Ninja Academy, Year One Class.
During the ninjutsu class, Mokgetsu lectured:
"The ability to precisely control Chakra greatly impacts a ninja's strength. In the next three weeks, our main focus will be on improving Chakra Control Ability."
The second semester at Ninja Academy is only three and a half months long, starting in early September and breaking in mid-December. Today is already November 6th, with only a month and a half until the break. According to the estimated schedule, Mokgetsu began the Chakra control training.
Although there are three full weeks available, the goal is not to complete both tree climbing and water walking simultaneously, completing the tree climbing training is sufficient.
Firstly, Ninja School students have theoretical and Taijutsu classes in addition to ninjutsu, unlike special training where they train all day. Ninjutsu classes themselves are not just about practicing Chakra control, the focus is simply on it; the Three-Body Jutsu still needs to be learned, and considering the average student's learning efficiency is also important.
Don't underestimate Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo just because their potential is only B-, in Ninja Academy that's already considered quite high. Most students in Mokgetsu's class have potential around C.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, what about those of us who have already completed the training?" Anko asked.
Anko and Hagane Kotetsu had participated in summer special training and had already completed Mokgetsu's course requirements.
"Engage in regular training," Mokgetsu replied.
Although Anko and Hagane Kotetsu's progress was ahead, it wasn't yet time to learn higher-level skills, they still needed to deepen what they had already learned.
Since trees were needed, Mokgetsu took the students to the small forest within the Ninja Academy.
Konoha doesn't have much else, but it does have plenty of trees. It's common to see trees over ten meters tall.
Following the usual practice of explaining the principles first, then demonstrating, Mokgetsu finally called on a few students who had completed the training to demonstrate as well, before letting the students begin their training.
Mokgetsu didn't let students go straight up the trees but asked them to first get used to the feeling of gathering Chakra at their feet.
The feet are the body part hardest to accumulate Chakra, and Mokgetsu's students were first-year students who had only been in contact with Chakra for a few months, making it quite challenging for them.
Once they were familiar enough, they could begin tree climbing to get a feel for it. Mokgetsu set the first-week goal at eight meters, considering it a success if they could walk up to the eight-meter mark.
However, in the first class, never mind eight meters, some students had difficulty walking even a couple of steps on the tree, usually falling after barely two steps.
At such a height, Mokgetsu didn't need to catch them; the students could land smoothly on their own.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, will there be special training after this semester ends?" Kotetsu asked during a break.
"If nothing unexpected happens, there should be," Mokgetsu nodded.
It's hard to say after the war ends, but before it ends, this special training will likely continue to accelerate the growth of lower-tier ninja.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, what are the conditions to participate in the special training?" another student took the opportunity to ask.
Seeing the progress Anko and Hagane Kotetsu had made, Mokgetsu's class was quite envious.
Other than Shisui, although Anko and the others were strong, it wasn't overwhelmingly so. But after returning from special training, it felt as though Anko and the others had cultivated an extra semester, their strength drawing a noticeable gap.
From Anko and the others' accounts, many students in Mokgetsu's class were eager to join the special training, finding it interesting and beneficial for improving strength, much better than spending the holidays playing at home every day.
"The next special training should be the same as last time: all fourth-year students and the top eight in practical scores from other grades," Mokgetsu answered.
"Only eight students from each grade aside from the fourth year? Can't more be recruited?" the students found this requirement too stringent.
"The next special training isn't confirmed yet, I don't know the specifics, and it might not be my responsibility," Mokgetsu explained.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen assigns him the trainee plan again, Mokgetsu plans to take students on internships, to see if completing commission tasks can yield rewards.
After all, his disciples will eventually graduate. Might Guy and Obito are set to graduate in a few months, surely there should still be rewards for doing well post-graduation, right?
If that's indeed the case, Mokgetsu would definitely have Shisui finish fourth grade in full, to collect more Skill Scrolls for Ninjutsu Proficiency.
[Lecture Completed]
[Evaluation: B]
[Reward Acquired: Chakra +20]
[Under your guidance, Year One students made significant progress in various ways, earning rewards — Konoha Style Taijutsu (Proficient), Wind Release: Wind Blade (Proficient), Chakra +300]
After class, Mokgetsu noticed Year One's reward for improvement had been settled.
The improvement reward for Year One was better than the first improvement but wasn't as good as that during summer special training. Considering the number of people, that was normal.
The Wind Blade Ninjutsu didn't leave much of an impression on Mokgetsu before, but after receiving the memory, Mokgetsu realized it was a decent A-level Wind Release Ninjutsu.
This Ninjutsu wasn't flashy, it simply emitted a Wind Blade from the fingertips, but it was exceptionally fast and had strong cutting power.
The Chakra had increased by another three hundred and twenty. Mokgetsu opened the panel to check the total Chakra.
[Name: Habu Mokgetsu]
[Chakra: 24,100]
His Chakra was nearing ten small units, though there hadn't been any cultivation or exam rewards recently, Mokgetsu's progress was substantial.
It wouldn't have been this significant, but Shisui hit a growth spurt by activating the Sharingan, directly adding eight hundred Chakra to Mokgetsu, not to mention the natural daily increase.
The Sharingan pushed Shisui into an initial period of rapid Chakra growth. Being at the highest trust level, Shisui alone provided Mokgetsu with 1,800 Chakra this month, significantly surpassing both Might Guy and Obito combined.
Mokgetsu could only acknowledge that the big gold mine was powerful. Even initial development had such intensity; once further matured, apprentice's development would yield Chakra like a made huge impact.
Mokgetsu estimated his Chakra could surpass 30,000 by this semester's end, though it might just barely exceed it.
While Shisui and Obito were engaged in an intense and thrilling Breathing Technique battle, Might Guy had a breakthrough in Breath of Rock, reaching a proficiency of fifty and began training in Full Concentration Breathing for Breath of Rock.
Although his progress still lagged behind Obito and Shisui, Might Guy was exceedingly motivated. He had never given up on so many monotonous basic trainings before, let alone something like the Breathing Technique, where the improvement was so noticeable, making him obsessed with the slight feeling of getting stronger.