"Hahaha! Your students are getting fired up, so I guess I'd better get serious!"
A split second later, the attacker cried out with dramatic flair, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Numerous snakes shot out from her sleeves, hissing as they flew toward Masahiko.
Masahiko didn't hesitate. In the blink of an eye, he completed his hand seals. A wave of flame surged from his mouth, curling inward to form a massive sphere of fire.
"What?"
Sasuke couldn't maintain his composure.
His eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected Masahiko to know the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.
But just as his astonishment peaked, he noticed something strange. Before the Great Fireball could reach its maximum destructive power, Masahiko abruptly cut off the flow of flames.
Sasuke was puzzled.
But a second later, he understood.
The enemy hadn't been hit at all!
Furthermore... Masahiko probably never expected the Fireball to hit in the first place?
Just as this thought crossed Sasuke's mind, he saw Masahiko weave signs in mid-air. A Shadow Clone materialized instantly.
Then, the main body grabbed the clone and violently hurled it to the side.
Mitarashi Anko, who had circled around the edge of the fireball, was raising her hand to unleash another Hidden Shadow Snake Hands when she sensed a powerful fluctuation of chakra.
Startled, she violently recoiled, leaping backward.
But then—
Poof!
The Shadow Clone detonated like a firework, but...
It was only a firework.
The anticipated violent explosion never came. The clone merely dissolved into unstable sparks of ember, melting away into the air.
"Anko, interrupting someone else's class isn't exactly polite, is it?"
Masahiko lowered his hands, his tone sounding rather helpless.
Mitarashi Anko lowered her stance as well, feigning that she hadn't just embarrassed herself with a flinch. She laughed loudly, "I heard from Hayate that you've made huge progress and your Taijutsu is strong. My hands were itching for a fight..."
She immediately turned her attention to the group of students, waving at them with practiced familiarity.
"See? Didn't I just give everyone a practical lesson in Taijutsu combat?"
"..."
Masahiko sighed helplessly.
Mitarashi Anko. She had been a classmate of his predecessor at the Academy.
Their relationship was...
Exercise buddies?
They would occasionally run into each other during laps or training, but they never had a deeper friendship than that.
It had to be said, in some respects, this woman was comparable to Naruto.
He sighed silently and was about to speak, but she waved her hand dismissively. "No need to pay me a guest appearance fee! Meet me at the school gate at noon. I have something important to discuss."
With that, Anko executed the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.
She came in a rush, and she left just as quickly.
Masahiko was left momentarily speechless. He turned back to Sasuke and the others, clearing his throat lightly. "That was... a former classmate of mine."
He sighed again.
"Forget about it. Ignore her. Let's continue with our Taijutsu training..."
"Sensei!"
Sasuke raised his hand.
Masahiko looked over and nodded gently, signaling him to speak.
Sasuke asked, "Sensei, when you used the Fireball Jutsu, you didn't use your full power. Was that to control the damage, or did you interrupt it on purpose?"
"Sasuke, you are very sharp."
Masahiko explained with a gentle demeanor, "The Great Fireball is powerful, but it travels too slowly. Even if I used full power, it would have been impossible to hit her. It was better to conserve chakra."
He smiled, seizing the opportunity to teach. "Unless you have the certainty of a guaranteed hit, you should always hold back thirty percent of your strength. This allows for flexible changes in your tactics..."
These were concepts taught by the 'Young Might Guy' template.
Speed is an advantage, but in combat, becoming overly reliant on speed can become a weakness.
One of the secrets of Taijutsu combat is simply this—
Unless you can kill in one strike, never exhaust your strength. Always leave room to adapt.
The students fell into deep thought.
For students who had never experienced real combat, high power and massive destruction were usually equated with skill. Even Sasuke, with the best grades in the class, had held this view until now.
However.
In this fight, neither Masahiko nor the other Chūnin had pursued maximum destructive power during their exchange of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu.
This was vastly different from the mindset of a student.
Shikamaru seemed lost in thought.
Masahiko glanced at him and smiled. "Shikamaru, do you have any thoughts?"
"Huh?"
Shikamaru looked a bit dazed.
He scratched his head. "I feel like... you didn't say everything. That was a tactic for the intelligence-gathering phase, right?"
"Tactics must be adaptable to the situation. Naturally, they cannot be rigid or unchanging."
Masahiko smiled. "For example, if the enemy were you students as you are now, I naturally wouldn't need to probe or hold back."
It wasn't the first time Shikamaru had heard something like this, so he didn't feel much about it.
Being a ninja was such a drag.
If possible, staying like this would be just fine.
But unfortunately, it wasn't possible.
Shikamaru was clearly aware of his position. As the son of Nara Shikaku, wanting to just coast through life probably wouldn't fly...
He retreated into the crowd, saying nothing more.
Beside him, Ino's eyes were smiling—
'Sensei didn't agree to tutor us that morning, but he still pays special attention to Shikamaru.'
However...
After that, Masahiko singled out several other students, asking for their thoughts and exchanging ideas with them. He showed no signs of favoritism.
'Sensei is just so fair and impartial!'
Noon, at the School Gate.
Mitarashi Anko stood by the side like a gatekeeper, chewing on a blade of grass.
She waited for a good while.
"Tsk, why isn't he here yet? Did he run away?"
Unable to hold back her impatience, she was just about to storm inside.
"I remember you always being busy. Since you have free time today, what specifically did you come to find me for?"
Masahiko's voice came from behind her.
Mitarashi Anko grinned, then raised her hand to slap Masahiko on the shoulder.
"Nothing major, really. Just wanted to catch up."
"Really?"
Masahiko smiled gently. "I don't believe you."
"Che... so untrusting?"
Anko twitched her lips, then draped her arm around his shoulder, leaning in close without a hint of awkwardness. "Let's go, let's go. My treat!"
She dragged Masahiko to a Dango shop, ordered Mitarashi Dango and red bean soup, and sat down to enjoy them happily.
Masahiko wasn't fond of sweets, but he ate slowly with politeness and grace.
After eating for a bit, Anko finally grinned and said, "My team is short a member. I saw that you're pretty skilled—interested in joining my squad?"
"Not interested."
Masahiko rested his chin on one hand.
He wasn't just brushing her off. He took a sip of the soup before speaking. "Being a teacher is quite nice. Besides, my talent is average. Taking my time to research and study techniques is what I'm good at."
"Really not interested?"
Anko frowned. Suddenly, she lowered her voice. "What about the Anbu?"
Hm?
Masahiko looked up sharply, then shook his head.
"I'll stick to being a teacher."
His hand, holding the soup bowl, paused in mid-air.
"The future of Konoha lies with the students, with the children. There are several promising seedlings in this batch. If I can guide them properly, my impact will be far greater than just being one more Chūnin on the battlefield."
His face was the picture of sincerity.
Mitarashi Anko paused, the dango ball still in her mouth. She stared blankly at Masahiko.
"What's wrong?"
Masahiko took another sip of soup.
'Did I... overact?' he wondered internally.
Anko snapped back to reality and shook her head lightly. "Nothing. I just think... well, what you said makes sense."
She swallowed the dango, but her heart felt otherwise.
Yagyu Masahiko...
To be honest, Anko didn't have a deep impression of their shared experiences at the Academy. She only remembered that he had wanted to be a strong ninja back then.
After the chaos of the Nine-Tails Attack, Masahiko's daily running and bitter training had left a deep impression on her.
That was why, upon hearing Gekkou Hayate's report, she had felt a sudden impulse to go to the Academy and test his skills.
But now...
He felt somewhat unfamiliar to her.