It was almost dusk when Masahiko left the Uchiha Clan Compound Training Ground.
Moments ago, Itachi had taught him quite a few tricks about movement-based genjutsu.
As Itachi himself admitted, he wasn't good at teaching; he skipped entire steps with a single sentence, but for ordinary people the gaps were like solving advanced calculus.
A rare expert was willing to give pointers, so Masahiko swallowed his pride and pestered him with every question. Unfortunately, Itachi's methods didn't suit him.
Of course.
To keep this "friendship" sustainable, he also passed on some of his own Body Flicker Techniques to Itachi and Sasuke.
He jogged along the track toward their usual spot.
Today was the perfect chance to see Danzo!
...In the Root base on the outskirts of Konoha.
Danzo's face was cold. "Still not found?"
"Yes, sir. We've combed the surrounding area and the border—no trace of Shisui."
Toge answered.
Danzo frowned slightly. "The Uchiha shrine?"
"Reporting, sir. The insects' reconnaissance shows no one inside. The Uchiha have been in chaos these days; they haven't held a single meeting."
"Could he really be dead?"
Danzo muttered.
If that were true, the trouble would be enormous!
It would mean another force was hiding in the shadows—one that knew Konoha well.
They probably had spies scattered throughout the village.
Perhaps—
this person had already infiltrated the Anbu.
Suspicion flickered in Danzo's eye; he locked his suspicion on Orochimaru.
But… he didn't forget the others.
"What has Yagyu Masahiko been doing lately?"
"Research, classes. Today he visited the hospital—Chakra damage to the muscles was detected."
Toge replied.
Just as he was about to speak, a Root operative rushed in.
"Sir, Yagyu Masahiko has been brought. Shall we bring him in?"
After passing the initial screening, Masahiko no longer needed to wait for a reply; he could come straight through the contact.
Danzo pondered, then waved the two subordinates out.
Seconds later, Yagyu Masahiko entered the hidden chamber with Toge.
"Sir, I made contact with Itachi today; I've come to request my next assignment."
Masahiko said respectfully.
Danzo opened his eyes slightly. "He met with you?"
"Yes…"
Masahiko recounted everything from beginning to end.
"What was his attitude toward Shisui's death?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes, expression chilling.
Masahiko answered:
"Very grieved. Sasuke says he locked himself in his Room yesterday and wouldn't come out; he only appeared when I arrived."
"Good. Keep getting close to him. Watch every move. Record every detail."
"Yes, sir!"
Masahiko answered.
Then he hesitated.
"Sir, there's one more thing…"
He reported his research findings and his request to pursue Medical Ninjutsu.
Danzo, like Hiruzen before him, told Masahiko to demonstrate.
Again Masahiko deliberately let his Chakra run wild, injuring himself.
A trace of disappointment flashed in Danzo's eyes. "Interesting idea, but your technique is too crude."
"Yes, sir. I am incompetent…"
"Too little accumulation. If you weren't a teacher, you could join my special training."
Danzo looked regretful. "As it is, your talent is being wasted."
"I'd like to join, but Hokage-sama seems to have another assignment—he mentioned sending me on some mission…"
Masahiko said without hesitation.
Danzo straightened slightly. "Sending you on a mission?"
A gleam shot through his one eye.
"If anything follows, report to me."
"Yes, sir! For Konoha I'll spare no effort!"
Masahiko shouted the slogan.
Danzo nodded in satisfaction. "Toge, fetch our training manual and medical manual."
A shadow flashed away in the darkness… Back home, Masahiko kept a calm face, but joy surged inside.
As expected.
Danzo is treacherous, but when he needs you he pays well.
An Anbu training manual.
Without an elite Anbu to guide him, he didn't need one—he had the training space.
Besides.
Danzo's training isn't child's play; once inside you lose control.
Even without the Third's matter he would've found a way to refuse.
Masahiko didn't mind; he sat at his desk and studied it seriously until deep night.
The medical manual covered basics plus first-aid knowledge.
The Anbu manual was far more useful.
It held communication methods of the five great villages' Anbu, plus special tricks for hiding presence, taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and more.
For example—
how to condense Chakra, how to gain finer control, how to sharpen perception.
Much of it was knowledge ordinary Ninja never touched.
According to the manual, to raise perception you had to study genjutsu.
Genjutsu and perception are extensions of the mind; genjutsu users usually sense better than normal Ninja.
At the same time.
Improved perception lets a Ninja control speed and reaction better.
Of course… there's a ceiling.
Kakashi's top speed with Raikiri couldn't be helped by genjutsu training.
Unless you were a top-tier genius like Minato Namikaze.
Reading line after line, Masahiko saw the word "talent" everywhere.
He knew he lacked talent.
So… he took out pen and paper, recalled what Itachi had said, and jotted it down.
Then.
He wrote at the bottom—
Fuse genjutsu into taijutsu to create crow-clone-like blended illusions.
Masahiko hadn't unlocked the genjutsu module yet.
Therefore.
He had to improvise… inside the Ninja Body Technique training space.
The intelligent projection looked at his proposal and fell silent.
Does… this count?
Its face was blank. After a minute or two, just as Masahiko was about to give up, it said:
"This is a taijutsu-genjutsu combo; theoretically it's outside Ninja Body Technique."
"However."
"Based on your data and recorded Ninjutsu, I found a Water Release genjutsu."
"It can serve as an extension of Ninja Body Technique…"
The projection laid out the concept and implementation step by step.
Only.
The free projection couldn't fill in missing knowledge on its own.
"Use mist created by evaporated Chakra-water to refract illusions and cast genjutsu…"
Following its plan, Masahiko quickly identified the original—
Demonic Mirage: Steaming Castle.
Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu's technique.
He knew the basics of the mirage principle; he could try re-creating it.
Doable!
His eyes lit up as he linked Collapsing Flow, Water Jellyfish, and Mirage… If he chained the three, he'd be a bargain-bin Tsunade.
"Medical Ninjutsu—let's train!"