Naruto: Strength Through Teaching

On a Saturday morning, Obito, Shisui, and Guy began training as per Mutsuki's request.

Initially, Obito followed Mutsuki to learn the basic moves of Taijutsu. After an hour of practice, Mutsuki instructed Obito to take a break, handing him a bottle of water and wiping off his sweat.

Obito immediately felt something was amiss. While Mutsuki was a good sensei, this level of attentiveness was unusual. Offering water was acceptable, but wiping sweat typically involved providing a towel at most.

"Obito, I believe there's still untapped potential within you," Mutsuki said with a cheerful smile, closing the bottle of water Obito hadn't finished and placing it on the ground.

"No, no, no. I think my potential has been thoroughly unleashed by you, sensei," Obito said, feeling a mix of hot and cold sweat on his forehead.

"You, my friend, underestimate yourself too much," Mutsuki shook his head and remarked.

"How about this, during your battles with Guy, every time you get hit, you'll have to solve an additional question during your rest breaks. This way, it should thoroughly unlock your potential. Even if it doesn't work, doing more questions will at least improve your theoretical performance."

"S-sensei, this might not be a good idea. If I get hit a hundred times, I don't mind doing the questions, but I'm worried about you getting tired of coming up with them," Obito said, appearing concerned for Mutsuki.

Obito, feeling pressured, found his speaking skills rising to the occasion. For him, being forced to solve problems and answer questions was more agonizing than engaging in passionate brawls with Might Guy.

"Obito, your concern for sensei's well-being warms my heart," Mutsuki said, showing a pleased expression.

Just when Obito thought he might be spared from the ordeal, Mutsuki's tone took a turn.

"I anticipated you being such a considerate student, so I've prepared a large set of questions in advance for you all. There's no need to worry about running out of questions," Mutsuki said, smiling as he produced a stack of test papers, ensuring an abundant supply of problems.

"Is it enough, or should I have my Shadow Clones conjure more?" Mutsuki asked with a smile.

"Enough, enough," Obito frantically shook his head and waved his hands, watching the stack in Mutsuki's hands that seemed almost unbearable.

Although the sun was shining brightly today, and Mutsuki's smile was warm, Obito couldn't shake off the feeling of a chill creeping up from his feet to his head.

Since Obito couldn't avoid the task at hand, he decided to take a detour. If he had to do the questions, he'd do fewer of them.

Thinking quickly, Obito signaled to Might Guy with a wink, indicating to go easy on him later.

Might Guy caught Obito's signal, revealing a bright smile, giving Obito a thumbs-up with an easygoing expression.

"For Guy, if you miss a hit, you'll have to do fifty questions. Each time you hit, reduce one question, but the maximum deduction is forty questions," Mutsuki continued.

Might Guy's expression suddenly changed, turning serious as he gave Obito another thumbs-up.

"Do we have to go all out? Why does it have to be like this?" Obito wailed, holding his head in his hands, envisioning a multitude of questions rushing towards him.

"For the sake of youth, we must strive to reduce the number of questions to the minimum!" Might Guy felt like he was already on fire.

Obito didn't want to do the questions; he really didn't.

In the ensuing battle, Might Guy launched powerful attacks, unleashing a burst of 120% speed as he relentlessly pursued Obito. Obito, who didn't want to answer questions, also experienced a surge of potential. After being hit a dozen times, his agility improved significantly.

Mutsuki watched both of them make such great progress, nodding approvingly. There was still considerable untapped potential.

When both of them were exhausted, the battle came to an end. Obito had been hit over thirty times, requiring him to answer over thirty questions, while Might Guy only had to answer a dozen or so.

Mutsuki felt the results were quite satisfactory. With continued training like this, perhaps in less than two months, Hyuga Kamon wouldn't be their match anymore.

"Too bad, Nohara Rin doesn't have great talent. If she were also taken as a disciple, it would be easier to motivate Obito," Mutsuki thought.

For the sake of keeping a low profile, he was not very willing to practice with people who were not his disciples.

In fact, there was an even better candidate: Kakashi.

Nohara Rin could only motivate Obito alone. If Kakashi were also there, it would be Obito and Might Guy getting motivated together.

Kakashi had enough talent, but unfortunately, it was unlikely for Kakashi to become his student because Kakashi had been promoted to Chunin two years ago.

Mutsuki accompanied them in training until noon, had lunch together with the three, and finally left two Shadow Clones behind. Mutsuki, the original, headed to the Third Hokage's house, preparing to start his tutoring work.

Perhaps because it was still working hours, Mutsuki did not see Sarutobi Hiruzen. Instead, he spotted a middle-aged woman with a single ponytail, who was Sarutobi Biwako, the wife of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Biwako-sama," Mutsuki greeted.

"You must be Yumi-sensei, as described by Hiruzen," Sarutobi Biwako recalled Lord Third's description of his appearance and asked.

Mutsuki nodded.

"Asuma is waiting for you in the backyard," Sarutobi Biwako pointed in the direction and then reminded, "Asuma can be a bit rebellious. Yumi-sensei, please be patient with him. If he really doesn't respond to discipline, just let me know."

"I will. However, I have some special techniques for dealing with rebellious students," Mutsuki smiled in response, then followed the direction indicated by Sarutobi Biwako.

In the backyard, Mutsuki indeed saw a child of about nine years old, lazily lying on a tree stump, chewing on a piece of grass, looking quite defiant.

Mutsuki conducted a quick appraisal.

[Name: Sarutobi Asuma]

[Chakra: 1100]

[Potential: A+]

Seeing the A+ potential, Mutsuki shook his head inwardly. If it were an S-, he might have been tempted, but with A+, the potential was one notch lower.

Noticing Mutsuki's arrival, Asuma spat out the grass, didn't bother to stand up, and asked directly:

"You're that Mutsuki Yumi who's supposed to teach me?"

Before Mutsuki could respond, Asuma quickly added,

"I'm telling you, if you can't help me surpass the old man, that is, Lord Third, the Hokage, then you might as well leave. It's not worth it."

Asuma felt the need to establish some dominance over the new tutor and take control of the situation.

Just as Asuma was anticipating how Mutsuki would respond, Mutsuki shook his head and said,

"Of course, I can't do that."

"Then just leave," Asuma waved his hand dismissively and lay back down.

He didn't believe Mutsuki would actually leave just like that.

"Alright, I'm leaving. I'll let Biwako-sama know you don't need tutoring," Mutsuki turned around, ready to leave.

Seeing Mutsuki truly looking like he was about to leave, Asuma felt puzzled. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Shouldn't he try to persuade him or something? Why was he leaving so abruptly?

"Hey, hey, don't leave yet," Asuma quickly stood up, straightening himself, and called out to stop Mutsuki.

Sensei was about to leave before even starting the lesson. He was bound to face a severe scolding from the old lady later.

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