"Invisibility… Secret Technique: Hiding with Camouflage Technique!"
Hidden in the shadows, Kyoichi's eyes gleamed with an unusually bright light. Fixing his gaze intently on Dani's figure, he muttered under his breath, "Feels… rather simple, actually. Earth Release chakra and Yang Release chakra…"
Just moments ago—
He had been watching Dani in secret as the man performed a certain secret technique known as Hiding with Camouflage Technique.
And then—
He saw through the inner workings of that technique.
According to what Kyoichi knew, the Hiding with Camouflage Technique was developed from a secret technique called Dustless Bewildering Cover, once wielded by the Second Tsuchikage—nicknamed "The Invisible Man." In fact, the developer of the camouflage technique was none other than the Second Tsuchikage himself.
The difference was that Dustless Bewildering Cover could even hide the user's chakra entirely, making them undetectable even to ordinary sensory-nin.
The Hiding with Camouflage Technique, however, couldn't conceal one's chakra at all.
In short—
It was a downgraded version of Dustless Bewildering Cover.
At first glance, the Second Tsuchikage's decision to develop it seemed entirely redundant.
But the truth was, after the Second Tsuchikage's death, no one else had ever managed to master Dustless Bewildering Cover—not even Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage who had inherited Dust Release, a kekkei tōta. Instead, several lucky shinobi had managed to grasp the downgraded camouflage technique.
It had to be said—
The Second Tsuchikage lived up to his other nickname: "The Strategist." If not for that seemingly "pointless" move of his, who knew how many decades it would have taken before Iwagakure produced a genius capable of mastering Dustless Bewildering Cover? By comparison, the simplified camouflage technique had already given the Iwa-nin several top-tier assassins on the battlefield.
In the past,
Kyoichi had coveted this highly practical secret technique—not monopolized by any single clan, but held by the Tsuchikage's office itself.
Unfortunately—
Back then, he lacked the military merit to request Ōnoki—the "big-nosed" Tsuchikage—to teach it to him. And though the Koeda Clan had not yet staged their coup at the time, the incompetence of their previous patriarch meant the clan had never forged a deep relationship with Ōnoki. They couldn't squeeze their way into the Tsuchikage's tower, already packed with entrenched interests.
Otherwise—
The former clan head would never have taken the desperate gamble of attempting a coup to topple Ōnoki's rule and secure a true place for the Koeda among Iwagakure's ruling elite.
But enough digression—
Back to the matter at hand:
The Hiding with Camouflage Technique was a secret art built around Earth Release, laced with certain nuances of Yang Release.
Perhaps—
It was precisely because its core was Earth Release that Kyoichi had been able to "see through" its principles. And… it seemed deceptively simple.
As luck would have it—
His chakra nature was Earth, Yang, and Yin.
The problem was, unlike the well-developed training systems for the five basic natures—Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, and Earth—the cultivation methods for Yin and Yang Release were far less mature. Yin Release was somewhat better off, since its essence lay in manipulating spiritual energy, and genjutsu—a thriving field—belonged squarely in Yin's domain.
But Yang Release—
Now that was tricky.
Its essence lay in controlling and utilizing physical energy. Strictly speaking, within the nin-tai-genjutsu triad, taijutsu was Yang Release's home turf. But taijutsu was the very definition of "easy to start, hard to master." Across the entire shinobi world, there were scarcely any who became famous solely through Yang Release mastery.
The Kumo-nin had gone down the path of using Lightning Release to enhance their bodies; the Iwa-nin focused on using Earth Release for hardening techniques.
As for Yang Release itself…
Most had no clue where to begin. Ninety-nine percent of shinobi who trained taijutsu their entire lives still couldn't truthfully claim they had "learned Yang Release."
And besides—
Most of the deeper secrets of Yin and Yang Release were kept within clans that possessed secret arts, since such techniques almost always revolved around these two natures.
Nowadays—
Many of the younger generation didn't even know what Yin or Yang Release were.
For instance—
The Koeda Clan also had a hereditary secret technique, but theirs was an auditory genjutsu—firmly in Yin's domain.
By all rights—
With his natural Earth, Yang, and Yin affinities, Kyoichi should have been an ideal inheritor of his clan's secret art.
But—
When it came to music, he was like a rolling pin trying to blow fire—completely hopeless!
So—
He had never been able to master the clan's Magic Flute Technique, forcing him to focus entirely on Earth Release.
But today—
It seemed he might finally be about to acquire his first secret technique.
His hands—
Moved instinctively to mimic Dani's hand seals.
Unlike the often complex seals for elemental techniques, secret arts tended to be as simple as possible. Many didn't even require seals at all—like the Koeda Clan's Magic Flute Technique, which needed no seals but demanded exceptional skill with the flute.
In this case—
Dani had used only the Sheep seal, so even without a Sharingan, Kyoichi could replicate it perfectly.
At the same time—
His chakra stirred, blending Earth Release with Yang Release in fixed proportions and sequence, flowing along a precise network of meridians… and his figure began to fade into transparency. Even his clothing vanished from sight.
Not that this was particularly strange—
If the Akimichi could grow into giants and have their clothes expand along with them, then transparency wasn't so hard to accept.
"…Interesting."
Kyoichi looked down.
He could clearly sense his hands right in front of him—yet what he saw was the bluish rock beneath his feet.
"No—now's not the time to be pleased with myself. I can't forget the main task…"
The sound of clashing steel rang out over the lake, jolting him back to reality. He quickly pulled his attention away from the camouflage technique and looked up toward the source—just in time to see Enkō and Kakashi locked in a dead-even swordfight.
Then—
He overheard a conversation between Enkō and Dani.
"Sharingan?"
Kyoichi raised an eyebrow.
Well now—
In this situation, there was only one obvious Uchiha present… which meant… had Obito awakened his eyes?
He focused his senses on Obito and immediately felt the boy's chakra surging—far stronger than yesterday.
Especially in his head—his chakra was in a state of intense activity.
"So he awakened them early, huh?"
Kyoichi mused.
He had been so engrossed in studying the camouflage technique that he'd almost ignored the battle on the lake. He'd thought his brief lapse in attention might let Enkō and Dani succeed in seizing Rin, the valuable "piece" he'd captured earlier.
But to his surprise—
Obito had awakened his Sharingan!
Whether it happened yesterday or today didn't matter—what mattered was that this single event had turned Obito into the biggest wildcard on the board. With his newfound boost in power, teaming up with Kakashi made them more than capable of holding off Enkō and Dani together.
The battle—
Had now reached a stalemate.
"…Which means—this is my chance."
A glint flashed in Kyoichi's eyes.
Right now, the situation was… perfectly favorable for him—
the oriole watching from behind the mantis and the cicada.