The following day.
On a quiet road on the outskirts of the village, Yagyu Masahiko maintained a steady, rhythmic breathing pattern as he went for his morning run. Suddenly, a figure blurred past him at breakneck speed.
He didn't pay it much mind. His thoughts were entirely consumed by the results of his training in the System Space the previous night.
[Mist Flower: Perfection]
After a full night of grinding, while he couldn't claim much progress on the Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness, he had at least polished the Mist Flower illusion to the stage of 'Perfection'.
However, the Bringer-of-Darkness remained elusive; he hadn't even managed to breach the entry level.
The difficulty of the Bringer-of-Darkness lay in its dual-layered nature. First, one had to construct a layer of "darkness" at the Ninjutsu level, physically stripping the target of light. The second, more insidious layer required utilizing that darkness to interfere with the target's chakra flow and generate hallucinations, further severing their visual and sensory capabilities.
It demanded an excruciatingly precise level of chakra control.
If it were a technique like the Water Style: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade, Masahiko could theoretically use the "Naruto Method"—spamming Shadow Clones to brute-force the learning curve through sheer volume. But for this technique, such a method was useless.
You either understood it, or you didn't. It truly deserved its A-Rank difficulty rating.
'However, this move specifically targets vision. Its effect against the Uchiha Clan would be significant...' Masahiko mused internally, though a caveat quickly followed.
Every technique's success ultimately relied on the user's foundational strength. Against opponents like Shisui or Itachi—whose mental prowess and ocular powers were off the charts—a standard user of the Bringer-of-Darkness wouldn't be able to suppress them effectively.
'Honestly, I'd be better off just poisoning them or blinding them with thick fog,' he thought cynically. 'As for Fūinjutsu and Barrier Jutsu, I haven't even started researching those yet.'
Just as Masahiko was deep in thought, he looked up and immediately shuddered. Squinting, he realized the absurdity of what he was seeing.
It was a person. Upside down.
The figure was sprinting on their hands, moving with startling velocity. In the blink of an eye, the figure was right in front of him, moving like some sort of aberrant titan.
Masahiko let out a slow breath.
"Guy-senpai... you're going to scare someone to death running like that."
"Wah-haha!"
Might Guy flipped over, landing perfectly on his feet. He dusted off his hands and green jumpsuit. "I didn't recognize you a moment ago! I had to think about it after I passed you!"
He pointed a finger at Masahiko, his face suddenly serious. "I recall your name is Yagyu Masahiko?"
Guy scrutinized him, looking him up and down, paying particular attention to his hair and posture before nodding with supreme confidence. "No mistake! It is you! I often see you running out here!"
"It's me. Did you need something?" Masahiko asked, genuinely curious.
He and Guy shared the habit of morning training, but their routes and methods differed significantly. They crossed paths occasionally, but their relationship didn't extend beyond nodding acquaintances.
However, for someone like Guy to remember his face and name meant he had made a decent impression.
Guy let out a boisterous laugh. "Nothing specific! I heard from Lee that your understanding of Taijutsu is excellent and that you've given him a lot of pointers. Seeing you just reminded me of that!"
"Rock Lee?" Masahiko smiled warmly. "Although he cannot utilize Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, he is an incredibly diligent child. His potential in Taijutsu is outstanding."
"Indeed! I met him by chance, and he is a fountain of hard work!" Guy exclaimed, seemingly moved by the mere mention of his student. Then, his eyes sparkled with intensity. "Masahiko! Let us have a youthful showdown right here and now!"
"Guy-senpai, I really need to finish my run," Masahiko replied with a polite, dismissive smile. Without waiting for a response, he jogged past him.
From behind, Might Guy's strange wail echoed out: "Masahiko! Why do I sense the shadow of my eternal rival on you?!"
A few moments later, Guy stood at a three-way intersection, looking utterly bewildered.
He had clearly seen Masahiko turn toward one direction. He had sprinted to catch up, but the man had simply vanished. It was as if he had used the Clone Jutsu. Yet, from start to finish, Masahiko hadn't performed a single hand seal, nor had a second body appeared.
"Genjutsu?"
Guy fell into deep thought, momentarily forgetting about the chase. His interest, however, was now thoroughly piqued.
Several days later. Konoha Ninja Academy, Training Grounds.
"Eh? Why does my Clone Jutsu always... Aaaah! No, no! Do it again!"
Naruto wailed as he was chased around the field by his own defective, deflated clones.
'The chakra inside me...' Naruto thought frantically. 'Because of the Tailed Beast chakra mixing in, my control is even messier than before! How am I supposed to control this?'
Meanwhile, Masahiko watched from the sidelines. Over the past few days, he had been absorbing the knowledge from the scrolls he had taken from Danzō. aside from the daily "refresh" of Might Guy during morning runs, his life had been stable and somewhat monotonous. No new plot scenarios had triggered.
However, he did have a specific interest in approaching Neji.
Leveraging his authority as the Acting Head of the Education Unit, he had specifically adjusted the schedules, aligning Neji's class with his own teaching block.
Not far away, Neji was training alone. He went through the motions of his Taijutsu forms, isolating himself from the other students. He looked profoundly lonely.
The corners of Masahiko's mouth ticked up slightly. He left a Shadow Clone in his original spot to supervise the class and walked toward the solitary Hyūga prodigy.
Sensing the approach, Hyūga Neji looked up. His gaze was far from friendly; it was filled with rejection and high-strung vigilance.
"I recall... you are from the Hyūga Clan, correct?" Masahiko asked casually.
Neji looked at him as if he were an idiot, then ignored him and resumed his exercises.
Masahiko smiled. "Since you are a Hyūga, why are you practicing the Strong Fist style instead of your clan's Gentle Fist? Do you dislike it?"
"You!"
Neji was, after all, still a child. Hearing this touched a raw nerve, and his anger flared instantly. But just as quickly, he suppressed it. The man in front of him was a teacher, and worse, the Head of the Education Unit.
He couldn't afford to offend him.
Neji silently turned to walk away.
"Have you never considered... creating your own Gentle Fist?"
Neji stopped.
"?"
He turned back, staring at Masahiko, unable to hide the astonishment on his face.
The current Neji was still immature. Although he had awakened the Byakugan and mastered the basics of the Gentle Fist available to the Branch House, he had not yet developed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven (Kaiten) that he would be famous for in the future.
Currently, he only knew what the Branch House was permitted to know. And Neji refused to be just another caged bird like the rest of his family. That was why he had taken to practicing other forms of Taijutsu in frustration.
He stared coldly at Masahiko.
Masahiko's expression shifted from a casual smile to something distant and profound.
"Going from zero to one is always the hardest step. Compared to the Ancestor, Hyūga Tennin, and the many civilian ninja who started with absolutely nothing, you are already quite fortunate."
Masahiko's tone became indifferent, yet it carried a heavy weight. "The road is walked by oneself. The Ancestor of the Hyūga Clan could do it back then. Are you saying you cannot?"
Neji clenched his fists. The look in his eyes shifted from wariness to shock, and finally, to deep contemplation.
He actually found himself agreeing with this teacher's logic.
'The Hyūga Ancestor created the Gentle Fist from nothing. Why can't I?'
'The Caged Bird Seal... it doesn't necessarily mean...'
Neji's mind went blank, save for the thumping of his heart against his ribs. A frantic, ambitious idea was waking up inside his brain.
But he quickly suppressed the dangerous thought. He stared at Masahiko, bowed politely, and then silently walked away to a more secluded spot.
By this time, the surrounding students had snapped out of their daze and, under the urging of the other instructors, returned to their sparring and training.
Masahiko returned to the formation, dismissing his Shadow Clone. He took a lap around the grounds, eventually stopping near Hinata.
Hinata's sparring partner was Sakura.
Theoretically, Hinata, who specialized in Taijutsu, should have been stronger than Sakura at this stage. But the reality was disappointing. Hinata was almost entirely on the defensive.
Masahiko watched silently, his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose. Under his gaze, Hinata became even more flustered, her movements chaotic, leading to a defeat faster than usual.
Feeling the weight of his stare, Hinata lowered her head, looking dejected as she made the Seal of Reconciliation with Sakura.
"Hinata."
"Y-Yes..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"If you are unwilling to take the initiative to attack," Masahiko said softly, "finding opportunities to counter-attack solely from a defensive stance is also a valid choice."
Hinata looked up, her expression stunned.
In the distance, Neji, who had been watching the interaction, turned back to his training post. He punched the air with significantly more force than before, as if the empty space in front of him were a mortal enemy.