On the road, Yakumo walked with her bag slung over her shoulder, nibbling on a rice ball and sipping milk as she went.
Compared to before, her complexion had visibly improved, and her mood was noticeably higher and more positive.
However.
Masahiko hadn't forgotten—
The ruthless move she had used on Kurama Unkai just the other day!
Maintaining his gentle, benevolent smile, he said, "Eat slowly. Don't choke. We're in no rush."
"Mmh!"
Yakumo nodded. Then, her eyes darted mischievously as she tilted her head toward him. "Sensei, are you planning to learn Genjutsu?"
" mainly exercising my chakra control techniques."
Masahiko nodded.
Yakumo paused, lowering her head to take another bite of her rice ball.
"With that... I can't really help."
Her Genjutsu was powerful, but it was largely derived from her innate talent and Kekkei Genkai. It wasn't something that could be taught.
"Your father taught me, didn't he? And he only did that out of consideration for you. Practically speaking, you've already helped me a great deal."
"Can you count it like that?"
Yakumo was stunned for a second. It felt logically unsound, yet she couldn't find the words to refute it.
"Of course you can," Masahiko replied.
He smiled and shifted the topic.
"I've had you sketching while walking for a while now, and you've shown some results. You can now perform techniques while in motion, correct?"
"Mmh!"
Yakumo nodded vigorously. "It's much better than at the start, but..."
She hesitated.
"Is this method actually useful?"
"In combat, no one is going to stand still and let you paint. Painting while walking is just the first step. Next, you must master how to respond when an enemy closes the distance," Masahiko explained.
"Of course, no one is perfect. An excellent shinobi must learn to maximize their strengths and mitigate their weaknesses. There is no need for you to clash with an enemy using Taijutsu..."
He smiled meaningfully and continued, "You know about Chakra Threads, right?"
"Mmh."
Yakumo Kurama nodded.
"Your talent for chakra control is extremely high. You could absolutely use Chakra Threads to paint on multiple canvases simultaneously, or even..."
A sharp glint flashed through Masahiko's eyes. "Control a puppet with one hand, and paint with the other."
Yakumo froze. Her eyes widened, her expression shifting rapidly from shock to realization, and finally to joy.
That's right!
Puppet Jutsu!
She instantly understood Masahiko's intention.
"If I do that, I can become an excellent shinobi too..."
In that moment, Yakumo Kurama felt a surge of excitement.
"What is 'excellent'?"
Masahiko asked softly. He reached out and gently patted her head.
"Yakumo, once you master these skills, you can go to more places and see more scenery... Do not let yourself be defined by others!"
"Do not let yourself be defined by others..."
Yakumo muttered the words to herself, momentarily dazed.
No one, not even her parents, had ever said such a thing to her.
Even her parents, despite their recent change in attitude, implicitly or explicitly expressed their own hopes—they still wished for her to shoulder the future of the clan.
Only Sensei...
Kurenai-sensei hoped she would live healthily.
Masahiko-sensei hoped she would pursue her own ideals, rather than chasing some hollow definition of "excellence."
Her mood became a complex mix of melancholy and happiness.
Before she realized it, they had arrived at the Academy.
"Go on in."
"Mmh!"
Yakumo Kurama nodded and walked toward the school gates.
At the entrance, she turned around, cup her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted loudly:
"Sensei! Thank you!"
Masahiko simply smiled warmly and waved goodbye.
'That dialogue just now... the editors will definitely cut that into the final broadcast!'
Nintaijutsu Training Space.
Masahiko held his palm downward. Water-attribute chakra surged along his entire arm, spiraling violently at the tip of his fist, constantly compressing toward a single point in the center.
One punch—
Bang!
The instant his fist slammed down, the water current exploded outward from the point of impact. The ground immediately cracked, forming a small crater.
[Smart Projection Evaluation: Speed is insufficient. Chakra compression is inadequate... However, the destructive power exceeds standard Taijutsu.]
These were the two difficult problems Masahiko needed to solve.
After a day of cultivation, he had initially grasped the second approach to his training.
If he pursued ultimate destructive power for this Nintaijutsu, the difficulty would naturally be immense. But if he only sought to give it a preliminary form, the difficulty wasn't too high.
He attempted to mimic the Heavenly Foot of Pain (Tsūtenkyaku) by gathering Water Release chakra at his feet and stomping.
However.
His chakra control in his feet was inferior to that of his hands. He simply couldn't manipulate the chakra delicately enough...
In the short term, he had to abandon that concept.
Masahiko looked at the System panel, watching the prompt float into view:
[Unnamed Technique: Entry Level / Incomplete]
He pondered for a few seconds. "Let's name it Collapsing Torrent."
In the next second, "Unnamed" vanished from the panel.
Masahiko began to gather chakra again.
The water flow converged, condensing into a single point at the tip.
The power of this jutsu was weaker than the Rasengan or the Water Style: Hard Vortex Water Blade, and it couldn't compare to Tsunade's Cherry Blossom Impact, but...
It required no hand seals.
If he could improve his chakra control technique, using it instantaneously during an attack wouldn't be impossible.
Furthermore.
If he could inject the Water Release chakra into the opponent's body before detonating it, it might achieve an effect similar to the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist.
However.
After a few more attempts, he quickly felt a soreness in his arm muscles.
[Smart Projection Alert: Due to insufficient refinement in your chakra control, Water Style: Collapsing Torrent places a certain load on the arm. It is recommended to avoid frequent usage in the short term.]
Masahiko was very satisfied.
As expected of an advanced functional module. Even a free projection offered significantly higher value than the Basic Advancement training.
"Next..."
"Let's raise it to 'Skilled'."
An Entry-level jutsu was too rough in its application and carried various drawbacks in actual combat.
Once it reached the Skilled level, it would be reliable enough to use.
Night fell. Masahiko ran along the outskirts of the village, making up for the laps he hadn't finished earlier that day.
Water Style: Collapsing Torrent had reached "Skilled."
But.
[Collapsing Torrent: Skilled / Incomplete]
It remained an imperfect technique.
Moreover, the obstacle preventing its advancement was precisely Masahiko's current chakra control ability.
He practiced manipulating Chakra Threads as he ran.
Reaching a desolate area on the outskirts, Masahiko stopped to catch his breath.
In the darkness, a figure dressed in black robes was concealed within the forest.
Suddenly, the figure's pupils contracted, and he retreated rapidly—
A falling leaf had drifted through Masahiko's body.
It's a clone!
The moment the figure retreated, a blade rushed in from a diagonal blind spot, the edge flashing just an inch past the tip of his nose.
In the next second, the blade spun, transforming into a crescent moon arc slashing back toward him.
Clang!
Kunai and Aota Sword collided, erupting with a piercing screech. The black-robed man used the momentum to Body Flicker backward, landing on a tree branch.
At that exact moment, he heard several soft sounds.
From the side, from below—three or four "Masahikos" charged at him simultaneously. Some were fast, some slow, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.
The figure frowned. His hands formed seals with blinding speed, chakra condensing into thin, surgical blades between his palms. As the "Masahiko" slashed toward him—
His palm brushed lightly against the attack.
But the moment he made contact, he saw the opponent's hands forming a seal...
Water Style?
Before his confusion could settle, his Chakra Scalpel cut through, and the Shadow Clone exploded into a massive burst of water, blasting outward in all directions.
Bad move!
The black-robed man immediately shouted, "I hold no malice! I only wish to discuss cooperation with you..."
"You must be a Shadow Clone, right?"
A voice whispered past his ear.
In the next instant, the splashing water exploded again as Yagyu Masahiko burst forth from within the torrent, his blade flashing across the figure's shoulder.
"If you want to collaborate, at least show some sincerity first!"
The next second, the black-robed man dissolved into a fading shadow and vanished.