Land of Water.
The Hidden Mist Village, Mizukage Building's conference room.
"In the latest intelligence, Konoha repelled The Hidden Cloud in the Land of Hot Water, forcing The Hidden Cloud's troops to retreat and defend their homeland," said the leader of the Hidden Mist Jonin Squad.
"The Hidden Rock and Konoha have clashed again in the Land of Grass, and once again, Konoha holds the advantage."
"The war between The Hidden Cloud and The Hidden Sand..."
The leader of the Hidden Mist Jonin Squad methodically read out the latest war intelligence from the continent.
"Once again, Konoha gains the upper hand. How can it continuously win despite facing attacks from two Great Ninja Villages at once? Is Konoha too strong, or are The Hidden Rock and The Hidden Cloud too weak?" a severe-looking middle-aged ninja asked with a frown.
Because of the ocean's barrier, the Land of Water rarely participates in continental affairs, as traveling there is quite troublesome.
With the development of productivity and the changing times, this situation has gradually changed.
"Although Konoha has achieved successive victories, this does not indicate it has the capability to fight against two at once. After all, neither The Hidden Cloud nor The Hidden Rock has exerted their full strength in battling Konoha. We should not exaggerate Konoha's strength," a ninja with bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face analyzed.
"The Hidden Rock and The Hidden Cloud haven't used their full force, but who can be sure that Konoha has used its full force?" the middle-aged ninja retorted sternly.
"Konoha's strength is too formidable. If we want to gain benefits on the continent, we must first weaken Konoha's strength!"
"Yuan Shi, do you think Konoha is strong?" asked the Third Mizukage, who had been resting with his eyes closed, peering at Yuan Shi seated to his right.
The moment the Third Mizukage spoke, the conference room fell silent, and everyone turned their attention to the Third Mizukage and Yuan Shi.
Though the Third Mizukage often appeared congenial with a smiling demeanor, those familiar with him knew this was merely an appearance; taking him for a pushover would end badly.
"I can only offer my speculations. Although I've visited Konoha once, why would Konoha reveal its strength to me?" Yuan Shi shook his head in response.
Apart from being intimidated by the Third Hokage's presence, he merely observed some Genin battles, gleaning little intelligence.
"As for strength, I still believe Konoha remains the strongest Ninja Village in the Ninja World today," Yuan Shi initially stated his conclusion.
The high-ranking officials of the Hidden Mist quietly focused on Yuan Shi, awaiting his explanation.
Being Yuan Shi who said this, if it were any other official, they undoubtedly would have been rebutted by their peers.
Admitting that the opponent is the strongest without war among the Five Great Ninja Villages is undoubtedly defeatist before the battle.
Even if the opponent is truly strong, it shouldn't be stated so directly. One must strategically underestimate the enemy.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, I had a confrontation of aura with the Third Hokage. He's powerful, no less than the Third Mizukage," Yuan Shi stated euphemistically.
In truth, Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength was greater than that of the Third Mizukage, but this being a high-level meeting, he had to preserve the Third Mizukage's dignity.
Moreover, those in high positions were not fools and could discern his implications.
The expressions of a few high-ranking officials changed slightly before quickly returning to normal.
At the level of the Five Kage, even if there's some disparity, it's not much. Even if they can't win, they'll hold their ground, so the issue isn't significant.
Senju Hashirama's outlier level was instinctively dismissed by them; after all, only one such figure had emerged over so many years.
The Third Mizukage's expression remained unchanged, maintaining a gentle smile with narrowed eyes, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.
"Despite bringing the village's outstanding Genin and gathering several young ninjas above Genin, not a single one reached the final battle. In the competition among young ninjas, we've already lost once," Yuan Shi continued.
He was unsure if Konoha employed the same method as the Hidden Mist, but Kakashi and his peers seemed no older than ten from their appearance. Regardless of their Ninja Levels, the Hidden Mist lost in this competition.
Yuan Shi continued to share his speculations that, even while waging war on two fronts, Konoha dared to host such a Chunin Examination, demonstrating confidence in their strength.
"It seems Konoha is indeed very strong at present," the Third Mizukage closed his eyes and then spoke slowly.
"So what approach should we take in dealing with this formidable Konoha?"
...
Two weeks after the Instant Step training, Mokgetsu completed the development of the Breathing Technique for training use.
This was a bit faster than he anticipated; the Enlightened State truly was powerful and proved useful in development.
However, Mokgetsu did not immediately use it for training but went to the Third Hokage's office.
"Mokgetsu, have you encountered any problems at work?" Sarutobi Hiruzen set down the document in his hand and asked with a cheerful smile.
Mokgetsu's willingness to teach the excellent Instant Body Jutsu he developed for training ninja indicated his strong commitment to the training task he personally issued, further pleasing Sarutobi Hiruzen with Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu shook his head, then respectfully handed two scrolls to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"This is the Taijutsu I've developed. I want to offer these two Taijutsu to the village," Mokgetsu said with a gentle smile.
As he spoke, a glimmer appeared in Mokgetsu's eyes as if he was pleased to contribute to Konoha.
"Mokgetsu, you are thoughtful," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile, stroking his goatee.
Putting aside the power of the two Taijutsu Mokgetsu developed, Sarutobi Hiruzen appreciated Mokgetsu's actions.
Mokgetsu's previously developed five D-level ninjutsu have also been added to Konoha's ninja library.
"The ninjutsu I handed over to the village is indeed insignificant compared to those the village rewarded me with," Mokgetsu said modestly.
He took this Breathing Technique to instruct the Anbu Root, which is equivalent to handing it over to Konoha, so Mokgetsu simply went to Sarutobi Hiruzen first to submit it to get more rewards.
Konoha doesn't force all ninjas to submit their developed ninjutsu, but submissions are rewarded, and the stronger the ninjutsu, the better the effect, the greater the reward.
He not only submitted it to Sarutobi Hiruzen but also notified Danzo to maintain his persona.
Hearing Mokgetsu's response, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and opened two scrolls, one called Instant Step and the other called Breath of Darkness.
Sarutobi Hiruzen briefly reviewed both scrolls and found the Breath of Darkness quite substantial.
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen starting to examine the scrolls, Mokgetsu began to explain.
Even though Mokgetsu felt that Sarutobi Hiruzen likely already knew the intelligence on Instant Step, Mokgetsu couldn't assume his superior knew, so he dutifully explained both Taijutsu.
Since Instant Step was simpler, Mokgetsu quickly explained it first and then focused on the Breath of Darkness.
"Breath of Darkness can strengthen the body by absorbing a large amount of oxygen; the more concentrated the breathing, the greater the enhancement, which can increase the body's comprehensive strength and accelerate recovery from injuries when hurt."
"Once proficient in Breath of Darkness, one can accumulate breathing power to enhance instantaneous bursts, producing attacks far beyond one's own strength."
Enhancing the body and accelerating recovery are basic abilities of the Breathing Technique. Mokgetsu's most significant modification was removing the strengthening of training and increasing the boost when using the Breathing Technique, so Breath of Darkness doesn't have the Constant Realm.
Compared to average Breathing Techniques, Breath of Darkness is more like a burst-type Secret Technique.
Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen mastered thousands of ninjutsu being a Ninja Technique Professor, his Taijutsu isn't weak either. He quickly connected that the best use of Breath of Darkness was in ambushes and assassinations.
Using power beyond the body will inevitably bring a corresponding burden, so Breath of Darkness certainly can't be used for too long.
Of course, this burst-type ninjutsu is undoubtedly useful in regular battles, but ambushes and assassinations offer more cost-effectiveness.
"A Taijutsu full of ingenious ideas indeed," Sarutobi Hiruzen praised.
Mokgetsu's Breath of Darkness wasn't along the same path as most Taijutsu currently in Konoha. Developing ninjutsu of such a grade in a new area, Mokgetsu's talent for development exceeded his expectations.
"Instant Step can be rated as B-level Taijutsu, and Breath of Darkness can be recognized as A-level Taijutsu," Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered then spoke.
Ninjutsu levels only denote learning difficulty differences; all ninjutsu in Konoha are rated this way.
Typically, more challenging ninjutsu have greater power, and it's not a stretch to say high-difficulty ninjutsu are strong. Still, lower-level ninjutsu aren't necessarily weak.
For instance, Great Fireball, a Fire Release Ninjutsu, is merely a C-level ninjutsu. Still, Uchiha students at Ninja School all the way to Jonin frequently use it.
Mokgetsu nodded, indicating he had no objections.
He developed the Breath of Darkness specifically in a simple direction, so receiving an S-level rating would indeed be problematic.
"I'm planning to use Breath of Darkness for training, as this Taijutsu is quite suitable for the Anbu and Root," Mokgetsu then revealed his plan.
"Haha, then I'll be looking forward to the test in two months," Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled mist while laughing.
Anbu Root members clearly don't have much time to participate in the test, so Mokgetsu only set an examination on the last day of the special training to showcase his training results.
"Two months later, if Mokgetsu wants to learn ninjutsu, you can just go to the Ninja Dojo and search. If it's not there, come to me to apply," Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to grant Mokgetsu access to freely browse ninjutsu in the Ninja Dojo.
Initially, Mokgetsu's current merits weren't enough to earn such permission, but Mokgetsu is a ninjutsu genius, pleasing Sarutobi Hiruzen in all aspects.
"Granting you this permission now might invite criticism, but once the training ends and everyone knows your abilities, it won't be an issue," Sarutobi Hiruzen explained the timing problem.
Although the reward still exceeds the merit, this arrangement strikes a proper balance and motivates Mokgetsu to conduct teaching further.
"Thank you, Third Hokage, sir," Mokgetsu said with an excited smile, showing understanding.
"In the future, aside from certain special ninjutsu, there's no need to hide," Mokgetsu thought inwardly, noting Sarutobi Hiruzen's generosity exceeded his expectations.
PS: Finished writing at 2 AM yesterday and couldn't sleep until 4 AM, feeling a bit down today, resting tomorrow, and aiming for 10,000 words tomorrow.