Makoto first had Obito try the tree-climbing exercise.
The forests in Konoha's eastern region had plenty of trees—ten-meter-tall trees could be found everywhere, and even taller ones were common.
Makoto casually pointed at a tree about twenty meters tall and told Obito to try climbing it by concentrating chakra on the soles of his feet.
Obito nodded, took a deep breath, and rushed upward with chakra gathered beneath his feet.
He climbed to about ten meters in one burst before losing control of his chakra on the next step. His foot stamped a dent into the trunk, and he fell down.
Makoto jumped up and caught him.
He nodded inwardly.
Although Obito couldn't reach Asuma's level, it was still acceptable. At least he didn't fall after just a few steps.
Training like this wasn't complicated.
It was simply a matter of persistent practice, without any special tricks.
After demonstrating a few times, Makoto left behind a Shadow Clone to supervise Obito's training while his main body went to find Might Guy , who was working on strengthening his physique.
Among Makoto's three disciples, Might Guy 's training routine was undoubtedly the most monotonous.
When Obito grew tired of taijutsu, he could switch to practicing some ninjutsu.
But Guy's training consisted only of practicing the Leaf Whirlwind and physical conditioning.
Building physical strength wasn't something that could be done overnight.
Even Makoto's Teaching Skill couldn't help in that area.
His teaching ability could help Guy learn taijutsu faster and improve techniques more efficiently, but it couldn't accelerate the physical training results themselves.
One push-up still only produced the effect of one push-up.
When Makoto arrived beside Guy, Guy was doing push-ups with a huge stone slab strapped to his back, almost as large as he was.
"Guy, how is your Leaf Whirlwind coming along?" Makoto asked.
He wanted to test the conditions required to trigger a training mission.
Since Guy also had Trust Level 3, just like Obito, he was the best test subject.
Hearing Makoto's question, Guy stopped moving but kept his body suspended as he answered.
"It's a little faster than during the exam, but it's still not fast enough."
After answering, Guy removed the stone slab, stood up, and unleashed a swift Leaf Whirlwind kick at a nearby wooden training post.
Makoto nodded.
Compared to before, it had indeed improved. The kick was sharper and more decisive.
It was probably the result of the experience he gained while fighting Hyūga Homon.
Physical conditioning couldn't show results that quickly.
Any real improvement in physical strength would take months, not days.
"What do you think is the best way to improve your strength?" Makoto suddenly asked.
The question confused Guy.
"Training, of course," Guy answered immediately.
To him, the question felt strange.
If you wanted to become stronger, the answer was obviously consistent training.
Makoto shook his head.
"Training is indeed important—the most important part of growth. But is there another way?"
Guy scratched his head.
Then he remembered the improvement in his Leaf Whirlwind, as well as the sparring tests at the Ninja Academy.
A sudden realization flashed through his mind.
"Battle!"
"Exactly," Makoto said with a smile.
"Battle is also an important part of improving strength. In real combat, you can better transform the results of training into actual fighting power."
"But the battle I'm referring to isn't like the one between you and Obito earlier. That wasn't a proper fight."
"To improve, you must challenge the strong—fight the opponent you want to defeat in a fair and direct battle."
As Guy listened to Makoto's words, a certain figure gradually appeared in his mind.
That person had silver hair, always wore a face mask, and was known throughout Konoha as a super genius.
There was only one name that matched.
Kakashi Hatake.
The lifelong rival Guy had already chosen for himself.
After training under Makoto and seeing his strength improve, Guy had long wanted to challenge Kakashi.
He had just been suppressing the urge.
Originally, he wanted to wait until he had fully mastered the Leaf Whirlwind before challenging Kakashi.
But now Guy changed his mind.
Even if he completely mastered the Leaf Whirlwind, would that guarantee victory over Kakashi?
Not necessarily.
Was he afraid of failing once?
Of course not.
Then why not challenge Kakashi now and grow stronger through the battle?
"Teacher Makoto, I understand," Guy said solemnly.
Seeing the expression on Guy's face, Makoto knew his guidance had worked.
Given Guy's personality, he might even go challenge Kakashi tonight.
However, what disappointed Makoto was that no system notification appeared.
There was no training mission titled "Defeat Kakashi."
"What other condition is missing?" Makoto wondered.
According to the original Naruto story, Guy at this time definitely had a strong desire to defeat Kakashi.
The title of super genius, the identity of rival—
Guy had plenty of reasons to want to beat Kakashi.
Thinking carefully about the details of how Obito triggered his training mission, Makoto noticed something.
Obito had pleaded for help.
He had clearly expressed that he needed Makoto's assistance to achieve his goal.
Only by learning a powerful Fire Release technique from Makoto could he win.
"Does the mission require the result to depend on the teacher's help?" Makoto speculated.
If that were the case, then Guy's failure to trigger a training mission made sense.
Guy had only been inspired to challenge Kakashi.
He probably hadn't thought that he needed Makoto in order to succeed.
With a rough hypothesis formed, Makoto stopped testing further.
He decided to wait until Guy lost to Kakashi before acting.
At that time—
He would let his defeated disciple feel the warmth of a teacher.
After finishing the day's teaching, Makoto returned to his house in the main district of Konohagakure.
After dinner, he went to the park where he had previously encountered Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Fortunately, he ran into them again.
Since many people in the area liked to visit the park, Minato and Kushina weren't surprised to see Makoto there.
"Oh right, you left so quickly last time that I forgot to ask something," Kushina suddenly said.
"Did you accept the Third Hokage's request to be that kid's private tutor?"
Makoto nodded.
"I heard that kid is pretty rebellious," Kushina said curiously. "He doesn't even listen to the Third Hokage. Will he really listen to you?"
Makoto smiled and told them the story of how he trained Asuma Sarutobi.
Kushina had no idea what Asuma must have felt during that training.
But from the listener's perspective, she found it hilarious.
Especially the part where Asuma tried to slack off the next day but was tricked into training until he collapsed from exhaustion.
Kushina laughed loudly.
"Who would've thought that the clever old Third Hokage would give birth to such a foolish son?"
Even Minato was surprised by Makoto's teaching approach.
He found it impressive that Makoto could make a student who didn't want to learn cooperate and complete training.
Makoto didn't just talk about himself either.
He also asked Minato and Kushina various questions, and the atmosphere of the conversation became very relaxed.
Makoto felt that if they kept interacting like this for some time and gradually became friends—
He could eventually casually reveal his interest in Sealing Techniques and cursed seals.
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