Suguru looked at his copy of Sunagakure's formation and realized something. The formation had several huge flaws.
'It's full of inefficiencies,' Suguru squinted.
Redundant seals and overlapping effects occurred several times throughout the formation. They hadn't optimized their Fuinjutsu techniques properly and misused several seals in lieu of achieving their desired effects.
A lot of the issues, however, could be solved. But, creating a geometrically reliant formation such as this required more complex mathematics which the current Sunagakure seemed to lack.
And it wasn't those simpler trigonometric identities, derivatives, and integrals. What Suguru needed would be vector field calculations given the field-like properties of the formation as opposed to a simple barrier like Konoha's. Gradients, divergences, potentials...
Suguru sighed. Given that he had studied these things on Earth, they weren't too hard. However, he had yet to adopt those theories to the physics of this world. The presence of chakra changed everything.
Thankfully, the first diagnosis was simple. The complexities would come later.
"It's like a badly wrapped gift." Suguru shook his head as he reexamined the formation, this time sorting out its components.
When it came to range, it encompassed its desired region in an unreliable manner. Like a liquid unable to form a property shape without any vessel or container. It tended to flow freely through different places or overlap in ways that didn't make sense.
When it came to the functions, there was simply too much gathered information that Suguru didn't feel all of it was necessary. Since even Sunagakure's own shinobi had already devised a way to evade detection, the Real Mirage Formation would work better if it focused only on key aspects of its functionality.
As for chakra consumption...
Suguru laughed in resignation, 'Are they using the Ichibi to fuel it? Is that what they're doing?'
No wonder he couldn't find the young Gaara despite looking around.
The Real Mirage Formation used up a humungous amount of chakra to keep it running. The source of which could only be a Tailed Beast. Otherwise, a normal person would shrivel up in just a few minutes.
Furthermore...
"It has to be Shukaku's chakra in particular," Suguru muttered.
The sand, sealing, and seemingly telekinetic functions of the formation all drew upon Shukaku's Magnet Release.
Without Shukaku's chakra, the whole formation would be nothing more than a few markings on the ground.
Suguru found this amusing. He began updating his mathematical methods to encompass large-scale formations just like this one. His goal was to optimize the Real Mirage Formation and create a miniature version.
The plan was to create a mobile sensing device specifically designed for espionage and monitoring.
Now that he was a chuunin, Suguru planned on going around alone. Extending his senses was paramount to his survival. Although he was good at running away, there were certain shinobi who were impossible to run away from when certain conditions were met.
Although Minato was no longer alive, he was exactly one of those shinobi that Suguru could not flee from with certainty. Another example would be Hidan if he ever so happened to acquire Suguru's blood.
Therefore, Suguru desired the ability to secure his surroundings in a sensory field. With it, he would have no problem sleeping throughout the night.
***
Soon, another year arrived. Suguru continued with his avid research while holding off on any missions. He had more than enough Ryo saved up for his own sake.
While working on his analysis of the Real Mirage Formation, Suguru finally found the inspiration he needed to make his Genjutsu: Infernal Mirage.
'Heh, they both have the word, mirage, in them,' Suguru laughed as he began penning the day's analysis results.
When he left his lab, it was early in the morning again. He moved swiftly, flitting from shadow to shadow and eluding any active chakra field.
His return route was already perfect.
Upon arriving home, Suguru brushed refreshed himself, and fell asleep. After only four hours of sleep, Suguru got up and swallowed an Energy Pill.
Feeling energized and awake, he headed to Training Grounds 48, which he had been using ever since becoming a chuunin. There, he took out a scroll and began developing the final jutsu of his special fire trinity.
In his mind, he wanted to mimic the phenomenon wherein heat would distort the surrounding air. Although he would be distorting his enemy's mind, the gist had been created based on existing natural phenomena.
Thus, there was something beautiful about it.
Like a work of art.
Suguru created a Shadow Clone after checking whether or not someone was spying on him. Then, he began trying to influence his clone after lighting a few fires. He used the flames created by his chakra as a point from which his Genjutsu could be cast.
The key to this was a technique that the Real Mirage Formation made use of when he was taking his Chuunin Exam.
It involved a very subtle and natural flow of chakra, a foreign influence, and an obscuration of the senses.
Suguru soon realized that he was much more talented in Genjutsu than he realized. Perhaps it was because Yin Release was an attribute that was contextually close to his Dark Release. Or perhaps he was simply naturally gifted with the force of imagination or because he had access to the Sharingan and previously absorbed and analyzed Uchiha Shisui's chakra.
It might even be a combination of all of these factors.
He wasn't sure.
Thus, the weeks went by quickly with how busy he was. He continued to build his sensory device and further perfected his Fire Release Trinity. Despite his growing control over his Hellfire Artillery and finesse with the Blaze Battle Body, as well as his successful creation of the Infernal Mirage, Suguru's power spike went unnoticed.
His presence in the world was seemingly minuscule. After all, secretive research and an introverted lifestyle meant that grabbing hold of Suguru was pretty difficult. Even the Anbu and Root shinobi tasked with his surveillance had half given up trying to figure out his whereabouts.
Furthermore, Suguru's lack of drive to showcase his strength meant that Danzo wasn't as persistent in recruiting him. He was simply a talented shinobi who had become a chuunin at a shocking pace.
Other than that, there wasn't much else.
That was until a certain someone appeared before him. He was a familiar face.
[]=[]=[]=[]
I appreciate your support on P@treon! Hehe~
Link: pa treon.com/ubemantou
(No space.)
You can read up to 35 chapters ahead, which I update more than once a day!
[]=[]=[]=[]