The next day, Seijuro would sigh a bit. He was already ready to train his illusion skill to the next level, having mastered... yes, mastered the Transformation Jutsu.
His talent was in fact godlike—learning a technique and mastering it the same day was not something anyone could do. Well, it was an E-rank jutsu, still, didn't mean mastering it so fast didn't deserve for him to receive his flowers.
He would now be doing the Substitution Technique. It would be quite useful for him in the future.
He had all he needed.
Wooden dummy ready. Scrolls open. Hair slightly messy because, well, who has time to brush when you're about to trick the laws of reality?
"Substitution Technique. Version... 5.3."
He did the hand seal.
POOF!
A clean switch. Log in place. Not a single twig out of alignment. But Seijuro wasn't smiling. He scratched his chin.
"Hm. Acceptable. But still not good enough."
He placed his hand on his chin. He needed it to feel more real, you know, so that he could do stuff with his illusion.
He would look at the wooden log... using the basic Clone Jutsu, the log turned into a perfect copy of him.
The clone would stand up.
He tossed his kunai at it, throwing it at full speed.
The kunai sank into its shoulder—well, it looked like it. Blood sprayed out. Its knees buckled.
POV change to Yui.
She was on her daily stroll, muttering about arthritis and how kids these days didn't even respect pickled radishes. Then she spotted Seijuro.
Her eyes widened. "Seijuro-kun!"
The kunai struck him.
He staggered. Blood erupted from his lips.
She sprinted. "Seijuro—!"
Her hand ignited green with medical chakra. She caught him in time. Warm blood splashed on her cheek.
And then...
"Miss Yui," a voice said behind her.
She turned, trembling.
The real Seijuro was standing there, calm, utterly unharmed.
In her arms? A log. Just a basic, dumbass, firewood-tier log.
Yui.exe has stopped working.
"...Seijuro-kun," she finally croaked. "I thought—I thought you were dying!"
He bowed, politely. "Apologies. I was experimenting. I wanted to see if I could create a realistic Substitution, layered with illusion."
"And the blood!?"
"Mixed some paint with a bit of diluted iron powder and chakra. Heats on contact. Mimics body temperature." He paused. "Also used a Henge to make it feel... squishy."
Hey, he was experimenting. Though it seemed to be good enough to fool her, so he guessed he could fool a bunch of kids. Granted, she wasn't on guard, but who would be?
He was just a cute 9-year-old who may or may not have a very overpowered ability. Hm.
Her eye twitched.
"...From now on, you will wear this—" she pulled out a bright red string and tied it around his finger. "If I can see the string, it's real. If not, you will receive some stern scolding."
He flinched a bit at that... this woman could yap about responsibility for six hours straight... nonstop.
Seijuro nodded solemnly. "Understood."
She scolded him. Heavily. Something about 'early heart attacks' and 'burnt-out nerves' and 'old bones not handling war flashbacks well.' Seijuro accepted all of it with that same poker face he was born with.
But internally?
"Success rate of Genjutsu-Layered Substitution confirmed. Subject fooled. Emotional reaction recorded. Risk of heart damage... high. Future usage: avoid old ladies."
Two Days Later...
Seijuro had been grinding like a gacha-addicted soul in a clearance event. Like the author when he was trying to get Zany.
{I grinded 80 pulls in 3 weeks, free to play. Shit get tragic.}
Anyway, for his progress:
Transformation? Stable. Could even turn into a mirror version of Renjirō with accurate hairline and emotional damage included.
Substitution? Near flawless. Could layer a Genjutsu and delay the switch by milliseconds to really sell it.
Clone Technique? Apart from animal and inanimate objects, he could practically be anything.
Shunshin? Still a work in progress, but he was starting to feel the tug of compressed movement.
He had also nailed down the Academy Kata, although he internally hated the sloppy style most kids used. Though, he knew more. Hm. If only he had a technique that allowed him to practice multiple things at once.
Still hadn't tested his chakra nature yet. Why?
Because he wanted a dramatic moment, obviously. Preferably in front of other clan kids so he could flex.
He was nine. Most kids were barely putting on pants straight.
He? Was building tactical scenarios in his head, wondering how he'd survive if the Hyuga girl snapped and tried to crush his heart with 64 Palms of Death.
"The Academy starts tomorrow," he murmured, sitting in seiza in front of his scrolls. "I must perform. The better I do, the more access I get to the Clan Archive. And if I gain favor... maybe even touch the Genin-level Genjutsu scrolls early."
He rolled his neck.
"...Hmph. I'll keep my head down. I will try not to grade skip, but if it gets too boring, I will." He sighed.
Then, looked at the red string on his finger. Hm, cool.
This was for the nanny's health. He probably didn't need this at school, though illusions were fun.
And he had a natural strong suit for them, so there was that.
Hm