"666!" "I don't care if he's the Old Thief or not, that move was stylish as hell!" "It's definitely just for show!" "Forget about power levels for a second—was it cool or not?"
However, with the battle against Kakashi serving as a precedent, the audience understood that this strike was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
On screen, Danzō blocked the attack with his arm.
The blade descended, ringing out with the harsh clang of metal against metal. The viewers were momentarily confused—Danzō's injured arm could move?
But in the next second, the black-robed figure's maneuver left everyone dumbfounded. As his palm swept past the blade, the calcified weapon seemed to come alive. It instantly fractured and disassembled, transforming into countless bone spikes that scattered forward like shrapnel.
Although Danzō reacted, he couldn't evade it entirely. He had been hit.
Immediately following the clash, the black-robed figure flickered away, retreating at high speed without a moment's hesitation. The camera angle shifted—where the black-robed man, Uchiha Izumi, and the children had stood just moments ago, there was now nothing but empty space.
A barrage of "666" filled the screen. [T/N: In Chinese internet and gaming culture, "666" is a common slang term used to say "Awesome," "Cool," "Well played," or "Smooth."]
The audience had anticipated that the black-robed man might escape, but no one expected it to be so clean and decisive. In a single exchange, he had successfully blocked the enemy and completed the evacuation.
Danzō clearly wanted to give chase, but a close-up shot revealed that his condition was far from optimal.
Kishimoto was the most confused of them all.
He knew his own work better than anyone. Although he had designed the Shikotsumyaku—the Dead Bone Pulse—and had already drawn quite a few conceptual sketches for Kimimaro, those drafts contained no ability like this.
This usage didn't belong to any of the "Dances" he had conceptualized.
He stared at the black-robed figure on the screen, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
Did the settings I added actually cause this 'Yagyu Masahiko' to awaken the Dead Bone Pulse? Or is the person in the black robe not Masahiko at all, but one of the Kaguya clan remnants?
He couldn't make a judgment immediately.
However, Kishimoto harbored another doubt. He hadn't planned that far ahead initially; he never expected the series to blow up like this. Watching "The Prequel" forced him to reflect, and he realized his original design for the Uchiha Massacre night had many plot holes.
Yet, the depiction in "The Prequel" was clearly more comprehensive. So, what about the Third Hokage?
His question was soon answered.
The scene transitioned to the Hokage's Office, where Sarutobi Hiruzen sat opposite Mitokado Koharu. Judging by the dialogue, Koharu seemed to be trying to persuade him, but with their omniscient perspective, the audience knew she was merely stalling for time.
Instantly, the bullet comments erupted in curses again.
The audience simply couldn't stomach the machinations of the three "Consultants," and neither could Kishimoto. He wanted to join the cursing, but he felt a little awkward about it. He had an intuitive feeling that if he had continued his original design, the plot might have unfolded in a similar fashion.
Sometimes, for the sake of "conflict" and "drama," logic had to be sacrificed.
Kishimoto watched in silence. After a brief verbal confrontation, the camera panned up, moving to the Ninja Academy and settling on Sasuke's location.
Then—everything happened exactly as anticipated.
Sasuke's journey home shifted from initial happiness to surprise, then bewilderment, and finally shock. When he saw the corpses of his family and Uchiha Itachi standing there with a sword, his eyes filled with utter despair.
In the next moment, the tomoe in Itachi's eyes spun into a unique, geometric pattern.
Mangekyō Sharingan: Tsukuyomi!
Horrifying illusions played out across the screen. This was a massacre.
A miserable howl burst from inside the house, and Yagyu Masahiko flickered into the room via Body Flicker.
"Itachi, this..."
"F*ck, the Old Thief's line here... technically he's not wrong, but it's hard not to laugh."
• "The Extremist Faction: Itachi, you're too extreme!"
• "To be fair, if it were Masahiko, he really wouldn't be able to do this."
While the audience roasted him, they didn't truly believe Yagyu Masahiko would slaughter his own people. At most, he would kill with a borrowed knife. Personally exterminating a clan—and volunteering for it—was too niche a taste, even for a villain.
The plot evolved rapidly.
Sasuke was taken to the hospital by Masahiko. Then, just as Masahiko had predicted, Sasuke left the hospital and returned to the Uchiha district.
However, contrary to Sasuke's expectations, there were still clansmen alive.
But they didn't greet him. Instead, they stared at Sasuke with cold, hateful eyes. They no longer wore clothes bearing the Uchiha fan crest.
The Uchiha... in a single night, everything had changed.
Sasuke was lost, heartbroken, and grieving. Under the setting sun, he stumbled aimlessly until he saw Naruto, who was training hard by running. By the riverbank, Sasuke watched Naruto run past, remaining motionless for a long time.
"In this moment, Sasuke must understand Naruto, right?"
• "Feels like it."
• "Sakura really doesn't understand anything—I'm shipping this CP!"
• "NaruSasu, I'm crying my eyes out!"
Whenever scenes like this aired, there was always a segment of the audience shipping strange things. Masahiko glanced at the comments, unable to comprehend their thought process.
After that came his conversation with Sarutobi Hiruzen. However, following their dialogue, Kakashi appeared.
Masahiko felt a twinge of unease.
He couldn't tell if Hiruzen's earlier loss of composure was genuine emotion or an act. If it was the latter, the old man was truly insidious. Fortunately, Masahiko hadn't revealed any flaws.
Masahiko rested his chin on his hand, watching the plot and the bullet comments while glancing at the progress bar.
It was almost over.
He waited for a moment.
[Popularity Rating: S]
[Comprehensive Assessment...]
[You generated heated discussion in this episode, gaining extremely high attention and popularity. Reward payment has been increased.]
[Reward Received: Basic Module Upgrade Card]
[Reward Received: Low-Rank Projection Card]
With the double boost, he received two items again.
He had obtained a Basic Module Upgrade Card before, so Masahiko was familiar with it. He used it immediately.
[Loading Advancement Module — Taijutsu Edition.]
[Load Successful!]
Of the remaining modules that hadn't been upgraded, Taijutsu was the priority. Now, his Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Nintaijutsu modules were all active.
Masahiko suppressed his excitement and looked at the next item. He quickly understood its effect: unlike the cards used to summon specific character projections, this one could summon a projection of any category, with the duration limited only by the target's capabilities.
He called up his interface.
Scanning from top to bottom, Masahiko's gaze locked onto abilities like Lightning Style: Body Activation and Collapsing Torrent.
As he was contemplating, a bug flew in from outside.
He opened the window.
A figure clad entirely in black crouched on the windowsill. Without saying a word, the figure handed over a scroll. Then, the agent flickered away instantly, never asking why Uchiha Sasuke was present in the house.
Masahiko unfurled the scroll.
A cursory glance told him exactly what this was—research records on the Eight Inner Gates!
"The Eight Inner Gates..."
Masahiko closed the window and began to read carefully from beginning to end.
Half an hour later, he understood the gist of it.
This was research conducted by the Root organization. Danzō had hoped to find a shortcut to forcibly open the Eight Gates.
"Danzō really has a wild imagination..."
Such massive amounts of chakra... even if one could use methods like "Tenketsu striking" to unlock the gates, an untrained civilian body couldn't withstand it.
One could only imagine how many lives the Root had wasted for this scroll before finally deciding to abandon the project.
A moment later, he picked it up to read again, carefully cross-referencing it with his own abilities and style in his mind.
As the scroll stated, the violent chakra released by opening the Eight Gates was difficult for a ninja to control, making it impossible to use for Ninjutsu. Its greatest utility remained the enhancement of Taijutsu.
For a normal ninja, unless they reached the Gate of View or higher—or restricted themselves to just the Gate of Opening and Gate of Healing—the side effects outweighed the benefits.
However, Masahiko was reminded of another technique.
Shira's Seven Heavens Breathing Method.
This technique was similar to the Eight Inner Gates in that it pushed the body's potential beyond its limits, but its mechanics were somewhat akin to Lightning Style: Body Activation.
The difference was that Lightning Style: Body Activation could be applied to specific parts of the body—like how Kakashi used it primarily to facilitate the Chidori and Lightning Blade. Alternatively, it could be applied to the whole body like the Lightning Style Chakra Mode, but that required a massive amount of chakra. The Fourth Raikage made it famous, but the Fifth Raikage, Darui, couldn't master this secret Nintaijutsu due to insufficient chakra reserves.
The Seven Heavens Breathing Method, on the other hand, used increased oxygen intake to achieve hyper-activation of the cells, subsequently amplifying the entire body's physical capabilities.
"Let's test the Smart Projection first."