After having lunch with Sara and Obito and sent them to practice, Masahiko continued on training hard.
Through the painstaking work, Masahiko's mastery of his Space Ninjutsu went higher and higher.
In the blink of an eye, another month has passed. Of all Masahiko's Ninjutsu, the "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World" was the only one he still couldn't use, which means that his strength has basically been restored. Moreover, there was no ninja alive that could force him to use such a strong technique.
Good news came from the Hyuuga Clan. After a month and a half, they successfully finished studying the Eight Trigrams, but no one could completely perform it yet. Hiashi was really trying hard.
Masahiko wasn't in a hurry. He was planning on waiting for Hiashi to completely awaken the 256 Palm, then pass it over to him.
Besides, because she didn't accept the Land of Whirlpools job, Sara's holidays were also increasing. She has no choice now but to work a small shift since Ichiraku Ramen was getting even idler as the war continued.
Masahiko was afraid that Sara will get bored, so he left the fat cat at home so she can take care of him.
The first stage of training has come to an end, and Masahiko had nothing to do too. He initially thought that mastering his Space Ninjutsu will take him half a year, but he figured it out in less than two months.
"I'm really a genius."
Masahiko muttered secretly as he walked out of the Amazon Store. After he transformed back to his original appearance, he went to the Senju Station, so he could check on Nagato's training.
"Yo! Sensei, you're here!"
Masahiko had given up on the idea of correcting Nagato's weird habits of greeting him.
"Show me what you learned."
Nagato unexpectedly lowered his head, "Sensei, there is no problem with changing the Nature Chakra of the Wind Release, but exactly do I turn them into the Dust Release?"
Masahiko sighed; god knows how he can turn them into the dust release. Onoki might be the only person who can answer that!
Masahiko pondered for a moment, then said while pointing to Nagato's body, "This is Wind, this is Fire, and this is Earth, now think that there's an invisible circle around each one of them, all you have to do is to connect them together using that circle and rotate them. However, the rotation must be clockwise… do you understand?"
Nagato shook his head decisively.
"Why don't you understand?" Masahiko said painfully.
"Nagato, this is what Sensei meant." Konan's voice emitted, and at the same time, three sheets of paper flew up with the words "Wind, Fire, and Earth" written on each one of them, then connected and rotated in a clockwise direction.
Nagato was stunned, "I understand now!"
Masahiko's face darkened… this actually made sense.
"Sure enough, what I said made sense; Nagato was just too stupid to understand it abstractly…"
"Now what you understand, practice hard, and when you finally master the Dust Release and the Sage Mode, you will have half of my strength," Masahiko said with a smile.
"Yes, Sensei!" Nagato didn't care about the "half" part and was again full of fighting spirit.
"Konan, you have to work on refueling too."
Konan showed a sweet smile, but what she said made Masahiko shudder, "I have stored tens of millions of Explosive Tags on me."
"You… be careful, okay?" Masahiko was really afraid that she would blow Konoha into the sky, "Try not to rely on external forces. Work on strengthening your techniques."
"I understand, Sensei."
Masahiko waved his hand, then turned and left. Konan should be okay, but Nagato… it depends on God's will.
As soon as he walked out, he met Mikoto, who was holding Itachi in her arms.
"Great Grandpa, I heard that you're here, so I came to find you. You told me to tell you when Itachi starts talking. He already did."
"So quickly?" Masahiko was surprised. Itachi should be younger than nine months old.
"Yes, he did just two days ago." Mikoto smiled happily.
Masahiko glanced at Itachi in Mikoto's arms. A child of his age was already looking at the world curiously, just like a cat…
"No, he's not like a cat!" Masahiko cursed secretly, that fat cat has really destroyed his perception of cats.
After hesitating for a while, Masahiko still said, "Little Itachi, say Grandpa-Sama."
Mikoto: "…"
Masahiko also reacted after saying it. This name was a bit strange.
"Okay… how about, Sage Grandpa?"
Itachi still didn't respond.
"Sage Grandpa?"
"Sage Grandpa?"
...
Mikoto couldn't help but laugh. Great Grandpa was more naïve than Nawaki. There was no way that he could say his second word in such a short period.
"Itachi can only say mama now, but he doesn't often say it, only when he's hungry."
Masahiko smiled and nodded, "The little guy is quite smart. He only calls you when he needs you."
After trying two more times with Itachi, Masahiko sighed, "He's still too young, but when he's a bit older, he will ready to start a kindergarten education!"
"Kindergarten education?" Mikoto looked puzzled and had a bad premonition.
"Geniuses must be educated at a very young age, don't you understand? We can't let him have a normal childhood. We might waste his talent!" Masahiko said.
Mikoto nodded stiffly and nodded, feeling that Itachi's growth might not be smooth sailing with Great Grandpa around.
"What's up with that expression? I have never taught a child at such a young age. This should be an honor of your Itachi." Masahiko stared.
"That's why I should be worried," Mikoto said silently in her heart.
It wasn't clear if Itachi felt something, but he suddenly raised his small hands and gestured toward Masahiko, who leaned over toward him and then got smacked on his face by Itachi's tiny palm.
"Sure enough, he's an amazing kid. He even has the courage to deal with me at such a young age."
Mikoto shook her head helplessly.
The words "Yaya" came out of Itachi's mouth, and Mikoto said, "Did you hear that? Itachi just called me again. He must be hungry."
Masahiko's face turned dark. Is that what he said? He wasn't so sure…
Turning his hand, the familiar dried fish appeared in his palm, "Here you go, little boy, you can have this dried fish. It's very nutritious and tastes good."
Mikoto looked at him strangely, didn't pick up the dried fish, turned around holding Itachi, and left.
"She left." Masahiko sadly threw the dried fish into his mouth.
Walking out of the Senju Station, Masahiko smiled slightly as he glanced at the dazzling sun.
How could he know that Itachi couldn't eat dried fish yet? The kid can already say words. You never know what he can do else. After all, he was just trying to help. It's not like he had kids before… if you don't count Sara.
"Itachi is thriving, Nagato was also getting closer to learn the Dust Release, and my Space Ninjutsu has also come to an end. The war at the Land of Rain has become more like a tug-of-war. And in a few months, I will take Obito with me to the battlefield. But now, I should go and do some business."
Looking at the direction, Kirigakure Masahiko thought of the Akatsuki. Even though he felt that it was unlikely that they were still there, he wanted to see with his own eyes.
"Maybe the enemy is a fool?"