After activating and observing Oboro Urazuki: Eleven Forms, Hoshiyomi dismissed his shadow clone. Once he absorbed the clone's experience and thoughts, he couldn't help but get excited himself. As the clone had said — this technique was absolutely god-tier.
The simultaneous nine-hit barrage was impressive enough, but the real power lay in the ten afterimages. Although they only lasted a few seconds, Hoshiyomi could freely control each one during that time.
Which meant — Oboro Urazuki: Eleven Forms wasn't just a single-target finisher. In actual combat, Hoshiyomi could treat it as a full-blown area-of-effect technique.
Just imagine — in the middle of a crowd, ten untouchable yet fully offensive afterimages surging forward to strike… the image alone was enough to make him grin.
Even better, it could be used like an instantaneous substitution technique. In fact, during his earlier battles, Hoshiyomi's go-to survival combo was smoke bombs + Transparent Escape + Shadow Clone.
But now, he didn't need either smoke or clones. By activating the afterimages and vanishing with Transparent Escape simultaneously, he could fully obscure his true location.
It reminded him somewhat of Shisui's Shunshin, though he still wasn't entirely sure how that technique worked.
From a practical standpoint, this new skill was off-the-charts in terms of utility. The only question was whether sensory ninja could detect the difference. For that, he figured he'd need Mito's help.
Most of the Uzumaki clan hadn't yet relocated to Konoha, and if he wanted feedback from a truly top-tier sensory shinobi, Mito's Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Kagura) was the best option.
Hoshiyomi was too excited to sleep that night. At the crack of dawn, he made his way straight to visit Mito. Thankfully, she was an early riser — like most elderly people — so he didn't disturb her.
When she heard that Hoshiyomi had developed a new technique, Mito seemed genuinely intrigued. Upon hearing his question, she readily activated Kagura Shingan, signaling for him to begin.
In front of her, Hoshiyomi once again performed Oboro Urazuki: Eleven Forms, and simultaneously used Transparent Escape to conceal his real body. Only after the illusions faded due to time did he reappear and ask curiously:
"Well? What did you think, Grandma Mito?"
Mito's expression was thoughtful:
"Was that Shadow Clone Jutsu? The chakra signatures felt identical — each one was stable, and they could attack.
But they phased through one another without dispelling… and when they vanished, there wasn't any smoke. How does that work?"
Hoshiyomi grinned inwardly. Mito's words confirmed it — even with Kagura Shingan, his afterimages couldn't be differentiated from real clones. You'd need perception on Mito's level to even start suspecting something.
That gave Hoshiyomi peace of mind. As for how it worked… well, there wasn't much he could say. He just shrugged and mumbled something vague about how it sort of came to him through training.
Mito didn't press him. With her unique ability to sense truth and malice, she could tell Hoshiyomi wasn't lying. Maybe this was just his natural talent.
The human body was mysterious — even Tsunade, the greatest medical ninja in Konoha, wouldn't dare claim to fully understand it.
"Alright," Mito said, smiling gently, "no need to stress over the mechanics. A powerful, practical new jutsu is something to celebrate, not overanalyze."
She motioned for Hoshiyomi to join her for breakfast. On the way, she added:
"There's one more thing I'd like to ask of you.
Today is the start of the new term at the Ninja Academy. I'd wanted to take Kushina myself, but with how weak my body's become… I just don't have the strength.
Ashina is swamped with the relocation efforts, and Tsunade's tied up at the hospital with a surgery she can't leave. I was going to have Nawaki take her, but that boy is too impulsive — and frankly, he and Kushina don't get along too well.
But now that you're here… would you take her instead?"
At that, Hoshiyomi remembered — today was indeed the Academy's opening ceremony. He couldn't help but think back to when he first arrived in this world, and the memories of meeting Jiraiya and Sakumo as classmates. The thought made him smile.
Who knew? Escorting Kushina today… maybe he'd run into Minato. That could be interesting.
And perhaps he could also check in on their old instructor, Mitsui-sensei — assuming he hadn't retired yet.
Hoshiyomi turned to Mito with a reassuring smile:
"Don't worry, Grandma Mito. I'll take care of it."
At breakfast, Kushina and Nawaki appeared, still half-asleep, rubbing their eyes. After greeting Mito, they spotted Hoshiyomi and immediately lit up.
The two of them rushed over, chattering at him excitedly. But in no time, they were butting heads like rams — glaring at each other in mock rivalry while Hoshiyomi watched with amused exasperation.
He gently separated their heads and ruffled Kushina's hair.
"Alright, enough. Eat your breakfast properly. You're going to the opening ceremony today, remember?
First impressions matter — you want your classmates to like you."
Hearing that, Nawaki's head drooped in disappointment. The ceremony was at 9 a.m., and by then he'd already be in class.
Hoshiyomi sighed at the sulking little brother-in-law and finally relented:
"How about I train with you after school?"
That perked him right up. Nawaki scarfed down his food in a flash and leapt to his feet.
"Grandma! I'm off to school!"
With that, he bolted out of the Senju compound like a gust of wind, leaving Mito and Hoshiyomi shaking their heads with a mix of amusement and frustration.
No wonder Tsunade always saw a bit of Naruto in Nawaki — their personalities really were similar.
After practicing sword forms in the courtyard for a while, Kushina came bouncing out. She'd dressed up just for today — a new outfit, a light little skirt, her red hair brushed and glowing under the sun.
Already cute by nature, she looked even more charming today. Hoshiyomi smiled without thinking.
On the way, he bought her a small hair clip and helped pin it to her bangs.
"There — Little Kushina looks beautiful today."
Kushina beamed with joy at the compliment, then looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes:
"Am I prettier than Tsunade-nee?"
That caught Hoshiyomi off guard. Cold sweat formed on his brow.
Good grief... she's only six and already knows how to drop loaded questions.
Looks like Minato was going to have his hands full in the future.
Dodging the question entirely, Hoshiyomi simply took her hand.
"Let's go, or we'll be late for the ceremony."
Kushina huffed, scrunching her little nose:
"Hmph! You're no fun, Big brother Hoshiyomi!"
Hoshiyomi chuckled softly as he watched her skip through the Academy gates, waving goodbye. He felt a warm satisfaction in his chest.
Now then — time to go see Mitsui-sensei.