Those who have already cultivated their breathing technique to the master level can guide beginners without any problem.
"Hmm, Midori thought the same. I was just testing if Shisui, the squad leader, could tell," Inuzuka Midori said thoughtfully.
"Indeed, Shisui, you did not disappoint."
Shisui: ...
Why did he suddenly become the one being tested?
Shisui finally understood why Mokgetsu liked to knock on Obito's head before; now he wanted to knock Inuzuka Midori's head as well.
However, after glancing at Inuzuka Midori's head, Shisui ultimately did not raise his right hand with two fingers together.
Inuzuka Midori was taller than him; if he wanted to knock on Midori's head, he'd have to tiptoe, which would look quite powerless.
After teaching for two hours, in order to improve efficiency, Mokgetsu made Shisui an assistant to help point out mistakes to the team members.
Although Shisui, the youngest one here, looked somewhat like a child wearing adult clothes to appear mature, he did not show any sign of discontent.
On one hand, Shisui's fame in the ninja world exceeded that of most ninjas present; on the other hand, they could tell Shisui genuinely had skills, not just Mokgetsu deliberately building his disciple's prestige.
[Completed a mid-level lecture]
[Rating: S]
[Reward: Breathing technique comprehension improvement, Breath of Darkness+60, Basic Breathing+30, Breath of Thunder+19]
By evening, after the captains finished their courses, the lecture rewards began to be calculated.
Having organized some small ideas in his mind, Mokgetsu returned home.
Lecture rewards differ from disciple improvement and life mission rewards; they require long-term accumulation to see the results.
For example, a basic course rated B only increases chakra by twenty points, but for Mokgetsu who just crossed over here, doing it ten times a week gives him two hundred chakra points, which isn't too little.
"Still lacking a stronger Transformation Jutsu," Mokgetsu contemplated on developing a new ninjutsu for the training team.
The Breath of Darkness could enhance the training team's combat ability, while a stronger Transformation Jutsu could give the team better disguise capabilities, playing a significant role in intelligence gathering.
It's impractical for Mokgetsu to teach Transformation directly; this technique is too strong, even more exaggerated than White Zetsu's Disguise Jutsu. The most crucial part is that Mokgetsu himself doesn't know how to teach it, as it's very complex.
However, Mokgetsu can draw some elements from the Transformation technique to develop a stronger disguise capability within a Transformation Jutsu.
In this way, he can definitely satisfy Hiruzen Sarutobi; the training team he develops can offset the loss caused by the dissolution of Root.
Plus, it's not a troublesome matter for Mokgetsu; he can develop it by sparing some time.
Rather than immediately developing a new Transformation Jutsu, Mokgetsu took out his records on breathing technique development.
The ninjas of the training team had just started learning the Breath of Darkness, so there wasn't urgency for the Transformation Jutsu.
With a moment of enlightenment, Mokgetsu began immersive development of the Breath of Sun.
Since in Demon Slayer World, the Breath of Flame is closest to the Breath of Sun, Mokgetsu's current main approach is through the secondary development of the Breath of Flame, absorbing characteristics of other basic breathing techniques to continuously move the Breath of Flame closer to the true Breath of Sun, ultimately becoming the Breath of Sun.
The explosiveness of the Breath of Thunder, the power of the Breath of Rock, the agility of the Breath of Water...
In Mokgetsu's view, a complete Breath of Sun must excel in all aspects like other breaths, being as fast as the Breath of Thunder yet powerful like the Breath of Rock, conforming to the power described in the Demon Slayer World.
Because of reaching a crucial stage in his research, Mokgetsu worked until two in the morning without sleeping.
Mokgetsu sat at his desk, closing his eyes in thought.
Breathing techniques differ from other ninjutsu secret techniques; this system emerges by localizing abilities from other worlds.
This means that Mokgetsu, mastering several master and perfect level breathing techniques, is the person most knowledgeable about them in the Ninja World. He cannot seek guidance from others, only relying on his own thinking.
"Let's give it a try."
Opening his eyes, Mokgetsu began adjusting his breathing, making it steady and prolonged.
Subsequently, Mokgetsu started using chakra; localizing the breathing technique requires chakra for it to be a powerful secret technique.
"Is something wrong? It's not gathering characteristics but making everything mediocre." Feeling his body's state, Mokgetsu reverted to using the Breath of Rock, frowning slightly.
His idea was for the Breath of Flame to absorb all basic breathing advantages to evolve, but the actual outcome was these breaths balancing each other, finally resulting in a breathing weaker than the Breath of Water.
This new breath wasn't as strong as the Breath of Rock, nor as fast as the Breath of Thunder, showing no specialization at all.
"Could this approach be wrong too?" Mokgetsu rubbed his brow, again sinking into thought.
Half an hour later, Mokgetsu sighed lightly, organizing the materials and storing them in the scroll.
Undoubtedly, he still hadn't succeeded in developing the Breath of Sun.
However, compared to before, this time wasn't entirely without results; it wasn't a total failure.
Though the new breathing technique had no specialization, it also had no weakness. It's not as strong as the Breath of Rock, but it's faster than the Breath of Rock; it's not as fast as the Breath of Thunder, but stronger than the Breath of Thunder.
Mokgetsu was willing to name this new technique as Balanced Breathing; all enhancements were about the same.
"I'll research this more when I have time." Mokgetsu did not completely abandon the path.
First, he already spent a significant amount of time on it, and secondly, the newly developed Balanced Breathing still had potential, possibly being better than he imagined.
...
Namikaze Minato was initially in the Land of Grass, investigating Hidden Rock Ninja activities. Just as he thought he could take a few days' rest after the mission, an unexpected new task landed on his hands.
Namikaze Minato didn't have time to return to Konoha; he hurriedly led part of the Konoha Ninja Squad stationed in the Land of Grass towards the northern Land of Fire.
Konoha was urgent about solving Hidden Cloud issues in the northern part of the Land of Fire as soon as possible.
Upon reaching the northern area, Namikaze Minato first met with the supporting teams dispatched by Orochimaru and Konoha, to understand the situation.
"This time Hidden Cloud doesn't seem to plan on engaging in a full-scale war; traces of Hidden Cloud appear everywhere in the north, but they're only in small groups, the total number of troops should not be high." Nara Shikaku, acting as a deputy commander, conveyed the current known intelligence to Namikaze Minato.
"Currently, Hidden Cloud is most active in the northwest; the AB Combination has recently appeared there as well, possibly indicating some Hidden Cloud schemes in the northwest."
Namikaze Minato thought for a moment and said, "Divide part of the troops to collaborate with border teams to strike the active Hidden Cloud squads."
Given the situation, Namikaze Minato didn't have a better strategy. The current initiative was in Hidden Cloud's hands; since they didn't wish to engage in a full-scale battle, Namikaze Minato could only disperse his forces.
However, Namikaze Minato kept a trick up his sleeve, not scattering all the troops outright. He only allocated two-thirds of the forces to handle the active Hidden Cloud ninjas.
Several days later, reports of task completion flooded in, yet Namikaze Minato and Nara Shikaku's expressions didn't display any joy.
"The AB Combination hasn't shown itself at all; where are they hiding, have they returned to Hidden Cloud?" Nara Shikaku pondered deeply over the map on the table.
In the context of wars between Great Ninja Villages, a few squads, even dozens, hold little significance; the outcome of a major battle isn't determined by these.
By afternoon, Namikaze Minato and the others received a piece of weighty news, though not very relevant to their current mission; a gathering of Hidden Cloud Ninjas appeared in the Land of Hot Water.
However, at this time, Nara Shikaku glanced at the map and had a sudden revelation, his expression turning serious.
"The missing AB Combination, infiltrating from the north, active in the northwest..."
"Could the numerous Hidden Cloud squads in the northwest merely be bait, with Hidden Cloud's main objective not being Konoha Ninjas within the Land of Fire, but our Ninja Squad in the Land of Hot Water?" Nara Shikaku quickly voiced his thoughts.
Namikaze Minato's expression slightly changed as well; if Hidden Cloud mobilized a large force towards the Land of Hot Water, and then the AB Combination lead their elite team from behind, it could indeed pose a significant threat to Orochimaru's ninja squad.
"Shikaku, Chouza, Doto... follow me!" Namikaze Minato swiftly selected elite ninjas to join him in intercepting the elite team led by the Fourth Raikage in the Land of Hot Water.
Though the Fourth Raikage may have set off several days prior, they had to avoid Konoha's surveillance, thereby slowing their advance, plus Orochimaru's side introduced uncertainty in battle conditions.
If their speed was adequate, they should make it in time.
PS: This is the first chapter; another chapter will follow, time not confirmed, but definitely before two in the morning.