Chapter 106: Breath of Fire (25)

The afternoon rewards were a bit lacking compared to the morning, consisting only of a normal-powered Water Release and Earth Release.

However, as a reward for four hours of class, Muzuki felt it was pretty good.

At night, Muzuki continued to lead Shisui and Might Guy in practicing the Breathing Technique.

None of the three had yet found the breathing sensation of the Breathing Technique, remaining in the initial breathing training.

“Remember, it’s a skillful breath, not just taking a big gulp of air and calling it a Breathing Technique,” Muzuki repeatedly emphasized.

“Skill, skill, skill…” Obito kept muttering the word, trying to hypnotize himself into breathing skillfully.

“If you’re suggesting something, just think it in your heart, don’t say it out loud,” Muzuki said, poking Obito’s abdomen with his finger.

Obito, in pain, gasped, sucking in a cold breath.

He had never imagined that something as basic as breathing, which people are born knowing, could have techniques and be so difficult to learn.

It was much harder than Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique or Chakra Nature Transformation.

When practicing Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, even if he failed, he could at least spit out some sparks; when practicing Nature Transformation, even if progress was slow, he could at least melt ice a bit with the warmth of his hands.

But practicing the Breathing Technique, Obito felt like he was just full of wind and hadn’t breathed out anything.

Obito felt that if this continued, his Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique would improve from all the inhaling and exhaling, but he still might not learn the Breathing Technique.

However, seeing that Shisui also had no clue, Obito felt relieved; if Shisui was like this, then it really must be difficult.

Obito and Shisui, who were practicing Flame Breathing, were both in this state, not to mention Might Guy, who was practicing the even more difficult Rock Breathing, also had no progress.

But Muzuki wasn’t too worried about Might Guy; the diligent and resolute Rock Breathing, with its rock-like will, suited Might Guy well, and Might Guy just needed to practice as hard as he usually did.

On the second day of practicing breathing, all three disciples still had zero proficiency.

On the evening of the third day, one disciple finally broke through the zero mark, successfully gaining a bit of proficiency, and it was Obito, who was practicing Flame Breathing.

“Muzuki-sensei, I seem to feel a little something different, did I get it?” Obito suddenly said while practicing the Breathing Technique.

“Not entirely learned, but you’ve officially entered the training of the Breathing Technique,” Muzuki, who had been observing from the side, replied, checking Obito’s proficiency with his appraisal skill, and indeed, it was no longer zero.

He had thought Shisui would be the first to break through zero, but it turned out to be Obito.

Muzuki thought about it and felt that it might be because Obito’s personality was more suited to Flame Breathing, so he grasped the feeling first.

Flame Breathing is suitable for those who are passionate, cheerful, and whose hearts are as fiery as flames; Shisui’s personality is not introverted, but he’s quite far from being passionate like fire.

“Yes, grasp this feeling and continue to delve deeper; once you’re familiar with it, you can move on to the next training,” Muzuki nodded and said.

This breathing training of inhaling and exhaling is just the very beginning of the getting Started, and there are many training stages after this.

The next training stage involves guiding breathing through adjusting body posture to achieve different strengthening effects.

In the original Breathing Technique, this stage involved training different breathing style techniques, but after localization, there’s no need to hold a sword, so it became various different strengthening effects.

Because they are beginners who are just starting to learn, they need specific postures to guide them; once they learn it, they can control it freely within their bodies.

“Finally, the formal training has begun!” Obito couldn’t help but punch the air in celebration; after three days of drinking the northwest wind, he finally got some feedback.

Bang!

Muzuki tapped Obito’s head with two fingers together, pointing at Shisui, who was still practicing, and said, “Don’t disturb others’ training; quickly get familiar with this feeling.”

Obito closed his mouth and nodded, resuming his training with a satisfied smile.

Shisui’s talent was comparable to Kakashi’s, and since he learned it before Shisui, didn’t that roughly mean he won against Kakashi once?

The third day of training ended; Shisui and Might Guy made no progress, while Obito grasped a little feeling.

During Wednesday’s training, Shisui kept doing various exercises, his mind still on the Breathing Technique.

This was truly the first time he felt completely clueless about something.

During a break, Shisui saw Obito and Asuma bragging to each other about their Fire Release, thought for a moment, and walked over to Obito, asking:

“Obito, can you describe that breathing sensation in detail?”

Obito recalled for a moment, then began to describe: “It’s like eating a bowl of hot ramen, a warm current of air flowing throughout your body…”

Obito tried his best to describe his feelings, even using body language to explain.

“Feeling a warm current…” Shisui showed a thoughtful expression.

Asuma next to them was a bit confused, feeling that the conversation between the two was completely nonsensical, especially Obito, who seemed to be talking about nothing.

Asuma didn’t pay attention to this small interlude; seeing Kurenai Yuhi start training again, he also ran over to train.

After that, Shisui kept thinking about Obito’s answer, trying to gain some inspiration from it; even when he went home for dinner after class, Shisui was still thinking about whether to eat ramen that day.

“Shisui, what’s going on when my feet occasionally hurt when I use Body Flicker Technique?” Uchiha Tekka asked when he saw Shisui.

“Didn’t feel a warm current of air,” Shisui said, an answer he himself felt was nonsensical.

Just as Uchiha Tekka was puzzled, Shisui rephrased: “It’s probably because you didn’t control the amount of Chakra in your feet properly, causing injury to your feet.”

“I see, Shisui, what were you thinking just now? I called you twice before you answered,” Uchiha Tekka asked curiously.

“I was thinking about training,” Uchiha Shisui replied.

“No wonder even those Genin who have already graduated are no match for you; you’re already so strong yet you’re constantly thinking about training,” Uchiha Tekka sighed.

He felt a bit ashamed; this time, he was considered the Uchiha dead last. There were three Uchiha in Group A, and in the strength test, Shisui and Obito were the top two, while he was eliminated in the third round.

Shisui didn’t speak; he felt Uchiha Tekka might have misunderstood him. Even Might Guy didn’t constantly think about training; it was just because the Breathing Technique had made no progress that Shisui was like this.

Let it be a misunderstanding, Shisui didn’t explain. After eating dinner at home, he went to Muzuki’s place and continued practicing the Breathing Technique under Muzuki’s guidance.

Soon, the fourth day of practicing the Breathing Technique ended; the situation was similar to the third day, with only Obito having a slight feeling.

It wasn’t until the fifth day that a new change occurred: Shisui’s Flame Breathing also showed a bit of proficiency.

“A current of air like eating hot ramen…” Shisui felt Obito’s description was surprisingly apt; he could feel a current of air being inhaled through his mouth, constantly flowing along his Chakra pathways.

The fifth day of Breathing Technique training ended, with only Might Guy left who had not yet gained Breathing Technique proficiency, still diligently searching for the sensation of qi.