Chapter 490: Capturing Nine Tailed Beasts Just for Class?
It was the fourth day after Minato left.
Today had originally been scheduled for ANBU training, but Mugetsu requested a day off from Hiruzen so he could teach Kushina the Rasengan.
When he first drafted the ANBU training plan, Mugetsu had deliberately left himself plenty of flexibility, so taking a few days off would not affect the overall progress.
Before they officially started, Mugetsu first asked Kushina about her current training progress.
"It's roughly like this," Kushina said. She extended her right hand and began condensing a large amount of chakra in her palm.
As more and more chakra gathered, a sphere made of pure chakra gradually formed in her hand.
"It still doesn't have much power," Kushina said, then drove the Rasengan into a nearby tree.
Bang!
The chakra sphere detonated the instant it made contact, exploding into a shower of wood chips. In the next moment, a shallow spherical crater appeared in the trunk.
"That's already very good." Mugetsu nodded. "Back then, it took Minato and me several months to reach this stage."
Right now, Minato had only just completed the development of the Rasengan under Mugetsu's guidance. He had not yet fully organized and subdivided the training process, so for Kushina to reach this point so quickly was already impressive.
"Hehe. Of course. I'm a genius!" Kushina accepted the praise without the slightest hesitation.
Still, even as she bragged, she did not get carried away.
As a shinobi, and a relatively strong one, Kushina understood that training a jutsu and developing a jutsu were two completely different things.
"Next, you need to increase your chakra output for the Rasengan," Mugetsu began his formal instruction. "Then compress the chakra harder. That's how you push the power up."
As he spoke, Mugetsu extended his palm. A chakra sphere rapidly expanded in his hand, instantly growing larger than two heads.
Then, when he began compressing it, the sphere quickly shrank back down to the size of a fist.
Under Mugetsu's guidance, Kushina became proficient at condensing chakra spheres even faster, and the Rasengan's power rose accordingly. One crater after another was carved into the training ground.
"As expected, it takes a professional," Kushina said, extremely satisfied with today's results. "If Minato had your teaching ability, I'd have mastered it already."
The Rasengan had been developed specifically for her, so it suited her well.
Using the complete version of the Rasengan consumed a lot of chakra, and Kushina happened to be the one person who never lacked chakra.
If she wanted to, she could spam the Rasengan throughout an entire battle without worrying about running dry.
Not only did she have tremendous chakra herself, she was also the Nine Tails jinchuriki. There was a massive power bank sealed inside her body.
"Minato's teaching is actually pretty good," Mugetsu said, thinking of how Minato had helped him successfully train the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Average. Definitely not as good as me," Kushina snorted. "I taught him so many sealing techniques, but he didn't teach me the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Mugetsu only smiled.
This was the kind of unconscious slander couples traded without even realizing it. There was no need to agree, and no need to argue.
[System: Teaching completed. Evaluation: S. Reward: Rasengan +15. Chakra shape transformation slightly increased. Chakra control slightly increased.]
The moment the reward appeared, Mugetsu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So it really is because of the Nine Tails," Mugetsu thought as he looked at the sudden system message.
Before today, the minimum number of students required to trigger teaching rewards had been two.
The first time had been Kushina and Minato. Later, it had been Naruto and Yamato.
Back then, Mugetsu had suspected Minato and Yamato might simply have been there to fill the quota, while the true trigger was Kushina and Naruto, or more precisely, the Nine Tails within them.
Today, Mugetsu had specifically taken leave to teach Kushina as a test.
The result was exactly what he expected.
A hint of regret rose in Mugetsu's heart.
If he had lived in the era of Orochimaru and the others, he might have had a chance to become Kushina's teacher. Now, they could only be friends.
Having a disciple who could trigger teaching rewards felt absurdly good.
He could trigger rewards every day just by teaching normally.
"Chakra is only one large category," Mugetsu thought. "There are other ranges the system calculates too."
Before teaching, he had even wondered whether Kushina would directly trigger an intermediate teaching reward.
After all, Naruto only had half the Nine Tails inside him, while Kushina carried the complete Nine Tails. The difference in chakra was enormous.
"If I taught all nine tailed beasts together, I should be able to reach the highest level of teaching reward," Mugetsu thought, arriving at a simple and brutally direct method.
Nine tailed beasts meant overwhelming chakra, and it also meant quantity.
The only problem was that it was effectively impossible.
Even during peacetime, the great villages treasured their jinchuriki. There was no world where they would send all of them to Konoha and let them become Mugetsu's students.
After teaching Yamato in the evening, Mugetsu practiced Wood Release on his own for a while.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
He formed seals, and two figures identical to Mugetsu appeared in an instant.
Both were clone techniques, but the Wood Clone was stronger than an ordinary Shadow Clone.
A Wood Clone was harder to distinguish from a real body than a Shadow Clone, and once it dispersed, it could even transform into branches to bind an enemy.
…
Danzo had originally planned to assess Yamato after one full month.
However, in the fourth week, after finishing his official duties, Danzo suddenly had a whim. He felt the timing was about right, so he brought two Root shinobi and went to Yamato's residence.
Yamato's home was located in the southern outskirts of Konoha, the outskirts of the outskirts. There were essentially no other houses nearby.
Danzo had prepared it specifically for secrecy.
When Danzo arrived, Yamato was just about to practice Wood Release in the courtyard.
Because of Danzo's order, Yamato only used Wood Release in front of Mugetsu. Even around Mugetsu's other disciples, Yamato would not use it. He usually trained Wood Release alone at home.
Danzo did not knock. He simply walked into the courtyard.
Yamato was startled badly. He immediately canceled the Wood Release technique he was about to release. When he saw it was Danzo, he finally let out a quiet breath.
"Lord Danzo," Yamato greeted, maintaining a respectful expression.
This was something Mugetsu had taught him. Mugetsu told him to keep a respectful posture when facing Danzo, and do nothing else.
Danzo gave a faint nod in acknowledgment.
"Use your strongest Wood Release," Danzo said, concise as always.
Yamato immediately began gathering Wood Release chakra. He formed seals quickly and released the technique.
Under the effect of Wood Release chakra, a large tree surged up from the ground.
Mugetsu had not taught Yamato specific Wood Release ninjutsu, but the various training Mugetsu had put him through had improved Yamato's chakra control, and that alone pushed Yamato's Wood Release forward.
"This is more like it," Danzo commented as he looked at the tree, noticeably taller than before.
Danzo was a results oriented person. He did not care whether Yamato had been diligent yesterday. He only cared about visible progress, no matter what caused it.
Yamato represented Danzo's future position in Konoha, and Konoha's development for decades to come. Yamato had to become stronger, exactly as Danzo envisioned.
"Ryoma," Danzo said, turning his gaze to the man beside him. "You will battle Yamato."
At first, Danzo had only intended to check Wood Release and leave.
But Yamato's performance sparked anticipation. Danzo wanted to see whether Yamato could surprise him further.
Aburame Ryoma stepped forward in silence and stopped in front of Yamato.
"Yamato," Danzo ordered, "fight Ryoma with the resolve to kill. Do not hold back. Use your full strength."
Yamato hesitated for a brief moment.
Then he quickly pulled out a shuriken and threw it at Aburame Ryoma.
It was not that Yamato had instantly developed killing intent.
It was that he had fought Aburame Ryoma before.
He knew this sunglasses wearing uncle was extremely strong, and Yamato was no match for him at all.
As Yamato expected, Aburame Ryoma simply raised his palm.
Black parasitic insects surged from his body and blocked the incoming shuriken.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
Yamato immediately formed seals again and created two clones.
The moment they appeared, both clones rushed straight at Aburame Ryoma with clear intent.
Aburame Ryoma's response was as plain as ever.
He released parasitic insects to strike at the Wood Clones.
However, one Wood Clone had already closed in.
After it was destroyed, the clone instantly transformed into branches that wrapped around Aburame Ryoma's body, binding him.
"Water Release: Raging Stream Blast!"
Yamato seized the moment Aburame Ryoma was restrained. He formed seals and attacked.
Raging Stream Blast was a B rank Water Release technique from the Five Release set Mugetsu developed himself. Unlike Water Dragon Bullet, which focused on raw impact, Raging Stream Blast emphasized penetration, like a spear forged from water.
Danzo nodded in satisfaction.
The overall tactics were somewhat rough, but the ideas were clear, and every technique used had a purpose.
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall Jutsu!"
Aburame Ryoma controlled his insects to form a defensive wall while also channeling chakra to stimulate new insects into biting through the branches binding him.
With that two pronged approach, he neutralized Yamato's offense easily.
Then he closed the distance and forced Yamato into close quarters combat.
Seeing he had no time to cast ninjutsu, Yamato activated Basic Breathing to boost his strength and met him with taijutsu.
After roughly two minutes of taijutsu exchange, Danzo called an end to the battle.
"It was not a waste to have Mugetsu teach you," Danzo said, and for once, a faint smile appeared. "Your progress is satisfactory."
Yamato also smiled.
Earning recognition from Danzo was truly difficult.
"But do not relax because of this," Danzo continued, his tone turning habitual. "The only reason you improved so much is because I found you the best teacher in the entire shinobi world. Anyone else would also improve greatly, perhaps even more than you."
Danzo wanted Yamato to understand one thing clearly.
Yamato's success was entirely due to Danzo's nurturing.
Therefore, Yamato must rely on Danzo.
"But…" Yamato tried to speak.
He wanted to tell Danzo that Mugetsu said he worked very hard, and that was why he improved.
Danzo cut him off without mercy.
"No buts," Danzo said coldly. "As a Root shinobi, you carry the heavy responsibility of making Konoha stronger. You must never allow yourself to relax, not even for a moment."
Yamato closed his mouth and did not refute him again.
"You must be tired from the battle," Danzo said, and his expression softened slightly. He took out several soft candies and handed them over. "These are new sweets from the capital. I heard children in the capital love them. Consider it a reward for your progress."
"Thank you, Lord Danzo," Yamato said, accepting the candies with a respectful demeanor.
"A few candies are nothing," Danzo said, watching Yamato's expression and nodding to himself.
Yamato ate the candy Danzo gave him, but his thoughts drifted to Mugetsu.
Without realizing it, he compared Mugetsu and Danzo.
And the more he compared, the more he felt Mugetsu was truly good to him.
Danzo occasionally praised him, but it was nothing like Mugetsu.
Danzo could not notice Wood Release growing by a few centimeters.
Mugetsu could clearly see the few tenths of a second Yamato shaved off his running speed.
And Mugetsu was so good to him, yet he never mentioned his own effort, never claimed credit. He simply did it, quietly, as if it were natural.
The more Yamato thought about it, the more his heart leaned toward Mugetsu.
He even found himself thinking how wonderful it would have been if the first person he met after waking up had been Mugetsu.
"Don't be greedy," Yamato warned himself. "I'm already troubling Teacher Mugetsu enough."
Feeling he had done enough, Danzo left Yamato's residence.
Before leaving, he repeated his warning, ordering Yamato not to relax.
Back at Root, Danzo planned to organize documents before clocking out.
But at that moment, an intelligence agent stationed in the Land of Rain transmitted new information.
Bang!
After reading the beginning, Danzo slammed the table.
The report contained words like Amegakure, Shinobi Sect, and cooperation.
"How could Amegakure possibly ally with the Shinobi Sect?" Danzo's mind went cold. "They already share a mortal enmity."
He could not understand it at all.
Even though the encirclement operation failed, Hanzo's naked killing intent should have been exposed. Danzo believed neither side could ever accept cooperation.
Although the operation failed, Danzo had not completely abandoned his arrangements in the Land of Rain.
It was simply that Konoha's war effort had been too tight, and he could not spare enough hands.
The sage art inheritance on Sosuke, and the Rinnegan in Nagato's eyes, were treasures Danzo desperately wanted.
If he could obtain and transplant the Rinnegan, his power would certainly surpass Hiruzen's.
And with Mugetsu loyal to him, plus Yamato, the Wood Release shinobi with massive potential, Root's strength would become unprecedented.
Danzo felt he could become Hokage himself and completely bypass Orochimaru.
With that level of power, he wanted to see who would dare oppose him.
That was why Danzo was truly furious when he saw this new intelligence.
Amegakure cooperating with the Shinobi Sect greatly increased the difficulty of obtaining the Rinnegan.
And the combined power of those two forces would also become a threat to Konoha.
Danzo immediately issued an order.
Root's agents in the Land of Rain were to investigate the reason behind Amegakure's cooperation with the Shinobi Sect at all costs.
He needed the full details so he could reformulate his plan to seize the Rinnegan and the sage art inheritance.
.....
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