"Your talent... it seems I overestimated it somewhat."
Sasuke stated flatly.
But his words struck the trio's hearts like a knife.
More than a day had passed.
The four of them were finally nearing Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
Once they arrived, the mission to capture the Nine-Tails would begin.
During this time, Sasuke had expected the three of them to grasp this ninjutsu.
At the very least, reach a basic level of proficiency!
However, the reality was that Sasuke had greatly overestimated them.
If he didn't use that special method to help them, their natural talent would likely require weeks, perhaps even over a month, just to barely get started.
Such training speed was far too slow.
Whether it was Sarada, Boruto, or Mitsuki, all of them had previously been quite confident in their own talents.
But!
Over the past day, they hadn't even managed to grasp the most fundamental principles.
It made Sasuke sigh countless times. And when they learned that Sasuke himself had mastered such techniques merely by glancing at them, they became even more unsettled.
What kind of monstrous talent allowed someone to learn ninjutsu just by seeing it once? Was that even a level of talent humans could possess?
At this moment, the three truly, thoroughly understood what it meant to be a genius the likes of which the ninja world would never see again.
If Sasuke's talent was truly as he implied, then perhaps no one like him would ever appear in the future shinobi world.
Uchiha Sasuke, looking across the entire history of the ninja world, was absolutely in a league of his own.
"Sasuke-sensei..."
After Sasuke had specifically emphasized they should call him 'Sensei' outside, not 'Uncle', Sarada's address for him had changed.
"Why don't you use that method you used before to help me train, so we can learn it directly?"
Hearing this, Boruto and Mitsuki were both surprised.
Sasuke could help them learn directly?
How was that possible?
If Sasuke even had ways to help others learn ninjutsu quickly, then perhaps the 'omnipotence' he spoke of wasn't truly that far off.
However, Sasuke shook his head. "This is different. If you don't master these techniques yourselves, you likely won't make any further progress in the future!"
"If you want to overdraft your own potential just to grasp these jutsu, I can help you!"
Hearing this, Sarada fell silent.
Overdraft her potential?
Forget it! That kind of thing was better avoided! Although the temptation to learn was great, overdrafting potential was just too extreme!
"Never mind!" Sarada shook her head.
Sasuke smiled and said, "Don't think mastering those two ninjutsu back then was easy. Improving further afterwards becomes harder. Nothing comes without a cost!"
Hearing this, Sarada nodded thoughtfully.
By now, the four had arrived near Kirigakure.
They traveled onward aboard a lone boat across the misty sea.
Boruto was puzzled. "Why was the weather fine before, but now it's like the sky completely changed in an instant?"
As he spoke, Mitsuki also showed a look of confusion.
"Because this weather isn't natural. It was changed deliberately!"
"Someone used the Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique) to completely cover this entire vast sea area!"
What? Man-made?
Boruto was stunned. Looking into the distance, this probably covered a vast area! "What kind of ninja technique could possibly cover such a range?! That's just monstrous!"
Sasuke chuckled. "Well, thanks to that fellow expanding the coverage to this extent, they won't be able to detect our presence either!"
The boat continued onward, soon landing on a small island.
The moment he set foot on it, Sasuke immediately sensed numerous shinobi on the island.
A rough estimate suggested perhaps nearly a thousand ninjas.
Needless to say, these were naturally Kirigakure shinobi.
Sasuke smirked.
Mobilizing such a large force to capture the Nine-Tails... it seemed Kirigakure was absolutely determined to succeed!
Then again, as the strongest Tailed Beast, the allure of the Nine-Tails was undeniably powerful; that much went without saying.
However, Sasuke was slightly puzzled. He didn't seem to sense Haku's presence.
As Kirigakure's Sixth Mizukage, how could Haku not be involved in a major event like capturing the Nine-Tails?
But just then, he sensed several other presences on the island that were very familiar to him.
"No wonder Kirigakure actually dares to make a move on the Nine-Tails!" Sasuke muttered under his breath.
Behind him, the three listened silently as Sasuke spoke!
"So, it's because the Second Mizukage and the Fourth Mizukage have both come to Kirigakure."
"There's also an unfamiliar presence... that should be the Third Mizukage!"
"Add to that the previous Mizukage, the Fifth Mizukage!"
"To capture the Nine-Tails, four generations of Mizukage have all mobilized. They are truly set on succeeding!"
Sasuke stated calmly.
However, hearing there were four Mizukage, Boruto and the others couldn't help but worry.
Four Kage-level shinobi... would this really be okay?
Sasuke wasn't alone here; he had the three of them, dead weight, tagging along.
If it were just him, perhaps it would be much easier.
Boruto opened his mouth, about to say something.
But the next second, footsteps echoed, and a ninja squad emerged directly from the mist before them.
They seemed to be heading to the shore for guard duty or patrol.
However, the moment they saw Sasuke and the others, they all froze.
In that instant, the hearts of Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sarada nearly leaped out of their chests.
Had they been discovered?! Found out before even starting the infiltration – what an unlucky start! The situation was about to get much worse.
But just then, Sasuke's voice sounded.
"Let's go! Why are you just standing here dazed?"
The three snapped back to reality and saw Sasuke weaving right through the middle of the Mist ninja squad, while the opponents seemed utterly stunned.
They showed absolutely no reaction.
Just stood there silently, completely still.
As if petrified.
The trio paused in bewilderment for a moment, then quickly followed Sasuke. Sarada and the others couldn't understand.
"Why aren't they moving? Did they not see us?"
Hearing this, Sasuke glanced back with a casual smile.
"Oh! That!"
"It's simple! You learned about this kind of ability in the Ninja Academy, didn't you? It's just Genjutsu."
"Genjutsu?"
"Genjutsu can do that? Instantly immobilize people?"
At that moment, Sasuke looked down at the three, his Sharingan already active, though they hadn't noticed when.
Just by relying on its ocular power alone, Sasuke's Sharingan had almost caused the three to lose themselves.
Snapping back from the depths of Sasuke's eyes, they suddenly seemed to understand.
"My Sharingan... a normal person would likely get lost just by looking into it."
"Apply even a slight genjutsu effect, and even a standard Jonin would be instantly paralyzed!"
"So, that Mist squad just now was simply dealt with by my genjutsu!"
Listening to Sasuke explain it so simply, yet realizing the monstrous level of genjutsu skill required to actually do it...
The three roughly imagined it – probably even Konoha's strongest genjutsu user would have to call Sasuke 'Sensei' in deference!
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