"What opportunity? Hokage?"
"Probably..."
"With Danzo's pathetic look, he still wants to be Hokage? What kind of pipe dream is he having?"
"Damn, Old Thief, hurry up and kill him!"
Perhaps a young Danzo could have relied on that face to win over some fans in this Hokage race, but for the elderly Danzo, there was absolutely no such possibility.
The bullet chat was one-sidedly blasting him.
Compared to Danzo, although Hiruzen Sarutobi also had flaws, he was more in line with the audience's values and expectations.
Danzo's plotting didn't last too long.
In Masahiko's view, Danzo at this time was probably also in a state of conflict, not having fully made up his mind.
One step forward might be heaven, but it could also be the abyss.
Taking a step back would mean missing out on that position.
Continuing onward.
During this month, nothing much happened from his perspective; Naruto and the others were mostly training and practicing.
The difference was—
This month, there was someone new by Naruto's side.
His name was Shin.
A simple name, but he was very cheerful, loved to laugh, and was very gentle. He was a year older than Naruto but wasn't in the same class as Neji.
After meeting Shin, Naruto often looked for him to play, train, and practice together.
Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.
But—
Seeing this scene, everyone seemed to have bad memories.
Because at the very beginning, Masahiko had approached Naruto in the same way.
Sure enough.
Just a few shots later—
Shin, Sai, and another Ninja were reporting their day's itinerary to Masahiko.
This clearly wasn't the Anbu's style.
The sunny-looking youth was also a member of Root!
"I'm seriously fed up, this bastard Danzo... all his schemes are used on his own people."
Everyone really couldn't muster any goodwill for this troublemaker Danzo, but... "In the end, is this team under the Old Thief's command?"
"Good news, these are Masahiko's team members. Bad news, Masahiko isn't exactly a saint either!"
"Has the Old Thief been promoted on Danzo's side too? Not bad, getting closer and closer to the backstab!"
No one believed that Masahiko, who had been causing trouble in the shadows, could contentedly remain a subordinate under Danzo forever.
They were more willing to believe—
Masahiko was just biding his time, quietly waiting for the right moment... On the screen now.
"Hokage-sama, do you really think he will agree to execute this plan as you wish?"
Kakashi stood before the Third, a look of worry on his face.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Kakashi. I never thought he would change his mind because of a few words."
"Then why did you..."
"Some things must be said. Once said, everyone can maintain a certain understanding. Even if the process doesn't go as desired, the result can still be pushed towards the expectation."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed softly, "Kakashi..."
"Yes."
Kakashi stood at attention.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment, then said, "You've been in the darkness for too long. After this incident, you should leave the Anbu."
"Hokage-sama!"
Kakashi put away his book, his eyes showing gravity, "As for Root..."
"Over there, I intend to hand it over to Masahiko. He's more suited for that area than you are."
Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
Kakashi fell silent, stroking the cover of his book, and said, "Masahiko is a peculiar person. Sometimes I feel he's very much like Sensei, but other times I feel... he's like Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru wasn't like this at the beginning either."
The Third replied.
The light reflected on his face, revealing a hint of resolve on the screen.
"This time, I won't let history repeat itself!"
...Watching the content on the screen, Masahiko picked up his pen and continued watching thoughtfully.
Kakashi was going to retire.
Makes sense.
According to the original trajectory, Kakashi seemed to have already left the Anbu at the age of 22.
Now, seeing that this year was almost over, the fact that he was still holding his post was already due to Masahiko's influence; the Third wouldn't let him stay any longer.
After all.
With Danzo "defecting," and if none of the Sannin returned, the only one in Konoha with enough ability and wisdom to serve as the new generation's Hokage was likely only Kakashi.
Masahiko propped up his head and quietly pulled down the progress bar.
The subsequent plot—
Classes, exercises, battles... wait?
Danzo also had a fight with Shennong?
It looked like he lost.
Masahiko paused slightly and quickly finished dragging the progress bar.
Finally, it was his speech.
In Masahiko's view, he was truly keeping it brief; several principals and deans from his past life could chatter far more than him.
Yet even this was criticized by the bullet chat.
He dragged it all the way to the end.
[Popularity Rating: A]
[Comprehensive Evaluation...]
[Remuneration Obtained: Intermediate Selectable Skill Card]
Selectable?
This was the first time Masahiko had seen this.
He stared at the "Remuneration" and quickly understood the effect of the'Selectable Skill Card'.
After use, it would refresh three skill cards for him to choose from.
This was much better than pure randomness.
An intermediate card... he could pick a B-rank, or even have a chance at an A-rank.
Gamble!
Masahiko opened the card.
The next second—
[Secret Sword: Moon Shadow]
[Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson]
[Expansion Jutsu]
These three... Masahiko scanned them and quickly fixed his eyes on the third Ninjutsu.
In terms of swordsmanship, techniques like Moon Shadow and Hazy Moon Night were developed by Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki themselves, and were most suitable for them.
Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson was actually a Limit Break version of Phoenix Sage Fire.
Masahiko was confident he could master that himself.
Only this Expansion Jutsu was a secret technique passed down through the Akimichi clan; unless one was of the Akimichi clan, it was impossible to learn this secret technique.
A good drop!
And—
If he mastered the Expansion Jutsu and modified it into the state he needed, then in his "Black-Robed Man" state, he would have another ability.
Masahiko did not hesitate.
Select!
Soon, the method and effects of the Expansion Jutsu flowed into his mind.
He immediately entered the Training Space and began to try and practice.
Of course.
He didn't want to enlarge his whole body or just one hand like the Akimichi clan.
He wanted to selectively lengthen an arm or a leg, coordinating it with Shikotsumyaku and swordsmanship; the consumption would be low, but the effect would be very compatible with him.
With the Training Space available, Masahiko wasn't worried about being unable to master it... The next morning.
In a mountain village northwest of the Land of Fire, Karin formed hand seals and summoned the panda again.
Soon, the Black-Robed Man appeared again through the sealing scroll.
After a moment of pleasantries and guidance, the other party headed north again.
Karin didn't ask questions, but she inexplicably felt that her body was more tired than usual... probably because the Chakra consumption was too high.
She didn't think much of it... "With control, although it's slow, I can silently absorb Chakra during contact."
"In a battle..."
"I can make an enemy accelerate their loss of physical and spiritual energy during contact without them even realizing it."
Masahiko, back in his normal attire, was walking north, inwardly evaluating his current Chakra Absorption Technique.
He had already trained the Chakra Absorption Technique to "Proficient"; the absorption efficiency had improved, but not by much, so he tried other directions.
The result... as shown just now while guiding Karin, the effect was clearly quite good; even a high-perception Ninja like Karin didn't sense the drain of Chakra.
With further optimization and trials, this could perhaps be used as a war of attrition tactic.
He came north mainly to discuss a cooperation with Orochimaru—
A cooperation to screw over Danzo together.
Reaching the Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass, he stopped.
A moment later, on a tree ahead, Kimimaro jumped down.
Judging from the aura on him, he had clearly run all the way here.
"My Lord, are you looking for Orochimaru-sama?"
"Yes, is he here?"
"My Lord has already gone elsewhere. If you need to communicate with him, I can perform a summoning on his behalf; this is what he instructed."
"Alright, but if it's convenient, let's go to your base."