To be fair, Transformation Technique couldn't be used for decapitation operations mainly because it was just a simple visual trick. It worked fine at first glance, but if the target knew the person being imitated, a careful look would reveal flaws in chakra aura, habitual movements, speech patterns, and so on.
But…
For Mikami Yuu, those problems basically didn't exist.
Because his Transformation Technique: Lifelike Reality, like White Zetsu's Wood Release: Substitute Object Transformation in the original story, could imitate another person's chakra aura and even personal habits well enough to deceive almost anyone.
It was just that this kind of assassination mission was still risky.
More importantly, it would expose Mikami Yuu's unique Transformation Technique, which wasn't really worth it. In his view, a special trump card like that should be saved for a critical moment.
Seeing Yuu say that,
Kakashi dropped the topic and waved, signaling everyone to head back.
Soon,
the group found a nearby hollow in the rocks sheltered from the wind and set it up simply as their temporary camp for the night. Then they arranged rotating watch shifts and rest periods, two hours per person. As the team leader, Kakashi took the first watch.
Obito had only just lain down when he couldn't help rolling over and lowering his voice to ask Mikami Yuu, whose eyes were already closed beside him, "Hey, Yuu, does that 'method acting' thing you mentioned really work?"
"If it really works… then if I transform into that old Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Madara, wouldn't I be able to awaken the Sharingan right away?"
"…"
The corner of Yuu's mouth twitched. For a moment, he wondered whether Obito had secretly read the script and knew he would one day meet that old man.
But he didn't dare show anything strange. He simply followed Obito's words and said, "Uchiha Madara, huh… wasn't he killed by the First Hokage at the Valley of the End ages ago? It's been so many years. Do you even know what he looked like, and you want to transform into him?"
"Oh, right!"
Obito slapped his thigh, realizing the blind spot. But he quickly reacted again. "It's fine! The elders in the clan must know. Maybe there are portraits or something. Once we get back to the village after this mission, I'll ask them…"
"…Then I wish you luck."
Yuu answered casually.
After a few perfunctory replies, he couldn't be bothered to keep rambling with Obito. He yawned, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep accompanied by the sound of insects in the distance.
When Obito saw that Yuu wasn't responding anymore, he tried to talk to Kakashi instead, only to be snapped at impatiently. He could only lie back down gloomily, thinking about the "method acting" idea as he slowly fell asleep.
Nothing happened that night.
The next morning,
before the thin mist in the forest had fully dispersed, the sound of metal clashing was already ringing through the trees. Mikami Yuu and Kakashi, who had both woken up early, were each holding a short blade and sparring with swordsmanship.
Both of them moved extremely fast. From an observer's point of view, all one could see were two dazzling clusters of silver light dancing in the hands of the two white-haired boys. Every slash carried a sharp whistle as it cut through the faint morning light, leaving blurred trails behind, while the clanging impacts rang out nonstop.
After this period of real combat refinement, Yuu's understanding of Heartblade Domain had gone a step further than when he first left the village. His Hatake Swordsmanship was now very proficient. Even facing Kakashi, the proper heir of the Hatake family, he didn't fall behind at all.
In fact, in a certain sense, he looked even more like the true inheritor of Hatake Swordsmanship than Kakashi did.
If things continued like this, once Hatake Swordsmanship's affection rose to 50 in a few days and unlocked its second-stage Intimate trait, his strength would rise another step and surpass the current Kakashi.
Kakashi, for his part, did find this a little unsettling.
He had properly learned swordsmanship from Hatake Sakumo. Although Sakumo had died young and Kakashi hadn't learned everything, he still knew how hard it was to take a sword style from beginner level to mastery. Yet he completely couldn't understand how Mikami Yuu had learned Hatake Swordsmanship and trained it to this degree.
It wasn't like the other boy had the Sharingan. Could this kind of thing really be learned just by watching?
Mm… maybe this was what "genius" was like…
Kakashi, who had been treated as a genius since childhood, rarely experienced a sense of defeat similar to Obito's—but Mikami Yuu gave him exactly that.
On the other side,
Rin was crouching by the campfire, busy preparing breakfast. She arranged rice balls filled with vegetables and meat on clean banana leaves, then peeled several freshly boiled eggs. As she worked, her fingertips, still beaded with clear water droplets, sparkled faintly in the morning light.
"Yuu, Kakashi, stop fighting. It's time to eat! And Obito, hurry over too. Stop thinking about that 'method acting' thing!"
"Okay!"
Yuu answered, and he and Kakashi sheathed their blades one after the other.
Soon,
the four members of the squad sat casually on stones and grass around the campfire, taking rice balls and boiled eggs from Rin and eating them.
Once the simple breakfast was finished, they cleaned up all traces of the camp, extinguished the fire, and set out once more on their reconnaissance patrol.
Since Minato wasn't with them today, the team's overall strength had dropped, so Yuu and the others did not split into two groups again. Instead, they moved as a four-person squad, staying close enough to support one another while maintaining a guarded formation.
During this, Yuu multitasked. While keeping an eye on every movement around them, he also paid attention to the galgame system.
[Monster Strength: (Sitting boldly at the gambling table, one foot planted on the stool as she shuffles a deck of cards with a loud rustle) Hey! Little white-hair! You awake yet? If you're awake, get over here! Today, I'm definitely washing away yesterday's shame and winning back everything I lost, with interest!]
"…Heh."
Mikami Yuu's lips curled into a faint smile.
He loved how confident Monster Strength looked. She was practically on par with "Clear-Sky Sasuke."
Though after every gamble…
[Monster Strength: Aaaagh! Damn it! I was so close! You turned it around again… No, no! Again!]
[Monster Strength affection +2! Current affection: 22/100 (Stranger)]
Free affection like this was rare among the other jutsu, so Mikami Yuu happily accepted it.
Actually, aside from Monster Strength,
there was another technique whose affection was quietly rising day by day—
Cell Activation Technique.
So far, Yuu had not [Practiced] this technique even once, mainly because the method was incomplete. Even if he wanted to practice, he had no idea how. But he still did [Talk] every day. Although she continued lying there like a corpse and gave him no response at all, her affection would occasionally increase by a point.
Mikami Yuu was very curious what kind of trait this incomplete "assemble-the-girl" technique would unlock in the end…
~~~
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