As it turned out, Anko's resolve wasn't all that strong.
After sixty laps, she couldn't take it anymore.
It wasn't that she truly couldn't run; she was simply hungry. Upon smelling the scent of sweets, she couldn't move her legs and aborted the workout plan.
Masahiko ignored her and continued running on his own.
Invincible below Jonin level?
It sounded impressive, but in reality, in this Ninja World, a Jonin was merely high-grade cannon fodder in the upcoming great wars, let alone someone below that rank.
If he settled for the status quo, how would he be any different from those vermin in the Hyuga Clan?
Moreover...
He had an additional plan—
During today's run, he was slowly changing his route.
The original route only went around the Konoha perimeter walls. Now, after adjustments, he was slowly incorporating the roads near the Security Division and the Uchiha Clan Compound into his plan.
By expanding the range, he increased the chances of 'accidentally' running into Sasuke or Shisui.
Before, Masahiko had to worry about Danzo's thoughts, but now that he was on official business, there was no need to fear.
Furthermore... Masahiko understood something.
Techniques could rely on the system, but physically, unless he obtained a special Bloodline Limit, it was difficult to have a sudden breakthrough.
The training could not stop!
However...
Reflecting on his fight with Anko, Masahiko realized more and more that he still lacked a finishing Ninjutsu.
Dance of the Crescent Moon was simply not enough!
The easiest thing for Masahiko to think of was, naturally, the Rasengan. So, while running, he thought about how to bring out the Rasengan in a logical way.
The best way was—
"Reference"!
Knowing the result and the training process, he could use that to research and reverse-engineer it, coming up with a set of Rasengan training methods distinct from Jiraiya's.
It would be best if he could directly integrate Water Release... even if it was just a preliminary integration, it would make it look like his own "original creation."
Masahiko plotted in his heart.
After another ten or so laps, he truly couldn't run anymore. He forced himself to walk for a bit before stopping to rest in a small grove.
At that moment, the sound of running came from the road outside, followed by—
"Kiba, I finally found you!"
Naruto was out of breath.
To stake out Kiba, he had really pushed himself today, running almost without stopping.
He even impressed himself.
Seeing Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba reined in the excitedly running Akamaru and looked at Naruto strangely. "You were looking for me?"
"Yeah, there's something I want to ask you."
Naruto grinned.
"What is it?"
Inuzuka Kiba scratched his head.
Before, Naruto's grades were inferior to his in every way, and Kiba looked down on him somewhat.
Recently, Naruto's rapid progress in Taijutsu had greatly changed his view, and his attitude was different than before.
However...
The two of them were mostly bonded through their history of cutting class together.
If it didn't involve secrets, he wouldn't be stingy with information.
Naruto whispered, "It's like this, I want to ask about kicking dogs..."
Kiba and Akamaru's expressions changed instantly.
Dog lovers couldn't stand to hear that!
Naruto quickly explained, "Not actually kicking!"
"I still have to walk the dog, get to the point!"
Kiba was getting a bit impatient.
Naruto said, "I kick it mainly because it barks at me. I'm scared, so I strike first to scare it off, but it just runs away after one kick. What's up with that?"
After hearing this, Inuzuka Kiba roughly understood. He looked Naruto up and down and said in surprise, "You've actually started using your brain?!"
After his surprise, he gained some interest. He picked up Akamaru and said as they walked:
"Domesticated dogs and cats—excluding hounds and Ninja Hounds—generally don't bite unless they're cornered."
"They bark simply because they're afraid of you. If you kick them, they'll naturally run away."
Inuzuka Kiba laughed and patted Naruto's head.
"Using your brain is a good thing, but think about more meaningful things. I'm off."
"Ah? Let's go together, let's chat some more!"
Naruto quickly followed.
After the two left, Masahiko emerged from the woods. Watching their departing backs, the corners of his mouth curled into a profound smile.
Eavesdropping wasn't intentional, but walking out was deliberate.
After so many episodes, Masahiko had more or less mastered the patterns of the editing.
Acting like this would definitely snag him a villainous close-up.
For the sake of exposure, he was really giving it his all.
Back home, a notification sound rang in Masahiko's ear as the familiar text refreshed and appeared.
["naruto: prequel" Episode 6 filming complete!]
[Editing...]
[Production successful!]
[Total appearance time: 13 minutes 46 seconds]
[Screen time ratio: 65.5%]
[As a villainous character, your appearance time exceeded 60%. Your salary pool has been expanded. There is a chance for Bloodline Limits, Secret Techniques, advanced training modules, etc., to appear.]
[Note: "naruto: prequel" will be broadcast tonight at 8:00 PM...]
Holy crap?
Masahiko was shocked and surprised. He hadn't expected Episode 6 to have such a high screen time ratio.
That was nearly two-thirds!
But after the brief surprise, he counted back through the events of the past period and understood.
The plot with Shisui and Danzo was likely mostly edited in.
Next was his PUA-ing of Naruto today.
Adding these plots together could indeed account for a very high proportion of the story.
Seeing the salary notification, Masahiko could hardly hide his joy and anticipation.
Bloodline Limits, advanced training modules... as expected!
These good rewards required further increasing the screen time ratio. As for the probability... he hoped the system wasn't made by Tencent.
But regardless, his understanding and mastery of the "system" were growing stronger. After this time, it wasn't impossible to hit over 60% again.
Bloodline Limit... although he knew the probability of drawing one wouldn't be too high, Masahiko couldn't help but be full of expectations, fantasizing that he was a luck-god... At 8:00 PM, Masahiko, having nothing to do for once, waited in front of the "light screen" for the refresh.
A moment later, the light screen popped up.
At the start, there wasn't much bullet chat, mostly just formulaic comments like "I'm here."
It lasted until his scene with Shisui—
"Holy crap? This black-bellied teacher is this strong?"
"It was mentioned in the dialogue before that he's already been promoted to Special Jonin, but to be able to discuss the Body Flicker Technique with this guy named Shisui... it seems the Body Flicker Technique is indeed strong!"
"Setting aside the character's stance, Teacher Masahiko is still very inspirational."
During the scene where the two were discussing, the bullet chat suddenly increased.
Since it had just started broadcasting, these could be considered real-time bullet chat.
"Give us more characters like this, I love it!"
After one bullet chat floated by, many soon agreed, while others disagreed, thinking the protagonist didn't look like a good person and was currently just using Naruto—
Masahiko did not deny this point.
Because in the subsequent plot, the editor would most likely expose him.
Sure enough.
In the second half of the episode, it reached the segment with him and Naruto.
Although that world wasn't the plane Masahiko originally came from, it also had a powerful network and modern knowledge.
They were all too familiar with PUA tactics; how could they not see that Masahiko was manipulating Naruto?
Yet Naruto didn't realize it and visibly trusted Masahiko... many Naruto fans were naturally indignant.
However...
In front of his computer screen, Kishimoto increasingly felt that there was room to explore this character and plot.
He planned to take a one-week hiatus to observe the subsequent plot before continuing his drawing.