Chapter 248: Maybe the Opponent is an Idiot
After having lunch with Obito and Sara and sending them off to train, Masahiko resumed his hard training.
As his training progressed, Masahiko's mastery over Space Ninjutsu became increasingly exquisite.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed. Among all of Masahiko's ninjutsu, only the "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique" could not be released. This meant his strength had basically fully recovered; in the current ninja world, there was no longer any ninja who could force him to use the Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.
Good news also came from the Hyuga clan. After a month and a half, they had successfully restored the Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms. It was just that no one could completely execute it yet, and Hiashi was currently trying hard to master it.
Masahiko was not in a hurry. He let Hiashi take his time restoring the Two Hundred Fifty-Six Palms, planning to have him hand over the jutsu all at once when the time came.
In addition, Sara's vacation time increased. Because Sara was unwilling to go to the Land of Whirlpools to open a branch, Teuchi had helplessly taken in another apprentice to train from scratch. Ichiraku Ramen was even less busy during this wartime period.
Afraid that Sara would be bored, Masahiko put her in charge of taking care of the fat cat. The main reason was that this guy could eat and poop a lot. Previously, in his personal space, he could just use Fire Release to instantly incinerate the mess, but at home... the job of a pooper-scooper really did not suit his status.
The first phase of his training had come to an end, and Masahiko found himself with free time again. He originally planned to spend half a year completely mastering Space Ninjutsu, but he did not expect to have it mostly figured out in less than two months.
"I really am a genius."
Muttering to himself, Masahiko walked out of the Taobao Shop, reverted to his original appearance, and returned to the Senju clan compound. He needed to check on Nagato's training progress first.
"Yo! Teacher, you are here."
It was still the familiar greeting. Masahiko had given up any hope of correcting Nagato's verbal tic.
"I came to see how your training is going."
Nagato actually revealed a "resentful" expression. "Teacher, the Wind attribute nature transformation is no longer a problem, but how exactly do I train Dust Release!"
Masahiko sighed. Heaven knew how to train it; did he really have to go make a trip to find Onoki?
Masahiko felt the chakra inside his body and gestured a triangle shape for Nagato. "This is Wind, this is Fire, this is Earth. Connect them together, spin them clockwise... do you understand?"
Nagato decisively shook his head.
"How can you not understand?" Masahiko looked heartbroken.
"What Teacher means is this," Konan's voice sounded. At the same time, three pieces of paper flew up, with the words "Wind," "Earth," and "Fire" written on them respectively. They connected to each other and rotated clockwise.
Nagato paused for a moment. "I understand now."
Masahiko's face darkened, feeling a bit... ashamed.
"As expected, the disciple is too stupid. He cannot understand anything too abstract."
"Since you understand, then train hard. Once you master Dust Release and Senjutsu, and then combine the two, you will have half of my strength," Masahiko said with a smile.
"I understand, Teacher." Nagato did not care about the "half" part and was brimming with fighting spirit.
"Konan, you need to work hard too."
Konan revealed a sweet smile, but the words she spoke made Masahiko shudder. "I have already stockpiled tens of millions of explosive tags on my person."
"You... be careful, take it easy." Masahiko was genuinely afraid she would blow Konoha sky-high. "Do not just rely on external forces; your own personal strength is the absolute truth."
"Understood."
Masahiko waved his hand and turned to leave. He was relatively at ease with Konan, but with Nagato... it all depended on the will of Heaven.
Just as he walked out the door, he ran into Mikoto holding Itachi.
"Great-Great-Grandpa, I heard you were here, so I came to take a look. You said to notify you when Itachi could call people; he already knows how to."
"So fast?" Masahiko looked surprised. Itachi should be less than nine months old.
"He just learned a couple of days ago." Mikoto wore a perfectly happy smile.
Masahiko took a couple of glances at Itachi in Mikoto's arms. A child of this age was just like a kitten, curiously observing the whole world.
"No, not like a kitten." Masahiko cursed inwardly. The fat cat had already destroyed the image of cute kittens in his heart.
After hesitating for a long time, Masahiko still spoke up, "Call me Great-Great-Great-Grandpa, let me hear it?"
Mikoto: "..."
Great-Great-Grandpa, teaching the child like this will make him stutter.
After Masahiko finished speaking, he also realized that this title was indeed a bit bizarre.
"Call me Ancestor, let me hear it?"
Itachi still had no reaction.
"Old Ancestor?"
"Forefather?"
...
Mikoto did not know whether to laugh or cry. This Great-Great-Grandpa was even more childish than Nawaki; there was really nothing to be done with him.
"Itachi only knows how to call 'Mother' right now, but he does not call it often. He only calls when he is hungry."
Masahiko smiled and nodded. "The little guy is quite smart, knowing to look for his mom when he is hungry."
He circled around Itachi twice more, then sighed. "He is still too young. Waiting until he is a little over a year old will be about right. I will give him some early childhood education!"
"Early childhood education?" Mikoto looked bewildered, having an ominous premonition.
"Geniuses often win at the starting line, you do not understand." Masahiko took the opportunity to feed her some motivational nonsense.
Mikoto nodded somewhat stiffly in agreement, feeling that Itachi's growth probably would not be smooth sailing.
"What is that expression of yours? I have never taught a one-year-old child before; this is your family's Itachi's honor," Masahiko glared.
That is exactly why I am not at ease, Mikoto muttered inwardly.
Itachi, not knowing if he sensed something, waved his small hands toward Masahiko. Masahiko leaned in, and then got a small slap plastered directly on his face.
"Indeed an extraordinary child. To have the courage to strike at me at such a young age."
Mikoto shook her head helplessly. What was all this nonsense?
Babbling sounds came from Itachi's mouth, and Mikoto said, "Did you hear that? Itachi just called me again; he should be hungry."
Masahiko's face darkened. This was what she meant by knowing how to call people? He completely failed to understand a single word Itachi said.
Flipping his hand, a familiar dried fish appeared in his palm. "Here is some dried fish for you. It is very nutritious and tastes good too."
Mikoto's expression became unreadable. She did not take the dried fish, simply hugged Itachi, turned, and left.
"Forget it if you do not want it." Masahiko looked regretful and threw the dried fish into his own mouth.
Swaying as he walked out of the Senju clan compound, Masahiko glanced at the glaring sun and smiled faintly.
How could he not know that a child so young probably was not even weaned yet and could not possibly eat dried fish? It was mainly because he felt it would be too awkward for him to say, "Go back and feed him," so he used this joking method to smooth it over and escape the situation.
"Itachi is growing up healthy, Nagato has a clue about Dust Release, and my Space Ninjutsu training has temporarily come to an end. The war in the Land of Rain has become a stalemate, so there is no need to worry about it for now. In a few months, I will take Obito to the battlefield to experience it. So now, I should go do some real business."
Masahiko looked towards the direction of the Mist Village. Although he felt it was unlikely that Akatsuki would still be there, he still had to go see for himself.
"Maybe the opponent is an idiot, right?"
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