Zetsu!

Then, his left hand wrapped in cloud vapor, he slammed his palm heavily into Uchiha Setsuna's chest!

Yet after taking Torikaze's blow, Uchiha Setsuna felt no pain.

Setsuna wanted to mock him, but he discovered that he could no longer muster any strength. His lips became incredibly heavy, and it felt as though his arms and legs had vanished!

His eyes filled with terror. He could only make muffled noises, unable to produce any real sound, and could do nothing but stare fixedly at Torikaze.

"Do you know why this technique is called Cloud Transformation?"

Torikaze said calmly.

At those words, Setsuna stopped struggling and fell silent. There was no longer any emotion in his eyes, only hollowness and deathly stillness.

The next second, Setsuna's body burst apart and dissipated, transforming into wisps of white clouds that drifted toward the horizon and vanished.

Cloud Transformation was the core ninjutsu of Cloud Release, but it was also considered an entry-level technique.

Once one learned Cloud Transformation, one learned how to turn living people into cloud vapor. This was critically important for continuing to learn or develop stronger Cloud Release techniques.

"Hmm, it's still different from Dust Release."

Torikaze muttered to himself.

He had previously thought this technique's effect was similar to Dust Release, but only upon truly using it could he clearly feel the difference.

Dust Release broke all matter within an area down into atomic form, while Cloud Release transformed its target into cloud vapor. The two were still vastly different.

It might not sound as powerful as Dust Release, but Cloud Release techniques were endlessly variable, while Dust Release only had the Original World Detachment Technique.

Torikaze looked in the direction Hiruzen and the others had gone. He estimated that he could catch up to them, since killing Uchiha Setsuna had not taken him long at all.

"Cloud Release—Cloud Surge!"

A massive amount of cloud vapor erupted from Torikaze's sleeves, propelling him directly into the sky like thrusters! A moment later, he fell back down!

"Holy crap! This is awesome! I still don't really know how to use this!"

Since it was his first time using the technique, he could not control it very well. He flew all over the place and nearly crashed into trees several times!

Torikaze increased the surge of cloud vapor and steadied himself in midair. After practicing repeatedly for a while, he finally managed to control it.

His mood immediately soared, and he circled through the air several times in a row. "Woohoo! Here I go!"

He then flew toward Hiruzen and the others, leaving only a trail of cloud vapor in the sky.

Not long after Torikaze left, a head that was half black and half white slowly emerged from the ground amid the grass by the roadside.

"He's that person's descendant," White Zetsu said flatly, seemingly without any emotion.

Black Zetsu echoed, "Looks like it."

"We secretly altered the scroll, and yet he still managed to learn it."

Black Zetsu reached out and picked up the arm Torikaze had severed. "It was only an idle move anyway. It doesn't matter if it fails."

White Zetsu gave a soft acknowledgment.

"Is this thing useful?"

"Who knows? It was only an idle move anyway."

Then they slowly sank back underground.

Naturally, Torikaze knew nothing of this. At the moment, he was speeding down the broad road.

While using Cloud Surge, Torikaze was incredibly fast. Since this technique merely relied on propulsion to maintain its so-called flight—

—it did not consume much Chakra. More importantly, it could not be used in battle, so it was merely a ninjutsu for traveling or showing off.

Ding—Chaos Event concluded. Completion rating: A+. Reward: 6,000 Tranquility Points.

"Whoa!" One Chaos Event had given him a full 6,000 Tranquility Points!

After waiting for quite a while and confirming that his Chaos Points had not increased from ruining someone's plans, Torikaze celebrated wildly in midair.

Everything was developing in a good direction. If things kept going like this, what the hell did he have to fear from Madara Uchiha?

In high spirits, Torikaze sped up and finally spotted Hiruzen and the others ahead of a fork in the road.

"Hey, everyone!" Torikaze called loudly.

On the ground, Hiruzen's ears twitched. "Why do I feel like I heard Torikaze's voice?"

Koharu turned to look behind them, but she did not see so much as a shadow. "You heard wrong, didn't you? There's nothing there!"

"Impossible!" Hiruzen declared righteously. "Don't underestimate the ears I developed over years of listening outside the women's bathhouse... Cough, cough... No, no, I mean years of patrolling the women's bathhouse!"

Without another word, Koharu immediately beat Hiruzen senseless!

"You pervert! How can you say peeping so proudly?!"

Hiruzen rubbed his swollen cheek, looking aggrieved. "I really did hear him."

Danzo, standing nearby, looked at Hiruzen and could not help shaking his head. "Then why didn't those ears you honed from years of patrolling tell you that Torikaze is in the sky?"

At once, everyone looked up. Sure enough, they found Torikaze hovering in midair, thick white clouds still gushing from his sleeves.

Hiruzen immediately said to Koharu, "See? I told you I heard him!"

But the only result was another brutal beating. "Was that why I beat you, you pervert?!"

After being beaten twice in a row by Koharu, Hiruzen could barely speak clearly. He only felt wronged.

Why did peeping at the women's bathhouse deserve a beating? Wasn't that a family tradition?

At that moment, Torikaze slowly descended, still smiling.

The others were somewhat puzzled. What was this? Did having diarrhea make him that happy?

But no matter what, Torikaze's entrance was undeniably impressive. Was there anything cooler than descending from the sky?

"Hello, everyone. I hurried as fast as I could and finally caught up with you."

Koharu walked over and circled Torikaze once. "Torikaze, what kind of ninjutsu is that? Can Cloud Release fly?"

Faced with Koharu's question, Torikaze readily explained, "Sister Koharu, it relies on the propulsion generated by continuously releasing dense white clouds. It isn't real flight."

He then explained its drawbacks as well. Koharu understood that it was a travel technique, but it was still quite novel. It was her first time seeing such ninjutsu.

At that moment, Hiruzen, who had been beaten so badly he could barely speak, squeezed out from behind the others and mumbled, "Since Torikaze is back too, we should continue on our way."

His voice sounded so strange that Torikaze did not immediately recognize who it was.

When he looked at Hiruzen, he became even more confused. "Sister Koharu, who's this pig-headed guy?"

Utatane Koharu awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "Ah... haha... that's Hiruzen."

After learning this, Torikaze said nothing. He merely gave Hiruzen a look.

Hiruzen nodded in return, as though saying, "Good brother, no words are needed."

Since anyone who heard Hiruzen speak now felt like laughing, Danzo temporarily took over as captain and led everyone back to the village.

With Torikaze back in the group, they picked up the pace.

About two hours later, they could clearly see the gates of Konoha.