"Breath of Flame, Full Concentration Breathing, this is my last strength!"
Obito gathered all his strength into his fist. He didn't care if he could control the flames without hurting himself; he just wanted to use this last bit of strength to gamble for that almost invisible light of victory.
Boom!!
Might Guy's ultimate kick collided with Obito's fire-imbued fist, and the massive force generated a shockwave that blew the surrounding dust into the air.
Kakashi looked at Obito incredulously. He had experienced Might Guy's kick and knew how powerful it was. Did Obito actually withstand it?
Bam!
In the end, Might Guy was still slightly superior, kicking Obito who flew out backward. However, Might Guy's leg was also injured and he almost fell, but he managed to remain standing through sheer willpower.
"Cough, cough, that hurts." Obito coughed, feeling the pain in his body, and couldn't help but take a sharp intake of breath.
"Was it that painful when Kakashi got kicked?" Obito wondered about Kakashi's thoughts back then, trying to control his expression. Kakashi didn't cry out in pain, so he couldn't either.
Obito tried to prop himself up with his hand to stand, but found that the hand he punched with, his right hand, had no strength left. He used his left hand to support himself on the ground, tried to stand up several times, but eventually failed.
"I still lost, huh." Obito gave up getting up, turned over, and lay on the ground looking at the sky.
He didn't even know how to describe his current feelings.
He had tried his best, giving it his all, but still lost.
As he kept thinking, Obito suddenly laughed, remembering the sight of Kakashi getting kicked by Might Guy—it was truly a sorry sight, being kicked away with a face full of disbelief.
He lost more gracefully than Kakashi. Kakashi was directly kicked away with one blow, but he at least held on against Guy for a while.
After laughing, he thought about his own battle record.
So far, amongst Mokgetsu's other four disciples, Obito hadn't fought with Nohara Rin. In his battles with Shisui and Kakashi, Obito hadn't won a single one, and against Might Guy, he had generally lost more than he had won.
Obito suddenly remembered something Mokgetsu said: failure is a constant throughout life.
That was a very Mokgetsu-like sentence. Obito felt it made sense, but he really wanted to win.
"What a youthful and exhilarating battle!" Might Guy gave a thumbs up and said to Obito with a big laugh.
Obito's final counterattack was somewhat beyond Might Guy's expectations. Without the boost from the Eight Gates, he might have been the one to lose.
"You both performed very well; go get some treatment and rest." Mokgetsu quickly appeared on the scene, taking Might Guy and Obito to a shaded area to rest and receive treatment.
Nohara Rin saw this and also came forward to help.
"Rin, wasn't my last punch impressive? Kakashi was kicked away with one kick, and I almost won." Feeling Nohara Rin's treatment, Obito's eyebrows and eyes filled with laughter, and he couldn't help but boast.
Just then, Kakashi happened to walk by, a row of neat black lines appearing on his forehead. He admitted that Obito's final punch was impressive, but claiming he nearly won was an exaggeration.
"I feel like my Breathing Technique has improved a bit. Kakashi, just wait. Once I get used to my improved Breathing Technique, I'll beat you." Seeing Kakashi approach, Obito said confidently.
While receiving treatment, Obito kept replaying the battle with Might Guy in his mind. He could feel that he had improved at the last moment, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hurt Might Guy.
Kakashi knew Obito wasn't wrong. After days of training with the Breath of Thunder, he had also gained a preliminary understanding of the Breathing Technique.
"You can try," Kakashi replied calmly, as if not taking Obito's challenge to heart.
Even though he was determined to focus and learn the Breathing Technique recently, Kakashi wouldn't let Obito have a chance to gloat.
Seeing that Obito still had the energy to spar with Kakashi relieved Nohara Rin; there shouldn't be any major issues.
Mokgetsu also nodded secretly, realizing that occasional battles indeed help stimulate the growth of a disciple's strength.
Obito, known for his rapid advance in mastering the Breath of Flame, had once again improved in combat, significantly increasing his proficiency.
Might Guy wasn't bad either, becoming more adept at using both the Breathing Technique and the Eight Gates simultaneously.
Kakashi, having suffered two consecutive defeats and witnessing Obito's breakthrough in battle, would surely be more motivated in his training.
As for Shisui, this time he was primarily responsible for applying pressure. Currently, none of Mokgetsu's disciples, not even Might Guy, could pressure Shisui.
Shisui's Sharingan not only captures Might Guy's movements but also has almost no shortcomings—he excels both in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Even with Rock and the First Gate, Might Guy couldn't defeat Shisui.
However, Mokgetsu believed that this situation would soon change.
The first three gates of the Eight Gates are the safe zone. Once the first gate is mastered, the third can be opened quickly.
Facing Might Guy utilizing the Breath of Rock and the third gate of the Eight Gates, Shisui would be hard to deal with. Sometimes seeing the move isn't enough to react.
Mokgetsu eagerly awaited Might Guy to hand Shisui his first defeat, as maintaining a fixed ranking wasn't good for the disciples' growth. They needed to push each other.
Obito was more severely injured, so he didn't train. After treatment, Might Guy began physical training, while Kakashi, after a friendly exchange with Obito, quickly resumed practicing the Breath of Thunder.
Once training was over, Kakashi directly headed home to quickly have dinner and continue training.
To avoid being beaten by Obito, he had to quickly integrate the Breathing Technique into his combat to enhance his strength.
...
After bidding farewell to his disciples, Mokgetsu also returned to his home in the main district.
However, that evening, he received an unexpected guest.
"Mokgetsu, let me introduce you to my teacher, Jiraiya." Minato smiled warmly as he introduced the white-haired ninja standing beside him to Mokgetsu.
"Is this the renowned Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Mokgetsu's expression showed some surprise, but he quickly smiled gently and greeted Jiraiya.
"Hahaha, I'm indeed the legendary Jiraiya, the handsome man who can stop crying children with just my looks." Jiraiya reintroduced himself with a hearty laugh.
Then Jiraiya took a careful look at Mokgetsu, glanced at Minato, stroked his chin, and asked, "Are you two related?"
"Jiraiya-sensei, didn't I introduce Mokgetsu to you in my letter?" Minato scratched his head, wondering if he had remembered wrong.
"Haha, just joking. You do look a bit similar." Jiraiya laughed.
If he knew nothing and saw the two of them, he might have truly believed that. But Minato had already described Mokgetsu in his letters; he was just teasing his slightly naive student.
"It's about dinner time. Why don't we eat together? Have a seat and enjoy some tea while I prepare the meal." Mokgetsu extended an invitation.
In this developmental phase, having more friends was certainly better.
"Sensei, take a break. I'll help Mokgetsu." Minato said, and with Jiraiya's nod, he skillfully entered the kitchen.
"Unsurpassable culinary magic, so good it feels like Genjutsu. Truly an exaggeration, experiencing Genjutsu while eating." Sitting alone in the living room, Jiraiya recalled Minato's descriptions of Mokgetsu's cooking.
He had just arrived in Konoha today, and a big reason he went straight to Minato's house was because Minato often wrote letters claiming that Mokgetsu's cooking was unparalleled.
However, Jiraiya didn't have high expectations. Being someone who travelled the Ninja World, he had tasted all kinds of delicacies. No matter how good a meal was, how good could it be?