"Take the next four days to rest, no training or missions," Minato said to the three after returning to Konoha.
Minato thought the mission had been too dangerous for Obito and the others. As newly graduated ninjas, facing such powerful enemies and experiencing this level of combat was quite a challenge. If it weren't for the fact that Obito and the others had only recently joined the team, Minato would have considered giving them a whole week off to rest and recover.
"Four days of rest all at once?" Obito scratched his head, feeling that this break was a bit long. He wasn't quite used to such a long break. Typically, after completing a mission, Mutsuki would usually rest on the day of return and resume training the next day. Sometimes, if he was particularly tired, he might take an extra day or two off, but it was rare to have a continuous four-day break.
"Four days of rest seems normal, especially after encountering enemies of that level," Kakashi thought four days of rest was no big deal.
When he was in other teams, completing a mission of C-rank or higher usually meant a few days off. Kakashi didn't mind the break, and he felt it was acceptable as long as every sensei was like Mutsuki. He didn't mind not having extra days off.
Even though Mutsuki's training schedule was quite intense, he didn't force students to train excessively. The students often practiced on their own during breaks.
"Anyway, just relax for the next few days. You don't need to worry about the mission; I'll report to Sarutobi Hiruzen shortly," Minato said with a warm smile.
The A and B team had appeared in the Land of Hot Water, and Minato needed to report this to Sarutobi Hiruzen. This was a bad sign for Konoha, indicating that Hidden Cloud might be gathering forces in the Land of Hot Water to strike the Land of Fire's borders.
"Well then, Minato-sensei, goodbye," Obito said, smiling and waving to Minato.
"Goodbye, Minato-sensei," Kakashi said as well.
"Minato-sensei, remember to rest well too," Rin said with a concerned smile.
At first, due to their previous impressions, Obito and Kakashi had always called Minato "San" or "Squad Captain." However, during this mission, they came to understand Minato better and felt his care for them. So they began referring to him as "sensei."
"I will," Minato said with a smile, waving goodbye as he walked towards the Hokage Building.
"A four-day vacation, huh? I'm not sure what to do with all this time," Obito said with curiosity. "Rin-chan, what are you planning to do?"
"I'll probably rest today and tomorrow, and review some Medical Ninjutsu materials. For the last two days, I might go ask Yumi-sensei for some training advice. With the Academy starting soon, Yumi-sensei might not have as much time," Rin replied after a moment of thought.
Obito's eyes lit up, feeling that Rin's suggestion made a lot of sense. However, he wasn't planning to wait the next two days to find Mutsuki. Instead, he intended to start training in the southern forests the next day.
This wasn't his first encounter with the candidate Raikage, and since Minato had protected them well, Obito didn't feel tired, either physically or mentally.
"If I spend all four days training with Yumi-sensei, Kakashi will have even less chance of catching up to me," Obito thought to himself.
"Obito, you're not planning to spend the whole four days sleeping at home, are you?" Rin asked jokingly.
"Not exactly four days of sleep, but I definitely plan to train," Obito replied vaguely, not revealing his specific training plans.
"And you, Kakashi?" Obito asked, looking at Kakashi.
"Training," Kakashi answered succinctly.
Kakashi's desire to become stronger was immense. Whether it was Obito, Guy, or Shisui, he wanted to surpass them and defeat them in actual combat.
Rin's words reminded Kakashi. Since they had time off and Mutsuki was available, it would be perfect to train with Mutsuki during these four days.
Seeing Kakashi's intense focus on training, Obito changed his mind. He decided not to rest today, but to go home first and then head straight to the southern forests for training. If Kakashi trained hard for a day while he rested, the gap between them would only narrow.
At the crossroads, the three parted ways, each heading home.
...
After becoming Guy's mentor, Chen-sensei finally understood why Guy had such a strong physique at his age.
For other disciples, Chen-sensei often scolded them for insufficient training, which led to poor performance, and urged them to train more. However, after seeing Guy's training, he advised Guy not to overexert himself, as it could harm his body. According to Chen-sensei's somewhat stringent standards, Guy's training volume was already way beyond the norm.
"Haha, Chen-sensei, you don't need to worry. I've always trained like this, and Yumi-sensei helped me adjust. It will be fine," Guy explained with a hearty laugh.
"Yumi-sensei? Who is he? At this level of intensity, it might not be an issue when young, but problems will arise later in life," Chen-sensei said seriously. He was worried that Guy might have been misled by someone who didn't know what they were talking about.
"Yumi-sensei's full name is Mutsuki Yumi. In my eyes, he is a Ninja whose Taijutsu is on par with yours," Guy said proudly.
Although Ebisu claimed that Chen-sensei was the best in Taijutsu in Konoha, Guy believed that if Mutsuki used both the Eight Inner Gates and Breathing Technique, Chen-sensei would definitely not be able to beat him.
Of course, because of Mutsuki's request, Guy didn't exaggerate too much, just stating that he thought Mutsuki was not worse than Chen-sensei.
"Mutsuki Yumi? The one from the Konoha newspaper recently?" Chen-sensei recalled the name vaguely after seeing it in the news.
"Yes, that's right. During that time, Yumi-sensei led us on a grain transport mission, and we happened to encounter a large-scale attack by Hidden Rock on the battlefield. Yumi-sensei then took us to support the battlefield," Guy nodded and explained.
Upon hearing this, Chen-sensei could basically rule out the possibility that Mutsuki was a fraud. After all, he was a Ninja who had contributed in battles involving Jinchuriki; his strength must be genuine.
"Alright, find a time to talk to Mutsuki Yumi. I'd like to have a chat with him," Chen-sensei said after some thought.
Seeing the respect on Guy's face when he talked about Mutsuki, Chen-sensei figured that the quickest way to resolve the issue was to find Mutsuki himself. He was also curious about Mutsuki's level of Taijutsu that could make Guy speak so highly of him.
"I'll go see Yumi-sensei after my training," Guy agreed with a nod.
After finishing his conversation with Guy, Chen-sensei advised him to rest a bit more before starting his training.
Guy then walked towards a large tree where Genma and Ebisu were resting in the shade.
"What did Chen-sensei talk to you about? He looked so serious," Genma asked curiously in a low voice.
Ebisu, hearing Genma's question, also looked at Guy, eager to know the answer.
"It's nothing much, just that he's worried I might overwork myself and advised me to reduce training and rest more," Guy answered honestly.
Genma's mouth twitched as he felt the disparity of the world. Not long ago, Chen-sensei had scolded him for not training seriously enough and, to motivate him, had demonstrated his thirty years of skill by kicking a large rock to pieces.
"But Chen-sensei does make a good point. Guy, your training volume is indeed a bit excessive; just hearing about it sounds exhausting," Shiranui Genma agreed with a serious expression.
He no longer questioned why Guy was so strong in Taijutsu, as he had seen for himself the exaggerated training Guy underwent.
As a disciple of Chen-sensei, Taijutsu training was naturally essential. Despite Chen-sensei's proficiency in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu was his forte. However, Genma felt that Guy's training had reached the level of self-abuse, and just hearing about it was enough to imagine how exhausting it must be.
Genma felt that if he were to try, he might collapse before even completing the training.
"Well, it's okay. I don't feel much. I've always trained like this. If I can't match up to those geniuses, then I need to work harder to become a genius through effort!" Guy said with a bright smile, giving a thumbs up.
"Genius through effort…" Ebisu thought about it and realized it really does describe Guy well.
If effort is considered a talent, then Guy is definitely a top-tier genius in that regard, according to Ebisu.
Previously, he didn't understand how a student like Guy, who wasn't from a ninja clan and didn't have a powerful ninja parent, could become so strong. After training with Guy for a few days, Ebisu finally had an answer.
"If I had worked this hard while in the academy, could I have defeated Uchiha Obito?" Ebisu thought, unable to control the idea in his mind.
Unfortunately, he would never know the answer, as they had already graduated and become official Genin.
But Ebisu was glad to have discovered a new path through Guy. As long as he worked hard and persisted, there would be a chance for success.
"Guy, I admire you the most. Among our batch of students, you will definitely be the strongest in the future," Genma said, patting Guy's shoulder with a smile.
Since Guy had used powerful Taijutsu techniques that weren't revealed during the exams, Genma felt that Guy was far ahead of Obito now.
"Guy will definitely be very strong in the future. You should worry about yourself. It's been so long since you started resting, and you haven't begun training yet?" Chen-sensei said quietly, appearing behind Genma.
"How does he walk without making any sound?" Genma thought, quickly getting up to start his training.
Without waiting for Chen-sensei to speak, Ebisu also smartly got up to begin training. Although past events couldn't be changed, he could start working hard from now on.
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