"I'm sorry, Teacher Mokgetsu, I'm not in a good state today," Shisui said apologetically.
He felt somewhat sorry for Mokgetsu's meticulous guidance.
Mokgetsu smiled and said, "It's okay, everyone has off days."
"But I sense you have something on your mind. Can you share it with me?" Mokgetsu looked into Shisui's eyes.
Locking eyes with Mokgetsu, Shisui could deeply feel Mokgetsu's concern for him.
"Ever since I mastered the Breathing Technique, I haven't progressed much, whereas Obito seems to have no such worries. So I thought carefully about the step where I initially comprehended flames, and it seems I lack the burning passion that Obito has."
In front of Mokgetsu, Shisui had no intention of hiding and voiced his thoughts from yesterday.
"Maybe I'm just not suited for the Breath of Flame."
Mokgetsu placed his hand on Shisui's head, ruffling his hair, and then said with a smile,
"I'm quite certain you're suited for cultivating the Breath of Flame."
Obito was well-suited for the Breath of Flame, but before getting started, he wasn't that far ahead of Shisui—in terms of proficiency, he was only leading by a dozen points at most. This was enough to show that Shisui's compatibility with the Breath of Flame wasn't low.
The reason Obito is now leading by nearly ninety points in proficiency is due to multiple factors. On the one hand, Obito's compatibility is maxed out; on the other hand, he can go on missions and engage in real combat, which allows faster progress.
Mokgetsu doesn't mean to belittle Obito, but at the start, the difference in cultivation efficiency between Shisui and Obito was truly that of a prodigy versus an underdog. What Shisui could achieve in a day's study of Ninjutsu could take Obito ten days or even more.
In fact, when Shisui was first taken as a disciple, he wasn't particularly strong—after all, he was only six years old and had only just begun cultivating. However, training with Mokgetsu, Shisui's gap with both Might Guy and Obito grew larger, and this situation persisted for a considerable period.
In this context, it's quite understandable to see Shisui's mindset—his speed in cultivating important Kinjutsu was now surpassed by the previously easily-overcome underdog, and his strength was slowly being caught up.
Shisui was indeed relatively mature for his age, calmer and more determined than his peers, but he was still a six-year-old child. In Mokgetsu's past life, kids this age were just starting first grade, so doubting himself was quite normal.
But with the Breathing Technique, one must never doubt themselves. Once you begin to doubt yourself and negate yourself, the power of the breath will weaken.
This is also why Mokgetsu thought the Breathing Technique had a bit of the Yin Release aspect; it's indeed somewhat idealistic and leans towards the spiritual.
This is also why Obito and Might Guy always manage to break through with their Breathing Techniques in battles because they both have immense confidence in themselves, their beliefs unshaken.
Fortunately, Mokgetsu discovered this early on; otherwise, with Obito's rapid progress, Shisui's distrust in his Breathing Technique would surely increase.
"Obito's passion is indeed intense, but it doesn't mean there's no fire burning in your heart," Mokgetsu said earnestly.
"Shisui, don't you have things you want to do? Don't you have dreams? Recall the dreams in your heart."
"Dreams..." Mokgetsu's words thrust Shisui into memories.
Although an orphan, Shisui's life never touched poverty.
Because his father was a distinguished Jonin of the Uchiha Clan, and his grandfather, Uchiha Kagami, almost became a senior figure in Konoha. He was an elite Jonin famous in Konoha; if Shisui wanted to lead a carefree life, he could live comfortably with his inheritance.
Clearly, Shisui didn't choose a carefree life; he chose to become a prodigy ninja.
Shisui had heard many people talk about his grandfather, that his grandfather was a genius ninja who, at a young age, had power acknowledged by the Second Hokage. Some said his grandfather was a bearer of the Will of Fire, dedicating his life to Konoha. Some said he was a great Uchiha and that if it weren't for the accident, the Uchiha's situation would have greatly changed.
His desire to become a ninja was partly inspired by his grandfather.
After learning the history of the Uchiha Clan and feeling the Konoha villagers' rejection of the Uchiha Clan, Shisui resolved to become a ninja like his grandfather and complete what his grandfather left unfinished.
Why must people with two eyes and one nose like everyone else be rejected? Shisui wanted to change this situation.
"I want to change Uchiha's current situation so that everyone in Konoha can live harmoniously together!" Shisui lifted his head and looked straight into Mokgetsu's eyes as he spoke.
"Isn't that wonderful? Just strive towards this goal. I can feel the fire in your heart burning," Mokgetsu said, tapping Shisui's chest with his finger, smiling.
"Shisui, you are a very kind and upright individual. Remember how you feel at this moment. Don't doubt your dreams."
Mokgetsu couldn't speak for the original depiction of Shisui, but the Shisui here was indeed very upright and kind, albeit with a bit more restraint, unlike Obito's straightforwardness.
"Do you really think you can't achieve your dreams?"
"No!" Shisui replied firmly.
Before, he might have hesitated, wondering if he could truly accomplish what his much-praised grandfather couldn't.
But now Shisui only gave a definite answer because he had Teacher Mokgetsu's help.
"Enter Full Concentration Breathing; I'm going to attack now!" Mokgetsu suddenly said, then aligned two fingers and lunged at Shisui.
Shisui immediately focused his breathing to dodge, not having time to activate the Sharingan.
"Success..." Shisui showed a look of amazement as he saw the hand barely a centimeter away from him.
Just a while ago, even with his Sharingan on, he couldn't avoid Mokgetsu's attack.
"Yes, you successfully dodged my attack. But this isn't training time—dodging doesn't reduce the number of exercises," Mokgetsu said, retracting his hand with a smile.
"That's okay." Shisui's voice was still filled with joy.
The Breathing Technique finally broke through; even if he had to do a hundred more exercises, he would be happy.
Shisui thought for a moment, a hundred might be too much; those exercises weren't easy. If he had to do twenty more, he would still be happy.
"The Breathing Technique isn't something that can't be changed. If one day you have better ideas, you can modify the Breathing Technique. Whatever suits you is the best, but you must remain steadfast in your dreams and beliefs," Mokgetsu said with a serious expression.
Shisui indeed had a high affinity with the Breath of Flame, but whether it's the most suitable is not sure. The Breathing Technique can be adapted based on one's abilities.
"Thank you, Teacher Mokgetsu, for your guidance. I'll hold my beliefs firm," Shisui firmly engraved Mokgetsu's words in his mind and thanked Mokgetsu.
"Go train," Mokgetsu said with a smile. Talking treatments generally lead to good cultivation results.
Motivated, Shisui nodded and quickly immersed himself fully into training.
...
On February 20th, because four out of five of the disciples were still students at the Ninja Academy and needed to take exams, Mokgetsu simply gave them all a break, Kakashi included.
Mokgetsu also went to the long-unvisited Ninja School.
Since taking on the intern role, he himself hadn't been back to the school.