Konoha.
Inside the house at night, Masahiko lay on the bed with a book in his hand, but in reality, a light screen was before his eyes.
On it, a video played of Naruto leading a group of Ninjas in circles after his graffiti, only to be finally caught by the Uchiha Clan's Konoha Military Police Force.
As for what happened next... to Masahiko's surprise, the person who brought Naruto out was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.
The moment the final segment finished playing—
[Popularity Rating: S]
[Comprehensive Evaluation...]
[Congratulations! You have been promoted to: S-rank Golden Supporting Role]
[Received Salary: Actor's Basic Further Education - Ninjutsu Chapter]
[Ninjutsu Training Module has been activated.]
The next moment, the familiar panel surfaced.
[Ability Further Education]
[Activated: Actor's Basic Further Education - Ninjutsu Chapter]
[Time Limit: Permanent]
Ninjutsu further education!
Masahiko's eyes brightened, and his heart was filled with ecstasy.
He needed it so much!
This so-called Ninjutsu further education might be like the taijutsu one, just some basic techniques and knowledge.
However.
To him, these basic things were still treasures that were usually hard to come by.
It was more important than a direct promotion card!
Masahiko suppressed the excitement in his heart, muttered a command, and quickly arrived in that familiar space.
He was actually almost done with the taijutsu training chapter.
Although he was still no match for Young Might Guy, just as Young Might Guy had said, he had already learned most of the technical aspects.
What followed was integration, digestion, and improving his physical strength and speed.
Entering the taijutsu training space again would, at most, serve the purpose of combat practice.
Ninjutsu further education was different.
Although it was also basic training, he was completely penniless in terms of Ninjutsu, relying entirely on his own comprehension.
With "Basic Further Education," he would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort!
Masahiko waited expectantly.
After a moment, rows of subtitles appeared in the blank space.
[Detecting...]
[Detected cultivatable Ninjutsu: Great Fireball Technique.]
Soon, a projection appeared before his eyes—
Konoha Technician, Kakashi Hatake.
"Hello, I will be in charge of your Ninjutsu further education."
"Can all my Ninjutsu be trained and improved here?"
Masahiko asked in surprise.
'Kakashi' shook his head: "It's limited to basic attribute Ninjutsu, and I only teach you theory and some basic techniques. Deeper things require your own research and development."
He looked around.
"However, you can practice Ninjutsu here."
"Understood."
Masahiko realized.
It was similar to the taijutsu chapter, but a bit more useful.
After all, releasing a Ninjutsu in reality consumes a lot of Chakra. While physical energy can be replenished with soldier pills, spiritual energy can only be recovered through rest.
Not everyone is Uzumaki Naruto!
This space made things different.
He could release Ninjutsu at will in the space without worrying about consumption issues.
'Kakashi' said: "The Great Fireball is C-rank difficulty. The difficulty itself isn't high. What you need to pay attention to is the continuous extraction and output of Chakra..."
He began to explain the theory.
Masahiko listened intently.
After the explanation, 'Kakashi' said: "Try using it once first."
"Okay."
Masahiko nodded, then formed hand signs.
Subsequently, waves of fire erupted from his mouth, rolling and forming a massive fireball that tumbled incessantly in the air.
'Kakashi' nodded and evaluated:
"You're proficient, but your Chakra refinement, control, and hand signs aren't good enough. These are the basics of Ninjutsu and need to be practiced."
As he spoke, he formed hand signs, his movements becoming a blur of phantoms.
In the blink of an eye, the hand signs were complete, and a massive amount of fire erupted from his mouth, forming a huge fireball.
The same Great Fireball Technique, the same scale, but his speed was much, much faster than Masahiko's.
In actual combat, a split-second difference could be the key to victory!
Masahiko's expression became solemn: "Can I use the Shadow Clone Jutsu to practice here?"
"Yes."
'Kakashi' nodded.
For his first attempt, to avoid accidents, Masahiko only created one Shadow Clone.
Then, 'Kakashi' spoke about hand signs, Chakra refinement and control techniques, how to train, and so on.
Masahiko practiced the hand signs and corresponding Chakra mobilization over and over again, while his Shadow Clone practiced the Great Fireball Technique on the side.
The training was dull and tedious, but there were no shortcuts for Ninjutsu techniques.
After a long time, Masahiko dispelled the Shadow Clone.
The momentary impact made him dizzy, but compared to the first time he used it, even though the interval was long and the amount of information was greater this time, the resulting impact felt lower.
He seemed to be adapting to this information overload!
This meant he didn't need to worry about consumption; the only thing to worry about was the side effects after dispelling the Shadow Clones.
"If my Shadow Clone Jutsu hadn't reached the proficient level, the training feedback from a single Shadow Clone would have knocked me unconscious."
"And now..."
"Two shouldn't be a problem."
Masahiko's eyes were bright.
Triple the training efficiency. Even with ordinary talent, under such conditions, he could still improve rapidly!
...The next morning.
Masahiko got out of bed, his head still aching slightly.
He didn't know what time he had practiced until last night, only that he had withdrawn from the space when he was truly exhausted.
And now—
He called up the panel, and his eyes immediately lit up.
[Great Fireball Technique: Proficient]
In just one night, he had raised the Great Fireball Technique to the proficient level.
Of course.
That was secondary.
The most important thing was the Ninjutsu basics taught by the projection of 'Kakashi'.
Hand signs, Chakra refinement, and technique execution.
All the various tricks and techniques—if not for being taught by a specialist, even with Masahiko's memories of watching the anime in his past life, he would have had to research and study for a while.
"It seems that this kind of module unlock reward is only available at the S-rank."
Masahiko realized.
Afterward, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought—
Compared to the second episode, his attitude toward Naruto in the third episode had changed.
This proved his guess was correct.
Now that he had solidified his villainous identity in "The Prequel," the surface-level distinction between good and evil was no longer important.
A deep-level villain doesn't let themselves look like a villain; instead, they perform a deep-level disguise of themselves.
Like Yakushi Kabuto or Aizen.
Moreover.
He shouldn't be purely "evil"; he must also have grand pursuits and goals.
Masahiko conceptualized in his mind, his fingers lightly tapping the desk, his eyes gradually brightening.
Afterward, he took the notebook given by the Third Hokage from the bookshelf and began to study it seriously.
After reading it once through carefully, Masahiko roughly understood.
This really was a cultivation notebook.
But not for Ninjutsu; it was a cultivation notebook for taijutsu and kenjutsu.
He took down a side notebook and read through it again from beginning to end, recording inspirations and personal insights as he read.
In just over an hour, he had recorded a whole page.
While Masahiko was immersed in it, a soft shout came from below: "Teacher, are you home?"
?
Hearing the voice, he was stunned for a second.
Then, Masahiko remembered the owner of the voice from his mind.
Ino Yamanaka.
The little girl often followed him around, so he had a deep impression of her.
He poked his head out the window.
"Ino? Is something wrong?"
Ino looked up, and the expression on her face immediately brightened, adding a touch of joy.
She held up the basket in her hand.
"Teacher, my mother taught me how to make sakura dango this morning. I made a few pretty ones and thought of bringing them for you to taste."
"You..."
Masahiko was stunned for a second, then said, "Wait a moment, I'll wash up."