Master, There's a Yaoguai in the Forest!

The setting sun retreated, and the veil of night descended.

The sky was blanketed by a vast shroud of darkness, and the air turned abruptly thin and cold.

The forest seemed to harbor a deep, endless gloom, with gnarled, strange-looking old trees resembling withered, baring faces.

Predators of the night struck in silence, and the helpless shrieks of injured small beasts made the atmosphere all the more hair-raising...

A group of about ten people leaped rapidly between the trees, as agile as apes, their open-toed shoes landing on the branches with the stability of Mount Tai.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The ten figures flashed past; they were so fast that one could only see ten shadows vanishing from sight.

In the western forest of the Land of Fire, tongues of flame roared in every direction, incinerating the trees within a radius of over a hundred meters.

At the very center, a giant, waist-high meteorite lay, its surface a mix of black and red.

Billowing black smoke shot straight into the sky, and the raging fire blurred the line of sight.

It was a scene like the end of the world, with everything shrouded in a deathly silence.

Suddenly, a crisp crack rang out.

A fissure split the burning meteorite in two right down the middle.

Crackle, pop. As the stone shattered, a soft, boneless little hand poked out with a thwip and dug fiercely into the earth.

"Sss! So hot!" A tender, childish voice carried a lazy tone, its shriek somewhat casual.

Strangely, the moment the meteorite shattered, the surrounding fire seemed to be drawn by some kind of force and was suddenly extinguished!

Before long, a five or six-year-old brat crawled out from the meteorite.

Sealed for a thousand years, yet he had only possessed consciousness for six.

The first memory to flood his mind was that he had inherited the most noble surname in this world, Otsutsuki, and that he was a brat named Tōka.

Shaking his dizzy head, Tōka braced his hands against his weak knees and slowly stood up.

"Sigh, names are just fleeting clouds."

Having not moved his body for six years, weak legs should be normal, right?

Tōka hunched over, feeling his legs trembling as if he would collapse the next second.

"Big brother inherited mother's Doudougan and evolved it into the Rinnegan."

"Second brother inherited mother's Dongdongyan and evolved it into the Tenseigan."

"Even the third brother—or was it a brother?—also..."

"Sigh, why can't I even stand steady!!!"

Tōka persisted for a moment before deciding to know his limits, plopping his butt back down onto the meteorite.

Sss!

It was still a bit hot, but he was too lazy to move.

While he still had some time, Tōka needed to rest for a bit and think about what to do next.

Black Zetsu, who had been keeping a constant watch on the moon, had rushed toward this location frantically the moment the celestial anomaly appeared.

After the meteorite landed, Black Zetsu had been hiding in the shadows, observing.

Until Tōka crawled out from the meteorite fragments...

A complex expression, as if a bottle of mixed emotions had been overturned, appeared on Black Zetsu's face.

Surprise, confusion, and longing.

Black Zetsu stared blankly at Tōka's cheeks and muttered to himself, "It's... Mother's... scent."

"Who?! Who's there!" Though Tōka was small, his mind was sharp.

The surrounding trees had been burned to ash, leaving the area very open.

Black Zetsu's whispered voice was as crisp and clear as a needle dropping on a floor.

Just then, a cold night breeze swept across the land, making the little bird down there shiver.

Tōka instinctively clamped his legs together and hugged his arms, rubbing them.

He hadn't noticed it before, but now that the fire caused by the meteorite had died out, the surrounding air was gradually returning to normal.

The night was slightly chilly, the cold wind howling.

Only then did Tōka realize that he wasn't wearing any clothes at all!

His lower half felt a bit breezy...

Just as Tōka lowered his head to look, he suddenly felt a shadow loom over him.

He instinctively looked up, only to see an object slowly "rising" from the ground.

"A Pitcher Plant??"

Tōka cried out instinctively, his mind spinning rapidly.

Pitcher Plant, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu!

A person growing out of the grass—no, a person with grass growing around his neck!

Half black, half white.

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, with their diametrically opposed personalities.

But Tōka knew that in reality, there was only one Black Zetsu; White Zetsu was merely a puppet controlled by him.

In the brief moment Tōka was dazed, Black Zetsu had already emerged from the ground.

"Eh?~~ You know me?" White Zetsu asked in a strange, frivolous tone.

"Can you not speak in that tone?" Tōka frowned, struggling with a dilemma.

Should he call him Third Brother, or Third Sister?

"Who are you?" A sharp glint flashed through Black Zetsu's yolk-colored eyes.

"Who am I?" Hearing this, Tōka felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Black Zetsu seemed to have been here for a long time; the fact that he only just emerged suggested he might have already guessed something.

Or perhaps, Black Zetsu had already caught a scent—the scent belonging to Kaguya Otsutsuki.

"Speak! Or I'll kill you!!"

Black Zetsu's gaze darkened, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of a tremor that even he hadn't noticed.

"You really want to know?" Tōka raised an eyebrow and sat nonchalantly on the rubble.

Black Zetsu glanced at that little worm, a flash of envy crossing his eyes before it vanished.

Tōka didn't care at all; taking advantage of the moment the other was distracted, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Gradually, a plan emerged.

In the world of Naruto, the strong were as numerous as clouds.

In his current state, Tōka was the weakest of the weak.

And while Black Zetsu's own strength was relatively low, he possessed an ability no one else could match!

Survival! Surviving safely!

Ever since Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed, this guy Black Zetsu had lived on his own.

He lived through the era of Six Paths, the era of Ninshu, and the era of the Warring States.

Even when he was sealed later on, he remained alive!

Right now, what Tōka needed most was to survive; only by surviving could he become stronger!

Under Black Zetsu's increasingly impatient gaze, Tōka finally laughed out loud and began to speak.

"I have an eldest brother who inherited Mother's Sharingan."

"I have a second brother who inherited Mother's Byakugan."

"And I have a third brother..."

As he spoke, Tōka glanced at Black Zetsu, the implication in his eyes self-evident.

Tōka's voice was light and faint, but Black Zetsu's expression changed again and again.

When he heard Tōka say his eldest brother had obtained the Sharingan, Black Zetsu's pupils constricted.

When he heard Tōka say his second brother had obtained the Byakugan, Black Zetsu was seventy percent certain of his suspicions.

When he heard him mention a third brother...

Black Zetsu was almost one hundred percent certain that this kid was Mother's son!!

"Unfortunately, I am..." Tōka's expression shifted, revealing an air of sorrow.

Before he could finish his sentence, Black Zetsu interrupted him with a look of envy, "You inherited Mother's beauty!"

"Pfft!!" Tōka spat out a mouthful of metaphorical blood upon hearing this.

Beauty? He couldn't help but look down at himself.

Though the worm is small, there is always a time when it encounters the wind and clouds to become a dragon.

With this kind of status, you want to talk to me about beauty??

Tōka glared at Black Zetsu with a dark expression; no wonder that guy would give his own son such a name.

Black Zetsu glared back, refusing to back down, and the two of them—one standing, one sitting—stared each other down.

Under the night sky, cold winds blew in gusts.

I don't know how much time passed, but Tōka eventually conceded.

"Hey, take off your clothes!"

"What for?"

Black Zetsu raised an eyebrow and spoke directly, abandoning his usual White Zetsu-style antics.

Tōka's expression darkened, turning somewhat cold. What kind of look is that? Do you really think I'd do something to you?

"Obviously, you're giving it to me to wear!" Tōka said, his mouth twitching slightly.

"Oh..." Black Zetsu subconsciously began to peel off his robe.

However, halfway through, his movements suddenly came to a halt.

Tōka frowned slightly, wondering what Black Zetsu was up to now.

"Then what am I supposed to wear?" Black Zetsu asked, looking suddenly enlightened before shouting indignantly.

"What does it matter whether you wear anything or not?" Tōka pondered seriously for a moment, then answered with a straight face.

"That's true..." Black Zetsu tilted his head and thought about it; it seemed that way.

But why did it feel so strange?

In the forest, branches swayed and the wind rustled through the leaves, making the atmosphere turn bizarre.

In the bleak night, two figures—one large and one small—stood in the empty woods, stark naked...

Sensing the night growing brighter, Tōka sped up his movements to get dressed.

Black Zetsu's robe was massive; Tōka only needed to wrap it around his body and fasten the buttons.

The garment, wide enough to serve as a blanket, looked rather ridiculous draped over Tōka's frame.

"Well, this is the best I can do for now."

Just as Tōka finished dressing, a sudden voice drifted in from the edge of the forest.

"Jiraiya-sensei, it's this location!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of rushing wind erupted.

Following that, several dark shadows appeared around Tōka as if they had descended from the sky.

Vaguely, they had already formed a perimeter.

The moment he sensed people approaching, Black Zetsu used a secret technique to flee into the distance.

Besides, he had no desire to moon the world while stark naked.

Tōka squinted, and a flash of flowing golden hair caught his eye.

That was the guy who had just spoken!

"Kid, are you all by yourself?" A husky, magnetic, and alluring voice rang out.

Orochimaru's voice carried a hint of genjutsu within it.

"Yeah." Tōka nodded indifferently, relaxing once he saw who had arrived.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze were all there.

Behind them stood six jonin, but Tōka didn't recognize them and immediately categorized them as extras.

"You're lying!" Minato retorted, his gaze sharp.

He was the fastest, having rushed toward this area the moment the celestial phenomenon occurred.

Moreover, he had happened to see the scene where Tōka crawled out of the meteorite.

To prevent any accidents, Minato had chosen to return and report the situation to Jiraiya.

If he remembered correctly, Tōka had been naked when he left, so how could he explain this ill-fitting robe?

Therefore, Minato was certain that Tōka was lying.

Blood flowed smoothly through Tōka's body, and his limbs were gradually returning to normal. He stood up slowly, glaring back with an air of righteous indignation.

"How do you know I'm lying? Did you see someone else?"

"Uh..." Minato was choked for words; he just felt this kid was a bit strange, but he hadn't actually detected the presence of anyone else.

When it came to concealing one's presence, Black Zetsu was second to none.

Even Hagoromo Otsutsuki, revered by the world as the Sage of Six Paths, had failed to discover Black Zetsu's existence, which was proof enough of his powerful concealment abilities.

For a moment, everyone felt they should believe this kid.

Children don't lie, especially when they are so bold and righteous about it.

However, the battlefield wasn't about belief or disbelief; it was about victory or defeat.

Eliminating every possible cause of failure was the key to victory!

"Then, are you a boy or a girl?" A man standing in the back suddenly blurted out.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then narrowed their eyes to size Tōka up.

Although his delicate, cute face was covered in grime, one could vaguely see the shadow of a "stunning beauty."

This question immediately piqued everyone's curiosity.

"Shouldn't it be a little girl? She's so cute."

"Wrong, someone this cute must be a boy!"

"You guys..."

The group exchanged silent looks, with Jiraiya's eyelids twitching the most violently.

Being scrutinized by the crowd like a monkey in a zoo, Tōka's expression grew increasingly dark, his fists clenching tighter and tighter inside his sleeves.

However, he was powerless to do anything...

He could only secretly draw circles in his sleeve, cursing Jiraiya.

Twitch! Twitch again!

Be careful or you'll get a cramp!!

"Ow!" Jiraiya yelped in pain, hurriedly reaching up to rub the corner of his eye; it felt like he had cramped up!

"What are you doing? Don't go shouting in my ear!" Tsunade roared, full of disgust.

"Tsunade..." Jiraiya looked aggrieved, only to be met with a collective eye-roll from everyone present.

Orochimaru stepped forward, looking down at Tōka from above, his tongue flicking like a snake's as he made a hissing sound.

"Next, we should discuss how to deal with this brat."

Having appeared on the battlefield for no apparent reason, the group had to be cautious.

The Kazekage of Sunagakure had disappeared, and the troops massing at the border grew heavier by the day; the civilians in this area should have been evacuated long ago.

Furthermore, the scene of the surrounding area scorched by fire, combined with the earlier incident of the stone rain falling from the sky.

"Kill him!" Seeing that no one else was speaking, Orochimaru didn't mind playing the villain.

Among the ten people, most remained expressionless.

Killing was a daily routine for ninjas; they could remain numb to killing any enemy.

Under such circumstances, choosing the "better to kill the wrong person than to let a threat go" approach was understandable.

"Orochimaru, you're being too aggressive." Jiraiya put away his cynical demeanor and said with a serious face.

As his voice fell, Jiraiya pushed Orochimaru aside and walked in front of Tōka.

Seeing Jiraiya reach out a hand, Tōka instinctively raised his own to block.

To Jiraiya, the movement was as slow as a turtle crawling.

Seeing this, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief; he didn't look like a trained ninja.

At the same time, Tōka's wrist was grabbed by Jiraiya, and a strange energy flowed into Tōka's meridians.

Tōka knew the other party was checking his body for Chakra.

Realizing this, Tōka stopped resisting; how could a body that couldn't even stand steadily possibly have Chakra!

A moment later, Jiraiya flashed what he considered a very kind smile at Tōka.

Unexpectedly, it was met with a roll of the eyes.

"There is no Chakra in his body, nor are there any traces of training." Jiraiya smiled awkwardly, then said with a serious expression.

"He is not a ninja." The tone was definitive, highlighting Jiraiya's resolve.

The group understood what Jiraiya meant and remained silent.

To kill, there was a reason.

Not to kill, there was a reason as well.

Since he was a civilian appearing in Konoha territory, he was naturally a subject of the Land of Fire; Konoha always adopted an inclusive attitude toward its own people.

However, to Tōka, it wasn't that complicated.

Whether a weak life could survive depended entirely on the words of the strong.

Survival of the fittest—a perfect illustration of this cold world!

"Jiraiya-sensei, why don't you let me take him back to the village?" Minato wore a sunny expression, the previous tension gone.

It was true that he killed, but he could not bring himself to strike a civilian.

Among the ten, besides Orochimaru who advocated for killing, seven chose silence, while the remaining two, Jiraiya and Minato, hoped to take Tōka back to the village.

The outcome was already clear: Tōka had survived.

He had survived on the mercy of the strong.

Tōka wasn't angry; he just remained silent. No matter how he survived, it was a success.

Only by continuing to live would he have the chance to become stronger. (To be continued)