On Sunday, Mokgetsu gave his students a day off. Earlier, he had arranged with Kushina through some food-bringing ninjas that they would meet next time on the weekend.
The agreed meeting time was nine o'clock in the morning.
Mokgetsu arrived at the designated place ten minutes early. Regardless of who he was meeting, this was his own habit; he liked to arrive at places a bit earlier.
With these extra ten minutes, even if something unexpected happened, he wouldn't be late.
Since it was in Konoha, where travel depends entirely on one's own legs, and there's no risk of traffic jams due to a lack of cars, Mokgetsu might have allowed more prep time otherwise.
When Mokgetsu arrived, he didn't see Kushina's figure. After about five minutes, he saw Kushina hurrying over.
"Hey, Mokgetsu, you're already here! Am I late?" Kushina was a bit surprised to see Mokgetsu already standing there.
She thought that as the teacher, she should arrive first, so she planned to come early, but Mokgetsu still managed to beat her to it.
"Could the clock have broken?" Kushina scratched her head, thinking to herself.
"You're not late; you're actually a bit earlier than the appointed time, but I arrived a little earlier than you," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Although he himself had a habit of arriving early, he never expected others to have the same habit; he only hoped his companions wouldn't be late.
"Ahem, student Mokgetsu, you're quite diligent. When we study later, you should be just as diligent," Kushina said, clearing her throat and getting into character.
"I'm a strict teacher. Even Minato would be punished if he doesn't study well," Kushina said, trying to put on a stern face.
Unfortunately, Kushina didn't seem to have the knack for it. Her serious face looked not at all stern but rather amusing.
"Don't worry, Teacher Kushina, I'll certainly study diligently. Considering your hard work in teaching, I specially brought some desserts I made for you to try," Mokgetsu said with a cheerful smile as he handed a box to Kushina.
Hearing that the desserts were made by Mokgetsu, Kushina's eyes lit up. Her intention to maintain the dignity of a teacher flew out the window as she quickly accepted the box and thanked him:
"Mokgetsu, you're really talented, even making desserts. I'm really grateful."
After thanking him, Kushina couldn't wait to open the box. However, inside was not what she imagined—neither wagashi, daifuku, nor cake— but a square white dessert.
"What kind of dessert is this?" Kushina asked curiously.
Although she hadn't seen this type of dessert before, the aroma assured her that it would definitely taste good.
"This is Osmanthus Cake. I tried making it myself; dessert shops outside don't sell it," Mokgetsu explained.
"Impressive!" Kushina praised Mokgetsu and then immediately picked up a piece to taste.
The moment it entered her mouth, Kushina experienced the sweet, tender, and glutinous texture of the Osmanthus Cake. It was sweet but didn't feel overwhelming, followed by a faint fragrance of osmanthus, giving her a refreshing sensation.
In a trance, Kushina felt as if she was in the scorching summer and had jumped into a cool flower pool, enveloped by the fragrance and coolness.
"It's so delicious!" Kushina remarked as she came back to her senses.
"As long as it's delicious, that's good. I was worried you might find it not to your taste," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
"What a crafty student! Are you trying to make it hard for me to punish you after accepting this favor?" Kushina joked with a big smile.
"So, teacher, are you going to accept it or not?"
"Of course I'll accept it!" Kushina answered quickly. You can joke around, but you can't give up desserts.
"Such delicious treats shouldn't be finished at once; I'll save the rest for later," Kushina thought to herself.
Then the two of them started walking towards their last teaching location.
As they walked, Kushina was in a huge inner struggle.
"Such tasty desserts, one piece isn't enough to savor the flavor. I'll just have one more piece; there are still over a dozen left anyway." Ultimately, Kushina decided to try another piece.
After this bite, Kushina once again experienced an unprecedented deliciousness.
"I've already eaten two pieces; one more won't hurt," Kushina couldn't resist eating another piece.
One piece after another, they soon reached the destination, and Kushina habitually reached into the box, only to find nothing there. She looked in and saw it was empty.
"What's wrong?" Mokgetsu asked when he saw Kushina suddenly stop.
"Haha, it's nothing." Kushina silently closed the box and laughed awkwardly.
She couldn't possibly say she was just thinking about how to get more Osmanthus Cake.
Even someone as straightforward as Kushina would feel a little embarrassed to trouble someone again right after finishing what they brought.
"Kushina's Fuinjutsu class is starting. Student Mokgetsu, please answer: what power sustains the Four Symbols Seal?" Kushina began the Fuinjutsu lesson.
"The power of the cycle of the Four Symbols," Mokgetsu answered.
"So, will the sealing power of the Four Symbols Seal remain unchanged?"
"No, it will weaken over time and needs reinforcement," Mokgetsu continued to answer.
"Very good, it seems you haven't forgotten the knowledge I've taught you." Kushina nodded with satisfaction.
After asking a few more questions to confirm Mokgetsu's understanding, Kushina began teaching new content.
Mokgetsu quickly immersed himself in Kushina's teachings. Although Kushina taught in a straightforward manner, her knowledge of Fuinjutsu was truly profound. Coupled with Mokgetsu's own talent in Fuinjutsu, his progress was rapid when learning with Kushina.
By one o'clock in the afternoon, Mokgetsu's proficiency in the Four Symbols Seal had already reached fifty points at the beginner level.
When it was time for lunch, Mokgetsu straightforwardly invited Kushina to eat, returning to the restaurant from last time and borrowing the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous lunch for Kushina.
"Although the delivered meals are also good, freshly made hot dishes are indeed better." Kushina said with a look of happiness.
After finishing lunch, Kushina's free time was almost over. She handed the Cultivation Scroll to Mokgetsu and returned to the Uzumaki Seal House with the Anbu.
After bidding farewell to Kushina, Mokgetsu went to check on the progress of his Shadow Clone's blacksmithing.
Obito always said he liked whatever was given, but Mokgetsu knew from Obito's envious look on Shisui's birthday that Obito definitely wanted a ninja tool forged by Mokgetsu himself.
However, to distinguish between the two disciples, this time Mokgetsu was crafting according to the standard Kunai model, instead of gifting another short blade.
Although it was crafted as a standard Kunai, Mokgetsu intended to show his sincerity through the details, such as carving a complex dragon pattern on the Kunai, engraving Obito's name on both sides, and etching the Uchiha Clan Emblem on the handle.
When Mokgetsu arrived, he found the Kunai was mostly completed, only lacking some refined details.
"There's plenty of time, still six days left," Mokgetsu nodded to himself.
The emotions from last time had already been heightened, directly advancing to trust level four, with a perfect level reward. Mokgetsu felt it would be difficult to achieve such a major success on this birthday again.
He thought getting a master level reward would be quite nice, because even without a reward, he had to prepare the gift with care. One reason was not to make the disciples feel he was biased towards the earlier birthday disciple, and another was that Obito had also given him gifts before.
Next, Mokgetsu went to tutor at Asuma's home.
"Today, I'll teach you Wind Release nature transformation," Mokgetsu said with a smile, revealing the new content he planned to teach Asuma.
"I knew it, Mokgetsu, Teacher, you surely mastered Wind Release quickly," Asuma said with delight.
"It's okay, smoother than I imagined," Mokgetsu humbly noted before starting the lesson.
"For the nature transformation of the wind, try to imagine it as thin and sharp."
Mokgetsu picked a leaf from a tree, quickly gathering chakra in his hand for nature transformation, and in an instant, the leaf was sliced into several pieces.
"Or like a gust of wind, creating a shockwave."
Mokgetsu swiftly formed hand seals, gathering chakra in his throat and then opened his mouth to release a series of transparent shockwaves. Trees or rocks hit by the shockwaves were pierced through.
"Wind Attribute Chakra is like a blade; cutting and piercing are its strengths."
Seeing even the hard rocks pierced through by Mokgetsu, Asuma widened his eyes. Mokgetsu's Wind Release was more powerful than he had imagined; mastering such a level of Wind Release in just a few months was impressive.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I told you, you won't know if you're good at it unless you try. You really are a Wind Release genius," Asuma said, happy for Mokgetsu and himself.
With Mokgetsu's enhanced strength, he also secured his future Wind Release teacher.
"It's just by chance," Mokgetsu said with a smile, considering that from Sarutobi Hiruzen's perspective, he was a ninja capable of fighting with three-attribute ninja techniques.
"I think you just lack resources, Mokgetsu, Teacher. Maybe you can learn the nature transformations of Lightning and Earth as well," Asuma believed Mokgetsu's abilities could still grow.
"Let's focus on further mastering what I've learned first," Mokgetsu tapped Asuma's head with a smile.
After an afternoon of learning Wind Attribute Chakra nature transformation with Mokgetsu, Asuma felt it was more beneficial than ten days with his Jonin teacher.
As the cultivation session was ending and they were about to part ways, Asuma lamented,
"I should have waited a year to graduate. That way, I could have had the chance to intern with you, Teacher Mokgetsu."
"You can still work hard with me in cultivation now, and I'll notify you in advance if I have time. Once this internship period is over, there should be more time for tutoring," Mokgetsu thought aloud.
After seeing Asuma home, Mokgetsu returned to his home in the main district.
He first prepared dinner, then studied the Four Symbols Seal for a while before continuing the development of the Breath of Water.
Since the Breathing Technique is at the Kinjutsu level, even though Mokgetsu had learned three breathing techniques, he still found developing the Breath of Water challenging.
After all, the Breath of Water should have what other breathing techniques have — the ability to enhance physical strength and accelerate the rate of Water Attribute Chakra nature transformation.