Chapter 453: An Extremely Dangerous Knife

After a simple test of the repair elixir’s effectiveness, Muzuki returned to the camp as quickly as possible and found Might Guy and the others.

Because they had just completed a difficult S-rank Mission, Kakashi Hatake and the others were currently in a period of rest and were not undertaking any missions.

Obito’s eyes lit up when he saw Muzuki approaching with a large Egg.

“Teacher Muzuki, is this also the Egg of a very powerful Nin-Beast?” Obito asked curiously.

Previously, Muzuki had given Kakashi Hatake a Nin-Beast Egg and specifically emphasized its great potential, which made Obito somewhat envious.

He still didn’t have a Nin-Beast and particularly wanted to sign a contract with a cool and powerful Nin-Beast.

One thing that worried Obito the most was his future internal conflict with Kakashi Hatake.

If he himself was no weaker than Kakashi Hatake, but lost the battle because Kakashi Hatake had a powerful Nin-Beast, Obito would truly be furious.

“It’s hard to say how powerful it is, but it won’t be bad,” Muzuki replied after thinking for a moment.

The unknown Pokémon Egg had too many uncertainties; it could be a Dratini or a Caterpie.

While answering Obito’s questions, Muzuki also responded to the greetings of his other disciples, finally walking up to Might Guy and handing him Might Guy’s brand new Ninja identification.

“This is…” Might Guy didn’t react at first, but when he saw the words Jonin on the Ninja rank section of the identification, he couldn’t help but show an excited expression.

This was a complete pleasant surprise for Might Guy.

Not long ago, he had failed the Jonin assessment due to theory, but now he had inexplicably succeeded in being promoted to Jonin.

“What is it that makes you so happy?” Obito couldn’t help but walk closer, curious, as he watched Might Guy laugh heartily.

“Ninja identification, did your identification fall out during a mission, Guy?” Obito thought Muzuki had helped Might Guy replace his identification.

When Obito saw the Ninja rank column, his face changed, his eyes widened, and his mouth unconsciously opened, looking utterly shocked.

“This isn’t right, how can it be Jonin? Didn’t you fail the Jonin assessment, Guy?” Obito couldn’t help but ask.

They were good brothers who failed together, so how did Might Guy suddenly sneak ahead and become a Jonin?

Compared to Might Guy becoming a Jonin, Obito would rather believe it was a mistake by the staff who handled the identification.

“Failing the Jonin assessment doesn’t mean you can’t become a Jonin,” Kakashi Hatake said after glancing at the identification and thinking for a moment.

Unlike Obito, Kakashi Hatake didn’t think it was a mistake.

“What the heck? Failing is failing, why can you be promoted?” Obito was confused by Kakashi Hatake.

“You can cut down a tree with a sword, or you can break it with a Chakra-enhanced fist. My point is that passing the Jonin assessment isn’t the only way to be promoted to Jonin,” Kakashi Hatake explained using an analogy.

Obito looked at Muzuki; he still felt that what Muzuki said was the most credible and easiest to understand.

Muzuki nodded, confirming Kakashi Hatake’s words, “Might Guy’s merits were recognized by the Third Hokage, so he was specially promoted to Jonin.”

Hearing Muzuki’s words, Might Guy puffed out his chest. Now he was an excellent Ninja recognized by the Hokage. Next, if he could maintain the title of Muzuki’s strongest disciple, he would be taking a solid step towards becoming the strongest in Taijutsu.

Listening to Muzuki, Obito basically knew who the Nin-Beast Egg Muzuki brought was for.

“Teacher Muzuki, is there any news about me?” Obito still held a glimmer of hope.

Might Guy graduated at the same time as him, and they had always been teammates on the battlefield, performing missions together. Logically, his merits should be similar to Might Guy’s.

Muzuki shook his head and looked at Shisui, “Besides Might Guy, Shisui has gained the qualification to participate in the Jonin assessment. After reporting, he can return to Konoha to take the assessment.”

Obito stood frozen like a stone statue, looking extremely stiff.

Kakashi Hatake becoming a Jonin first, Obito could still use Kakashi Hatake’s longer Ninja age as an excuse, but with Might Guy becoming a Jonin first, Obito truly couldn’t find an excuse, because he and Might Guy had come up together from being dead last.

Before Muzuki entered the Ninja Academy, they were both known as dead last, and at that time, Obito’s grades were even slightly better than Might Guy’s.

After becoming Muzuki’s disciples, the two gradually transformed from dead last to geniuses. During their Ninja Academy days, they had wins and losses against each other, and it could be said that they were almost identical in all aspects.

Now, as teammates fighting on the battlefield, they both failed the Jonin assessment, yet Might Guy was promoted to Jonin based on his merits, while Obito had nothing, practically getting crushed by Might Guy.

And then thinking that Shisui could participate in the Jonin assessment, and Shisui was proficient in both academics and martial arts, likely to pass the assessment, Obito instantly felt his vision darken and life seemed hopeless.

If Shisui became a Jonin, then he would truly be the only one among Muzuki’s disciples who was not a Jonin.

The former Obito pitied Rin Nohara, who didn’t have the chance to participate in the Jonin assessment and directly became a Special Jonin. The current Obito just wanted to say that being a Special Jonin wasn’t so bad either.

“Jonin assessment, huh?” Shisui fell into thought.

Shisui was actually quite happy right now, feeling a joyful sense of harvest, like his hard work in farming had finally yielded fruit.

Before Obito and the others left, Shisui did missions with them. When Obito and the others returned to Konoha to rest, Shisui remained on the battlefield performing missions. Except for the time he was injured, Shisui hardly rested.

Promotion to Jonin was one of Shisui’s motivations for working hard on the battlefield. Becoming a Jonin would make him more respected within the Uchiha Clan and give his words more weight.

However, Shisui found it difficult to make up his mind to return to Konoha alone to participate in the assessment. On one hand, he was worried that without his strength, Kakashi Hatake and the others would be more likely to encounter danger when performing high-difficulty missions.

On the other hand, he was worried that Obito and the others would silently improve during his absence. Shisui had only just managed to master the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, and he didn’t want to meet Might Guy and Obito again to find them all with Armament Haki and Transparent World.

Lastly, he was worried about Muzuki. Because there was very little information about Muzuki’s future, his exact time of death couldn’t be determined, so every major war could be it.

“I recommend that you report now, Shisui, and return to Konoha for the assessment,” Muzuki said, noticing Shisui’s dilemma.

“A person’s energy is not infinite; there must be a balance of work and rest. You’ve done well enough; you can appropriately relax your tense nerves.”

If Shisui returned to the village to participate in the Jonin assessment, Shisui would get a rest, and Muzuki would also receive a promotion reward, making it a win-win situation.

“Mm.” Feeling Muzuki’s concern, Shisui’s heart warmed, and he nodded, deciding to listen to Muzuki.

Seeing Shisui agree, Obito showed a complex expression. Things were ultimately developing in the direction he least wanted to see.

“Can a few Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist just pop out of the ground for me to slash a couple of times?” Obito was so desperate for merits that he was a bit delirious.

Kakashi Hatake’s lips curled into a smile. He had already thought of a hundred sentences to mock Obito’s Ninja rank. As long as Obito dared to provoke him, Kakashi Hatake would definitely make Obito break down.

After giving Shisui his advice, Muzuki handed the Pokémon Egg in his hand to Might Guy, congratulating him with a smile, “Congratulations on becoming a Jonin, Guy.”

Might Guy laughed loudly, thanked Muzuki, and then took the Pokémon Egg.

Standing next to Obito, Kakashi Hatake suddenly felt an intense sourness, as if someone was constantly eating lemons.

When Kakashi Hatake looked at Obito, he could vaguely hear things like “nothing special” and “I don’t really like Nin-Beasts.”

“This time, Guy, you need to be more careful. Eggs are very fragile,” Rin Nohara reminded him.

Might Guy was too easily excited, and Rin Nohara was a little worried that Might Guy might accidentally crush the Egg in his excitement.

“Really? It feels quite hard to me,” Might Guy said, holding the Egg in his left hand and scratching his head with his right.

Although he felt the Egg in his hand wasn’t fragile, Might Guy still switched to holding it with both hands for stability. After all, it was a gift from Muzuki, and he had to cherish it.

“In any case, being more careful isn’t a bad thing,” Rin Nohara said, nodding as she watched Might Guy become more cautious.

Rin Nohara didn’t feel the same way about Nin-Beasts as Obito did, because although she didn’t have a Nin-Beast now, she would soon have one, and it would be from Shikkotsu Forest, one of the Three Great Holy Sites.

Tsunade said that as long as Rin Nohara passed her assessment, Tsunade would take Rin Nohara as her official disciple, and at that time, she would have Rin Nohara sign a Nin-Beast blood contract with Shikkotsu Forest.

Tsunade’s so-called assessment wasn’t about Rin Nohara defeating someone or enduring a fight with Tsunade for a certain amount of time, but rather about designated medical knowledge for Rin Nohara to study. If she learned well, it would count as passing.

Rin Nohara was somewhat confident in this area. While she couldn’t compare to Kakashi Hatake and Obito in combat, she indeed had extraordinary talent in medical knowledge.

Besides that, there was another point: Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy both became Jonin, while she was a Special Jonin. Muzuki was probably waiting until she was promoted to official Jonin before giving her a gift.

“【You gifted your disciple a Pokémon Egg. Due to the disciple’s immense gratitude, a great critical reward was triggered, granting you — Gentle Fist (Mastery)】”

As Might Guy accepted the gift, a reward message popped up on Muzuki’s panel, and a large amount of Gentle Fist training experience appeared in his mind.

Muzuki saw that the reward only said Gentle Fist and thought it was just the most basic Gentle Fist. After organizing his memories, he realized that Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation were also included.

If he had obtained Mastery Gentle Fist when he first acquired the Byakugan, Muzuki would have been quite happy, but for him now, the positioning of Gentle Fist was a bit awkward.

Although it was the Hyuga Clan’s inherited Taijutsu, Gentle Fist held a crucial position within Konoha’s entire Taijutsu system.

Gentle Fist could directly damage the enemy’s Chakra circulatory system and internal organs. Because internal organs could hardly be trained, even the strongest Ninja could be fatally wounded by Gentle Fist.

However, most Ninja had high offense and low defense, and Muzuki had Armament Haki while also being able to enter various Breathing Technique Chakra Modes, making his attack power practically overflowing.

The people Muzuki could kill using Gentle Fist, he could kill even more easily using other methods, just with a bit more Chakra expenditure.

After getting Might Guy’s gold, Muzuki gave him the elixir, instructing Might Guy and Rin Nohara to keep it safe and take it directly if they were severely injured.

Then Muzuki used his Byakugan to look at the Pokémon Egg he had given to Kakashi Hatake.

It seemed that because a designated person had started incubating it, Muzuki’s Byakugan no longer saw a void but could vaguely make out a silhouette.

He still couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it seemed to be a quadruped Pokemon similar to a dog.

Finally, Muzuki took Kakashi Hatake away under the pretext of an assessment, preparing to check Kakashi Hatake’s progress in Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation and swordsmanship over the past two months, and whether he had met the training requirements for No Thought Strike.

Muzuki first performed an Appraisal Technique on Kakashi Hatake.

“【Name: Kakashi Hatake】”

“【Chakra: 7800】”

“【Skills: Transparent World, Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 100/15000), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient: 2700/3000), Hatake Swordsmanship (Mastery: 150/15000), Thunder Breathing (Proficient: 2600/3000)…】”

Over seven thousand Chakra, one Mastery Nature Transformation, plus another Nature Transformation close to Mastery — this was almost the standard for a Konoha Jonin. The data for these few items for an ordinary Konoha Jonin generally fluctuated within this range.

However, considering his other skills, Kakashi Hatake’s panel was not ordinary. Transparent World, Mastery Hatake Swordsmanship, several Mastery Lightning Release and Earth Release Ninjutsu.

Considering Kakashi Hatake’s age, his panel was indeed worthy of being called that of a genius. In just a few years of training, he had achieved data that others couldn’t reach even after ten or twenty years of training.

“Use your Lightning Release swordsmanship to attack me with full force,” Muzuki said, closing the panel.

The information displayed by the Appraisal Technique was not comprehensive enough; he could make the most accurate judgment by combining it with real combat performance.

Kakashi Hatake didn’t waste words. He immediately adjusted his breathing, concentrating it to the extreme to enter the Transparent World state, and drew his White Fang Short Blade.

Zzzzt!!

Dazzling yellow lightning flowed from Kakashi Hatake’s palm into the White Fang Short Blade, extending into a blade of lightning. Kakashi Hatake stepped his right foot forward and slid his left foot back, assuming a charging stance.

Under the effect of Transparent World, Kakashi Hatake gathered all his strength and poured it into his sword. The next strike would be the strongest he could unleash.

After all, his opponent was Muzuki, and Muzuki’s strength allowed Kakashi Hatake to unleash his full power without any reservations.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who had given them a tough fight, were casually slaughtered by Muzuki. Such a Muzuki clearly couldn’t be harmed by his attack.

Kakashi Hatake really wanted to have the ability to harm Muzuki, because that would mean he had the power to change the future, but reality and training goals still needed to be distinguished.

“Fire-Lightning God!”

Boom!

A lightning roar erupted. Kakashi Hatake swung his lightning blade and charged towards Muzuki at extreme speed, moving like a flying lightning dragon, just like real lightning, both fast and dazzling.

If Muzuki hadn’t specifically taken Kakashi Hatake to a more distant place, the patrol Ninja at the camp would probably have already come looking.

Facing the surging Kakashi Hatake, Muzuki entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode, then made a fist in the air, creating a lightning Katana, and swung a slash at the approaching Kakashi Hatake.

It wasn’t that No Thought Strike could only be used this way; in fact, using Enma directly would be more powerful, but Muzuki didn’t need that much power. After all, he was only testing Kakashi Hatake’s strength, not cutting Kakashi Hatake into pieces.

Because he was in Transparent World, even though he was surrounded by yellow electric light, Kakashi Hatake could still clearly see Muzuki’s movements.

The moment Muzuki swung his sword, Kakashi Hatake suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Muzuki’s seemingly ordinary slash utilized a profound and terrifying technique, giving Kakashi Hatake an extremely dangerous feeling.

Danger! Danger!

Kakashi Hatake’s perception repeated this message to him like a broken record. If the person standing in front of him wasn’t Muzuki, Kakashi Hatake would have given up the attack and considered the possibility of evasion.