Chapter 351: Flying Thunder God Technique

“It’s truly amazing. Land of Snow is experiencing a full-blown blizzard, yet here we can’t see a single trace of snow,” Obito remarked, standing at the gates of Konoha and gazing at the scorching sun in the sky.

Although Muzuki had briefly explained the principle behind it, Obito couldn’t quite grasp it. He only felt it was the result of nature’s extraordinary craftsmanship.

“That’s right. It will be some time before Konoha sees snow, and even then, it won’t be as heavy as in Land of Snow,” Rin Nohara nodded.

“It’s a good thing you brought your camera, Obito. Such a beautiful snowy landscape is definitely worth commemorating.”

“Hehe,” Obito chuckled proudly. He now always carries his camera when going on missions.

Initially, Obito might have only wanted to share the scenery he saw with Rin Nohara, but now Obito has also grown to like the feeling of documenting the landscapes of various places in the Ninja World.

“Everyone, you’re dismissed for now. You’ll have tomorrow off, and normal training will resume the day after tomorrow,” Muzuki said as usual.

Actually, this mission wasn’t too difficult for Obito and the others, as Muzuki was the primary contributor. However, they had still endured a long journey back, so a day off for rest was very necessary.

His three disciples all nodded in understanding.

Muzuki then headed to the Hokage Building to report on the mission.

Because Muzuki and the others stayed in Land of Snow until the Snow God Festival ended after resolving the coup, Fūka Sōsetsu had already sent someone to Konoha to explain the change in the mission and then offered additional payment.

However, even though Fūka Sōsetsu had informed them, Muzuki still needed to report, as the necessary procedures had to be followed.

Gazing at Muzuki’s departing figure, Obito glanced at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye.

Although his body was somewhat tired from the journey, Obito didn’t really want to rest. He wanted to go and practice his Breathing Technique to perfect his incomplete Fire Release Chakra Mode more quickly.

For Obito, it would be best if Kakashi went to rest. If he trained an extra day and Kakashi trained one less day, it would mean he was two days ahead of Kakashi.

With this give and take, he would surely surpass Kakashi again very soon and decisively defeat him in front of Rin Nohara.

“Oh, my body is indeed quite tired. I should definitely get some good rest,” Obito rolled his eyes, then stretched and said.

In Obito’s experience, people generally don’t feel like moving much once they see others resting. He wanted to use this to stimulate Kakashi’s laziness.

“After all, we ran all the way back. We should feel much better after a good night’s sleep,” Rin Nohara said with a gentle smile.

Muzuki didn’t want to waste time on the way back. He usually had his disciples travel at full speed when returning, saving time and serving as physical training.

“I think what you said makes a lot of sense, Rin. We really should get some sleep,” Obito silently gave Rin Nohara several thumbs up in his mind.

That’s right, Kakashi should ideally sleep for a whole week.

“I’m fine. It’s much easier than the training from a while ago,” Kakashi said, shaking his head. He didn’t feel too tired.

Compared to the hellish training of the Constant State Breathing Technique, Kakashi felt pretty good now. During that period, Kakashi could truly fall asleep easily even while standing.

Hearing this, Obito’s expression turned serious. This clearly meant training.

“It’s precisely because I’m worried about equally rigorous training the day after tomorrow that I want to rest. Rest is for better training,” Obito continued to extol the benefits of resting.

Kakashi’s expression showed contemplation. There was indeed some truth to this.

“It seems you’ve grown from this mission, Obito. It’s rare for Obito to consider so many things,” Rin Nohara chuckled, covering her mouth.

“It’s just that you haven’t noticed, Rin. Actually, I, Uchiha Obito, am a person who likes to think and is good at thinking,” Obito said, puffing out his chest proudly.

Kakashi:…

Liking to think was one thing, perhaps Obito’s strange way of thinking was due to overthinking, but being good at thinking was just flattering himself. What kind of person good at thinking would score single digits on a test?

Rin Nohara let out a small laugh and praised Obito, going along with his words. Obito had performed quite well on this mission.

“Maybe. Muzuki-sensei also said it’s good to balance work and rest,” Kakashi decided not to argue with Obito anymore. He would let Obito rest, and he would train according to his own ideas.

This way, he could end the meaningless argument and maintain his lead in strength for a longer time.

Obito’s face immediately lit up with joy. He seemed to already see Kakashi falling at his feet.

“The reason I surpassed you isn’t because my talent is better than yours, but because I used the time you spent resting for training instead!” In his fantasy, Obito declared his victory speech.

“Obito, why are you suddenly smiling so happily?” Rin Nohara asked, a little confused.

Kakashi also looked at Obito, wondering what was wrong with Obito that he was suddenly smiling so lewdly.

Realizing something was amiss, Obito immediately controlled his expression, but the corners of his mouth, which were turned up, simply wouldn’t go down.

“Ahem, I was imagining Fuka Kazehana opening her gift and finding it full of test papers,” Obito said without blinking.

Rin Nohara gently stroked her forehead and smiled helplessly:

“You were always saying you wanted to protect the princess before, but now you’re doing something like this to Fuka Kazehana, the real princess.”

Obito’s actions were truly difficult for Rin Nohara to comment on.

Obito chuckled and said nothing more, to prevent Kakashi from noticing anything.

To mislead Kakashi, Obito deliberately left first, heading towards the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Rin Nohara had originally thought about training for a while, but seeing that both Obito and Kakashi were going to rest, she simply went home to rest, as she was indeed quite tired.

While the disciples were engaged in their antics, Muzuki quickly completed his mission report.

“Muzuki, you’ve done very well this time. The Daimyo of Land of Snow praised you highly in his letter. Few Ninja receive such commendation from a Daimyo,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, taking his pipe from his mouth and smiling.

Even the Daimyo of a small country is still a Daimyo, and there aren’t many in the entire Ninja World. Moreover, Land of Snow rarely issues missions to Konoha. Muzuki’s actions this time had brought fame to Konoha in Land of Snow, helping Konoha expand its market.

Muzuki did not act overly humble and nodded, acknowledging his achievements.

He had indeed put in a great deal of effort this time, almost single-handedly crushing Fūka Dotō’s coup plot.

“How about this, Muzuki? Is there any specific Ninjutsu you particularly desire? I can specially reward you with a Ninjutsu of any rank,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said after some thought.

Although the Ninjutsu Pavilion contained many high-level Ninjutsu, some more precious A-rank or S-rank Ninjutsu were not available there.

“I want the Flying Thunder God Technique,” Muzuki said after thinking for a moment.

Although Muzuki had already mastered many Ninjutsu, including some powerful ones, there were still a few Ninjutsu he greatly desired but didn’t yet possess, and Flying Thunder God was one of them.

He would not lose to Minato in terms of reaction time, because he could use Lightning Release to strengthen his nerves and also had the Transparent World, so Flying Thunder God could enhance his combat ability, and then there was Flying Thunder God’s ability for rapid travel.

Many of Muzuki’s ideas required the ability for long-distance rapid movement, and while the burst speed of Thunder Breathing was fast enough, long distances consumed too much stamina.

“Flying Thunder God Technique…” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression turned thoughtful.

It wasn’t because the Flying Thunder God Technique was too powerful that Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated to give it, but because the Flying Thunder God Technique was too difficult. Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Muzuki would most likely not be able to learn it.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was different from other Ninjutsu; it required special space-time talent. Therefore, even a Ninjutsu genius like Hiruzen Sarutobi had not been able to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Muzuki’s performance certainly qualified him as a genius, but space-time talent was a bit mystical. Since its development, only two people in the entire Konoha had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique: its developer, Senju Tobirama, and Jiraiya’s disciple, Minato Namikaze.

“Muzuki, are you sure you want Flying Thunder God? The Flying Thunder God Technique is indeed very powerful, considered the Second Hokage’s proud creation. Don’t be fooled by Minato also learning it, but this Ninjutsu has only been mastered by its developer, the Second Hokage, and Minato, to this day,” Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded him.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes, Flying Thunder God wasn’t even a question of difficulty; it depended on luck. Only with space-time talent was there hope of learning it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that the relationship between Minato and Muzuki might lead Muzuki to make a misjudgment. After all, there was an example of someone close by who had learned it, and Muzuki happened to be a genius, so he might think he also wouldn’t have any problems.

“Thank you for the reminder, Sandaime-sama. I am certain it’s Flying Thunder God,” Muzuki said with certainty.

Muzuki also didn’t know if he could learn Flying Thunder God, but if he succeeded, the benefits would be great, because Muzuki had saved up quite a few Ninjutsu proficiency scrolls. Once he got the hang of it, he could directly raise Flying Thunder God to the master level.

As for not learning it, then so be it. After all, there was no cost involved.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put the pipe in his mouth, took a deep puff, and exhaled thick white smoke, knowing that Muzuki had made up his mind.

“I will send someone to deliver the reward to you,” Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer tried to dissuade Muzuki.

He knew in his heart that a genius like Muzuki would certainly not be content without trying. He himself had spent some effort on the Flying Thunder God Technique in his youth, and only stopped wasting time when he made no progress at all.

Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi had an idea in his mind: if Muzuki truly possessed space-time talent, that would be incredible. Konoha would then have another Yellow Flash.

“Sandaime-sama, have you ever tried to combine Chakra yourself to develop a Bloodline Limit?” Muzuki shifted the topic to Chakra Nature Transformation.

“I tried for a while, but it’s truly too difficult to combine two Nature Transformations to create an entirely new Nature Transformation; it requires a certain opportunity,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, shaking his head.

He was proficient in the Five Great Nature Transformations and also knew that combining two Chakra Nature Transformations could form a Bloodline Limit, but he had tried many times without any success. Coupled with the fact that Combination Ninjutsu also had considerable power, he ultimately chose the path of Combination Ninjutsu.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not feel that he had taken the wrong path. His current strength was proof. There were many Ninja in the Ninja World who possessed Bloodline Limits, but now, which Bloodline Limit Ninja in the Ninja World would dare to say they were stronger than Hiruzen Sarutobi?

“Could it be, Muzuki, you…?” Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly thought of something and looked at Muzuki with surprise.

If it was truly as he suspected, then Muzuki’s future would likely need to be re-evaluated.

Muzuki didn’t keep him in suspense for long. Dazzling blue-white light emanated from Muzuki’s hand, and soon an ice block formed in Muzuki’s hand.

“Ice Release,” Hiruzen Sarutobi uttered the name of the Bloodline Limit, staring at the ice block in Muzuki’s hand.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt an inexplicable emotion. Bloodline Limits were different from Ninjutsu; Bloodline Limits could be inherited by descendants. If Muzuki’s son and grandson weren’t too bad, a new Ninja clan could emerge.

“In Land of Snow, there exists a type of Snow Ninjutsu that is very similar to Ice Release but is not Ice Release,” Muzuki began to recount his fabricated experience of developing the Bloodline Limit.

He wasn’t worried about being suspected, because there were indeed no suspicious points about him.

Ninja in the Hokage world couldn’t possibly know that Muzuki had a system. The only two possibilities for him to use Ice Release were either that he was a Hidden Mist spy or that Muzuki developed it himself.

But the first possibility would never hold true, because Muzuki was a true-blue Konoha native, whose parents were both Ninja and sacrificed themselves in war. Muzuki had also spent time in Root, so it could only be the second possibility: Muzuki developed Ice Release.

“If Ninja in the Village who have mastered both Water and Wind Nature Transformations were organized to learn Snow Ninjutsu from Land of Snow, perhaps the Village could gain more Ice Release Ninja,” Muzuki suggested.

Actually, this was quite unlikely. If it were truly that easy to develop a Bloodline Limit, those people in Snow Ninja Village would have developed it themselves long ago. However, the act had to be complete, so Muzuki tried to make it seem as if he had developed it himself.

“Muzuki, you’re underestimating yourself. Those Snow Ninjutsu might have played some role, but they were definitely not the decisive factor. What truly allowed you to develop Ice Release was your talent,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s rich experience made him realize that Muzuki’s idea wouldn’t work. Having Konoha Ninja learn those Snow Ninjutsu, which significantly weakened in power outside of Land of Snow, would purely be a waste of time. If Bloodline Limits were that easy to develop, he would have developed one himself long ago.

However, Muzuki was, after all, trying to strengthen the Village, so Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a very good mood. An idle move had actually grown to such an extent, it was truly a huge gain.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his explanation, Muzuki showed an expression of sudden realization.

After the procedures were completed, Muzuki created a Shadow Clone to go home, while his main body headed to the South Border Forest.

At this moment, in the South Border Forest, Obito and Kakashi were staring at each other.

“Kakashi, didn’t you say we should balance work and rest? Why are you in the South Border Forest?” Obito couldn’t help but ask.

“Didn’t you say you were tired and needed to rest, and that training would be better after resting?” Kakashi retorted, unwilling to be outdone.

After speaking, the two faced each other in silence for a moment.

Obito was speechless, feeling that he had done a lot of unnecessary things. Originally, he might have been able to train with Rin Nohara, but now he had to train with Kakashi.

Kakashi didn’t waste time and quickly got into a state of training. Seeing this, Obito quickly began to train as well.

“Cunning, hateful Kakashi, once I surpass you again, I’m going to fight you every single day!” Obito planned his future in his mind while training.