The next day.
On a road on the outskirts of the village, Masahiko was running at a steady pace when a figure suddenly dashed past him from the side.
He didn't pay it much mind.
His mind was full of the results of yesterday's training in the Training Space—
[Flower in the Mist: Perfect]
After a night of cultivation, while he couldn't say he had made no progress with the Darkness Walking Technique, he had at least raised the Genjutsu, Flower in the Mist, to the Perfect level.
However, he still hadn't managed to even scratch the surface of Darkness Walking.
The difficulty of the Darkness Walking Technique lay in the fact that it required a dual effect: one was constructing the Ninjutsu-level "darkness," plunging the opponent into a dark scene.
The other layer was using that dark scene to further interfere with Chakra and create illusions, further restricting the opponent's vision and sensory abilities.
This required extremely fine, top-tier Chakra control.
If it were the Hard Vortex Water Blade, Masahiko could still use a "numbers to make up for it" method similar to Naruto's version of the Rasengan, but for this thing, there was truly no trick.
Either one person learned it, or they didn't; it truly deserved its "A-rank" difficulty.
"However, this move directly targets the eyes, so its effect against the Uchiha should be quite significant..."
There was just one thing.
The success or failure of any technique is built on the foundation of strength.
Opponents like Shisui and Itachi possessed incredibly powerful spiritual energy and ocular power; an average person wouldn't be able to effectively counter them even if they mastered the Darkness Walking Technique.
Using poison or mist would be more effective.
As for Sealing Jutsu and Barrier Jutsu, he hadn't started researching or learning those yet.
As Masahiko was thinking, he looked up and suddenly shuddered. Looking closer, he noticed—
It was a person upside down.
The other person was sprinting upside down at an extremely high speed, reaching him in the blink of an eye like some bizarre abnormal species.
Masahiko slowly exhaled.
"Guy-senpai, you... you're going to scare someone to death!"
"Hahaha!"
Might Guy flipped upright and patted the dust off his clothes. "I didn't recognize you just now, but after passing by, I thought about it carefully and remembered."
He pointed at Masahiko with a serious expression. "I remember you're... Yagyu Masahiko?"
Guy thought carefully, then looked him up and down, paying particular attention to Masahiko's hair and other features before nodding confidently again:
"That's right! It's you! I see you running quite often!"
"It's me. Is there something you need?"
Masahiko was somewhat curious.
Both he and Guy had habits of running and training, but their routes and methods were different. While they would run into each other, they weren't particularly close.
However.
To some extent, the fact that Guy remembered his face already meant they were relatively familiar.
Guy laughed loudly. "It's nothing. I heard Lee mention that you have a great understanding of Taijutsu and gave him a lot of pointers. I remembered that when I saw you just now."
"Lee... Rock Lee?"
Masahiko smiled. "Although he can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, he's a hardworking child and is very excellent in Taijutsu."
"Yes, I met him by chance. Lee is a very hard-working boy."
Guy sighed with emotion.
Then, his eyes lit up. "Masahiko, let's have a youthful duel!"
"Guy-senpai, I need to continue my run."
Masahiko responded with a smile and started running forward.
From behind came Might Guy's strange cry: "Masahiko, you fellow... why do you have the shadow of my eternal rival on you!"
A moment later, Guy stood at a three-way intersection with a look of confusion.
He clearly saw Masahiko go in one direction, but when he finally managed to almost catch up, the other person suddenly disappeared.
It was like a Clone Jutsu.
But from beginning to end, Masahiko hadn't split off a second individual.
"Genjutsu?"
Guy fell into thought, momentarily forgetting to chase Masahiko.
His interest grew even stronger... A few days later.
At the Ninja Academy, on the training ground.
"Eh? Why did my Clone Jutsu—aaah! No, no, let me start over!"
Naruto was being chased and beaten, crying out in pain and wailing.
Because the Tailed Beast's Chakra was merging into his own, his Chakra was even more chaotic than before.
It would be a miracle if he could control it.
These past few days, Masahiko had been absorbing knowledge from Danzo's books.
Aside from Might Guy popping up in the mornings, everything else was relatively stable and monotonous, and no new plot points had been triggered.
However.
He did intend to get closer to Neji, so... using his authority as the education class monitor, he specifically adjusted Neji and the others' class schedule, arranging one of their classes to coincide with his own.
Not far away.
Neji was off to the side by himself, practicing Taijutsu on his own, looking very lonely.
The corners of Masahiko's mouth curled up slightly. He left a Shadow Clone in place and walked toward Neji.
Hyuga Neji sensed the movement and looked up at him. His gaze was not friendly, filled with resistance and wariness.
"I remember you're from the Hyuga Clan, right?"
"..."
Neji looked at him as if he were an idiot and continued practicing his Taijutsu.
Masahiko smiled and said, "Since you're from the Hyuga Clan, why are you practicing Strong Fist instead of Gentle Fist? Is it because you don't like it?"
"You!"
Neji was still a child after all. Hearing this, he couldn't hold back immediately, but after his initial anger, he could only fume.
Masahiko was a teacher and the education class monitor... he couldn't afford to provoke him.
Neji silently walked further away.
"Have you never considered practicing your own Gentle Fist?"
"?"
Neji turned his head and stared at Masahiko, unable to hide the surprise on his face.
The current Neji was indeed still immature.
Although he had awakened his eyes and mastered the Byakugan and a portion of the Gentle Fist, he hadn't yet developed the Sixty-Four Palms or Rotation on his own like he would later.
Currently, he had only learned the portions of the Gentle Fist passed down to the Branch House.
Neji didn't want to be like the other members of the Branch House.
That's why he had the idea of practicing other Taijutsu. Now... he looked coldly at Masahiko.
"Going from zero to one is the hardest. Compared to the Ichizoku of back then and many civilian Ninjas who start from nothing, you are already very lucky."
Masahiko's tone was indifferent. "A path is walked by oneself. If the Hyuga Clan's Ichizoku could do it back then, why can't you?"
Neji clenched his fists, but the wariness and defensiveness in his eyes gradually turned into surprise and contemplation.
He actually agreed with the other's viewpoint.
If the Hyuga's Ichizoku could create the Gentle Fist back then, why couldn't he?
The Branch House curse mark might not necessarily... Neji's mind went blank. He could only hear his heart thumping wildly, as if a crazy idea was awakening in his mind.
But he quickly suppressed that thought.
He stared at Masahiko, bowed politely, and then silently walked away.
At this point, the surrounding students finally snapped out of it and went back to their own training and sparring under the supervision of the teachers.
Masahiko returned to the line and dispelled his Shadow Clone.
Afterward, he took a walk around and similarly arrived by Hinata's side.
Hinata's opponent was Sakura.
Comparing the two, theoretically, Hinata, who specialized in Taijutsu, should have been stronger than Sakura, but the reality was—
Hinata was basically on the defensive the whole time.
Masahiko just watched from the side with a thoughtful expression, but Hinata's movements became increasingly messy, and she was defeated even faster than usual.
Feeling the gaze, Hinata silently lowered her head and dejectedly formed the Seal of Reconciliation with Sakura.
"Hinata..."
"Yes."
Hinata responded in a low whisper.
Masahiko said, "If you aren't willing to take the initiative to attack, looking for opportunities to counterattack while on the defensive is also a good choice."
Hinata looked up, her expression stunned.
Seeing this from not far away, Neji's punches became a bit more forceful, as if the air in front of him were a person.