The more you use a technique like Mayfly, the more it feels like a divine gift.
Its practicality is off the charts—it requires no hand seals to activate, consumes almost no chakra, and is easy to use. If it has a flaw, it's that its speed during medium transitions isn't exactly impressive.
Compared to the space-time teleportation techniques of someone like Uchiha Obito, Mayfly is leagues behind in terms of activation speed.
For example, whenever Yujin used Mayfly, whether diving into the ground or emerging from it, the speed and time required were far from ideal.
If he ever faced a truly agile opponent, then this "brief moment" could very well become a fatal opening.
Of course, this minor drawback is still within an acceptable range—no jutsu is perfect. Yujin just needed to exercise a bit more caution when using it.
Two days later, Yujin returned to the primeval forest in high spirits after a successful harvest. But just as he neared the camp, he sensed something was off.
Where were the sentries? By all rights, someone should have noticed him by now.
Alert to the irregularity, Yujin quickened his pace. Upon reaching a vantage point that overlooked the camp, he saw the entire area was on the verge of erupting into a standoff.
Had the Tsugawa clan tracked them down? No, it wasn't that dire.
Yujin's clansmen had surrounded an unfamiliar intruder. For now, the two sides were locked in a tense stalemate, with no actual fighting yet.
Fortunate, truly—at least Yujin made it back before combat broke out. Otherwise… well, he wasn't selling his people short. He had great faith in their abilities.
Abilities that couldn't beat anyone, that is.
The surrounded intruder appeared calm. His demeanor suggested wariness rather than hostility, which meant he likely wasn't here for the former "Hanemiya." He had probably just wandered in by accident.
Still, who would've thought such a well-hidden location would be discovered so quickly?
With regret weighing on him, Yujin finally got a good look at the intruder's face—and involuntarily blinked hard in disbelief, his expression turning instantly strange.
That appearance… that outfit… it was very recognizable.
The boy looked about the same age as Yujin—fourteen or fifteen, at most. He wielded a large broadsword, had pure white hair, and wore a dark blue half-suit of metal armor.
If all that wasn't enough to identify him, the partially open forehead protector and the clan insignia engraved on it left no room for doubt.
This was a big shot. A teenage version, yes—but a big shot all the same.
"C-Captain…"
"Captain, you're back!"
Upon seeing Yujin's return, the others visibly relaxed, as if they had finally found their backbone.
Yujin leapt down from his perch, landing just outside the encirclement. He calmly walked through the group and stopped in front of the intruder—not jumping directly in front of him to avoid triggering a reaction.
"It's him. No mistake."
Now up close, Yujin was 100% certain of the boy's identity—Senju Tobirama, future Second Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
After more than a year in this world, Yujin had finally narrowed down the era he was living in.
First Sarutobi, now Senju… it felt like the gears of history were starting to turn faster and faster.
Standing before this young, compact version of Senju Tobirama, Yujin instinctively heightened his guard. After all, this was a man known for his ruthless, pragmatic approach to achieving his goals.
"…Captain."
Beside him, Hayasaka Ryunosuke gently shook his head at Yujin—a silent warning not to act rashly.
It wasn't that Ryunosuke didn't believe in Yujin's ability to win—in fact, having seen Yujin's assassination skills in action, he had blind faith in them.
That was exactly why he was worried. He feared Yujin might recklessly attack without considering the consequences.
After all, everyone knew the symbol on this guy's forehead protector. If they attacked him, they would be bringing the wrath of the entire Senju clan down on their heads.
And the Senju were simply too large and too powerful. When it came to them, Ryunosuke didn't even consider fighting back.
You could at least run from the Tsugawa. But the Senju? They operated on an entirely different level.
Yujin gave Ryunosuke a slight nod, signaling that he understood—and had no intention of acting on impulse.
More than the Senju name itself, what truly concerned Yujin was the name Hashirama Senju. Judging by Tobirama's apparent age, Hashirama was probably already in his twenties and entering the peak of his strength.
Sure, that "peak" was still far from his later "God of Shinobi" status—but would it really matter? Whether it was being killed by Deep Forest Emergence or A Motherfucking Gazillion Hands Buddha, the end result was the same.
A quick, painless death.
So no—Yujin could ambush Tobirama, but he wouldn't. Not until he understood why Tobirama was here.
Surely he hadn't come all this way just to wipe them out? Yujin had a gut feeling that there was no irreconcilable grudge between them—after all, they'd had no prior interaction.
Tobirama studied Yujin. The young man wore nothing more than a sack tied at the waist with a bit of rope. His hair was unkempt, his shoes were straw sandals, and his skin was deathly pale…
This camp clearly belonged to vagabond ninja—the kind who were down and out, even among the outcasts.
"You're in charge here?" Tobirama asked bluntly. "I have no intention of becoming your enemy—so long as you hand over the person you're hiding."
It was a bit arrogant, sure—but not outrageous. At least he'd stated he had no interest in harming a bunch of desperate drifters.
Tobirama had been cunning since childhood and would only grow more so—but he wasn't a cold-blooded killer. His ruthlessness lay in his means, not his ends. And his goals… weren't necessarily evil, especially in a time like this.
All in all, Tobirama felt that as the one being surrounded, he still held the upper hand, so he made his demand without hesitation. He didn't take the ragtag group in front of him seriously.
Looking for someone?
Yujin turned to Ryunosuke, who immediately shook his head. Clearly, they weren't hiding anyone. Tobirama must have misunderstood something.
"Ahem… I think you should worry about that wound of yours first," Yujin said mildly. "You're losing a lot of blood…"