The shuriken left the pale hand of its wielder and, following his will, struck the bullseye hanging amidst the trees.
The morning sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, spilling across Takeshi's face, forcing him to squint in order to see the target clearly.
"How rare. Since I came to Konoha, this is the first time I've seen you training in the morning."
Awakened by the sharp sound of the shuriken, Uchiha Hikari yawned as she left the wooden house in the yard, walking up behind Takeshi.
"And practicing something this basic, too."
"Sometimes, it's these unnoticed fundamentals that make all the difference in battle."
Without turning around, Takeshi kept throwing shuriken toward the target.
"Besides, if I started practicing ninjutsu out here, your little house wouldn't survive the day."
As another shuriken hit dead center, Takeshi replied half-jokingly to Hikari's comment.
Just like Isshiki—he still couldn't believe that someone powerful enough to sweep through the entire shinobi world had been deceived by something as trivial as a shadow clone, his grand ideals reduced to ashes.
"You seem really afraid of that Ōtsutsuki, don't you?"
Hikari, holding a snack she had just fetched from inside, bit down on it while watching Takeshi continue his relentless training. She could more or less guess what drove his sudden dedication.
"Afraid of him? Hmph, me? Afraid?"
Despite his words, the shuriken Takeshi threw this time only hit the third ring.
That's what he called 'not afraid'?
A Hokage, and his shuriken missed the bullseye—that said plenty.
Hikari was speechless. Not only was this guy's mouth sharp, his stubbornness was on another level.
"If you really want to grow stronger, I actually have a pretty good method."
Seeing Takeshi stubbornly pretend nothing was wrong as he kept throwing shuriken, Hikari hesitated for a moment before deciding to help him out.
Takeshi blinked, confused. "You? Have a method?"
That skeptical tone made Hikari roll her eyes dramatically.
"Just answer—do you want it or not?"
"If your method is reliable, of course I want it. But if it's..." Takeshi tilted his head, his tone and expression dripping with distrust.
Hikari could feel her temper rising. Why was she being nice to this idiot again?
Takeshi then watched, stunned, as Hikari's rolled eyes suddenly shifted—her pupils turning into the Mangekyō Sharingan. Thinking she was about to activate Susanoo and slice him in half, he immediately prepared to teleport away using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Don't move!"
Hikari's hand clamped firmly on Takeshi's shoulder.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
When she quickly withdrew her hand, Takeshi shook his head, unsure what she had just done to him.
"Nothing much. Just left a mark on you."
Hikari turned away angrily, refusing to deal with him any further.
Takeshi's expression changed instantly.
"A mark? What kind of mark?"
"You already know, don't you? My dōjutsu—Yachihoko."
Leaving those words behind, Hikari walked toward the entrance, preparing to go inside and enjoy breakfast.
Yachihoko. The name rang a bell.
Oh right, Fugaku had mentioned it back when Hikari first arrived in the village. It was said to be a visual jutsu capable of manipulating another person's spirit and chakra...
Wait—she's trying to control me?!
Just as that ridiculous thought flashed through Takeshi's mind, he suddenly felt his already immense chakra reserves swell slightly.
"Understand now? I used Yachihoko to transfer a portion of my chakra to you. Of course, it works both ways—I can draw on your chakra too, for myself or for anyone else who bears my mark."
Before entering the house, Hikari left that remark behind in a slightly irritated tone.
Still, chakra reserves weren't what truly mattered when it came to defeating Isshiki.
Yet Takeshi couldn't help but smile faintly.
Bringing this girl back to Konoha had definitely been the right decision.
...
"According to your request, I've upgraded the stasis pod."
Arms crossed over his chest, a cigarette dangling from his lips, Amado gestured toward the modified stasis pod he'd just finished upgrading for Jigen.
Jigen leaned in, inspecting the structure closely. From time to time, he placed a hand on the metallic surface, feeling the chill that seeped into his palm.
"Good. Very good."
Seeing that Amado had indeed followed his instructions precisely, Jigen didn't hesitate to offer praise.
"As long as you're satisfied."
Amado still hoped Jigen would supply him with more Ōtsutsuki cells for his research, so his tone carried a faint hint of flattery.
Taking a deep drag of smoke, Amado casually mentioned as he noticed Jigen preparing to enter the pod,
"I heard Yōwan is planning another move against Konoha?"
"Let him. If that's what he insists on doing, I have no reason to stop him."
Jigen seemed utterly indifferent to Yōwan's actions.
"But... what if he dies?"
Amado had heard from Sasori that Jigen had once saved Yōwan's life.
Yet once Jigen entered stasis, if anything happened to Yōwan during that time, there'd be no saving him.
"I've already done more than enough for him."
Jigen's tone made his stance clear.
If that fool insisted on courting death, then so be it—he had no reason to intervene.
"I see..."
Amado exhaled a slow stream of smoke and turned his gaze toward a freshly raised incubation tank standing nearby.