Mutsuki has a habit of arriving early. The agreed time was two in the afternoon, and he and Obito arrived at 1:50.
"Genma, Ebisu, Guy," Obito greeted the three who were training with a grin.
Hearing Obito's voice, the three stopped their movements and looked towards him, noticing Mutsuki beside him.
"Yumi-sensei and Obito, what are you doing here?" Genma asked with a puzzled expression.
He wasn't aware of the conversation between Chen-sensei and Guy that day, only knowing that they were discussing training matters.
"Yumi-sensei and your guiding sensei have some business. By the way, where is your guiding sensei? I haven't seen him," Obito looked around but didn't see the muscular man he had imagined.
"Has he not arrived yet?" Obito asked in confusion.
"He's sitting under that tree over there," Genma pointed to a large tree not far from them, where Chen-sensei was sitting and reading a book.
Obito followed Genma's finger and saw a middle-aged man wearing a plain yellow jacket and yellow tights.
"That's Chen-sensei?" Obito asked Genma with a doubtful expression.
Looking at Chen-sensei, who appeared to be not much taller than himself when standing, and lacking any strong muscles, with a slightly lewd smile on his face, Obito thought he didn't look like Konoha's strongest Taijutsu practitioner at all—just an ordinary, weary middle-aged man.
"What, don't I look like it?" Before Genma could explain to Obito, Chen-sensei, with his sharp senses, put away his book and quickly appeared beside Obito.
"Wow, that was fast!" Obito's pupils contracted as he looked at the suddenly appearing Chen-sensei, realizing he hadn't even seen how Chen-sensei had moved.
"Hello sir, I'm Mutsuki Yumi." Mutsuki placed his hand on Obito's shoulder and smiled as he introduced himself to Chen-sensei.
Chen-sensei looked Mutsuki over a few times, nodded, and gave a brief introduction in return.
Chen-sensei gave Mutsuki a look, indicating that they should step aside to talk and not be among the students. He wanted to question Mutsuki's training methods, which wasn't suitable for the students to hear; he wanted to give Mutsuki some face.
Once the two were aside, Chen-sensei asked bluntly, "Since you were able to achieve results in battles against Jinchuriki, you must be a capable Ninja. Don't you know the dangers of overtraining? The body has its limits; problems won't show up now, but they'll become serious in middle age."
"Guy's training volume is too high. What I've seen is already beyond the limits that an average person can endure."
Although he admired Guy's perseverance, he believed this would shorten Guy's peak period and even his lifespan.
Facing Chen-sensei's doubts, Mutsuki's expression remained unchanged as he gently smiled and said, "First, I'd like to thank you sir, for your concern for Guy."
Chen-sensei looked at Mutsuki, expecting reasons rather than gratitude.
"If it were an ordinary person, they indeed wouldn't be able to handle such a huge training load," Mutsuki affirmed Chen-sensei's point, then continued, "But Guy is not an ordinary person. Guy has exceptional talent in Taijutsu, and his body's endurance is stronger than that of ordinary people."
Guy's strength is mainly due to his hard work, but his physical condition is actually better than that of the average person. Although he isn't endowed with divine power, his endurance is superior.
In other words, if Guy didn't work hard, he'd be an ordinary person, but with effort, he has the chance to catch up with those geniuses.
"I can see that, but even with his greater endurance, such a training load is still excessive," Chen-sensei countered.
Having practiced Taijutsu for half his life, Chen-sensei is extremely knowledgeable about these matters. That's why he places so much importance on Guy. With superhuman willpower and strong physical endurance, Guy is a perfect Taijutsu prodigy.
"If it were only like that, the current training load would indeed be excessive, but I have a special elixir that can eliminate fatigue and restore the body. With Guy's strong endurance combined with the elixir's recovery effects, this training load is just right for him," Mutsuki continued to explain.
It must be said that the system's elixir is indeed very powerful and is a perfect match for Guy.
"The elixir's effects aren't that impressive. Which one are you using?" Chen-sensei asked. He had used various elixirs for training, but he didn't believe they were that effective.
"This kind of elixir isn't available on the market," Mutsuki shook his head and replied. The elixir provided by the system couldn't be bought anywhere in the ninja world.
Chen-sensei wasn't sure whether to believe Mutsuki. If everything Mutsuki said was true, then there would indeed be no problem, but Mutsuki's explanation about the elixir was quite vague.
"Also, Guy is practicing the Eight Inner Gates. Sir, you should be familiar with this forbidden technique," Mutsuki added.
"Eight Inner Gates, so it's this forbidden technique. No wonder his aura sometimes suddenly intensifies during battle with me," Chen-sensei's face showed a thoughtful expression.
He had never fought a Ninja who mastered the Eight Inner Gates but had heard of the forbidden technique's reputation.
"The Eight Inner Gates strengthens the body by removing its limitations. The stronger the body, the less damage is sustained when opening the eight gates, and the greater the power of the eight gates," Mutsuki introduced the Eight Inner Gates up to this point and left it at that. Chen-sensei, not being a novice, would understand his meaning.
At this point, Chen-sensei was convinced by Mutsuki. Mutsuki knew Guy better than he did and had considered more factors.
"Guy wants to become strong and reach the pinnacle of the ninja world, but his talent in Ninjutsu is quite average. The only thing that can support him in achieving his dreams is Taijutsu," Mutsuki concluded.
Mutsuki's words led Chen-sensei into deep thought. Besides being the guiding sensei for Guy and the others, he had another disciple.
That disciple was in a worse situation than Guy. While Guy could learn some simple Ninjutsu with more time, his other disciple had no talent for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu at all. He couldn't learn a single Ninjutsu or Genjutsu and had to rely solely on Taijutsu, struggling just to graduate from the Academy.
Chen-sensei was moved by his disciple's perseverance and took him on, planning to pass on his Taijutsu skills. However, due to his current lack of strength, the disciple was not yet able to learn Konoha's Dragon God technique.
"You are a great sensei; no wonder Guy respects you so much," Chen-sensei remarked as he came back to his senses.
He believed that a sensei who could help their disciples achieve their dreams was the best kind of sensei.
Mutsuki smiled and engaged in some mutual flattery before extending a challenge to Chen-sensei.
"I've heard about your title as Konoha's strongest Taijutsu Ninja, Sir. Could you give me a chance to challenge the strongest?"
Fighting Chen-sensei was the main purpose of his visit, and he wanted to showcase his own Taijutsu skills.
Chen-sensei waved his hand and said, "What strongest? It's just a bunch of hype. If it comes to a fight, Third's Taijutsu is actually stronger than mine. But if you want to fight, I'm willing to give it a try."
Seeing that Mutsuki understood Taijutsu so well and had taught Guy so effectively, Chen-sensei thought Taijutsu wouldn't be a problem and agreed to the challenge.
"Do you want to fight here or choose another location? If we stay here, let those kids see what a true Ninja battle looks like," Chen-sensei suggested.
Watching strong fighters is beneficial. It broadens one's perspective and allows learning from the strengths of the powerful, though if they are too strong, one might not learn much as everything happens too quickly to see clearly.
"Let's fight here, and we'll keep it to a friendly match," Mutsuki replied with a smile and a nod.
The location wasn't a major issue; his primary audience was Chen-sensei, as he held more influence.
Chen-sensei appeared next to his students and said, "Mutsuki and I will have a sparring match. Pay close attention and learn how a real Ninja fights."
"Ah, you're fighting Yumi-sensei?" Genma asked in surprise.
He felt it seemed a bit unfair—a Ninja reputed as Konoha's strongest Taijutsu fighter facing a Special Jonin who mostly teaches.
"No, Yumi-sensei is also someone who can defeat Jonin," Genma quickly recalled from Obito's previous mission stories.
But Genma then thought that even a strong Jonin might not be much against a Ninja with the title of the strongest.
"What's wrong, do you have any objections?" Chen-sensei raised an eyebrow and asked.
He didn't know Mutsuki's specific details, only that Mutsuki had fought alongside Jiraiya on the battlefield to repel a Jinchuriki.
"No, no objections," Genma quickly shook his head, worried that Chen-sensei might make him fight.
Chen-sensei sometimes did that, occasionally giving them challenging tasks.
"Yumi-sensei and Chen-sensei…" Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses, recalling the formidable Konoha Dragon from that day. He felt that Mutsuki might be in a tough spot.
Upon hearing that Mutsuki and Chen-sensei would fight, Obito showed an excited expression, grateful that he had come along to witness Yumi-sensei's battle.
He wasn't at all worried that Mutsuki would lose. Obito had strong confidence in Mutsuki, believing that even if Mutsuki only used Taijutsu, Chen-sensei wouldn't win. After all, Mutsuki was an all-powerful Sage, and being the strongest in Konoha's Taijutsu was surely no problem.
Guy showed a curious expression. The strongest battle he had witnessed so far was between Mutsuki and Might Duy, who had opened the Sixth Gate. He was curious if this battle would be even more impressive.
"How will Yumi-sensei handle Chen-sensei's Konoha Dragon God?" Guy wondered.
Currently, he had no way to counter the Konoha Dragon God. The wind force was so strong that he would quickly get injured if he approached, but without getting close, he couldn't figure out how to counter it.
After informing his students, Chen-sensei and Mutsuki chose a location that was neither too close nor too far from the students for their battle.
If it were too far, the students wouldn't be able to see clearly, rendering the observation pointless. But if it were too close, it could affect their fight and possibly injure the students from the residual impact.
"Begin the battle!" Obito, playing the role of the announcer, shouted loudly.
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