The center of the square.
After they left, Kidōmaru walked up to Sakon, Ukon, and Jirobo, his eyelids twitching instantly.
How tragic!
The wounds on their bodies looked as if they had been sliced open by thin threads, a bloody mess where even their faces were unrecognizable.
But upon closer inspection, their injuries weren't fatal at all; they only needed a little Medical Ninjutsu to recover. It was more about torture.
To be tortured like this without any power to resist—
So strong!
Kidōmaru was only thankful that he hadn't provoked that guy.
He would minimize contact in the future too!
Kidōmaru shuddered all over and quickly fled outward, looking back at the last moment before turning to find a Medical Ninja.
He couldn't actually let them die.
On a distant building.
—
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up slightly. "How is it? Mr. Mahiko, I haven't failed your trust. Regarding Sasuke—"
"Lord Orochimaru, we have long cooperated on the matter of Sasuke; of course, I won't stop you."
Masahiko said, "However, I don't think this is a good choice."
"Has the fusion of the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku within the organization yielded results?"
Orochimaru's eyes brightened.
If the fusion of the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku was effective, he truly didn't necessarily need the Sharingan.
"Not yet, but as the Eyes of the Heart's Reflection, the Sharingan possesses very strong spiritual power. Given your situation, you might not be able to contend with them."
Masahiko replied.
Orochimaru was clearly not that easy to persuade.
He smiled nonchalantly and then said, "That is not something you need to worry about."
"No matter, I'm just offering a word of advice for the sake of being colleagues. Since you've made up your mind to do this, I won't stop you."
Masahiko waved his hand. "Farewell, I'm going to see Yakumo."
"Do you need my help?"
"No need, your subordinates won't be able to discover me."
After Masahiko finished speaking, he left with Body Flicker, his presence completely vanishing.
Orochimaru's expression shifted from a smile to gravity.
Such concealment techniques—
It was either a Bloodline Limit or Senjutsu.
He leaned toward the latter.
"It seems that during these past three years, Mr. Mahiko has received cultivation from the organization and obtained the opportunity for Senjutsu."
Origin—
Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips.
If he could cultivate Senjutsu himself, it would certainly be stronger than using the Cursed Seal as he did now.
Inside the Village, Kurama Yakumo walked down the street with a cold expression, holding a drawing board.
—
In these three years, her strength had improved greatly.
After joining Orochimaru's subordinates, she received research support from both Orochimaru and Shinno.
As Masahiko had expected, her body gradually improved. Now she was no different from an ordinary person, her Chakra had increased significantly, and she no longer relied on puppet skeletons for combat.
However.
What she cared about most was still her teacher's whereabouts.
It had been over three years.
Although Orochimaru kept saying that Teacher Masahiko was still To Live, but—
Was that really the case?
Kurama Yakumo was walking along the road when she suddenly stopped.
She vaguely sensed a faint threat coming from a certain direction.
She quietly gathered her focus.
A moment later, Yakumo walked forward.
As she passed by, a burst of Chakra suddenly erupted from her body, saturating and radiating toward the surrounding ground.
Her perception was also enhanced.
However.
That threat vanished again.
Kurama Yakumo calmly walked toward a nearby forest.
Upon reaching an entrance—swish, swish, swish!
Chakra Threads retracted from all directions, gathering Kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags toward the center.
A moment later—
Boom!
The explosive tags detonated layer by layer from the outside in, while a large swarm of shuriken poured in from above.
In the next second, a burst of flame suddenly and strangely surged up.
Kurama Yakumo's pupils shrank, and she immediately manifested Chakra beneath her feet, using Body Flicker to flee backward.
But soon, she saw a blade swing out, freezing right before her eyes.
Yakumo's pupils focused on the blade. Seeing that it didn't advance further, she swallowed in terror before her attention shifted to the enemy.
A look of pleasant surprise immediately appeared on Kurama Yakumo's face.
But in the next second, she stepped back, only confirming after careful scrutiny—
"Teacher!"
She rushed forward in one step, hugging Masahiko as tears streamed down uncontrollably.
"Teacher! I thought, I thought you—"
"Don't cry, am I not still To Live?"
Masahiko smiled and sheathed his blade.
Yakumo sobbed and whimpered like a wounded animal.
With red eyes, she said, "You were gone for over three years without a single message, yet Orochimaru knew you were fine—"
Then, she realized—
"You should leave quickly. The explosion just now will definitely draw others here."
"It's fine, I set up a barrier to isolate it long ago," Masahiko said with a smile.
This kind of technique was something he could accomplish now with just a little bit of Chakra.
"Teacher, you—"
Yakumo breathed a sigh of relief, then hesitated, seemingly wondering whether to voice the suspicion in her heart.
Masahiko nodded. "I know what you want to ask. I do have a cooperation with Orochimaru, but it's something that carried over from before."
"Ah?"
Yakumo was a bit confused.
"You should still have an impression of Danzo's defection, right?"
"Yes."
Yakumo recalled for a moment and then understood. "Your cooperation with Orochimaru was passed down from Danzo's time?"
It was clear—
Especially after knowing there was a barrier, she had no respect for Orochimaru or Danzo.
"Pretty much."
Masahiko nodded.
Upon hearing this, Yakumo smiled and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter if you cooperate with him; I quite like it here."
"Then stay a while longer,"
Masahiko said, "I have other matters and can't take you away for now. Study well under him; the personal guidance of one of the Sannin is a very precious opportunity."
"Mm!"
Kurama Yakumo nodded heavily. "I'll strive to squeeze all the knowledge out of Orochimaru!"
Not long after parting with Yakumo.
Lines of text appeared before Masahiko's eyes.
['naruto' Episode 1 filming complete!]
—
[Editing—]
[Production successful!]
[Total screen time: 0 minutes 26 seconds. Camera ratio: 2.1%]
[Prompt: —]
Huh?
There's actually as much as 26 seconds?
He recalled for a bit, and it did seem about right, with at most a few seconds' difference.
In those few seconds, he wondered what the shots were.
Masahiko was somewhat curious.
However, it was late at night now, and the broadcast time had already passed.
He would have to wait until the next day.
Soon, the following day, after Masahiko contacted various intelligence points in Konoha to have them help "search" for news of Yakumo—
At 8 PM, the first episode aired.
On the screen, right at the start: "Holy crap, naruto is finally airing again!"
The opening scene was exactly Naruto graffitiing on the Hokage Rock.
The difference was that from a distance, all the graffiti formed a portrait.
Although it was a bit abstract, it was clearly a portrait of Masahiko Yagyu.
"Waaa! The production is still so good; the animation team even drew Masahiko in!"
"Even though there are original elements, they really put heart into it."
"Old Thief, oh Old Thief! How could you just die?"
"A character like Masahiko definitely won't die. Just wait and see!"