School ended at noon.
Sasuke ran out of the classroom early.
He waited outside Masahiko's office for a long time until the door finally opened and Hyuga Neji walked out.
Sasuke and Neji looked at each other; both were stunned for a moment before lightly bowing and stepping aside to let the other pass.
The next moment.
"What are you two doing at the door?"
Masahiko looked at the two of them strangely.
Then, he grabbed Sasuke: "Let's go."
Swoosh!
With a Body Flicker, the two vanished from the open-air corridor. By the time Neji focused his eyes, Masahiko had already taken Sasuke to the school gate.
Must be nice!
Neji sighed inwardly.
He somewhat hated the fact that he was a year older.
If he were a year younger, he would definitely be in Masahiko-sensei's class and wouldn't have to deal with all this trouble.
Neji walked forward silently. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Hinata standing not far away.
The two looked at each other.
Neji gave a cold sneer and walked toward her.
Hinata took a few steps back in fear.
"The Handmaiden, since you care so much about that dead last, why don't you just go up and make it clear?"
"You..."
Hinata's eyes were panicked and her face flushed red, leaving her speechless for a moment.
Neji held his head high and said coldly, "If I were you, I wouldn't be thinking about these things... You, who are ignored now and might become a member of the branch family in the future, do you even have the right?"
Hearing this, Hinata's face turned from red to pale.
She opened her mouth but remained silent.
Neji sneered, turned around, and walked out of the school... Outside the school, at a small-scale training ground.
Masahiko said indifferently, "I'm not good at Genjutsu. My Genjutsu can't compare to Shisui's or Itachi's, but the principles are similar..."
Masahiko didn't elaborate further and took a stance.
"Attack me."
"Yes!"
Sasuke immediately moved, rushing toward Masahiko at full speed.
He knew that with his abilities, he could never hurt Yagyū Masahiko, so he didn't hold back at all.
However.
When he thrust his Kunai with all his might—
He missed?
Sasuke immediately realized he had been tricked and wanted to reposition, only to find his hand was grabbed.
Staring sideways, he noticed a faint mist in the air, and the figures within the mist were strangely displaced.
It was Genjutsu.
And it was a hand-seal-less Genjutsu!
So strong!
This is what he calls 'not good' at it?
Sasuke's eyes were filled with shock.
Masahiko remained calm: "When facing a Genjutsu expert, what your eyes see isn't necessarily real. You cannot rely too much on your eyes."
"Then what should I do?"
Sasuke was puzzled.
"Until you have Genjutsu abilities that rival theirs, don't look at the enemy's hands or eyes. Counterattack through perception, hearing, and Taijutsu instinct."
Masahiko smiled and said, "This is a method I learned from someone else. The only problem is that it can't break auditory Genjutsu."
"Please train me, sensei!"
"Take it step by step. For the initial stage, I'll teach you a method you can practice at home."
As Masahiko spoke, his figure suddenly vanished.
In the blink of an eye, a thick tree branch was sliced down and had already been cut into several sections by the time it hit the ground.
Such fast swordsmanship!
Sasuke's eyes were full of envy and admiration, his face practically screaming 'I want that'.
Masahiko couldn't help but laugh: "If you can master the technique I'm about to teach you, I'll teach you swordsmanship."
"Thank you, sensei!"
Sasuke was overjoyed.
The next second, Masahiko used ropes to tie the wooden logs and hung them in several closely clustered positions.
Then, he closed his eyes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The wooden logs were struck away by Masahiko one by one, crossing and colliding in the air, creating even more chaotic trajectories as they bounced back.
Masahiko's fists moved like lightning, turning into a series of afterimages, accurately and swiftly hitting every returning wooden section.
He had practiced this countless times in the Training Space, so it was second nature to him, but in Sasuke's eyes, he was practically a god!
A moment later, Chakra erupted from Masahiko's body, perfectly holding them in place.
"This is roughly the effect. In the beginning, you can use bags filled with sand instead of wooden logs. It'll be a bit more comfortable when they hit you. Take it one step at a time..."
Masahiko said with a smile.
Sasuke nodded excitedly: "Yes!"
"Try practicing first."
"Mhm!"
Sasuke went off to practice on his own.
Masahiko walked out of the woods and looked up at the treetops: "Which senior is it?"
The next second, an old man dropped down from the tree.
He carried a large pot on his back along with some strange-looking tools; he didn't look like a conventional Ninja.
The other party explained: "My name is Maruboshi Kosuke, a Genin. Hokage-sama sent me here."
"Do you have a situation?"
Masahiko feigned ignorance.
Maruboshi Kosuke patted his left leg and said, "This leg was disabled during the Great War, and I later modified a prosthetic myself. I heard you have better prosthetic technology?"
"Can I take a look?"
Masahiko asked.
"Of course!"
Maruboshi Kosuke didn't hide anything.
After all these years, he had long grown accustomed to his disability and didn't feel there was anything to be taboo about.
Masahiko took the prosthetic and studied it briefly.
The old man's prosthetic was very simple; it had exploding tags and other explosives inside, while the core of the prosthetic was a sword.
It looked like a quite dangerous prosthetic... He measured the dimensions with his hands and then took out a pen and paper to take notes.
"Do you need to add hidden weapons or claw blades?"
"You can even install those?"
Maruboshi Kosuke scratched his head in confusion, "I didn't know that!"
"Then I'll modify it as I see fit."
"Alright, I'll trouble you then."
Maruboshi Kosuke hurriedly bowed.
Masahiko quickly stepped aside and said, "I've heard of your name somewhat; there's no need for this..."
"Haha, I'm just a useless old man."
Maruboshi Kosuke replied with a laugh.
As the two were exchanging pleasantries, a strong surge of Chakra erupted from the distance.
The next second—
Boom!
A powerful Chakra carried a suffocating, ominous aura.
Masahiko and Maruboshi Kosuke's eyes narrowed instantly: "What happened?"
"Senior, I'll go take a look. You watch over Sasuke."
"Alright."
Maruboshi Kosuke didn't care about being a Genin or not and agreed immediately.
The next second, Masahiko vanished from the spot.
That's the direction of the Konoha Ninja Academy!
What exactly is going on?
Masahiko frowned. Could it be... Ido?
But even Ido probably wouldn't have such powerful and eerie Chakra, right?
He sped up.
Soon.
He returned to the Ninja Academy.
The Ninja Academy was already in a state of chaos.
Fire, lightning, and water currents were raging.
Below, children were fleeing in panic, their faces filled with terror.
Masahiko sensed the source of the Chakra and immediately vanished from the spot.
Not long after, outside the source of the chaos, Masahiko gasped.
Various powers were intermingled here, like a chaotic alternate dimension. What was coming from inside was precisely Yakumo's power.
But at the same time, it also had the aura of other powers.
Upon reaching the school, Masahiko immediately created two Shadow Clones. One rushed down below.
The other headed toward the source of the chaos.
Then, he went to a high point and shouted, "Where are the escorts?"
"Masahiko-sama!"
An Anbu appeared.
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure. She was resting, so it wasn't appropriate for me to follow. Suddenly, a strange Chakra aura appeared, and then she went berserk!"