Chapter 712: Inheritance
"It's pretty rare. Captain Obito didn't give us any days off after this mission."
On the way to the training ground, Anko brought it up casually.
Normally, after completing a mission, Obito would give them time off depending on how difficult the assignment had been.
For an easy mission, they would get one day.
For a difficult one, they might get two or even three.
"Maybe it's because this mission was too easy," Kotetsu complained. "It was technically an S Rank mission, but we didn't fight anyone at all."
This had been Kotetsu's first S Rank mission.
At the beginning, he had been extremely nervous, worried that if a battle broke out, he might become a burden to Obito.
He never expected the entire mission to go so smoothly.
"Yeah. It honestly felt more like a C Rank mission," Izumo agreed.
"But that's still good. The reward was still based on an S Rank mission."
Loving the village was one thing.
Doing missions was not volunteer work.
Money was still one of the reasons ninja accepted missions.
The three chatted and laughed as they walked, soon reaching the training ground.
"Captain Obito, good morning!"
Anko was the first to spot Obito waiting there ahead of them.
She raised a hand and greeted him with a cheerful smile.
"Good morning, Captain Obito!"
Izumo and Kotetsu followed.
"Mm. Good morning."
Obito smiled back at them.
"What are we training today?" Anko asked curiously. "Taijutsu or Ninjutsu?"
"Neither."
Obito's smile deepened.
"Today, we're doing special training."
At first, none of them thought much of those words.
Then Obito explained the rules.
"The three of you can use any method you want to attack my Shadow Clone."
"If any of you manage to hit it, the training ends immediately."
"If you fail to hit it, then for every minute my Shadow Clone successfully avoids you, five written questions will be added."
"The total time limit is ten minutes."
The three fell silent.
They had to attack Obito?
Even if it was only a Shadow Clone, that did not sound remotely easy.
"Don't worry."
As though he could see exactly what they were thinking, Obito continued.
"My Shadow Clone will only dodge. It won't attack you, and I won't make its speed ridiculously high either."
Anko's eyes widened.
"So if we fail to hit it for all ten minutes, we have to answer fifty questions?"
"That's right."
Obito nodded.
The smile immediately disappeared from Anko's face.
She placed a hand against her forehead.
"Oh no. I suddenly feel dizzy."
She swayed slightly.
"Maybe I caught a cold because I didn't cover myself properly last night."
Then Anko clasped her hands together and looked sincerely at Obito.
"Captain Obito, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can train today. I should probably go to Konoha Hospital and see a doctor."
With that, she turned around and started walking in the direction of her home.
She wanted nothing more than to escape this horrifying place.
It was not because Anko wanted to be lazy.
This special training was simply too terrifying.
Whoosh!
Obito appeared directly in front of her.
He smiled.
"I don't remember Konoha Hospital being in that direction."
Anko smacked her forehead and showed an annoyed expression.
"Captain Obito, I'm so sorry. My head must be overheating. I even walked the wrong way."
She casually changed directions.
Obito reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
His overwhelming strength prevented Anko from moving even an inch.
"You guys are the worst group I've ever led."
Obito shook his head in disappointment.
"When Teacher Mugetsu used this kind of special training on me, I participated enthusiastically."
The three stared at him speechlessly.
Technically, Obito was not lying.
They really were the worst team he had ever led.
Because they were also the only team he had ever led.
"Captain Obito, can't there be fewer questions?" Anko asked.
She blinked her large, lively eyes, attempting to awaken Obito's conscience through sheer cuteness.
"Maybe one question every two minutes?"
"This is already a reduced version of the original special training."
Obito's expression turned serious.
"Why do you think Guy, Shisui, and I became this strong?"
"The training Teacher Mugetsu gave us was far beyond anything you can imagine."
Seeing how serious Obito had become, Anko unconsciously straightened her expression.
Izumo and Kotetsu did the same.
"Captain Obito and Senior Guy used to be dead last."
Kotetsu secretly thought to himself.
"For them to become this strong, they must have gone through unimaginable training."
The three knew enough about Obito's past to immediately believe his words.
Unfortunately, this time Obito was deceiving them.
Obito and the others had certainly suffered through plenty of difficult training.
But when it came specifically to written-question punishment, the intensity had usually been around this level.
"Captain Obito, let's start!"
Kotetsu suddenly shouted with burning determination.
"I definitely won't disappoint you!"
Seeing that his persuasion had worked, the corners of Obito's mouth curved upward slightly.
He formed a hand seal.
A Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
"Begin!"
Once the three were ready, Obito officially started the special training.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Anko, Kotetsu, and Izumo all erupted with chakra and rushed toward the Shadow Clone at full speed.
Anko desperately wanted to avoid answering written questions.
Izumo and Kotetsu were not particularly afraid of theoretical exercises, but neither wanted to perform poorly.
Unfortunately, to the battle-hardened Obito, their movements were no different from playing cards while showing every card in their hands.
His Shadow Clone effortlessly dodged them.
Then, using its superior speed, it began circling around the three.
The trio exchanged glances.
Without saying a word, they split in three different directions while forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Flame Vortex!"
"Water Release: Raging Current Bundle!"
"Lightning Release: Violent Lightning Spear!"
They had begun to understand Obito's real intention.
With the Shadow Clone's speed, even Anko, the fastest among them, had no chance of catching it by herself.
If they wanted better results, cooperation was the only solution.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
The Shadow Clone formed its own hand seals and unleashed Fire Release.
A sea of flames roared forward.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A series of explosions shook the training ground as thick smoke rose into the air.
Izumo, Kotetsu, and Anko all frowned.
Obito's powerful Fire Release had completely neutralized their combined attack.
This training was far more difficult than they had expected.
Looking at their troubled expressions, Obito's smile grew wider.
Back then, this sort of training had tormented him plenty.
He had long since lost count of how many written questions he had been forced to complete because of it.
Of course, the results had been undeniable.
His Breathing Technique and overall combat ability had both improved significantly.
"Training over."
Ten minutes later, Obito called a stop.
"Each of you now has fifty questions."
"No!"
Anko looked devastated, as though the sky itself had collapsed.
These were not merely fifty questions.
To her, they represented her miserable future.
Just imagining this kind of training happening a second or even third time made her feel dizzy.
"Still too weak."
Kotetsu stared at his own hands, painfully aware of the gap.
Their ages were not that far apart.
Yet the difference in strength between them and Obito felt like heaven and earth.
"Don't worry. You have two choices."
Obito smiled.
"The first is to undergo more intense physical training to offset some of the questions."
"The second is to continue your normal training and complete all fifty questions afterward."
"I choose the training!"
Anko stepped forward before Obito even finished explaining what the harder training would involve.
For her, no matter how exhausting the training became, it was still better than answering questions.
"Me too."
"Same."
Izumo and Kotetsu immediately followed.
Their motivations were different from Anko's.
They simply wanted to become stronger.
"Alright."
Obito nodded with a smile.
"Then let's begin."
Using Guy's old training intensity as a reference, Obito put the three through an entire morning of brutal physical training.
By the time morning practice ended, Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu were completely drenched in sweat.
Even after Obito announced that they were going to eat lunch, it took them several minutes just to force themselves back onto their feet.
"Take this."
Obito handed each of them one of the training medicines Mugetsu had given him.
Mugetsu's special medicine could not only remove hidden damage accumulated from intense training, but also greatly relieve physical exhaustion.
After taking it, the three began feeling noticeably better.
They slowly followed Obito toward a barbecue restaurant.
"Today's my treat."
Obito spoke generously.
"Order whatever you want."
The three had pushed themselves to their physical limits and were already starving.
The moment they heard Obito was paying, they stopped holding back and ordered a massive pile of meat.
"Captain Obito, you're the best!"
Anko stuffed meat into her mouth while still remembering to thank the person paying.
Izumo and Kotetsu also raised their thumbs toward Obito.
Obito only smiled faintly.
He said nothing.
After today, opportunities like this would probably become much rarer.
Following a break after lunch, the three gradually recovered their energy.
"Captain Obito, let's continue training."
Anko spoke proactively.
"I remember we still have fifteen questions left, right?"
According to Obito's rules, the morning training had allowed them to offset thirty-five questions.
That left only fifteen.
Once those were gone, Anko could finally escape the nightmare of written exercises.
"Don't rush."
Obito smiled.
"There's more than one kind of special training."
Anko immediately felt another headache coming on.
She had only just gotten rid of thirty-five questions.
And now there was more?
"This afternoon will focus on combat training."
Obito began explaining.
"One person attacks, and one person defends."
"The attacker starts with forty questions."
"The goal is to land as many hits as possible. Every successful hit removes two questions."
"The defender has the opposite objective."
"You need to avoid as many attacks as possible. Every time you get hit, two questions are added."
"We'll do two rounds."
"In the first round, Izumo attacks and Kotetsu defends."
"In the second round, you switch roles."
Izumo and Kotetsu remained calm.
Compared with the morning's absurd challenge against Obito's Shadow Clone, this sounded much easier.
If neither of them moved, they would simply finish with forty questions each.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot to show you."
Obito pulled out a test paper he had prepared beforehand.
"If you still have questions remaining at the end, these are the kinds of questions you'll be answering."
This was a new test paper Obito had carefully compiled using the kinds of questions Mugetsu had once given him.
Izumo scanned the first section.
"Material One: During the Warring States Period, there were two powerful ninja clans. One was the Senju Clan, which valued love, while the other was..."
"Based on the information provided and your existing knowledge, analyze..."
Izumo's expression changed slightly.
He suddenly realized his earlier confidence had been premature.
These were not easy questions.
They were far more troublesome than he had imagined.
Kotetsu's expression also became more serious.
He immediately began reconsidering his strategy.
"Kotetsu," Izumo whispered, "why don't you let me hit you ten times first?"
"Then I won't move anymore."
"In the next round, I'll let you hit me ten times."
"That way, we'll both still end up with only forty questions."
Kotetsu gave him a suspicious look.
"Then why don't we just stand still from the beginning? Wouldn't that be easier?"
"Well, this is Captain Obito's special training."
Izumo spoke earnestly.
"If we both stand there doing nothing, wouldn't that be disrespectful?"
Kotetsu remained completely unmoved.
"Fine."
Izumo sighed helplessly.
"Then neither of us attacks."
"Start!"
The instant Obito gave the command, Izumo released the chakra he had already prepared and lunged at Kotetsu.
"I knew this bastard was planning something!"
Kotetsu cursed inwardly.
He had also secretly gathered chakra in advance and immediately dodged.
At most, Kotetsu had wanted to catch Izumo off guard once.
Izumo, however, had apparently intended to steal twenty questions' worth of advantage from him.
To reduce their written punishment, both immediately went all out.
There was no other choice.
Judging from the amount of physical training required to offset questions that morning, even if they trained desperately for half a day, they could only eliminate about thirty-five.
If they ended the afternoon with another forty questions, then after a full day of exhausting training, they would still have to go home and answer twenty difficult written questions.
That sounded absolutely miserable.
"Good thing there are only three of us."
Anko secretly felt relieved.
"Come over here."
Obito created a Shadow Clone to supervise Izumo and Kotetsu's match.
His main body led Anko toward a trap-filled area he had prepared beforehand.
"Special training is for everyone."
"You need to avoid all the traps within the time limit, deal with interference from my Shadow Clone, reach the designated point, and retrieve the token."
"If you're even slightly late, more questions will be added."
The smile on Anko's face froze.
Somehow, this sounded even more troublesome and exhausting than what Izumo and Kotetsu were doing.
By the time this round of special training ended, the number of questions assigned to all three had increased by several dozen.
And the training still was not over.
By the end of the afternoon, Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu were each carrying a burden of several hundred questions.
"What is the meaning of life...?"
Anko lay flat on the ground.
Her eyes were vacant as she stared toward the sky.
She felt certain she would never forget this day for the rest of her life.
"It's not that serious."
Obito could not help laughing.
"I never said you had to finish them within a few days."
"You can take your time."
"A few months. A few years. Whatever."
"Those are all the questions there will be anyway."
Then Obito paused.
His smile softened slightly.
"Besides, starting tomorrow, I won't be your captain anymore, so I won't be able to give you this kind of special training."
The three who had been lying around exhausted and lifeless instantly stood up.
Anko hurriedly asked, "Captain Obito, why aren't you going to be our captain anymore?"
"Are you unhappy with us?"
"Actually, I don't hate this special training that much!"
Izumo and Kotetsu also looked at him nervously.
Obito blinked.
Then he laughed and scratched his head.
"Don't tell me you forgot that I was only your temporary captain."
"Your original captain has fully recovered."
"My assignment is finished."
The three exchanged looks.
Only then did they remember something important.
Their original captain had merely been injured.
He had not died.
For a moment, none of them knew what to say.
How were they supposed to ask Obito to stay?
Ishizaka Yoshio might not be as strong as Obito, but he was also a responsible captain.
They could hardly run to Mugetsu and ask him to replace Yoshio just because they had grown attached to Obito.
"I'm only stepping down as your captain."
Obito smiled and patted their shoulders.
"It's not like I'm leaving Konoha."
"If you have time, you can still come find me."
"I can grade your test papers, and if you have questions about training, you can ask me anytime."
The expressions of all three immediately brightened.
"However..."
Obito's expression became serious.
"In the future, whether you're carrying out a mission or doing anything else, I want you to think carefully before you act."
"Stay cautious."
"If you fail during special training, the worst consequence is answering some written questions."
"But if you make the same kind of mistake in the real world, the price may be impossible to predict."
This was what Obito believed Mugetsu had always wanted to teach them through this style of training.
It was also one of the reasons he had deliberately arranged so many question-based special exercises today.
He wanted to pass that lesson on to Anko, Izumo, and Kotetsu.
"We'll remember!"
Thinking back over everything they had experienced that day, the three answered in unison.
Their eyes had become slightly red.
"Then this is goodbye for now."
Obito smiled and waved.
"Tomorrow, Captain Yoshio will return and lead your training as usual."
"Captain Obito, thank you!"
The three shouted their gratitude loudly.
For the final time that day, their voices rang across the training ground.
"Captain Obito!"
....
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