Ninja school teacher, I can become stronger by teaching Chapter 549

“Huh?!”

When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard what Muyue said clearly, his dissatisfied expression turned to shock. He ignored the fact that Muyue hadn’t knocked on the door, stood up directly, and asked,

“What do you mean ‘seemingly’ developed Wood Release? Success is success, failure is failure.”

Wood Release was different from ordinary Kekkei Genkai; it was a Kekkei Genkai that had only appeared on the God of Shinobi, carrying special significance.

If Muyue had truly developed Wood Release, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to overturn his previous arrangements for Muyue.

Muyue silently formed hand signs and condensed Wood Release chakra. A tender green branch suddenly sprouted from the wooden desk in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office.

The moment the branch appeared, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s pupils sharply dilated. He couldn’t help but lean closer to examine the green branch carefully.

Although it was unscientific for a wooden desk to sprout branches, it was very ninja-like.

Looking at the seemingly vibrant branch, a monstrous wave surged in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart.

“He actually succeeded!” Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t believe it.

Even though Muyue’s displayed genius had surpassed his own, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still incredibly surprised.

Because this was Wood Release, the unique Kekkei Genkai of the God of Shinobi. It hadn’t appeared in the decades since the God of Shinobi, and even looking back hundreds of years in history, there was still no trace of Wood Release.

No matter how much of a genius Muyue was, could he really be compared to Hashirama Senju, who was unparalleled before and after him?

However, the fact that Muyue had successfully developed Wood Release was right before his eyes. Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to consider a possibility: why couldn’t Muyue be the next Hashirama Senju?

Hashirama Senju had Wood Release, and now Muyue did too. Hashirama Senju was a strong individual who shook the ninja world in his youth, and Muyue was now the famous “Blazing Sun Muyue” in the ninja world. So why couldn’t Muyue be the next Hashirama Senju?

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart was surging. With Muyue’s current performance, even if he couldn’t become the second Hashirama Senju, there was a very high probability that he would become a stronger individual than him.

Being able to surpass his peak, in this era, would mean being invincible, as there was no Madara Uchiha in this era.

“This should be Wood Release, right?” Muyue said, canceling his hand signs.

“That’s right, this is Wood Release!” Hiruzen Sarutobi said definitively.

As he spoke, a hint of goodwill appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes, and his gaze towards Muyue became unprecedentedly gentle.

These eyes, this nose, this hair—the more Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Muyue, the more he resembled the Fourth Hokage.

“Although I had confidence in you, Muyue, I’m still very surprised to see you actually develop Wood Release. Your talent has surpassed mine and is approaching the First Hokage’s,” Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

To have another Wood Release user, not only did the descendants of the Senju clan diligently train to try and awaken Wood Release, but the Konoha official also spent a lot of manpower and resources researching Hashirama cells, hoping to unravel the secret of the First Hokage’s Wood Release. Unfortunately, everything was in vain, with no results.

Instead, Muyue, simply by relying on the information left by Hashirama Senju, developed Wood Release on his own.

One could only say that sometimes, when you try to plant a flower, it doesn’t bloom, but when you casually insert a willow branch, it grows into a shade.

“Not at all, I just happened to grasp a fleeting inspiration, which is how I fortunately mastered Wood Release,” Muyue said, shaking his head slightly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi saying Muyue surpassed him was a compliment, but Muyue couldn’t directly accept it, or it would seem a bit disrespectful.

There was quite a difference between saying it yourself and having someone else say it.

“And mastering Ice Release was also just luck?” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a joking tone.

“Perhaps my ‘inspirations’ are just a bit more abundant than the average person’s.”

“Haha, well, isn’t that your special talent then?” Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and sat down, chuckling.

After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered something and asked,

“How’s the training squad’s work going recently?”

“The teaching is going very smoothly. We should see initial results in two months,” Muyue replied.

“Mm, with you, Muyue, as the captain of the training squad, I’m very at ease. However, don’t overwork yourself. It’s also very important to set aside some time for your own improvement,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said kindly.

If Konoha could produce another Hashirama Senju, it would be far more significant than a Root organization or an enhanced version of Root. So now, Hiruzen Sarutobi hoped that Muyue would spend more time improving himself.

“I will,” Muyue nodded.

Just as Muyue was bidding farewell to Hiruzen Sarutobi and preparing to leave the Hokage’s office, he stopped, turned around, and said apologetically,

“Sorry, Third Hokage-sama, I was too excited just now and forgot to knock.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and shook his head, indicating that he didn’t mind.

If Muyue could truly become the next Hashirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi could accept him not knocking on the door of the Hokage’s office from now on.

However, he thought Muyue definitely wouldn’t do that, after all, Muyue wasn’t Danzo.

“A second Wood Release user…” Looking at Muyue’s departing back, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but recall Hashirama Senju’s incredible power of instantly creating a vast forest with a clap of his hands.

The news of Muyue developing Wood Release, in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s view, was even more important than the war intelligence reported by Minato Namikaze.

The deterrent power of a second Hashirama Senju was far greater than any Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.

After leaving the Hokage building, Muyue returned home.

Normally, Muyue would go directly to the training squad, but Minato Namikaze now needed to learn Wind Breathing, so Muyue had to set aside some of his free time for teaching.

Muyue first explained theory to Minato Namikaze for an hour in his living room, then made lunch. After eating, he took Minato Namikaze to the training ground to practice.

Minato Namikaze had good talent for breathing techniques and had already cultivated Basic Breathing to Constant State, possessing an excellent foundation, so he picked it up quickly.

Coupled with Muyue’s teaching and clarification, his proficiency soared, and he quickly successfully mastered Wind Breathing, continuing to make rapid progress.

“This is truly an incredible secret technique. Perhaps you, Muyue, will leave a profound mark in the history of ninjutsu because of this secret technique,” Minato Namikaze said with a smile.

In Minato Namikaze’s view, Muyue had pioneered a completely new type of secret technique. The various breathing techniques each had their own characteristics and were incredibly powerful, all at a level that could be passed down as family secret techniques by ninja clans.

“Sometimes, leaving too many marks isn’t a good thing,” Muyue thought of some gacha games from his previous life that gender-bent historical figures.

Let alone people, even ships would be gender-bent into the gacha pool.

Although he played games in his previous life, the thought of possibly becoming one of the characters made Muyue a bit uneasy.

If it were something like “Isn’t Blazing Sun Muyue still shady?”, that would be slightly more acceptable.

“It shouldn’t be,” Minato Namikaze was a bit confused.

He thought that as long as it wasn’t leaving a name like Madara Uchiha, who inexplicably defected and wanted to destroy Konoha, it should all be very good.

Muyue didn’t explain, just smiled and continued teaching.

It was too difficult to explain gacha games to someone who had never played video games.

However, given the current level of technology in Naruto, Muyue thought that smartphones and the like should be developed within a hundred years.

Since it was so close to his era, no one should be making him into a game character. After that, he didn’t know.

Since he didn’t need to teach regular members this afternoon, only the training squad members of squad leader rank and above in the evening, Muyue taught until dinner time.

Finally, he ate dinner with Minato Namikaze before heading to the training squad.

Finding Shisui still at the training squad, Muyue called Shisui to the captain’s office.

“Shisui, you don’t have to attend the Dark Breathing classes in the evening anymore. It’s a bit of a waste of time for you,” Muyue said.

Shisui had, after all, practiced breathing techniques for several years and had already cultivated Flame Breathing to the proficient level. Learning Dark Breathing, a degraded version of the breathing technique, was too easy for him.

“Won’t it look bad if I’m the only one?” Shisui voiced his concern.

Shisui was worried that his actions might affect Muyue’s reputation, with everyone else participating but him.

“No, I’ll explain the situation. If anyone’s Dark Breathing reaches the standard, then they also don’t have to come,” Muyue explained.

He taught these squad leaders and vice-captains in the evening precisely because he wanted to quickly improve their Dark Breathing levels. If their level was already sufficient, then there was no need for class.

“Don’t overthink it, that will bring you extra pressure,” Muyue said, patting Shisui’s head.

He thought that Obito and Shisui could neutralize each other, thus achieving balance.

“Thank you, Muyue-sensei,” Shisui nodded in thanks.

Saving this time, whether it was for reading to enrich himself or for other training, would be very beneficial.

After returning home, Shisui thought for a while and finally went to Fugaku Uchiha’s house.

He wasn’t going to see Fugaku Uchiha, but to see Itachi Uchiha.

He had been busy with the training squad recently and hadn’t visited Itachi Uchiha for some time.

To subtly instill good values in Itachi Uchiha, Shisui had set a goal for himself to see Itachi Uchiha at least once every two weeks.

He politely greeted Fugaku Uchiha and his wife, then walked towards Itachi Uchiha.

“Shisui-niisan,” Itachi Uchiha greeted Shisui with some joy.

Although Shisui hadn’t visited him recently, they didn’t have any prior arrangement to meet, so Itachi Uchiha’s joy at seeing Shisui far outweighed any dissatisfaction.

“I’ve been busy with work recently. I only had free time today,” Shisui explained.

“What kind of work?”

“It’s confidential work that I can’t talk about.”

“Then can you tell a story? That shouldn’t be confidential.”

“Okay, where did I leave off last time?”

“You were talking about going on a bandit subjugation mission.”

…

Land of Water, Mizukage Building.

“The Cloud Village forces and the Konoha ninja forces are battling in the Land of Hot Water.” The Third Mizukage looked at the latest intelligence regarding Konoha, a smile playing on his lips.

At this moment, he could only say that Cloud Village was truly something; they caused big trouble with every move. First, they broke through the Land of Fire’s defenses, and then they directly confronted Konoha’s border forces.

Unlike Iwa Village, which was dragging its feet and hadn’t even broken through the Land of Fire’s defenses yet.

“In that case, perhaps Yagura can act directly now,” the Third Mizukage showed a thoughtful expression.

Originally, he had intended to observe for a while longer, but then he reconsidered. If Kirigakure acted now, it might encourage Cloud Village to intensify their efforts or attract other great ninja villages to join the fray.

The Third Mizukage closed his eyes, and after deep contemplation, he picked up a brush and began to write orders.

It would be difficult for Kirigakure to win against Konoha fighting alone, so they had to seize the opportunity.

Moreover, this surprise attack had risks, but the risks were small compared to the benefits; it was highly cost-effective.

Other great ninja villages might fear being backstabbed by other observing great ninja villages, but Kirigakure did not have this concern.

Because other ninja villages could only reach Kirigakure by long sea voyages, and the great ninja villages located inland were not skilled in naval warfare, making it difficult to invade the Land of Water.

Even if Kirigakure miscalculated and was defeated again, they would only lose ninjas killed on the battlefield.

The Third Mizukage’s orders quickly reached Yagura Karatachi, who had just arrived in the Land of Waves.

Yagura Karatachi held the secret letter from the Third Mizukage in his right hand, his left fist clenched, and a hint of excitement flashed across his face.

The opportunity came even faster than he had imagined; he had thought he would have to stay in the Land of Waves for two or three months.

“Muyue Hanyu, this time I definitely won’t be as pathetic as last time,” Yagura Karatachi silently vowed.

Last time, Kirigakure launched a surprise attack at night, and just as they seemed to have the advantage, Muyue first used a ninjutsu that could turn night into day and suppress Water Release, then killed Kirigakure’s strong individuals on the battlefield, turning the tide.

This time, Yagura Karatachi specifically consulted Kirigakure’s secret technique scrolls and found a technique that could use chakra to create a rainy environment.

If Muyue were to use that Blazing Sun Ninjutsu again, Yagura Karatachi would activate the secret technique to turn the weather into a rainy day.

Even if it couldn’t completely negate the opponent’s ninjutsu, it could still partially offset its effects.

“Assemble the troops, prepare to invade the Land of Fire!” Yagura Karatachi summoned the Jonin of his forces, explained the attack plan, and finally shouted seriously.

“Yes, Yagura-sama!” The Jonin nodded one after another, and after leaving the meeting room, they quickly began to make arrangements for their respective subordinates.

Soon, the ships carrying the ninja forces sailed majestically towards the Land of Fire.

The people of the Land of Waves, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief. They had thought Kirigakure was going to fight a war there.

They were already a poor island nation with limited resources; if they were also affected by war, they truly wouldn’t be able to live.

Last time, Yagura Karatachi chose to land on the southeastern coast. The southeast was an underdeveloped region of the Land of Fire, not given much importance, and had fewer defensive forces.

This time, Yagura Karatachi chose the northeastern coastal area as his landing point.

This involved the core reason why the Third Mizukage chose to send troops at this time.

The Third Mizukage didn’t intend to reach Konoha’s main territory with a single surprise attack; he wanted everyone to see a Konoha that was gradually weakening.

A little further up from Yagura Karatachi’s landing point was the battle zone between Cloud Village and Konoha in the Land of Hot Water.

To prevent their own ninja forces from being attacked from behind, Konoha would inevitably anxiously dispatch troops to block them.

At this point, the Kirigakure forces would not engage Konoha directly but would instead wage guerrilla warfare to wear them down.

The main goal was to exhaust Konoha’s energy and attract other ninja villages to join the fray.

Fighting Konoha together was best, but fighting others was also acceptable; neither was bad for Kirigakure. The muddier the waters on the continent, the more chaotic the situation, and the fiercer the fighting, the more advantageous it was for Kirigakure.