My Techniques are a bit off

"Old man, come home with me," Asuma pleaded, dragging his little brat of a father along. "Mom's already furious. If you don't go back, she'll come here herself."

"And Kushina's due any day now. You should really head back. There's Naruto, and Lord Jiraiya's situation…"

"Er…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi scratched his head awkwardly, glancing over at Utakata in the distance. "Director, can I take a leave of absence?"

Initially, he had run away. It wasn't only about Kushina and Naruto—he frankly hated dealing with politics. The Alliance was far more complicated than the old Konoha, and various events left him feeling conflicted. But since someone else was handling things up top, he took the opportunity to take a break, get away, and clear his mind.

In the Third World, he spent a good stretch living more adventurously: traversing vast seas, scaling lofty mountains, strolling through deserted cities, and sneaking into the lairs of ferocious ninja beasts.

Once people vanished, animals and plants spread quickly. The already-primitive wilderness was now so overgrown that most places no longer showed any sign of human presence.

The Divine Tree had caused terrible harm to ordinary people. Even after the Infinite Tsukuyomi was undone, almost all normal humans had become nothing but dried husks. Survivors were scattered across the globe, waiting to be rescued. Eventually, once rescued, they chose to leave that ruined world and join the Alliance's settlements.

Regrettably, even with the Alliance in action, the Shinobi World was enormous. Tens of thousands of ninja were a mere drop in the ocean. If not for the extraordinary mobility of shinobi, searching every mountain and field for survivors would have been nearly impossible. Even now, finishing the rescue operations was nowhere in sight.

Anyway, back to the main point: Hiruzen Sarutobi started off on an official mission, then drifted into aimless wandering—and that new lifestyle changed his worldview completely.

In the past, influenced by his father Sasuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen had worked to be a ninja ever since he was old enough to understand anything. Later, two Hokage put their hopes in him, so he kept growing stronger, taking missions, fighting in wars—and becoming Hokage bound him permanently to the village.

He'd never known what "freedom" really meant. But after truly experiencing a carefree life, he felt thoroughly transformed.

Then, well… because he ran out of money, Utakata recruited him as a fieldworker to gather video footage.

He had no choice: traveling freely wasn't just about hardship. If you handled all food, clothing, and lodging in the wild by yourself, you'd basically be a savage. Besides, he spent quite a bit on Web Net and entertainment. If he wanted a free-spirited life, he needed money.

This time, the trip to the Future World was funded by the "director," who paid for location shoots.

Going home would depend on whether that same "director" agreed. Ideally, Hiruzen could take a break and then come back later.

He'd been away long enough—time to go see how things were at home.

"Hm."

Utakata thought for a moment, then nodded. "Just hand over the footage you've got so far, and you can leave."

He'd originally hired Hiruzen Sarutobi under rather odd circumstances. When Link first slipped into that deep sleep, Utakata and Sasuke kept watch daily, but soon realized it was pointless—two Hashiramas at the Alliance's base, plus Final-Chapter Naruto, plus the Black Shadow Army were more than enough to guarantee security. So, they each went on to do their own thing.

They couldn't continue filming The New Fourth Ninja War with Link until he woke up. They didn't know how long that would take, so Utakata decided to start shooting a second movie.

Web Net videos were typically filmed from a first-person viewpoint, focusing on whatever the user found interesting—like how Jiraiya #2's "shopping" videos always zoomed in on women's chests, waists, and legs, while faces stayed fuzzy. Utakata's new film needed a child's perspective, but not a real kid who'd get distracted by random nonsense. A dwarf or a reincarnated adult in a child's body was ideal.

That's when he ran into Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Third World, and they instantly clicked. They'd been working together since.

But now that the old man wanted to leave, Utakata figured there was no point in granting a temporary leave—he'd just hire someone else. He quickly calculated the salary, sent Hiruzen his contribution via Web Net, and said, "Goodbye." Then, without hesitation, he turned and left.

Looking at the contribution he'd just received, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed regretfully. It was a solid job, after all, and he'd only wanted some time off—didn't expect Utakata to cancel the contract outright.

Casting a glance at his clueless son, Hiruzen grumbled, "Let's go."

"Eh? Right now?" Asuma was caught off-guard; he'd prepared for a long talk or even a forced confrontation.

Hiruzen didn't reply, just turned and walked away.

…

Tap!

Utakata appeared behind Anko Mitarashi without a sound. The moment she tensed to attack out of reflex, he exhaled, placing a hand on her arm.

Quietly letting go, he asked, "You followed me—need something?"

"Um…" Anko scratched the back of her head. "You're Utakata, right? The one always around Link?"

"Mm." Utakata grunted, aloof.

"How's Link doing these days?" Anko asked, genuinely concerned. She hadn't seen that brat in a while. She worried about him—he'd vanished without warning.

"He's fine." Utakata kept it short. Seeing how anxious she looked, he paused, then added, "He's, uh…training."

Well, sort of training. After the first few days of Link's coma, the medical team set up shop near the lab, and Utakata plus Sasuke helped check Link's vitals. His body was growing stronger at a shocking rate, his cells practically defied logic, and his chakra was surging. The lab had erected multiple barriers around it to conceal the swirling chakra. Yes, outwardly he was "asleep," but his power kept skyrocketing. Since they couldn't disclose his real situation or location, saying he was "training" was a convenient half-truth.

"And…" Anko hesitated.

She wanted to ask when Link would be back, but realized Utakata wouldn't say if it was confidential.

"A month," Utakata said, reading her mind. "He'll probably be back in about a month."

The transformation was nearly done, with the cell-strength and chakra expansion tapering off. Tsunade predicted it would wrap up within a month at most.

"Thanks," Anko said with a relieved smile. "Well, I'll be going, then."

"Wait." Utakata called after her, looking thoughtful. "You interested in earning some contribution?"

He'd tried a child's perspective for the second movie—maybe next he'd try a "woman's perspective."

~~~

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