Chapter 131 The exam is coming

As Iwagakure and Kumogakure declared war on Konoha, the war gradually approached, already affecting the atmosphere among Ninja within Konoha Village to some extent.

Two weeks after the meeting, Muzuki could hear the teachers in the office also discussing the topic of war.

Although it was content from a Jonin meeting, this was something that couldn’t be hidden even if they tried.

If there was going to be a war, Ninja would have to be mobilized, so how could it be kept a secret?

However, for now, it hadn’t affected the overall atmosphere of Konoha.

Although it was a Ninja Village, Konoha had the most ordinary people, far more than Ninja, and even some Ninja clans had ordinary people who hadn’t become Ninja.

“In my opinion, we should defeat Iwagakure with the force of thunder, deterring the Ninja World, and then ally with Sunagakure to defeat Kumogakure.”

“Why don’t we first ally with Sunagakure to defeat Kumogakure and then fight Iwagakure together?”

“Are you stupid? Let Kumogakure consume Sunagakure’s strength first. By the time Kumogakure and Iwagakure are defeated, we can take out Sunagakure along with them, maximizing the war’s gains.”

Perhaps discussing politics was truly enjoyable; although the Chunin teachers in the office generally didn’t need to go to the battlefield, they still discussed enthusiastically, coming up with all sorts of ingenious ideas and proposing what they believed to be good strategies.

“You two, war is a very cruel thing. It’s not as simple as you think.”

Ueda Aya said, looking at Ikeya Yu and Kimura Sugito, whose discussions were becoming increasingly outrageous.

“Although the Shinobi World War is very cruel, our Konoha has always been the victor. I don’t think this time will be an exception.”

Kimura Sugito replied, confident in Konoha.

“That’s right, under the leadership of the Sandaime, Kumogakure and Iwagakure are definitely not our opponents.”

Ikeya Yu nodded and said.

“Muzuki, don’t you agree?” Ikeya Yu looked at Muzuki.

“Of course, I believe the Village will definitely win, but we, as teachers, must also do our part for the Village and adopt a more serious attitude in cultivating Ninja for the Village.”

Muzuki said.

Konoha would indeed achieve the final victory, even if it was besieged by four great Ninja Villages, even if it was a Pyrrhic victory.

“See, we need to have confidence in the Village, just like Teacher Muzuki.”

Ikeya Yu said.

“It’s not that I lack confidence in the Village; I just think you two are underestimating war a bit.”

Ueda Aya explained.

After tidying up his things, Muzuki quickly left the office, went home to cook, and then headed to the South Border Forest.

The flames of war hadn’t yet reached the Ninja Academy, nor had they reached him, a person specializing in education.

Only when Konoha was truly on the verge of collapse would Muzuki be sent to the battlefield.

At that time, let alone teachers, even freshly graduated Genin wouldn’t be picking up trash or weeding; they’d be going to the battlefield.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Muzuki gave each person an appraisal.

Obito still maintained his lead, with his Flame Breathing proficiency having reached thirty-five points. Shisui followed closely, with a proficiency of thirty points, while Might Guy, who had been ahead for a while, was now in last place, with his Rock Breathing proficiency at twenty-five points.

Muzuki was quite satisfied with everyone’s progress. Although Might Guy was a full ten proficiency points behind Obito, who was highest, this was due to various factors and couldn’t be helped.

“You two can proceed to the next step of training.”

Muzuki said to Shisui and Obito.

“The next training will be more difficult than before. Be mentally prepared.”

“Teacher Muzuki, just teach us quickly. No matter how difficult it is, we’re not afraid.”

Obito chuckled, expressing fearlessness.

There were still two weeks until the first practical exam of the semester, and Obito wanted to study Flame Breathing more deeply. He truly wanted to get first place in his grade this time.

“Do you still remember the second step of training?” Muzuki asked.

“It’s using specific poses to aid in practicing the Breathing Technique.”

Obito thought for a moment and replied.

“This time, the requirement is that you can freely control the air inhaled into your body without specific poses, and use Ninjutsu while in the Flame Breathing state.”

Muzuki said.

They seemed like two goals, but it was difficult to achieve the latter without accomplishing the former.

Why do some Ninja need to form hand seals, while others can do without hand seals or use fewer?

If Ninjutsu were a math problem, forming hand seals would be the process of solving it. Ninja who don’t form hand seals directly get the answer, while Ninja who use fewer hand seals are very familiar with the problem and require fewer steps.

Flame Breathing, however, was like adding an extra credit question to the original problem; answering it correctly would add points and enhance power.

But using different Ninjutsu under Flame Breathing was like doing different extra credit questions for different problems, so one must have absolute control over the air inhaled by Flame Breathing. This way, no matter what the problem is, they can answer it correctly.

At this stage, Muzuki set their initial training as performing various extreme sports using only Breathing Technique, without using Chakra.

Sometimes, pushing oneself can indeed bring out something.

Even for someone as rough-edged as Obito, climbing a cliff without using Chakra for adhesion would be a bit nerve-wracking, because often the foothold wasn’t even half a foot long; only the tip of his toes would land.

To complete various difficult extreme challenges without using Chakra and various tools, Obito and Shisui could only rely on the power brought by the Breathing Technique.

At this step, Shisui and Obito’s progress was similar. After Obito’s proficiency reached forty-two, Shisui also reached thirty-seven, and both completed the training in just one week.

In theory, not only the second and fourth parts of the training, but also the training to control air had been ongoing from the very beginning. From the moment Obito and the others had the sensation of ‘qi’ from the Breathing Technique, every time they practiced the Breathing Technique, they were familiarizing themselves with how to control ‘qi’. The fourth part of the training was equivalent to the final summary.

After being able to control the inhaled air at will, it was time for formal Ninjutsu training.

Obito primarily trained in Ninjutsu, so Ninjutsu training was very familiar to him. He originally thought he would complete the training easily, but it turned out to be more difficult than he imagined.

With the Nature Transformation bonus brought by Flame Breathing, although it increased the power of Ninjutsu, it also made it more difficult to control.

However, compared to the previous training, Obito felt this step was still easier, as it was only about strengthening control and familiarizing himself with the enhanced state.

Obito spent five days familiarizing himself with using Ninjutsu in the Breathing Technique state.

At this moment, Obito’s Breathing Technique proficiency had reached forty-six.

Shisui was a bit faster than Obito in the Ninjutsu step, having familiarized himself in three days. Five days later, his proficiency reached forty-two, and Shisui was catching up rapidly.

Although Might Guy had a considerable amount of training, due to the difficulty, he only reached a proficiency of thirty-two at the same time.

On Saturday evening, Obito, Shisui, and Might Guy exchanged notes on their training progress. When Obito heard that Might Guy hadn’t even started extreme sports, he instantly felt confident.

The exam was on Monday. This time, he would definitely take first place in his grade!