Today is the last day of training, which means it's the day they need to take their examination.
Of course, if it were just an ordinary exam, they would complete it seriously but not act like they're going to battle.
The reason they're displaying this demeanor is because Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo are observing from the side.
With the top leaders nearby, they naturally want to perform better.
"Sarutobi Shinji versus Shimoyama Kakuei." Mokgetsu glanced at the list and announced the names of the first combatants.
The best way to showcase a ninja's strength is through combat. However, considering they're all elite ninjas, Mokgetsu didn't restrict the scope to just arena battles.
Sarutobi Shinji stepped out of the lineup immediately upon hearing his name, followed closely by Shimoyama Kakuei.
The two of them followed Konoha's traditional rule by forming the Seal of Opposition, then silently waited for the referee to speak.
"Begin!" Mokgetsu shouted once both of them were ready.
As soon as Mokgetsu finished speaking, both of them burst forth with their Chakra.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
To gain the upper hand, both of them directly used the multi-burst technique of Instant Step to increase their speed.
"They're fortunate to have you as a training instructor, Mokgetsu. Instant Step as an Instant Body Jutsu technique is indeed outstanding," Sarutobi Hiruzen commented with a smile while touching his beard.
As the Hokage, he couldn't be fully aware of the strength of every Anbu member, but since Sarutobi Shinji was both Anbu and a Jonin of the Sarutobi clan, he knew a bit more about him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen could clearly sense that Sarutobi Shinji's Instant Body Jutsu had greatly improved compared to before.
"The ninjas cultivated in my Root Organization are naturally excellent," Shimura Danzo interjected coldly, emphasizing Root Organization's achievements.
"Danzo, have you forgotten? There's never been a ninja named Habu Mokgetsu in the Root Organization," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with an unchanged expression.
He was reminding Shimura Danzo not to focus on Mokgetsu anymore, because since Mokgetsu was cultivated by Danzo's unauthorized methods, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not acknowledge Mokgetsu as a member of Root, and had all records erased.
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Mokgetsu out of the corner of his eye and found him looking conflicted with a hint of self-blame.
"If only I had discovered Mokgetsu a bit earlier," Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed to himself.
Given Mokgetsu's revealed character, having been with Root for such a long time, it was impossible for Mokgetsu not to feel any attachment to Root.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't look down on Shimura Danzo but thought Danzo wasn't suitable for Mokgetsu, fearing he'd lead Mokgetsu astray.
"Hmph." Shimura Danzo snorted and said no more, admitting he was indeed in the wrong about this issue.
However, Danzo didn't genuinely wish to bring Mokgetsu back to Root. He felt Mokgetsu was doing well outside, capable of executing missions for him while gaining resources from Sarutobi Hiruzen to grow.
He simply meant to say that enlarging the growth of Root was the right move.
Seeing the two stop confronting each other, Mokgetsu let out a sigh of relief before continuing to focus on the battle.
At that moment, he just wanted to say that life is like a play, and acting skills are truly essential when mingling in another world.
He has to be the talented ninja in the eyes of the Third Hokage embodying the Will of Fire, while also being a loyal agent in Danzo's heart.
Bam!
In the end, Sarutobi Shinji, who learned Instant Step better and had stronger Chakra, was slightly faster, driving Shimoyama Kakuei back several meters with a punch.
Sarutobi Shinji quickly seized the advantage and pressed forward to capitalize on it.
"Breath of Darkness, Full Concentration Breathing!" Seeing his disadvantage grow, Shimoyama Kakuei focused his breathing to the extreme, simultaneously bursting his body's Chakra.
With the assistance of Entry Level Breath of Darkness, Shimoyama Kakuei's physical abilities rapidly improved, blocking Sarutobi Shinji's offensive.
"Breath of Darkness, Full Concentration Breathing!" Sarutobi Shinji was unwilling to fall behind and activated Concentrated Breathing.
Instantly, the situation reverted to before. With solid strength, Sarutobi Shinji defeated Shimoyama Kakuei in just four minutes.
"Is Shinji particularly talented in Breath of Darkness?" Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered after watching the entire battle.
To him, Sarutobi Shinji's progress didn't seem like something achieved in just two and a half months; such improvement normally takes years.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had two guesses: either Sarutobi Shinji was particularly well-suited to cultivating Breath of Darkness, or Breath of Darkness was much stronger than he had imagined.
"Just two and a half months for such improvement?" Shimura Danzo was also a bit surprised after watching the battle.
Shimoyama Kakuei was his subordinate and a new member who had just joined Root. Danzo was quite familiar with Shimoyama Kakuei's abilities.
Even though Shimoyama Kakuei only held out for four minutes, Danzo felt that if it had been the pre-training Shimoyama Kakuei battling, lasting two and a half minutes would have been impressive.
"Is it the Instant Step and Breath of Darkness?" Danzo considered implementing these Taijutsu techniques for all Root members once the results were confirmed.
"Tobita Kenji versus Mitsunari Ryota!" After the battle concluded, Mokgetsu soon announced the names of the next round of ninjas.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo both displayed serious expressions, focusing on the two about to fight.
While battles of this level to them are akin to professional fighters watching children spar, they were keen to know if the effect of the two Taijutsu techniques was an isolated incident or a widespread phenomenon.
Noticing Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo's gaze, both Tobita Kenji and Mitsunari Ryota felt the pressure as they looked at each other.
As teammates who had trained together for two and a half months, they were well aware of each other's abilities.
In this situation, even Mitsunari Ryota, knowing his strength was less than Tobita Kenji's, was determined to make a good showing, even if he couldn't win.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Bam! Boom!
Their figures constantly flashed in the dense forest, and the powerful forces imbued by the Breathing Technique felled tree after tree.
Until Mitsunari Ryota was utterly exhausted, lying unwillingly on the ground.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo continued to watch in silence through the battles, one after another. After seeing the entire first round of battles, they were deeply astonished.
This significant improvement wasn't a one-off; every ninja who participated in the training had markedly improved, although the progress of talents like Tobita Kenji and Sarutobi Shinji was more pronounced.
"Despite having A-level difficulty, the actual enhancement from this Breath of Darkness is far beyond any ordinary A-level Taijutsu," Sarutobi Hiruzen realized he had truly underestimated this technique.
This tremendous overall improvement was due not just to Mokgetsu's excellent teaching skills, but also to the effectiveness of Instant Step and Breath of Darkness.
"All Root members must learn these two Taijutsu techniques!" Shimura Danzo had some regrets.
If he hadn't sent Mokgetsu to the Ninja Academy, just having Mokgetsu train Root members could have significantly boosted Root's strength.
In Danzo's eyes, while this degree of improvement isn't earth-shattering, Sarutobi Hiruzen's youthful prowess improved much faster. However, when a group of people undergoes such enhancement, it's quite extraordinary.
"Mokgetsu, you've truly surprised me. Achieving such progress in under three months," Sarutobi Hiruzen praised with a kindly smile.
"You flatter me, Third Hokage. Everyone trained very earnestly, so this level of improvement is expected," Mokgetsu replied humbly.
"You have a commendable talent in developing techniques. I have some ninjutsu development insights from the Second Hokage. If you're interested, I can send them to you," Sarutobi Hiruzen, believing Mokgetsu's talent for developing Ninjutsu deserved attention, offered.
Upon hearing this, Mokgetsu immediately showed a delighted expression and quickly thanked Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Shimura Danzo observed from the side, feeling uneasy as he had already lost the overt opportunity to recruit Mokgetsu.
"Hiruzen, you came too late. No matter how much you try to recruit Mokgetsu now, it's useless; he will always be a Root ninja," Shimura Danzo consoled himself.
Sarutobi Hiruzen may gain Mokgetsu's allegiance, but Mokgetsu's heart will forever reside in Root.