Anbu Base, Dungeon.
Terado was fiddling with a deck of playing cards. Although his body was restrained, making him no more than an ordinary person in terms of physical ability, his hands moved like shadows, skillfully shuffling and manipulating the fifty-four cards with ease.
Buzz!
Suddenly, a chakra fluctuation rippled across the prison door. The sealing marks lit up momentarily before fading away, and the door creaked open.
"How many have you figured out?" Haruto Saito stepped into the cell, asking casually.
"Three," Terado looked up at Haruto, revealing a faint smile.
"I've shown you a total of forty-eight card tricks. You had already cracked nine before, and now you've solved three more. That leaves thirty-six. You better step up your game." Haruto's tone was teasing as he sat cross-legged across from Terado.
"I'll get faster over time," Terado replied with a calm smile. "Card tricks all follow certain patterns, just different variations of the same principles. At first, they seem fascinating and mysterious, but once you break them down, they're nothing special."
"I admire that never-give-up attitude of yours."
"What trick do you plan to show me today?"
"Hold on. Dinner will be delivered soon. Eat first, then we'll continue."
Although they were technically enemies, at this moment, they seemed more like friends. Their conversation was casual, without any pretense or hostility. In the entire Hidden Leaf Village, Haruto was probably the only person Terado would speak to. He never talked to anyone else. Over the past half month, most of their discussions revolved around card tricks.
That "game" was still ongoing.
But it was as if they had both forgotten the original purpose of the "game." Haruto came to visit Terado at the same time every day without fail, and he always shared a meal with him, even if he had already eaten beforehand.
The cell grew quiet again.
It was just the two of them. Oniheart was not present. He had initially been assigned to monitor Haruto under the orders of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to prevent Haruto from suddenly killing Terado. But since Haruto showed no intention of doing so, he had protested against the surveillance. Eventually, after consulting Hiruzen, Oniheart stopped watching.
Shuffle.
Terado shuffled the old deck of cards, his gaze fixed on Haruto. Seeing that Haruto seemed preoccupied, he asked, "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing," Haruto replied absentmindedly. "Dinner will be here soon. Just wait."
In truth, he was thinking about the mentor-disciple bond and his current mission. He had successfully taken Minato Namikaze as his personal disciple, allowing him to begin training in the Flying Thunder God Technique. Now, mastering it was only a matter of time.
But there was still the matter of the mentor-disciple bond. Haruto needed to find a way to increase the bond index. Currently, it was only at 10 points, but if he could raise it to 80, he could potentially gain some of Minato's talents.
Minato's genius wasn't limited to his space-time abilities. He was a prodigy in all aspects—after all, he was the one who would go on to create the Rasengan. His space-time affinity was just the most prominent among his numerous talents.
Then there was the mission, which was giving Haruto a headache.
How was he supposed to master the Barrier Breaking Technique in just half a month? No S-rank forbidden technique could be learned in such a short time.
Before long, the cell door opened again, and an Anbu ninja brought in two trays of food.
Haruto and Terado had dinner together.
Haruto was usually quite talkative, but tonight, he was silent. Terado, on the other hand, rarely spoke first. The meal was eaten in quiet contemplation. Terado, however, observed Haruto closely, as if he were studying something intriguing.
After the meal.
"No magic trick today?" Terado asked unexpectedly. "Or are you out of tricks?"
"Anything in my hands can be turned into magic," Haruto glanced at Terado. "I can create new tricks on the spot. As long as my hands are quick enough, I can perform illusions indefinitely, never repeating the same one."
"I don't believe you," Terado shrugged.
"Don't provoke me. I'm in a bad mood." Haruto's tone was one of mild annoyance.
"Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" Terado smiled faintly.
"Even if I did, you wouldn't be able to help. There's no point…" Haruto suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes flashing with realization.
He needed someone to discuss the Barrier Breaking Technique with! If that person had a natural talent for it, they could provide valuable insights and suggestions. This, in turn, would allow Haruto to earn card fragments.
Could that person be Terado?!
Haruto was stunned by the thought, but the more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed!
The system had stated that magic card missions would never be impossible to complete. It had also indicated that the probability of success was nearly fifty percent. This meant that not only could he complete the mission, but it should be relatively easy—as long as he found the right approach!
And the only method Haruto could think of for learning the Barrier Breaking Technique within half a month was to discuss it with someone and use the system's power to aid him.
Then there was Terado himself.
He was practically inhuman!
His combat prowess was among the strongest in the ninja world, and his willpower was unmatched. His intelligence, planning ability, and overall wisdom far exceeded that of ordinary ninjas.
Most terrifying of all was his incredible learning and imitation ability.
Haruto hadn't dared to use hypnosis magic on him because the process of performing it could be visually observed. Although chakra flowed internally, the external execution of the technique could be seen. If Terado merely watched it once, he might be able to replicate it, at least to some extent.
More importantly, Terado was already highly skilled in forbidden techniques.
With such a monstrous level of intelligence and skill… could he be the one with the talent for the Barrier Breaking Technique?
"What?" Terado asked again, noticing that Haruto was staring at him.
"Terado-sama, may I ask you something?" Haruto asked seriously.
"What is it?" Terado replied, his tone inviting inquiry.
"This!" Haruto reached into his robe and pulled out a scroll, handing it to Terado. "Terado-sama, what do you think of this technique?"
Haruto knew this was a huge gamble. The Barrier Breaking Technique was essentially a god-tier escape jutsu, and Terado was currently a prisoner. By showing him the scroll, he was risking giving him knowledge that could help him escape.
But such concerns were largely unnecessary. Terado had been sealed, rendering him unable to use any techniques. However, considering how unnatural this man was, anything was possible.
Terado took the scroll, glanced at Haruto, and then began reading it in silence.
His expression remained unchanged, making it impossible for Haruto to gauge his thoughts.