Borrowing Nagato's pawns

Following the mountain road north from Sanghe Village, once you enter the Forest, a lingering stench of blood permeates the air.

Stepping onto the soft, damp ground, Tōka felt as if he were walking on land mixed with blood and flesh.

"Soil filled with death energy? Could this mountain be a graveyard?" Tōka rubbed his arms speechlessly, a chilling aura seeping into his pores.

Eternal Tenseigan - Awakened!

Buzz!

A powerful surge of chakra converged into Tōka's eyes, instantly veiling his deep black pupils with an icy blue hue.

In the pitch-black night, more than a dozen wild dogs were munching on a pile of rotting flesh in the forest, their Green Light pupils glowing like will-o'-the-wisps floating in the inky darkness.

"Wild dogs?" Tōka noticed the rotting carcass being devoured; it was one of the livestock kept in the village.

Could it be that the loss of livestock in Sanghe Village was really caused by Beast?

These stray dogs probably don't have that kind of ability!

Tōka approached with some skepticism when suddenly, four gusts of wind flashed by, and four figures appeared one after another in the gloomy Forest.

These guys...

A new member of Xiao's team, Kazuma's four-person squad!

"Budong. You've just recovered, so you'll be in charge of guarding the camp tonight," Kazuma said in a deep voice, looking at the burly man.

"Yes, Lord Kazuma." Budong, immediately turned and jumped into the depths of the North Mountain, disappearing into the Forest in a few leaps.

Watching the Budong figure until it disappeared, Kazuma turned around and looked at Fufeng Fuen.

"The Jutsu Formula is almost complete. Please protect me."

"Understood." Fufeng Fuen both looked serious; they knew today was the final test of that technique.

"Disperse!" Kazuma shouted in a low voice.

With a whoosh, the three dark figures quickly split into three different directions.

Just as the three people left, immediately...

Beneath a crooked locust tree, a strange shadow emerged from the tree's Tree Shadow on the ground, gradually transforming into a human-shaped shadow.

With his hands in his pockets, Tōka lazily glanced up at Kazuma had slipped away.

No wonder this task seemed a bit strange. The missing poultry and livestock could be attributed to Beast, but the traces left at the crime scene suggested human intervention.

If it was man-made, there were only a few scattered bandits nearby. If this group really wanted to take down a village, they wouldn't have just stolen some poultry and livestock.

Upon seeing Kazuma and the others for the second time, Tōka recalled the previous night and immediately understood why the poultry and livestock had gone missing.

Blood Sacrifice, using the blood of living beings to nourish this land of rotting corpses.

To enhance the power of the Dead Soil Spell, the blood of livestock can irrigate this land filled with death energy, while the dead bodies of livestock can also increase the death energy of the soil.

In fact, it is best to use living people for Blood Sacrifice.

Tōka did know why Kazuma only used livestock and not living people.

It's not that he doesn't use it, but that he dares not. Blood Sacrifice: Dead Soil with the blood of the living would intensify the malevolent energy and make the lingering spirits even more powerful. Kazuma are worried that they will not be able to control it.

"A compromise, not bad!" Tōka's figure flickered and disappeared from the spot, chasing after the direction Kazuma had left in.

Halfway up the North Mountain, the earth was damp, soft, and cold, exuding an endless aura of death.

Kazuma Hand Seals, their fleshy faces contorted together, making the scars on their faces appear even more ferocious.

"Earth Release: Creation - Soil of the Dead!"

Glug glug...

The earth churned and shook, and the deathly soil turned over, revealing withered, bloodless hands.

A human hand!

Withered hands pressed against the ground, supporting their bodies as they struggled to crawl out.

Hidden in the shadows, Tōka's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing an expression of "I knew it."

Earth Release: Creation - Soil of the Dead: Known as the ultimate resurrection technique of Earth Release.

First, prepare soil filled with the scent of corpses, then revive the corpses in the soil to become the caster's puppets.

Kazuma captured livestock from nearby villages and used the blood of these living creatures to irrigate the soil, which was filled with the scent of corpses, in order to enhance the power of his Jutsu Formula!

Unlike Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation, this technique has three drawbacks.

The first drawback is that preparing this type of soil is very time-consuming.

The second drawback is that, besides the fact that the corpses' movement patterns are too monotonous and easy to predict, their bodies are also made of something like earth molecules, so they can be taken down with a single blow.

The third drawback is that the number of corpses that have been in the soil is the only number that can be resurrected, and each resurrected corpse can only be resurrected once.

The fact that hundreds of the dead have been resurrected suggests that these people were ninjas in life.

It seems that Kazuma spent a lot of effort collecting these corpses.

Tōka slowly stepped out from the shadows, and without deliberately concealing her presence, she was easily detected by Kazuma.

"Who's there!" Kazuma's eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze piercing through the darkness and shooting straight at Tōka.

"Hey, we meet again!" Tōka waved and greeted him.

"It's you?!" Kazuma, and his brows furrowed deeply. He had witnessed Tōka's strength before.

Even if they sacrifice all these corpses, Kazuma has no confidence that he can keep Tōka alive.

"What do you want to do?" Kazuma asked coldly, deciding to Budong for now, because he couldn't sense any fighting spirit from Tōka.

"One of the original Twelve Guardian Ninja, he insisted that the Hokage was unnecessary and believed that real power among ninjas should be held by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire."

Tōka stared intently into Kazuma's eyes, not missing the slightest change in them.

Finally, he added, "Now join the dangerous organization Akatsuki in the Land of Rain, forming a four-person team with Budong, Fufeng, and Fuen, and operate as a team."

"Am I right? Kazuma Furido!"

"Who exactly are you? At your age, you couldn't possibly know so much about me!" Kazuma's heart pounded, as if he were laid bare before an enemy, completely exposed and seen through.

"Don't you already know who I am? A Chunin instructor from Konoha," Tōka said with a smile.

One Flash murderous intent crossed Kazuma's eyes. Chunin? Who are you kidding?

Regardless of Tōka's current combat strength, just from the battle Third Shinobi World War Kikyo Mountain, Tōka demonstrated a power that far exceeded that of a Chunin.

Although he didn't want to deal with a dangerous person like Tōka, Kazuma absolutely couldn't allow his plan to go wrong in any way.

Kazuma locked onto Tōka's figure, and the mark between his fingers changed silently.

Under the influence of the Eternal Tenseigan, nothing Kazuma does escapes Tōka's eyes, let alone simply using the darkness to conceal his gestures.

Even if Kazuma hides his hands in his sleeves, Tōka can still see his movements clearly.

Buzz!

A spatial fluctuation flashed, and a strange Vortex in the darkness grew larger as Tōka turned and disappeared into the Black Vortex.

"Disappeared?" Kazuma's expression changed slightly as he recalled that night when Tōka had also disappeared in a similarly mysterious way.

Space-Time Ninjutsu? Or Genjutsu?

Kazuma hopes it's the latter; Genjutsu can be broken, but Space-Time Ninjutsu is truly helpless.

Sudden!

A strange aura approached, and relying on his years of life-and-death experience, Kazuma subconsciously raised his hand and swept the tin staff in his palm backward.

Clang!

A crisp buzzing sound rang out, and a cluster of Kakkō suddenly appeared in the darkness. A sharp Kunai, gleaming with a cold light, collided violently with a Japanese-style tin staff.

"You reacted quickly!" Tōka held Kunai in one hand, and his seemingly not-so-strong arm actually suppressed both of Kazuma one hand.

With his other hand free, he secretly gathered power, and a ball of emerald green light condensed in his palm.

Kazuma, and he became secretly alert. The last time Budong was when he was hit by this strange ball of light, and his chakra was drained instantly.

You absolutely cannot get hit!

The thought One Flash mind, Kazuma loosened his grip on the Kunai, his body flying out and gliding backward for more than ten steps before coming to a stop.

"Don't be so tense, this isn't meant to deal with you!" The ball of light in Tōka's palm split in two, and then he floated out like a ghost.

A ghostly figure flashed by amidst the swaying shadows of the Tree Shadow in the mountain forest.

Bang! Bang!

Two muffled sounds rang out as Tōka swiftly unleashed two palm strikes, hitting Fufeng and Bu Fuen, who were rapidly approaching the area.

The green orb entered their bodies, Fufeng their eyes were immediately covered with a dull, Fuen gray.

Tōka secretly formed a hand seal, and the two pairs of lifeless eyes immediately regained their color.

The three figures passed each other. Tōka nimbly landed on a tree trunk, while Fufeng Fuen nimbly flipped in the air to dissipate the force of the blow before landing steadily on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Kazuma rushed forward, knowing that they needed time to recover Budong, and that they wouldn't get hurt again if the Fufeng Fuen.

Does this mean his plan will have to be postponed?

"It's nothing, just a little stuffy." Fufeng clutched his chest and let out a long breath.

"I'm fine too." Fuen shook her head, indicating that she was alright.

Under the pale moonlight, the Tree Shadow swayed, and a chilly wind blew in.

Countless figures swayed unnaturally in the forest, like a pack of bloodthirsty Beast ready to pounce on their prey at any moment.

This is the benefit of Blood Sacrifice: it fills lifeless corpses with a bloodthirsty fighting spirit.

"If you want to perfect your technique, I can recommend someone for you to meet." Tōka glanced at the restless corpses below.

Compared to Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation, it's like comparing heaven and earth.

Call out!

A jade ring was thrown through the air, flashing like a streak of light in the inky night.

A powerful force swept over us, creating a whirlwind.

Kazuma's expression tightened, and he dared not reach out to borrow it. Instead, he raised his wide sleeves and grabbed the jade ring, spinning his body around to completely dissipate the impact of the ring.

Looking down, I saw the word "" engraved on the dark green jade ring.

"This is a token. Go to the Land of Rice, grab any ninja, tell them you want to see their leader, and then give them this."

At this point, Tōka paused, then grinned strangely and added, "By the way, that guy only has the ability to help you, so don't die too quickly!"

Having the ability to help, but not necessarily being able to help.

The last sentence serves as a warning, indicating that the guy is a dangerous individual.

In recent years, only one new power has emerged in the Land of Rice — the Otogakure.

Kazuma rubbed the jade ring between his fingertips, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Although he didn't know why Tōka had retreated time Kazuma time again, he could clearly sense that Tōka didn't harbor any hostility towards him.

Regardless of the outcome, as long as it can help him enhance the power of Earth Release: Creation of the Dead Soil Technique, it's worth a try.

In the darkness, on the swaying treetops, Tōka's figure gradually faded away.

Rustling...

Cold Wind blew by, and the leaves rustled.

"This place is no longer suitable for Blood Sacrifice. Let's go somewhere else." Tōka's voice faded into the distance, eventually disappearing with the wind.

"Fufeng, Fuen, let's go back first!" Kazuma snorted coldly, putting the jade ring in his hand into his pocket. He would go to the Land of Rice.

However, his subordinates had been "bullied" time and time again. Regardless of how the relationship between the two parties would develop in the future, he had to regain some face first!

So you're Tōka from Konoha? Let's see what you're made of!

In Sanghe Village, a peaceful day was broken by the crowing of a rooster at dawn.

The three little devils, who had been having a good night's sleep, crawled out of bed, rubbing their sleepy eyes and looking around. A question flashed through their minds.

What place is this...?

"Wow, Tōka- sensei is gone!" Naruto snapped out of his daze, instinctively glancing towards Tōka's location, and jumped up in surprise upon seeing the neatly made-up blankets.

At that moment, Sasuke, who was getting dressed, coldly uttered two words, "Idiot."

It was already daylight; Tōka must have gotten up early and gone out.

An idiot who speaks without thinking.

"You bastard Sasuke, what did you say?" Naruto glared at Sasuke angrily, but Sasuke ignored him and walked straight out the door.

At the same time, a cold voice drifted in from outside the door.

"Those who are lagging behind, hurry up if you don't want to hold us back. Teacher Tōka is already waiting for us in the yard."

In an instant, chaos erupted inside the house.

Fifteen minutes later...

In the village chief's courtyard, Tōka leaned against the railing, deep in thought. The three little devils immediately stood obediently to the side when they saw Tōka like this, not daring to make a sound to disturb him.

If they knew what Tōka was thinking, they probably wouldn't be so "obedient".

This mission was Kazuma intended to Blood Sacrifice: Dead Soil and train the resurrected corpses, which led to a series of missing poultry and livestock incidents.

Last night, after Tōka made contact with Kazuma, he believed that the guy had cleaned up the traces and left.

So here's the question...

How can this matter be smoothly glossed over? The Third Hokage's purpose is simple: first, to investigate what exactly happened; and second, to train the three kids in Team 7 in practical combat experience.

In other words, a mission involving bloodshed.

The initial assessment of the Third Hokage is that it is less likely to be the work of Beast, and more likely to be the work of petty thieves.

Either way, it will help the three students in Team 7 grow.

"Let's go!" Now that the Third Hokage's purpose was clear, things became much easier. Tōka slapped his thigh and stood up straight.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked instinctively, while the other two looked at Tōka with puzzled expressions.

"Let's eat, then go up the mountain." Tōka finished speaking, turned around and left without looking back.