In Masahiko's imagination, after using the bloodline-development card his body might show some reaction or produce some phenomenon.
But reality—
Nothing happened.
Not even—
The "Bloodline Limit" column on the panel remained unchanged.
"Damn! It must be a fake!"
Masahiko cursed in fury.
He'd looked forward to it for so long, yet nothing happened—like some knock-off.
Piece of junk!
He tossed the notebook aside, flopped onto the bed in a huff, and lost all mood to record anything.
"Maybe the time isn't right and it hasn't been developed yet—has to be it!"
Masahiko sat up.
Judging by the system's usual behavior, only level-up-type ability cards worked instantly; the rest required personal training and mastery.
The wording "bloodline development" instead of "bloodline awakening"… the difference probably lay there.
Besides—
The earlier prompt had mentioned a time frame.
With that thought, Masahiko felt much better.
Let the bloodline fly a little longer!
He settled his mood, didn't rush to close the light-screen, and with a thought returned to the start.
The Forest of Death was huge.
Shisui could obtain information about the abandoned hideouts inside from Anbu archives; Masahiko had no such source.
Therefore—
If he wanted to find Shisui, he could only use the clumsy method—
Compare landmarks and lock down the general location.
Bit by bit Masahiko memorized every distinctive feature, planning to check against a map of the Forest of Death later… for three straight days.
Masahiko's days were exceedingly dull—
Training, practice, classes, reading research while looking up data on the Forest of Death and trying to pinpoint Shisui's approximate position.
Thanks to Kanpō's notes, Masahiko's medical knowledge soared; through the Ninjutsu training space he practiced and improved constantly… [Water Jellyfish: Mastered].
Meanwhile he also monitored his physical condition.
According to his measurements—
Over these three days his weight had increased abnormally, his stamina seemed much greater than before, and consequently his Chakra volume had risen a bit.
His top speed should have improved, but without specialized testing it was hard to estimate the exact gain.
Moreover—
The increase was still slowly proceeding and remolding his body.
Masahiko knew—
This had to be the effect of the bloodline-development card.
As long as there was an effect, he considered it worthwhile whether or not a Bloodline Limit awakened.
At the same time—
During these three days he had locked down the general area where Shisui was located.
Masahiko planned to go take a look and see if Shisui needed help… Night, Forest of Death, on the edge of a Training Ground, in a mountain hollow bordering another Training Ground.
Shisui huddled in the underground hideout, no longer rattled.
No outsiders had entered the Forest of Death during this period, meaning everything was moving in a good direction.
That person should have covered his tracks for him.
He couldn't risk being discovered and harming the clan just for one eye.
Right now Shisui didn't want to die!
Yet every day he felt the eye socket closing—
He couldn't tell whether it was an illusion, psychological, or real.
The man and the spiral-masked figure hadn't appeared again.
Shisui couldn't help growing anxious, not knowing what they intended.
The night was silent.
He leaned against the wall, preparing to rest briefly.
Result—
In moments Shisui snapped his single eye open and vanished from where he sat.
The next second a figure strolled out of the woods and flicked a Kunai that stuck into the cliff outside the hideout.
Shisui recognized the familiar style but didn't step out immediately.
He couldn't confirm the newcomer's identity and even suspected it might be the spiral-masked imposter from before.
Or… were they on the same side?
Shisui dared not be careless.
At this point the newcomer chuckled: "Remember what I said? Besides Danzo and me, there's still another party."
"Looks like they've already set their sights on you."
"Come out. If I could find this place, it means I know your situation inside out."
The Black-Robed Man didn't leave, certain Shisui was here.
The woods were quiet.
After a moment Shisui stepped from the shadows, curiosity all over his face: "How did you know?"
"I have my own sources."
The Black-Robed Man smiled. "What do you need? soldier pills? Or something else? I can still supply you for a while."
Shisui was silent for a bit, then spoke: "Do you know Medical Ninjutsu? I need someone to reconnect my eye."
"I know a little, but reconnecting an eye requires extremely delicate Medical Ninjutsu…"
the Black-Robed Man replied.
"No matter. I also know a bit; as long as you can use Chakra to reactivate the nerves and flesh in the socket, I'll handle the rest myself."
Shisui covered his eye, Chakra erupting at his fingertips as he forcefully probed the socket.
Intense pain shot from the eye socket.
The healed wound was torn open by his own hand; blood trickled from the cavity.
Then, using the blood and forming hand seals, he unsealed the sealing scroll.
A bottle appeared in the center of the scroll.
Inside the bottle rested a perfectly preserved three-tomoe Sharingan.
Enduring the pain Shisui said,
"This was given to me by a man wearing a spiral mask; he invited me to join him—I was still considering it."
"Oh, and now?"
The Black-Robed Man wasn't angry; there was even a hint of a smile.
Shisui frowned, whether from pain or thought: "I think I still should join. What do you think?"
The Black-Robed Man formed hand seals, drawing forth a wisp of medical Chakra.
A trace of surprise flickered in Shisui's eyes.
He had assumed… the man's "know a little" really meant only a little.
But watching the Chakra control, he knew that wasn't the case.
The medical Chakra was applied in a peculiar way; after the palm pressed near his eye socket the Chakra merged with the blood and took slow effect along the bloodstream.
The flesh and nerves around the socket were recovering!
Suppressing his excitement Shisui took the eye from the bottle and aligned it with the socket.
The Black-Robed Man increased the Chakra output.
The technique he used wasn't the original Water Jellyfish, but the medical-Chakra skill Masahiko had comprehended from Water Jellyfish.
To Shisui the soothing sensation grew stronger.
Though slow, this Chakra was healing his eye together with the blood.
The eye was integrating into the socket!
Chakra worked gradually.
When vision returned, Shisui exhaled slowly.
Success!
"Thank you."
"I told you—we share a goal and can cooperate toward it."
The Black-Robed Man smiled. "By the way, here's another piece of good news… I staged your death pretty well. Although Danzo isn't entirely convinced, Uchiha Itachi has awakened the Mangekyo."
"You—"
Shisui had meant to ask how the other knew about the "Mangekyo awakening," but remembering that the man even knew about the spiral-masked figure, he wasn't surprised.
After a pause he asked: "Danzo can use Izanagi?"
"Judging from your experience, obviously."
The Black-Robed Man didn't answer directly; he merely glanced at Shisui. "I have plenty of intel, but I'm not omniscient."
Shisui fell silent.
The man might indeed not know everything, yet the fact that he knew Shisui's hiding place meant… either he was exceptionally astute or possessed an extremely powerful information network.
Such a candid answer showed the man's confidence.
Thinking of this, Shisui sought advice: "Should I make contact with the Masked Man?"
"You can, but be careful… he knows the Uchiha very well; chances are he was once one of them."
The Black-Robed Man chuckled. "The Village of the Bloody Mist and the Nine-Tails Attack both seem connected to him."
Shisui understood the implication.
When bargaining with a tiger, one misstep lands you in the beast's jaws.
What shocked him was—
The Village of the Bloody Mist was also linked to the spiral-Masked Man.
The man before him excelled in Water Release… could he really be from the Hidden Mist Village?
That didn't add up!
This person should be from Konoha… Shisui's eyes flickered, but he said nothing and simply gave a slight nod of understanding.