The person who arrived was Shinku Yuhi, the master the Hokage had assigned to Inoyue.
Inoyue had been practicing here for five days, and Shinku Yuhi had observed her for five days. It wasn't that he was idle, but rather that only by thoroughly understanding his disciple could he better guide her.
Over five days, in Shinku Yuhi's observations, he grew more surprised with each passing day.
On the first day, he simply thought this girl was very intelligent, able to devise such a sandbag array to practice her reaction capabilities.
On the second day, this girl's willpower was very strong; although her training injuries weren't severe, very few girls could endure such hardship.
On the third day, Inoyue learned some basic Medical Ninjutsu, and she was surprisingly able to treat minor injuries herself. Medical Ninjutsu requires a very high amount of Chakra, and for Inoyue to be able to learn some basics within a few days was truly impressive.
On the fourth day, because Inoyue only had the body of an eight-year-old, staying in the sandbag array for ten minutes was already her limit. It was impossible for this time to increase so quickly, so he believed this girl would likely give up.
If the first three days saw Shinku Yuhi praising Inoyue more and more, then on the fifth day, he was utterly shocked.
He was shocked that an eight-year-old girl, while possessing such powerful mental energy, could also develop this skill of releasing it through her body.
And she actually achieved it, and did it very well. An eight-year-old girl had planned her own cultivation development direction, and this direction was very correct. How could such a thing not shock him?
Shinku Yuhi himself also possessed this skill, but Inoyue was just beginning, like a babbling infant; while Shinku Yuhi himself was already an adult walking with swift strides. Inoyue could only use this skill to dodge slow-moving sandbags, while he could easily dodge flying Kunai.
...
Inoyue was surprised to find a person standing before her. First, she swiftly moved, instantly getting into a defensive stance.
After seeing Shinku Yuhi's headband, she hesitated for a moment before relaxing. Her series of actions were all observed by Shinku Yuhi.
The reason Shinku Yuhi suddenly appeared was also to see what reaction this girl would have. However, the girl's reaction was simply perfect, far exceeding his expectations.
"An unknown person suddenly appeared, so she immediately took precautions. Upon seeing the Konoha headband, she showed some understanding. And that hint of hesitation was her analyzing whether I was an enemy in disguise." Shinku Yuhi also analyzed Inoyue's reaction in his mind, and his analysis was completely correct.
Inoyue first heard a sound, then suddenly saw a pair of combat boots. In a state where friend or foe was unclear, she immediately stood up defensively; this was a natural bodily reaction.
The slight hesitation after seeing the Konoha headband was indeed her mentally analyzing the possibility of the person in front of her being an enemy in disguise.
"First, this place is very close to the Konoha main camp; it could even be considered within the main camp itself. It should be very difficult for external enemies to enter; this is quite certain. Second, the strength of the person who arrived is absolutely very strong, which can be seen by the fact that he walked right up to me, and I couldn't sense his presence until he spoke. If he wanted to capture me, I might already be knocked out. If it were to kill, that would be even simpler; I might already be a corpse."
"Since he still has the leisure to speak, and directly pointed out my mental energy training as soon as he opened his mouth, I believe he shouldn't be an enemy, but rather a Konoha Ninja who intentionally came to guide me."
Inoyue's mind analyzed many issues in a short period of time. After confirming, she completely relaxed.
"Are you Master Shinku Yuhi?" Inoyue blinked her eyes, asking with some uncertainty.
The person in front of her looked around forty years old, tall, wearing a pair of combat boots similar to special forces boots, carrying a short sword on his back, with a green headscarf wrapped around his head, and wearing a Konoha headband.
Especially his red eyes, which were very sharp, as if her inner thoughts could not hide from them.
A hint of surprise appeared on Shinku Yuhi's face, and he asked with a smile, "How did you know?"
Upon hearing this question, Inoyue's heart filled with joy; the other party had undoubtedly admitted his identity.
"It's wartime now, and if it weren't for you, Master, who would have the leisure to teach a disciple how to cultivate?" Inoyue played cute, asking a rhetorical question.
"Very good analytical ability. It's indeed natural for an eight-year-old to be promoted to Chunin."
Shinku Yuhi praised her, and these were truly words from his heart.
...
Inoyue had always hoped that someone could systematically teach her how to cultivate, and Shinku Yuhi's appearance was truly like finding a pillow when sleepy, perfectly fitting the need.
"Your mental energy release just now should be called 'Mind's Eye'." Shinku Yuhi began to formally guide Inoyue.
"Mind's Eye?" Inoyue understood instantly. "Is it that the released mental energy is actually equivalent to a person's consciousness, and this is the true reason why one can perceive foreign objects entering within the range of consciousness?"
"That's right, that's what it means." Shinku Yuhi's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.
Since this Little one could infer other things from one point, he was truly a rare genius, even more outstanding than he had imagined.
"How far can you extend it beyond your body?" Shinku Yuhi was clearly very fond of the Little one in front of him. Teaching him was quite easy; there was no need for excessive explanation.
Inoyue naturally understood this principle and immediately replied, "Twenty centimeters."
Perhaps he had been surprised too many times, so Shinku Yuhi only paused for a moment before returning to normal.
Shinku Yuhi's Mind's Eye could extend a maximum of about fifteen centimeters beyond his body, yet the Little one in front of him could extend it an additional five centimeters. Truly... there were no words to describe it; in any case, she was extremely outstanding.
"Mind's Eye is not like Chakra release extension; its distance is fixed, meaning it's the distance you can release it from your body during your first cultivation.
If you can release it this far at eight years old, it will be the same distance when you reach eighteen. Although your mental energy is constantly growing, your body is also growing, and the range is expanding!" Shinku Yuhi explained to Inoyue one by one, and Inoyue listened very carefully, fearing she might miss something.
"Then, Master! Can Mind's Eye be released in a single line like Chakra?" Inoyue immediately asked, because he suddenly remembered that when Sasuke defected and Hyuga Neji fought Kidōmaru, he used a single-line Chakra release at his Byakugan blind spot to sense Kidōmaru's arrow attacks.
Shinku Yuhi truly began to like this Little one. She could infer other things from one point and propose her own ideas.
If there was an opportunity, he would let Yuhi become her good friend; it might even be a good motivation for his own daughter, Yuhi.
"That's a very good idea, but it's not feasible!"
"If consciousness leaves the body too far, it will dissipate, causing severe damage to the mind.
You can try this carefully, but if you feel a headache, stop immediately." Shinku Yuhi said to Inoyue in an encouraging tone.
Clearly, he knew the personality of people like Inoyue. Whatever the reason, they needed to try it out. Smart people all shared this common flaw; it wasn't that they didn't believe what Shinku Yuhi said.
Rather, it was because only through bold assumptions and careful verification could one progress. This was a detour a person had to take before growing up.
"Now?" Inoyue blinked her adorable big eyes, looking very cute. (Lolis are always cute; she just didn't realize it herself.)
"Yes!" Shinku Yuhi nodded.
Having received confirmation, she acted immediately.
Inoyue instantly cleared her mind of distractions and slowly released her mental energy in a single line outside her body. But as soon as it exceeded twenty centimeters, her head felt a little dizzy.
A little more, and her mind suddenly experienced a sharp pain, scaring her into quickly stopping the release and immediately retracting the released mental energy.
Inoyue's pained expression made Shinku Yuhi's heart clench.
If Inoyue's expression didn't ease, then Shinku Yuhi would need to use Sealing Jutsu to return Inoyue's released mental energy to her body, otherwise, she might become an idiot.
A genius is a genius; in a situation where an attempt doesn't work out, they can stop immediately.
This ability to control mental energy was truly comparable to his own, Shinku Yuhi's; it had reached the point of being able to be released and retracted freely, while his own daughter, Yuhi, couldn't even release it yet.
"Master, when my mental energy is released from my body, if it exceeds twenty centimeters, my head will ache severely. But why can I see clearly up to three hundred meters away when I activate my Mind's Eye?" Inoyue rubbed her temples to relieve the sharp pain, while also bringing up her biggest question.