For Masahiko, the news regarding Episode 9 was merely a brief interlude. The rewards were inevitable, sooner or later.
However, given the nature of this System, relying solely on external assistance would be futile without personal effort. The key always lay within himself.
Since he had no classes that afternoon—and considering the Third Hokage's earlier words—Masahiko felt it would be unwise to head straight home. Instead, he decided to "rest" in his office. In reality, he entered the Performance Instance to attempt training the Water Jellyfish Technique.
By evening, Masahiko was thoroughly exhausted.
But it wasn't without gain.
[Water Jellyfish: Skilled]
Masahiko was currently only at the entry level for Medical Ninjutsu, possessing a shallow understanding of healing arts. While the Water Jellyfish could cover most defensive and sensory needs, using it in actual combat required him to split his focus to control the chakra constantly.
This was far from the technique's optimal state; he was still a long distance away from 'Mastery.'
Still, he had taken the first step. It could now be tentatively applied in battle.
'Collapsing Torrent, Water Jellyfish, Body Flicker Technique, Dance of the Crescent Moon... these will be the capabilities of my true self in the future,' Masahiko mused, organizing his arsenal. 'Water Surfing Strike and high-power Water Style attacks will remain the temporary direction for my alternate persona.'
He meticulously categorized the abilities on his panel to avoid any future slip-ups that might expose his identity—much like today's battle with Orochimaru. If he hadn't been trying to hide the specific mechanics of the Water Surfing Strike, he could have simply utilized standard Water Style attacks without such cumbersome maneuvering.
Fortunately, everything was slowly improving.
If he could perfect the Collapsing Torrent system, there was a high probability he could ascend to the rank of Jōnin.
Although Tokubetsu Jōnin (Special Jōnin) was only two words longer than Jōnin, removing that "Special" qualifier meant becoming a shinobi who could truly stand alone. In practice, the responsibilities and status of a standard Jōnin were significantly higher, granting reach into the village's "upper management."
If he could reach that step, he would receive further attention and resources from both the Third Hokage and Danzō.
This was crucial.
Masahiko stood up and left the office. The school was quiet; only Iruka had stopped by earlier to say hello and confirm Ino's whereabouts from the morning.
After exercising and returning home, it was already past 7:00 PM. By the time he washed up and cooked dinner, the clock had struck eight.
The light screen popped open. Masahiko watched while he ate.
Before long, the screen darkened, shifting upward to reveal a scattering of stars. Then, the view panned down.
A young boy was sprinting through a forest.
It was Shisui.
Masahiko recognized him immediately and scanned the surrounding scenery. It was nothing but trees. The location was indiscernible at first glance, but as Shisui executed continuous Body Flicker techniques to move forward, the scene cut rapidly.
Masahiko gradually realized where he was.
The Forest of Death.
Eventually, Masahiko watched as Shisui wandered through the woods until he found a stronghold built into a mountain cliff and an underground cavern. Judging by the state of the architecture, it had only been abandoned for a few years; many structures hadn't yet been eroded by time, merely collecting a slightly thicker layer of dust.
'There's a place like this inside the Forest of Death?'
Masahiko was initially surprised, but a realization quickly followed.
'This must be a site formerly managed by the Anbu.'
If that were the case, it was likely one of Danzō's old strongholds. After Danzō lost total control over the Anbu, he must have separated the Root training division and moved them elsewhere.
'So... this is a former Root squad outpost.'
A glint of admiration flashed in Masahiko's eyes. 'All of Konoha is conducting a strict search. Spies and Anbu across the Land of Fire have been mobilized. In the short term, this is actually the safest place.'
To hide right under the enemy's eyelids required immense courage. Even so, Shisui's life during this period was likely far from comfortable.
Unfortunately, the scene shifted away, cutting to Masahiko's own plotline.
Although the editing did not directly reveal Masahiko's true identity, the visible increase in his screen time led some viewers to sense that something was amiss.
[Old Thief's Water Style is actually kinda strong. Is it an original jutsu?]
[I feel like the plot in the last episode and this one is hinting that Old Thief Masahiko has issues.]
[Is it possible... that the Black Robes man is the Old Thief?]
[No way, right? His Water Style looks really rough, not that impressive.]
The audience discussed it fiercely.
Masahiko wasn't surprised. Among the netizens of any era, there was never a shortage of people with wide-open imaginations. Moreover, the "cinematography" in Naruto: The Prequel did indeed imply many things.
To him, it didn't matter. He was the villain. There was no need to hide it from the audience—it all depended on the whims of the "editor."
As the plot advanced, the discussion about him grew even more heated.
Especially when Masahiko met Itachi and extracted knowledge regarding Genjutsu from him. The bullet comments were a sea of "Masahiko Old Thief," nearly drowning out the video feed.
Meanwhile, on the Blue Star, seated in front of a computer, Kishimoto's brow was furrowed in distress.
"When did he make contact with Orochimaru?"
Kishimoto was certain now: this character was the man in the black robes, the mastermind orchestrating everything behind "The Death of Shisui."
But he hadn't anticipated that Masahiko had connections with Orochimaru as well.
Furthermore, the dialogue vaguely revealed that the character had already guessed Yakushi Kabuto's identity.
But...
He hadn't revealed Kabuto's identity yet!
'Is this a part not shown in the anime?'
Kishimoto looked at the character sketch beside him, clutching his pen as he pondered how to write the character biography.
After a long silence, his brow smoothed out.
"I've got it!"
Kishimoto put pen to paper:
The Yagyu Clan: Formerly residing in the Land of Water, they were a bellicose family of swordsmen. They later joined the Land of Iron, playing a significant role in its founding. After the ninja world established the hidden village system, a portion of the clan migrated from the Land of Iron to the Land of Fire.
Currently, the clan has fallen into decline and is indistinguishable from commoners.
Note: Consider setting the origin of the Yanagi Clan as a recessive bloodline branch of the Kaguya Clan.
"With this, the plot holds together!"
Kishimoto felt a surge of excitement, though it was mixed with a hint of anxiety. The plot for the character was set, but what about the anime itself?
That thing... seemed to be beyond his control.
"Forget it. I'll just ignore that part. Worst case scenario, I'll say it's an 'If' timeline. I need to write this character out first!"
Konoha, the Yagyu Residence.
Masahiko patiently watched the entire episode and couldn't help but frown.
Because his own scenes took up so much time, the amount of intelligence he could gather was relatively low. However, this episode still provided two critical pieces of information:
First, Shisui was currently hiding in the Forest of Death.
Second, for some unknown reason, Shisui appeared again at the very end of the episode at a different stronghold, and there were signs of battle at the scene.
'Was he caught?'
Masahiko paused the frame, observing and researching carefully until he finally noticed it.
In Shisui's hand, there was a sealing scroll.
This meant...
Shisui hadn't encountered a "true" enemy.
'Was it Obito? Did the editing skip the battle with him?'
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then rubbed the space between his brows and unpaused the video.
One minute later.
[Popularity Rank: S]
[Comprehensive Assessment...]
[You generated intense discussion in this episode, gaining extremely high attention and popularity. Performance Reward has been upgraded.]
[Reward Received: Performance Reward — Bloodline Development Card.]
Masahiko's gaze locked onto the reward.
Soon, the description appeared.
[Bloodline Development Card: Can excavate recessive bloodlines within the body. There is a probability of awakening one type of Kekkei Genkai. Development requires a certain amount of time.]
Masahiko was slightly surprised.
'Finally, a Kekkei Genkai?'
Wait.
'Damn it!'
'Screw that "probability" nonsense!'
"And what does it mean by awakening 'one type'? Does the surname Yagyu actually have some sort of historical background?"
Masahiko was bewildered.
But he knew one thing for certain—
He was definitely going to use this thing!
"Wash hands, burn incense, and then... time to pull!"