"Teacher Mokgetsu, how long did I last this time?" Obito wiped the water off his face, looking expectantly at Mokgetsu.
He felt like he had been standing on the river for a long time, perhaps he had lasted an hour.
"You did very well this time, lasting for twenty minutes," Mokgetsu praised without hesitation.
"Huh? Only twenty minutes? I thought it would be at least half an hour." Obito was a bit disappointed.
On the river, not only did he have to constantly maintain Chakra output, but he also had to pay attention to Mokgetsu's Water Release, observe the river's waves, stay prepared to dodge, and maintain this state, which felt like a long time had passed.
"You've completed the Chakra control training, and you can start with Nature Transformation training now," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll head down right away." Obito, who had been practicing water walking, instinctively walked towards the river, only realizing what Mokgetsu had said after a few steps.
"Finally, no more water walking!" Obito couldn't help but clench his fists in celebration, calming down when he noticed Shisui and Might Guy glancing over.
"Lately, with all the water walking, I'm getting used to the river's smell," Obito couldn't help but grumble.
Water walking isn't like tree climbing; with tree climbing, as long as you adjust well or Mokgetsu catches you quickly, it's fine.
Failing at water walking usually meant gulping down a mouthful of water.
Thankfully, not many people come here, and the river water is clear and clean, without any strange odors.
"Want to practice some more?" Mokgetsu joked.
"No, no, every time I see a river now, I want to walk around it," said Obito, who had been through a lot, deciding not to be stubborn this time.
"Better start Nature Transformation sooner, there's only fourteen days left until the competition," Obito felt the pressure of time.
Besides Nature Transformation, he had to further master the Great Fireball technique.
"Following my schedule, you'll have enough time," Mokgetsu reassured Obito.
This is just training for a local competition, not training to face Pain, so there's no need to make Nature Transformation overly complicated.
With the added benefit of teacher skills, and Mokgetsu already mastering the Great Fireball, helping Obito improve it should be easy.
Considering the reward for completing the training task, Mokgetsu had a thorough plan.
Soon, Mokgetsu's Shadow Clone brought over a large wooden bucket, and Mokgetsu took out an egg-sized ice chunk from it, handing it to Obito.
"Place the ice chunk in your palm, then use Chakra for Nature Transformation to melt it," Mokgetsu explained the first step of Nature Transformation training.
Nature Transformation is considered a rather difficult and advanced part of a ninja's training.
Even if your Chakra amount is sufficient, if your Nature Transformation proficiency isn't, the power of your ninjutsu will be limited.
The training for fire Nature Transformation is a bit more dangerous than wind, as the burning nature of fire may affect the caster.
Initially, Mokgetsu wanted Obito to burn leaves, but if Obito couldn't instantly turn the leaf into ashes, his hand would be burned by the burning leaf.
So Mokgetsu thought of ice, as its low temperature would only melt into water when encountering flames, and Obito's fire wasn't enough to heat the melted ice water.
"So cold," Obito gasped, holding the ice chunk. It was still spring, and the morning sun wasn't too warm, so the temperature was low.
"Then quickly release your Chakra," Mokgetsu tapped two fingers on Obito's head.
Obito winced, shrank his neck, then began guiding his Chakra to his palm, conducting a Nature Transformation before releasing it.
"When doing Nature Transformation, remember the characteristics of fire — burning and high temperature, make your Chakra burn, increase the temperature," Mokgetsu reminded.
Obito stared at the ice chunk in his hand, nodding while silently repeating the words 'burning' and 'high temperature' in his mind.
Two minutes later, Obito felt a trickle of water on his palm, immediately showing a joyful expression.
"Teacher, the ice chunk is melting!" Obito said excitedly.
"Why don't you get another ice chunk and hold it for a few minutes without using Chakra?" Mokgetsu suggested.
Curious, Obito discarded the ice chunk in his hand and took another similar-sized piece, holding it without using Chakra.
He awkwardly found out that the degree of melting was only slightly less than before.
"The human body has temperature as well; holding an ice chunk this size will melt it quite quickly even without using Chakra," Mokgetsu explained, holding his forehead.
Luckily, it's not summer. Otherwise, Obito might think he's a Nature Transformation genius.
"Hehe, I usually use my mouth for ninjutsu, it's a bit weird to use my hands," Obito scratched his head as he explained.
"Remember the properties of fire when performing Nature Transformation," Mokgetsu said while taking out a head-sized ice chunk and holding it in his hand.
Fizz, fizz, fizz!
As Mokgetsu finished speaking, a red light flashed, and the head-sized ice chunk instantly turned into white steam, dissipating into the sky.
"High temperature, burning," Obito kept repeating these words while continuously gathering and releasing Chakra on his palm.
Soon the morning passed, and Obito felt his hands had become numb from the cold, the skin turning pale and wrinkled from prolonged water exposure.
"Now that I think about it, the river water's taste isn't so bad," Obito regretted not accepting Mokgetsu's suggestion to practice more a few hours ago.
This Nature Transformation training is even more tormenting than water walking.
"Let's stop for now and eat," Mokgetsu called a halt and took out three lunch boxes, handing them to the three students.
"Today's food smells amazing!" Might Guy exclaimed as he opened the lid and was met with an aroma that seemed to pierce his soul, accompanied by the dazzling golden light in the lunchbox.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, something's off with this food, it's glowing!" Might Guy was a bit dumbfounded.
"Just the reflection of the sun, feel free to eat," Mokgetsu laughed lightly.
Might Guy took a spoonful, and immediately his eyes brightened up, quickly shoveling spoonfuls of fried rice into his mouth.
"Delicious! Delicious!" Might Guy felt he had never eaten anything so tasty.
[You presented your disciple with Golden Egg Fried Rice, the disciple is extremely grateful, rewarding you with a critical hit bonus: Chakra +100]
Mokgetsu nodded to himself, this chef skill is really powerful.
"Guy, did you practice that hard today?" Obito felt Might Guy was exaggerating, even though Teacher Mokgetsu's cooking was good, there's no need to eat so urgently.
"It does smell pretty good," Obito changed his mind a bit after opening his lunchbox.
His wasn't fried rice, but a simple home-cooked dish.
Obito first picked a bit of the vegetables, then a bite of rice, placing them in his mouth.
"Delicious!" Obito's eyes widened as an unprecedented flavor burst in his mouth.
Then he started devouring the meal, continuously stuffing the food into his mouth until he tasted the chili in the dish.
A terrifying spiciness erupted, and in a daze, Obito felt like he was at the mouth of an erupting volcano, the surrounding air hot and dry.