Mokgetsu had a habit of arriving early. The agreed time was two o'clock in the afternoon, but he arrived with Obito at one fifty.
"Genma, Ebisu, Guy." Obito grinned as he greeted the three who were training.
The three who heard Obito's voice stopped and looked towards Obito, seeing Mokgetsu beside him.
"Teacher Mokgetsu and Obito, why are you here?" Shiranui Genma asked with a puzzled expression.
He wasn't aware of the conversation between Teacher Chen and Might Guy that day; he only knew it was about training.
"Teacher Mokgetsu has something to discuss with your instructor. By the way, where's your instructor? I haven't seen him." Obito looked around but didn't see the muscular man he imagined.
"Hasn't he arrived yet?" Obito asked suspiciously.
"Isn't he just sitting under that tree over there?" Shiranui Genma pointed to a large tree not far away, where Teacher Chen was sitting and reading a book.
Obito followed Genma's finger, seeing a middle-aged man in a dull yellow jacket and yellow tights.
"Is that Teacher Chen?" Obito asked Genma with a dubious expression.
He thought Teacher Chen didn't look tall when standing up, didn't have strong muscles, and even had a somewhat sleazy smile on his face.
Obito thought this didn't match the image of Konoha Taijutsu's strongest, just an ordinary, middle-aged, decadent uncle.
"What, do I not look like it?" Before Shiranui Genma could explain to Obito, the keen Teacher Chen closed his book and swiftly appeared next to Obito, asking.
"So fast!"
Obito, looking at Teacher Chen who suddenly appeared in front of him, couldn't help but have his pupils shrink. He hadn't seen how Teacher Chen got there.
"Hello senior, I am Habu Mokgetsu." Mokgetsu placed a hand on Obito's shoulder and introduced himself to Teacher Chen with a smile.
Teacher Chen took a few glances at Mokgetsu, nodded, and also gave a simple self-introduction.
Teacher Chen gave Mokgetsu a look, indicating that Mokgetsu should talk aside and not stay with the students.
He intended to question Mokgetsu's training methods, which wasn't suitable for the students to hear, wanting to save some face for Mokgetsu.
Once the two walked aside, Teacher Chen opened up unreservedly:
"Since you were able to distinguish yourself in battle against a Jinchuriki, you're naturally a capable ninja. Don't you know the harm of overtraining on the body? The body's capacity is limited. There might not be issues now, but come middle age, it's troublesome."
"Guy's training volume is too much; what I've seen already exceeds the limits of what an average person can endure."
Although he admired Guy's perseverance, he believed this would shorten Guy's peak period and possibly his lifespan.
Faced with Teacher Chen's skepticism, Mokgetsu's expression didn't change. He smiled gently and said, "First, I want to thank you, senior, for your concern for Guy."
Teacher Chen looked at Mokgetsu, seeking reasons, not gratitude.
"If it were an ordinary person, indeed, they wouldn't endure such a large training volume."
Mokgetsu affirmed Teacher Chen's words and then continued, "But Guy is not an ordinary person. His talent in Taijutsu is exceptional, and his body's endurance is stronger than an average person's."
While Might Guy becomes strong mainly due to his effort, Might Guy's body is somewhat better than ordinary, although not possessing innate divine power, his endurance is stronger.
Put it this way, if Might Guy doesn't work hard, he's just an ordinary person. But if he puts in the effort, he has the chance to catch up with the geniuses.
"That I can see. Even if his body's endurance is stronger, this training volume is excessive." Teacher Chen retorted.
Having trained Taijutsu for half his life, he naturally understood these things well, which is why he valued Might Guy so much. Superhuman perseverance combined with a strong-enduring body makes him a perfect Taijutsu seedling.
"If it's just this, indeed, the current training volume is excessive. But I also have a kind of secret medicine that can eliminate fatigue and restore the body. With Guy's strong endurance and the secret medicine's recovery, this training volume is just right for him." Mokgetsu continued to explain.
It must be said that the secret medicine from the system is really potent, a perfect match for Might Guy.
"How can the secret medicine be so effective? Which kind are you using?" Teacher Chen asked. He also used cultivation elixirs but thought they weren't so effective.
"You can't find the kind I use on the market." Mokgetsu shook his head and replied, the secret medicine given by the system couldn't be bought anywhere in the Ninja World.
Teacher Chen didn't know whether to believe Mokgetsu. If everything was as Mokgetsu said, then there was indeed no problem, but Mokgetsu's explanation about the secret medicine was quite vague.
"Moreover, Guy has practiced the Eight Gates. Senior, you should know about this kinjutsu?" Mokgetsu continued to speak.
"Eight Gates, so it's this kinjutsu. No wonder during battles with me, sometimes his aura suddenly became stronger." Teacher Chen showed a contemplative expression on his face.
He had never fought against a ninja who mastered the Eight Gates, but he had heard of the reputation of this kinjutsu.
"The Eight Gates increase strength by opening the body's limits. Only when the body is stronger will the damage from opening the gates be lesser, and the power of the gates be greater." After introducing the Eight Gates, Mokgetsu stopped speaking, knowing Teacher Chen was no novice and would understand his meaning.
By this point, Teacher Chen was persuaded by Mokgetsu's words; Mokgetsu understood Might Guy better and considered more factors than he did.
"Guy wants to become a strong person, to become one of the top ninjas in the Ninja World, but his ninjutsu talent is very average. Only taijutsu can support his dream," Mokgetsu said finally.
Mokgetsu's words left Teacher Chen deep in thought. Besides being the mentor of Might Guy and the other two, he had actually taken on another disciple.
That disciple was in a worse state than Might Guy. While Might Guy could still learn some simple ninjutsu with extra effort, his other disciple had no talent for ninjutsu at all. He couldn't learn any ninjutsu or genjutsu and could only pursue taijutsu relentlessly. Even graduating from the Ninja Academy was a struggle.
Moved by his perseverance, Teacher Chen took him as a disciple, intending to pass on all his taijutsu to him. However, due to his current lack of strength, he couldn't yet learn the Konoha Dragon God.
"You are a good teacher; no wonder Guy respects you so much," Teacher Chen exclaimed, snapping out of his thoughts.
He believed that a teacher who could help a student achieve their dreams was the best teacher.
Mokgetsu smiled and reciprocated the praise, then issued a challenge to Teacher Chen.
"I've long heard of your title as Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja. Could you give me the opportunity to challenge the strongest?"
The main purpose of his visit was to fight Teacher Chen and showcase his taijutsu skills.
Teacher Chen waved his hand and said, "What strongest? That's just people's exaggeration. In reality, the Third Hokage's taijutsu is stronger than mine, but a match can be arranged."
Seeing Mokgetsu's understanding of taijutsu and his excellent tutelage of Might Guy, Teacher Chen thought for a moment and agreed.
"Should we fight here, or choose another location? If it's here, let those kids see what a real ninja battle is like," Teacher Chen suggested.
Watching the battles of strong individuals is beneficial, firstly by expanding one's knowledge and secondly by learning the strengths of the strong. But if they are too strong, nothing can be learned because it's too difficult to even see clearly.
"Let's do it here; we'll stick to a friendly spar," Mokgetsu agreed with a smile.
Where the battle takes place doesn't matter much; his main audience is Teacher Chen, who is more influential.
Teacher Chen quickly moved to his students' side and said:
"Mokgetsu and I will spar a bit; remember to watch and learn carefully to see what a real ninja battle looks like."
"Ah, you're fighting Mokgetsu-sensei?" Shiranui Genma asked in surprise.
He felt it was somewhat bullying to have Konoha's supposedly strongest taijutsu ninja fight a Special Jonin who mostly teaches.
"No, Mokgetsu-sensei is also capable of defeating Jonin," Shiranui Genma quickly recalled the mission stories Obito had shared earlier.
But then Shiranui Genma thought again; even a more capable Jonin confronting a ninja with the strongest title isn't much of anything.
"What, you have an opinion?" Teacher Chen raised an eyebrow and asked.
He didn't know Mokgetsu's specific information, only knowing that Mokgetsu had repelled a Jinchuriki alongside Jiraiya on the battlefield.
"No, no comment," Shiranui Genma quickly shook his head, fearing Teacher Chen might ask him to join the battle.
Teacher Chen could indeed do such a thing, occasionally giving them tougher challenges.
"Mokgetsu-sensei and Teacher Chen..." Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, recalling the terrifying aura of the Konoha Divine Dragon that day, feeling that Mokgetsu might be in over his head.
Upon hearing that Mokgetsu and Teacher Chen were going to fight, Obito showed a look of anticipation, grateful he had come along and could witness Mokgetsu-sensei's battle.
He wasn't worried at all that Mokgetsu would lose. Obito had extreme confidence in Mokgetsu. Even if Mokgetsu used only taijutsu, he didn't think Teacher Chen could win. After all, Mokgetsu was a Sage, omnipotent; just being the strongest in Konoha taijutsu was certainly achievable.
Might Guy showed a curious expression. The strongest battle he had seen so far was the one where Mokgetsu fought alongside Might Duy, using six gates. He was curious if this match would surpass that in display.
"How will Mokgetsu-sensei counter Teacher Chen's Konoha Dragon God?" Might Guy wondered.
Currently, he had no way to counter the Konoha Dragon God. The wind force was too strong; approaching it would soon cause him to be cut. But without getting close, how could he talk about countering it?
After informing the students, Teacher Chen and Mokgetsu chose a spot neither too far nor too close to the students as their battle ground.
If it was too far, the students wouldn't see clearly, reducing the value of observing the fight. But being too close would affect their battle and could easily cause injuries from the battle's aftermath.
"Battle start!" Obito, acting as the announcer, shouted loudly.