"Teacher, I want to challenge the River Surface Sprint!" Obito found Mugetsu and voiced his determination to try again.
It had been four full days since his last failed attempt.
In that ti, he had learned Mugetsu's special speed-enhancing training thod and even broken his own speed limit during a race with Guy. Obito now felt confident he could clear the challenge.
Of course, the real push ca from his belief that all his recent losses in speed competitions were because he hadn't learned Shave yet.
With next week's special training involving a combat test, Obito wanted to master Shave this week so he wouldn't be on the defensive.
He also had another reason—he wanted to beat Guy at least once.
So far, in every formal duel with Guy, Obito had never won. He always ca frustratingly close, and that "just barely" gap irritated him more than a total defeat.
If Guy mastered Shave and he didn't, his chances of victory would shrink even further.
"Alright, follow ," Mugetsu said, nodding before leading him to the riverbank.
The second stage differed from the first—no traps needed, and they could begin imdiately.
Mugetsu created a large number of Shadow Clones, then unleashed a barrage of Water Dragon Bullets across the river's surface.
"Teacher, I'm ready," Obito said, taking a deep breath and gathering chakra for the sprint.
"Start!"
Obito fixed his gaze on the Water Dragon Bullets, trying to catch the pattern hidden within their movents.
After his last attempt, Mugetsu had hinted that they weren't moving randomly—their positions followed a rhythm.
If this had been a normal fifteen-ter water run, he could have dashed across instantly. But with those dragons churning the surface, charging straight through would send him flying.
After two seconds of sharp observation, Obito spotted it—the key.
There were twelve water dragons in total, three forming a group. The ones in each group advanced and retreated in sync, aning the twelve could be treated as four larger dragons.
And those four had their own rhythm—roughly every one and a half seconds, a tiny safe zone appeared between two of them. The opening was fleeting, barely half a second.
Realizing this, Obito moved. There was no more ti to think.
Though the crossing looked like a ten-second sprint, his actual window for action was under five seconds in total. This challenge was all about observation and instant reaction.
Once he grasped the pattern, the rest beca manageable. After each set of four dragons, Obito paused, waiting for that split-second opening.
Balanced on the water, he kept his eyes on the raging waves ahead, every muscle alert. The second stage left no room for mistakes.
Watching him, Mugetsu thought, If Obito could always keep this calm and focused in battle, his combat ability would improve as much as learning any high-level ninjutsu.
"I did it!" Obito shouted as he passed the final wave and reached the far shore.
"Teacher, my ti didn't go over, right?" he asked, a bit nervous.
Mugetsu smiled. "No, you cleared the taijutsu challenge."
"That's great! Then I can learn Shave now?" Obito's face lit up. He'd been jealous long enough of Guy and Shisui flashing around.
"This is the training thod and notes for Shave. Study it carefully." Mugetsu handed him a scroll.
"I'll morize every word!" Obito eagerly unrolled it—only to realize that so of the techniques inside were already familiar.
Thinking back, he realized they were from the speed drills Mugetsu had taught him earlier.
It dawned on him—it wasn't that Mugetsu had withheld Shave from him. From the mont he first challenged the taijutsu trial, Mugetsu had been preparing him for it.
The first stage—the forest sprint—tested his physical strength. The second stage had been teaching him part of Shave all along.
"Teacher, you're the best in the world!" Obito said, deeply moved.
[You gifted your disciple the Shave training scroll. The disciple's gratitude triggered a big crit reward: You have obtained Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation (Mastery).]
This ti, the system's reward surpassed Mugetsu's expectations—straight to mastery-level, and with a technique as powerful as Great Fire Annihilation.
"Almost forgot—this is your admission fee. I didn't give it to you earlier." Mugetsu smiled and pulled out three test papers, handing them to Obito.
Obito's grin froze. He knew sothing had been missing—test papers. The one thing he wished Mugetsu would forget.
"Since you forgot, can't we just leave it in the past?" Obito asked hopefully, already dreading the sight of them.
"You wish," Mugetsu said, tapping him lightly on the forehead with two fingers. "I can't exempt you, but I'll give you one interest-free installnt."
At the words "interest-free," Obito brightened again. At least it ant fewer problems at a ti.
Next, Mugetsu led him to begin Shave training.
Finally learning the Shave —and after such effort to earn it—Obito trained with genuine focus.
…
Anko had noticed her two "brothers" acting strange lately, whispering together and giggling about sothing.
"You're hiding sothing fun from , aren't you?" she asked Kotetsu and Izumo directly.
"There's nothing fun. We're just preparing for next week's combat test," Kotetsu replied.
"Really?" Anko narrowed her eyes.
"Don't doubt our honest character like that," Izumo protested, insisting they were just getting ready for the test.
"Then how are you preparing?" she pressed.
Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged a glance before finally saying, "It's not the kind of preparation suitable for you."
They were good brothers, but they knew better than to forget Anko was a girl.
"Hmph, fine. I'll find out on Monday," Anko said, puffing her cheeks. She decided that if she faced them in the test, she'd hit them hard—just for keeping secrets.
As the combat test drew near, everyone was making their own preparations. So aid to move up to a higher-level group, others just wanted to impress soone.
On Saturday afternoon, Asuma approached Mugetsu with a request—he wanted his training volu increased.
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