big disadvantage makes it easier to turn the tables," Mokgetsu said.
"And you need to remember, Shisui is faster than you. If you easily enter Full Concentration Breath state, he'll definitely avoid engaging directly."
It's not about completely dismissing Obito's thoughts; sometimes in battle, you really can't start with a disadvantage, as that would directly fall into the opponent's attack rhythm. What Mokgetsu hopes is for Obito to make flexible judgments regarding the strategy needed for each battle.
"You know Shisui's abilities, don't waste that knowledge," Mokgetsu emphasized.
He certainly doesn't want Obito mastering numerous Ninjutsu and Secret Techniques only to underperform in actual combat; practical ability is crucial.
"I understand!" Obito replied, looking as if he had realized something.
He had just carefully recalled the several times he had defeated Might Guy, and it seemed like he had unknowingly leveraged Guy's information.
After resting for a while, Shisui and Obito sparred again.
This time, Obito listened to Mokgetsu and didn't use Full Concentration Breath shortly after the start. Although Obito didn't win this time either, he managed to last longer compared to the first battle.
He didn't win the third time either, but held out for an additional half minute, and Obito felt he was improving.
By the end of the first day of combat training, Obito still hadn't won once; in the final battle, he used Full Concentration Breath well, and after Shisui won, he felt a bit tired.
"Obito, sorry, but I won't lose under Teacher Mokgetsu's watch," Shisui thought silently, intending to live up to Mokgetsu's expectations.