Soon, Asuna's report was delivered to Fumori Masaki. Masaki knew at a glance that Asuna had written it herself, because the cipher used was adapted with senjutsu chakra. It would be almost impossible to decipher it without someone who also used senjutsu.
Masaki painstakingly decoded the cipher, and Asuna's report appeared before him. It began with a greeting to Masaki. At first, Masaki thought it was just a routine work report, but he quickly sensed something amiss, because Asuna then began to recount her battle with Tobi—
"...We can only conclude two reasons. Although it's just my intuition, I don't think it's likely that Tobi came here as a shadow clone. He probably possesses an unusually strange ability, and I think we must be careful in the future. We will do our best to send over any information we gather on Tobi. I hope Father can arrange for personnel to thoroughly analyze it, so that if a conflict truly arises, we can find a way to counter him in time."
"You needn't worry about my safety. Although we were caught off guard this time, he won't succeed so easily next time. I will do my utmost to complete the mission, so please rest assured, Father."
"—Your daughter, Fumori Asuna, respectfully yours."
Masaki finished reading the last word and placed the report on the table, his brows furrowing tightly. He hadn't expected Asuna and the others to encounter this situation and engage in a direct conflict with Tobi so soon after arriving in the capital, suffering a considerable loss. He was very concerned about Tobi's subsequent performance.
As Asuna said, either Tobi was a shadow clone from the very beginning of the battle, or he possessed some other special ability. A shadow clone was unlikely, making the latter possibility higher. If it was the latter, what kind of ability could allow him to escape an explosion at such close range?
If it were the original Tobi—that is, Uchiha Obito—such an explosion naturally wouldn't affect him. As long as Uchiha Obito entered the Kamui dimension, he could perfectly evade all the explosive shockwaves. But there was no Uchiha Obito now. However, was it possible that this Tobi also possessed space-time ninjutsu?
Masaki was very curious about who this Tobi actually was. He thought it highly probable that this person was Black Zetsu's chosen spokesman, but who Black Zetsu would choose was something he couldn't determine. This was a side effect of changing history; the enemy's true identity was now completely unpredictable.
Despite this, Masaki didn't regret his choice. At least this person couldn't possess the Rinnegan. As long as he didn't have the Rinnegan, his level of danger would never surpass Uchiha Madara. Even with unknown factors, this was within an acceptable range.
Honestly, even if Uchiha Madara had been allowed to live at that time, with his own intervention in the history of the ninja world, whether Uchiha Madara would act as he did in the original story was also an uncertain matter, wasn't it? Rather, logically speaking, it would be normal for Uchiha Madara not to act as he did in the original story.
"Be careful, Asuna. Since the enemy possesses strange abilities, try to avoid conflicts. When the time comes for reckoning, you can get your revenge," Masaki murmured to himself.
After re-sealing Asuna's report and encrypting it with senjutsu, Masaki placed it in a secret safe. The surface was also sealed with senjutsu, and even with the same sealing jutsu, adding natural energy would elevate its encryption strength to a new level.
After a day's work, Masaki returned home and happened to see Akemi about to leave. A little curious, he asked, "What, where are you going?"
After the Wing of Wind Type I was developed, Akemi's research team entered a period of relaxation. They would likely become busy again once the guidelines for Type II were finalized. Akemi had been relatively relaxed these days, with much more free time.
"Going out with friends, don't worry, I'll be back early." Asuna smiled at Masaki, then bid him farewell and left.
"Going out with friends, huh…" Masaki scrutinized Akemi's attire. It was a fashionable style in the village, greatly highlighting feminine charm. This made Masaki somewhat suspicious of who the "friends" Akemi was going to meet really were.
Masaki didn't plan on resorting to tracking. He already had some inklings from the rumors he'd heard. He would see how things developed in the future.
Entering the house, Satomi was waiting for Masaki to come home for dinner. Akemi had already eaten earlier, and Kushina was also in her room researching sealing jutsu. After Masaki sat down, Satomi looked at him and asked if there was any news from Asuna.
Masaki paused, deciding not to tell her about Asuna being injured in the explosion. It would only worry Satomi, and after all, Asuna was on a dangerous mission.
Masaki only selected some of the more routine parts from Asuna's report. The meeting with the Daimyo and others was also presented in a relatively normal light. Satomi wasn't overly worried, as these matters were quite commonplace.
"Speaking of which, I heard that the Hidden Cloud Village is also sending envoys to visit the village?" Satomi suddenly asked.
"Ah, yes, there is such a thing, but compared to the Hidden Sand Village, they are coming with other intentions," Masaki nodded. "Boldly entering the village to gather intelligence, they have quite a strategy."
"Then how do you plan to treat them?" Satomi asked.
"Of course, with courtesy. Since they are coming with 'sincerity,' no matter what, superficial etiquette cannot be lacking. There won't be as much information revealed as to the Hidden Sand Village. After all, the Hidden Cloud Village is an enemy, while the Hidden Sand Village is now an ally," Masaki took a bite of his food.
"But this enemy needs to maintain their outward demeanor?" Satomi said thoughtfully.
"Mm, this time, we need to give them a taste of what's to come. It's time for the Aerial Combat Unit to make its debut in the ninja world," Masaki smiled.
"Oh? Are you planning to use this to threaten them?" Satomi found it a bit interesting.
"What do you mean by threat? I'm just letting them watch a performance," Masaki shook his head and said, "By the way, you'll have to come with me this time too. The Third Raikage is coming with his wife, so we also need to treat them with the same level of respect."
"Coming with his wife, huh? I didn't expect them to be so bold," Satomi was a little surprised.
"It wouldn't be the Hidden Cloud Village if they weren't bold, but I have to say, this way, they can become the alliance's main opponent in the future," Masaki said.