The mist roiled, thick and suffocating.
Amidst the white haze came the flash of blades, the spray of blood, and the echoes of dying screams. inside the Hiding in Mist Jutsu, Shisui Uchiha moved as if he had returned home; in fact, he was faster and sharper than even the Kirigakure ninja themselves.
Phantoms and afterimages flickered through the fog, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake. Masahiko finally understood the origin of the name "Shisui of the Body Flicker." This was a reputation carved out one blade stroke at a time on the Kirigakure front lines. It was no wonder Ao remembered the color of Shisui's chakra so vividly even years later.
Through the screen, Shisui's fury and killing intent were palpable.
A moment later—
Boom!
A thunderous explosion shook the forest. In the distance, a grotesque sphere of energy hurtled toward their position, but Shisui had already vanished from his spot.
He landed from above, right where Biwa Jūzō had been struck.
"Jūzō..."
Shisui looked down. Jūzō's body had been impaled by the shattered fragments of his own blade. Though he wasn't dead yet, he was standing at death's door. The hilt of the Executioner's Blade had been blown away, smashing into a nearby tree.
Jūzō struggled to lift his head.
"Do not speak," Shisui commanded immediately, his voice tight. "I am getting you out of here!"
Jūzō's lips moved silently, but before he could protest, Shisui hoisted him up and sprinted toward the edge of the dense fog.
Behind them, Yagura—fully wrapped in his Tailed Beast cloak—curled into a ball and rolled forward like a crushing wheel, bulldozing the jungle in pursuit. Shisui glanced back. The tomoe in his eyes spun wildly, on the verge of connecting into a unique pattern...
Suddenly, a mass of pitch-black flames flew through the air.
In the next instant, the flames ignited the massive "wheel," rapidly spreading across its surface.
Yagura howled in agony. His body expanded further, chakra exploding outward as he partially transformed into the Three-Tails' true form. Layers of coral reef rapidly grew across his skin, only to burst apart and shoot outward in every direction.
The coral chunks, still carrying the inextinguishable black flames, flew like chaotic meteors. The Kirigakure Anbu who had just arrived to support their Mizukage were struck down one by one.
In seconds... they were burned to ash in a gruesome display.
Yagura reverted to his human form, gasping for breath. He stumbled to his feet, his mind seemingly in a daze.
"Go! Return to the village!" he forced out.
The few surviving ANBU immediately rushed forward, grabbing the Mizukage and fleeing toward Kirigakure. They even managed to retrieve the broken remains of the Executioner's Blade lodged in the tree.
The great battle drew to a close.
"Shisui of the Body Flicker... stylish as hell!"
• "Good lord... Should I say Shisui is too strong, or is Kirigakure just too weak?"
• "They probably fought a lot back then. He seems to know the Mist techniques inside out."
• "Amaterasu is so strong!"
• "Yagura is a beast too, he ate an Amaterasu and didn't die!"
This was only the second time Amaterasu had appeared on screen.
The audience hadn't yet realized its drawbacks. Seeing it burn someone of Yagura's caliber until he screamed and retreated left them with the impression that it was an unstoppable force.
Masahiko just wanted to laugh.
The theoretical power of Amaterasu was indeed sky-high, but "theory" had to be converted into reality to matter.
He continued to scroll down the timeline.
Unfortunately, the aftermath in Kirigakure wasn't shown on screen. The scene immediately cut to Masahiko's plotline involving the deal with Orochimaru. Because the editors didn't include the context leading up to it, it looked like Masahiko was in a rush to trade with Orochimaru, causing a wave of booing in the bullet comments.
Luckily, he was used to it.
Many viewers praised the fight scene as spectacular, but Masahiko himself wasn't impressed. The Kimimaro of this era was simply too green before him. Even the subsequent subjugation of Kusagakure lacked technical depth in Masahiko's eyes—it was pure "noob stomping."
But then...
"Damn! A panda?!!"
• "Love it, love it! He has a panda as a summon? How bad can the Old Thief really be?"
• "Damn it, the Old Thief bagged Kurenai Yūhi AND gets to pet a panda? Why him?!"
• "I have to pay for a ticket just to see one from a distance... I'm so jealous I could cry!"
• "That's it, I'm becoming a full-on hater!"
A single panda summon exploded the comment section. The audience was consumed with envy over Masahiko's possession of the Iron Eater Beast.
Drawing the Panda had been a surprise for Masahiko as well. Furthermore, when he had summoned it previously, he vaguely sensed that the real creature possessed higher intelligence than the simulation in the training space. It definitely understood human speech.
If possible... perhaps those Pandas could be cultivated further.
The segment about sending Karin to the mountain village was glossed over. The episode shifted focus to the daily life of Naruto and Sasuke at the Academy, finally ending with the scene of Masahiko taking a scroll to meet Danzō.
His report to Sarutobi Hiruzen had been completely cut.
'The editor is trying to stir up trouble,' Masahiko mused.
If he managed to seize control of the "Root" organization later, maybe those missing scenes would be released. Otherwise... whether they saw the light of day depended on what kind of villain he evolved into.
Masahiko rested his chin on his hand, watching the plot unfold while simultaneously penning a letter. It had been two or three days since he said goodbye to Karin. He planned to have the Panda deliver the letter to check on her situation.
Unknowingly—
[Popularity Rating: S]
[Comprehensive Assessment...]
[Reward Received: Mid-Rank Ninjutsu Random Card]
'Mid-Rank...'
A card of this level would at best yield a B-Rank Jutsu. With his current status as a Jōnin, Masahiko could easily acquire most Jutsu of that tier through official channels. With the Ninjutsu Training Space, learning a new technique wouldn't take him long, so he had little need for the card itself.
'But if I exchange it for a projection...'
Masahiko glanced at his System panel.
After a moment of thought, an idea struck him. Since it was just a Mid-Rank card, and he had a need for Puppet Jutsu, he might as well exchange it for something related to that field.
'Hmm... wait.'
Masahiko entered the training space and tried to browse for projections related to Fūinjutsu.
Sealing Jutsu was notoriously difficult to learn. The strongest Sealing Jutsu experts he could summon with a Mid-Rank card were few and far between, and the duration would be very short.
Puppet Jutsu was different. The technique itself was generally classified as C-Rank, meaning there were plenty of summonable options available within the budget.
He exited the training space and returned to finishing his letter to Karin.
'I shouldn't act on impulse.'
First, he would send the letter. Then, he would attempt to research the basics of puppetry on his own and file a formal application. Only then would he consider if the card was necessary.
Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the application form on his desk, then leaned back in his chair. He looked down at the paper, then up at the man standing before him.
"Masahiko... are you researching Sunagakure ahead of time?"
The conversation between Masahiko and Mitokado Homura had naturally reached Hiruzen's ears. Thus, the Hokage assumed Masahiko was doing preemptive research for teaching purposes. If so, Hiruzen felt his Teaching Consultant was being a bit too forward-thinking.
Masahiko looked momentarily confused before shaking his head. "Of course not. I want to research this because of Yakumo, and also due to some cases I observed at the hospital."
"Yakumo?" Hiruzen sat up straighter.
"Lord Hokage, I mentioned before that Yakumo's condition is unstable. She shows signs of a congenital illness. You must have noticed this recently, correct?" Masahiko asked solemnly.
Hiruzen nodded.
He was well aware. An Anbu skilled in medical ninjutsu shadowed the Kurama heiress daily to ensure she didn't succumb to a sudden health crisis without treatment. As a result, Hiruzen received frequent intelligence reports.
Specifically regarding her mental state and abilities.
Her control over the five senses was terrifyingly strong, but her physical body was incredibly frail. Her mental stability was also precarious; aside from the few people she cared about, she displayed a cold indifference to the world, prone to extreme attitudes.
Hiruzen recalled the reports and frowned. "What does this have to do with Puppet Jutsu?"
"Puppet Jutsu can provide mobility. To a certain extent, it solves the issue of Yakumo's physical shortcomings as a ninja. Furthermore, her ability to manipulate the five senses is actually quite compatible with the mechanics of puppetry..." Masahiko explained.
Hiruzen was quickly persuaded.
This was largely because Masahiko provided another compelling example—
"Puppet Jutsu isn't solely for combat. It can also grant disabled ninja the ability to fight or simply live normal lives again."
This struck a chord with Hiruzen.
Many of his comrades and subordinates had been forced to retire due to war injuries. The few who remained active were barely holding on. If someone could utilize Puppet Jutsu to create superior, more functional prosthetics, it would be a tremendous boon to the village.