Night.
In a town near Konoha Village in the Land of Fire, a group of eight found an inn to rest for the night.
In the two adjacent Rooms, both sides tacitly used barriers to isolate sound and perception.
In Dodai's Room.
"Mabui, what do you think?"
"Dodai-sama, although Genma Shiranui and the others are quite powerful Ninja... I still feel the greater threat is that unremarkable young Ninja."
Mabui frowned.
Meeting Dodai's gaze, he smiled bitterly, "I can't precisely sense his state. This is just my personal feeling, perhaps unreliable."
"Darui, Samui, what about you two?"
Dodai looked at the two.
Darui thought for a moment and said, "At least skilled in taijutsu."
Samui remained silent.
Dodai took a document from his robes and handed it to the three of them.
The three passed it around, their expressions changing—
The document contained partial information on Masahiko Yagyu.
"Promoted to Chunin last year, later went to the capital with his team... After returning, was promoted to Head of the Education Department?"
Mabui was shocked.
He clearly understood that Konoha placed more emphasis on education than their Hidden Cloud Village. The Head of the Education Department was typically held by a Jonin from the Ninja Academy.
And this person—
Was only eighteen this year?
He was dumbfounded, then looked at Dodai and said, "He shouldn't still be just a Chunin now, right?"
"Unclear. He rarely goes out on missions. Our people haven't been able to find more information on him yet. Our understanding of him is very limited."
Dodai said.
He looked at Samui and Mabui.
"Besides the planned mission, another task this time is to gather intelligence on Masahiko Yagyu. The more detailed, the better."
"Yes!"
The next day, at the main gate of Konoha Village.
"Neji, why do you think we suddenly have to sweep the streets and maintain order again today? Could it be another big shot from the capital coming?"
"Don't know."
Neji's tone was icy, even carrying a hint of annoyance.
But after a few seconds, his emotions calmed somewhat, and he whispered, "No matter who comes, we can only go train after finishing the work quickly."
"Yeah!"
Tenten smiled brightly and worked even harder.
But Neji couldn't feel happy.
These days, the anger and hatred in his heart surged wave after wave like fire. He wished he could wipe out the Main Branch immediately.
But he knew—
He was still very weak now, lacking the power to contend with the Main Branch.
Endure!
He must endure a while longer!
Neji gripped his broom tighter, sweeping faster.
After sweeping almost everything, he was about to leave under his teacher's lead, but at that moment, figures flew past overhead.
He followed their path with his eyes.
Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy—
All Jonin of the Village!
A real big shot? Neji immediately activated his Byakugan. Through the Byakugan's long-distance penetration, he saw eight people rapidly approaching on the road outside Konoha Village.
One of them was Masahiko Yagyu!
"Neji?"
"Huh?"
Neji snapped back to attention, noticing Tenten's worried expression. He immediately deactivated his Byakugan and said calmly, "Let's go. We'll go train."
"Yeah."
Tenten went with him, catching up to the larger group.
Soon.
At the Konoha gate, the eight figures appeared one after another at the road's end.
At the gate, Asuma had been waiting for a long time: "Welcome, everyone from the Hidden Cloud Village. I'll take you to register, then to see Hokage-sama."
"We appreciate the trouble."
Dodai was extremely polite.
Nearby, Mabui looked at Masahiko and the other three and said, "We've troubled you all along the way. I wonder if we could invite you all for a meal later?"
"If we have time, of course. I'm just afraid we'll have another mission soon."
Genma Shiranui said with a smile.
Mabui showed a regretful expression and was about to speak again when he heard Asuma calling from afar: "Registration is done. Let's hurry to see Hokage-sama."
"We'll meet again if fate allows."
Mabui bowed in farewell and quickly followed the group ahead.
After they had gone far, Genma finally said, "Masahiko, they've been probing all the way. You absolutely must not reveal your true capabilities."
""
"What 'absolutely must not reveal'?"
Kakashi leaned against the gatepost, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"You don't know. On the road, those four were constantly probing Masahiko. Their attention wasn't on us at all."
Genma Shiranui said with a laugh.
They had had a very relaxed journey; the pressure had mostly been on Masahiko.
However.
Masahiko, from start to finish, had been calmer than anyone, completely unafraid of a night ambush. If it were another hidden Village, they might not pull such a thing, but this was the Hidden Cloud Village—the one that dared to snatch Kushina and Hinata right under Konoha's nose.
Masahiko could remain so composed. Such mental fortitude truly earned their admiration.
Hearing this, Kakashi couldn't help but laugh, "Masahiko has always had guts. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare challenge Jiraiya-sama."
"Challenge Jiraiya-sama?"
Genma Shiranui and the other two exchanged looks, unable to hide their surprise. "Really?"
"Jiraiya-sama didn't get serious. It was just a spar."
Masahiko replied.
Kakashi smiled, but his eyes held a hint of envy. "I envy your drive. And... the chance to face Jiraiya-sama isn't something just anyone gets."
Genma Shiranui nodded in agreement.
Of the Sannin, one had defected, another had left. Only Jiraiya-sama returned occasionally. Ordinary people rarely even got to see him.
Not only could Masahiko see Jiraiya, he even got the chance to challenge and spar with him. This was enough proof of Jiraiya's regard for Masahiko.
They were extremely envious deep down, but they also knew this was Masahiko's own capability.
Without such ability, even if the opportunity came, one couldn't grasp it.
After hearing all this, they finally understood where Masahiko's fearless confidence came from.
Nothing more than "strength"!
After registering at the main gate, the group went to the Hokage Building to report the mission's completion, then went their separate ways.
And then—
He headed towards the Jonin standby Room.
Shikaku was in the standby Room.
"Senior, this is what you asked me to work on before. I've been busy lately, but I finally managed to complete it while moving around outside recently."
Masahiko said, apologetically adding, "But it's just the design drawings. You'll probably have to make the actual items yourself."
"Design drawings?"
Shikaku was first surprised, then delighted. "Thank you, Masahiko. Thank you so much!"
Design drawings were much better than the actual objects!
If improvements were needed later, the design drawings would be clearer and more intuitive. They could also be used for standardized production, not just one or two items.
This was a huge favor!
Masahiko said, "That... I also have a small request."
"Haha, Masahiko, you've given me such a big gift. What more can I say?"
Shikaku had just glanced at them—
The design and functions of these Ninja Toolss contained clever ideas. They were placed in positions an ordinary person wouldn't expect, yet could inflict damage on an enemy's vital points.
Furthermore, the individual components could be assembled to form a special puppet device—
Masahiko had put real thought into this.
"Masahiko... let's not talk about money."
Shikaku suppressed his joy. "Our clan has some medicinal herbs. Keeping them isn't much use. I'll send them to you later!"
""
"Senior, what I wanted to ask is whether your clan has any prescriptions or medicinal herbs for strengthening the body. I feel I've hit a bottleneck in my physical training."
Masahiko replied.
"No. Most are forbidden drugs that stimulate bodily functions in the short term. Unless the Village agrees, they can't be sold externally."
Shikaku thought for a moment and said, "Taijutsu training... I'll ask Choza tomorrow. After things settle down, I'll organize a gathering."
"Then I'll leave it to you!"
""