"I feel like there's a slight swelling in my abdomen, Yumi-sensei. Could it be that my posture is already incredibly standard, and the airflow is circulating through the meridian points?" Obito asked excitedly.
"I think it's probably because you ate too much for dinner," Mutsuki glanced over and noticed Obito's posture was off again as he gradually breathed, so he replied.
"Uh, yeah, maybe I ate a little too much," Obito's face flushed slightly, he awkwardly touched his slightly bulging stomach and gave a embarrassed smile.
Unable to hold back at this somewhat absurd conversation, Shisui burst into laughter, disrupting his breathing rhythm all at once.
"You should be leading the intake of air into your body, rather than letting the inhaled air affect your posture," Mutsuki corrected Obito's posture step by step and then said.
"In this regard, Shisui is doing well," Mutsuki pointed to Shisui, who had recovered and readjusted his posture, and said.
Overall, Shisui's progress is not as good as Obito's, but in this part of the practice, Shisui is faster than Obito.
"How about you tie me up to fix me in place? That way, wouldn't it be easier to guide the intake of air?" Obito had a bright idea.
Those strengthening exercises for breathing are getting increasingly difficult; not only do they affect the airflow, but holding those high-difficulty postures for too long also tires the body.
Mutsuki was momentarily unsure whether Obito was eager to practice or had awakened some strange fetish, as he actually suggested physical restraint.
Mutsuki had also thought of this method, but fixing someone physically may not necessarily yield good results; however, it would definitely be uncomfortable for the body, which is rather inhumane.
Those who dosn't know they are practicing breathing techniques might think they are interrogating foreign spies.
"This method might be feasible, but the practice process will be very uncomfortable. Are you sure you want to do this?" Mutsuki asked.
Since Obito volunteered to try, Mutsuki didn't object.
The nature of Ninja training always revolved around pain.
Every day, sweating profusely from physical training, drenched in sweat from head to toe, falling off trees hurts, making mistakes while walking on water leads to falling in it, and not paying attention during Fire Attribute Chakra Nature Transformation can result in self-inflicted burns.
"Just give it a try. Even I feel quite uncomfortable holding this posture," Obito nodded, still wanting to see if he could make faster progress through a clever approach.
Due to the limited training time of five weeks, although it was said earlier that there would be strength tests every two weeks, the final combat test was actually three weeks apart.
Obito had barely won against Guy once before, and now he saw a glimmer of hope for consecutive victories in breathing technique training. He didn't want to lose to Guy again so soon.
In the Academy's two combat tests, including class and grade-level tests, Guy had beaten him a total of four times, while he had only won once.
Mutsuki fulfilled Obito's wish by bringing some wooden boards and ropes, tying Obito to the boards, and fixing him in a certain posture.
However, Mutsuki didn't tie Obito too tightly, as excessive tightness could affect the body's blood circulation. So, Mutsuki reminded:
"The ropes are not too tight; they can only serve as auxiliary tools. You still have to guide yourself. Don't think that being fixed in place means you only need to breathe."
Obito nodded and then began to practice breathing techniques earnestly.
After practicing for a while, Obito found it somewhat useful, although being bound was a bit uncomfortable.
He would practice a movement and then have Mutsuki's Shadow Clone help him change positions. After an hour of training, Obito even began to feel good.
Whenever his movements caused the ropes to loosen slightly, he would immediately realize that his posture was incorrect and adjust it promptly.
As the training time neared its end, Mutsuki brought Guy over to where Shisui and Obito were.
"Guy, use the breathing technique and then Taijutsu," Mutsuki instructed Guy.
Guy nodded and began to adjust his breathing rhythm to absorb a large amount of oxygen into his body, enhancing his strength.
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
Guy selected the nearest thick tree, one that even three people hugging it might struggle to fully embrace, and with a burst of Chakra, he flashed forward and kicked it with full force.
Crash!
With a thunderous roar, the large tree collapsed, the spot where Guy kicked it was now in shambles.
"Both speed and strength have increased a lot!" Obito, who often sparred with Guy, exclaimed in amazement.
Just now, Guy's whirlwind kick seemed to have brought forth a gust of wind, flattening the surrounding grass.
"You're both getting close to being able to integrate breathing techniques into combat," Mutsuki said with a smile to Shisui and Obito.
Breathing techniques are so difficult to master; they need some encouragement. Right now, Guy is leading, so he serves as the benchmark.
"There's one more thing: None of you should use breathing techniques in the upcoming combat test," Mutsuki said.
"Why?" Obito asked, puzzled.
Currently, only Guy can use it in combat, so this is essentially forcibly nullifying a portion of Guy's strength. Although it may seem like advantageous news for him, Obito is puzzled. This isn't a training match, so why force an equalization of strength? If they're going to force an equalization, they might as well disable most of Shisui's Ninjutsu and Genjutsu as well.
"You've just started practicing, and you can't control the intensity yet. Using breathing techniques in combat can easily overload the body and leave hidden injuries," Mutsuki explained.
That's just one reason, though. The real reason is because Lord Third will be coming to watch. Third is different from other ninjas; he has mastered numerous Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Secret Jutsu. However, at their current age and proficiency level, a sudden burst of power could easily raise suspicions from Third.
If it were just one person, it would be fine. But if Obito also explodes in combat and uses breathing techniques, it would be quite eye chatching.
So, Mutsuki decided to have his disciples refrain from using breathing techniques altogether.
As for Soru, there's no problem. Besides being a bit faster, it looks similar to ordinary Taijutsu and Body Flicker Jutsu.
Because Obito and the others are stronger, it's reasonable that their Body Flicker Jutsu is faster.
"After using breathing techniques that day, I thought my legs had recovered, but the fatigue burst out instantly once I stopped using the techniques," Guy nodded, acknowledging that Mutsuki's words were indeed correct.
Obito had a sudden expression of realization on his face.
...
On Saturday, all the students gathered on the training ground on time, ready to participate in the final combat test.
As Sarutobi Hiruzen had promised, he arrived, not alone but accompanied by many other senseis.
This visit was arranged in advance between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mutsuki, for the day of the exam to bring other senseis to observe this special training program.
"The students seem spirited and confident," Sarutobi Hiruzen, dressed in a white robe with the Hokage hat, said with a smile.
"Let's see the results of their five weeks of hard training together."
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