Everything was ready.

"Jiraiya? It seems I wasn't wrong."

In the dim light, Tōka saw a figure with long, snow-white Long Hair in the Kakkō. Jiraiya's appearance was unexpected, yet also reasonable.

A flash of Ice Blue light disappeared in One Flash, and a terrifying power erupted as a storm.

Pfft!

The massive fire that filled the screen was instantly shattered, turning into sparks that fell to the ground and were eventually extinguished by the gale.

The battle did not end there. Crack, crack, crack... A series of ear-piercing sounds of bones breaking suddenly rang out, and the ground beneath Jiraiya's feet immediately began to tremble.

Dark cracks spread out in a spiderweb-like pattern in all directions.

"Watch your step," the Sage Fukasaku immediately warned.

Just as Jiraiya leaped into the air, poof poof poof!! A cluster of grayish-white Bone Spur burst forth from the ground!

The sharp Bone Spur exuded a suffocating stench of decay, sending chills down Jiraiya's spine.

Fortunately, we acted quickly enough, otherwise...

Jiraiya's body deftly flipped 360 degrees in the air, perfectly avoiding the piles of Bone Spur on the ground, before landing on a tree trunk ten steps away.

"You reacted quickly, but too bad you can't escape!"

Just as Jiraiya's feet landed on the tree trunk, a black Vortex appeared behind him, and a hand with distinct knuckles slowly emerged.

The sudden sound reached Jiraiya's ears, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

"Sage Art: Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"

Jiraiya's hair grew wildly and became incredibly hard. Whoosh! The Long Hair, spiky hair shot out like a drizzle, as fast as a storm!

In an instant, the black Vortex was submerged.

"I told you you couldn't escape!" Tōka's figure emerged completely from the Black Hole, without making any further movements.

A strange red light flashed through the dim, dark Forest.

In the blink of an eye, the Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon that were originally aimed at Tōka were now shooting towards Jiraiya!

"What's going on?!" Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply as he stared in shock at the overwhelming Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!

"Jiraiya, stop daydreaming!" Sage Fukasaku shouted, his hands clasped together. "Water Release: Water Wall!"

The Sage Fukasaku spewed forth a torrent of water like ocean waves, forming a seamless wall that blocked the Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!

With the immediate crisis averted, Tōka gave Jiraiya no chance to catch his breath.

Even if the Red Realm is only activated for a moment, it will put an extremely heavy burden on Tōka, so Tōka will not waste this opportunity to attack.

The Ice Blue flames danced in Tōka's pupils. He raised his right hand, his palm loosely clenched, aiming at Jiraiya not far away.

The Prayer Beads, imbued with the Yin-Yang Power, floated in front of his palm, then slowly began to rotate, gradually increasing in speed until they finally spun rapidly into a single line.

Converging silver beams, piercing through Dimensional Barrier!

"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"

Buzz!

A beam of silvery whirlwind suddenly shot out, illuminating the dim Forest in an instant, making it as bright as day.

The shocked faces of Sage Fukasaku Sage Shima were completely swallowed by the silver beam of light, and only a faint gasp could be heard from afar.

"Ji-rai..."

With a muffled thud, a blinding crimson flashed in the silver light. Tōka rubbed his slightly sore eyes and looked up to see this scene.

"If Sage Body is hit head-on by the Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, even if they survive, they'll be crippled, right?"

With a whisper, Tōka turned around, hoisted Gaara onto his shoulder, and leaped into the forest. A dark shadow flickered in the bushes and then disappeared.

The Forest of Death, the central Tower.

The team that obtained the Heaven and Earth Scroll has been converging in this direction, with the fastest team being Gaara's team from Sunagakure.

Unfortunately Gaara was captured by Tōka, and his Temari and Kankuro were seriously injured.

Therefore, it was Neji's squad from Konoha who arrived first.

The three of them, having obtained the Heaven and Earth Scroll, did not rush to enter the Tower to pass the test. Instead, they hid in the Forest near the Tower.

"Neji, look, someone's coming again!" Tenten whispered from behind a tree.

The team included last year's top graduate, Hyuga Neji, and the team had been making great strides. Tenten, who had tasted success, was excited and looked extremely thrilled.

"Let me do it this time!" Rock Lee, eager to become stronger and challenge himself, didn't object to Neji's plan.

The three's goal was simple: to defeat more teams outside the Tower. This idea was proposed by Neji.

Since being freed from the Caged Bird, Neji's strength has increased dramatically.

Tenten Rock Lee, who were in the same group, were no pushovers either. The three of them easily defeated the Genin teams they encountered.

"Something's not right, it seems like there are only two people!" Veins bulged on Neji's face, and chakra rapidly gathered in his eyes.

"Byakugan!"

His field of vision suddenly widened, Neji stared intently at the two figures approaching. To be precise, it was one person carrying another.

Sudden!

Neji's pupils contracted as the two figures in front of him inexplicably vanished from their spot in the blink of an eye.

What happened? Was it Body Flicker Technique?

Neji did not detect the other party's appearance within a radius of one mile. If it were Body Flicker Technique caused the other party to disappear for a moment, he should have been able to catch up with them in the next instant!

Just then, the Tree Shadow of the trees beneath them suddenly swayed, and the ghostly black figures slowly rose up, coalescing into a familiar human figure.

"Are you looking for me?" Tōka bent down and approached with a smile.

Hearing the sound, the three of them suddenly woke up and turned around to look at the face that was less than three palm-sized.

Rock Lee reacted the fastest, leaping into the air, supporting himself with one hand, and sweeping his legs out horizontally.

Neji, however, was a step faster, raising one hand to block Rock Lee's kick before he could unleash his power. He stared intently at Tōka and uttered two words, "It's you!"

"You still remember me!" Tōka's gaze swept over the three of them, finally landing on Neji.

"Didn't you already..." betray Konoha?

How dare they appear in the village so openly? Neji opened his mouth, but only said half of what he was about to say before swallowing the rest back down.

"You three little ones are quick!" Tōka's eyes darted around, and a plan suddenly came to her. "Could you do me a favor?"

Just because Tenten and Rock Lee don't know Tōka's strength doesn't mean Neji doesn't.

The seemingly harmless guy in front of him was actually a very dangerous person, Neji secretly winked at Rock Lee and Tenten.

But they found one staring at Tōka with a lovesick expression, while the other looked at Tōka with curiosity.

"Two idiots, "Neji muttered under his breath, his face darkening. He then had no choice but to focus all his attention on dealing with Tōka.

"I don't think we can help you!"

Besides, you're a wanted S-rank Rogue Ninja, an enemy!

"Then let me put it another way."

Dong Tōka understood Neji's thoughts perfectly. His voice deepened as he said in a low voice, "I need you to do something!"

The words may seem the same, but they actually mean completely different things. The former is based on the word "help," and in the context, Neji could refuse.

Although Neji dared not openly refuse Tōka, he could politely decline.

The latter is entirely different; it requires, or rather, commands!

The authoritative tone made Rock Lee and the infatuated Tenten realize that this seemingly kind person was not so easy to talk to.

Neji had personally experienced Tōka's strength, and he could tell from Tōka's tone that there was no room for refusal.

Taking a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions, Neji asked in a low voice, "What do you want us to do?"

Rock Lee and Tenten exchanged a glance. From Neji's conversation with the other person, they could tell that Neji and Tōka knew each other, and not just in a casual way.

As for why Neji inexplicably agreed to the other party's request, Rock Lee and Tenten had no idea.

Tōka reached out and swept his hand through the air. The shadows of the Tree Shadow world spun, and vision began to distort, blurring the scenery before everyone's eyes.

As Tōka spun his arm and completed a full circle, the world once again came to a standstill and became clear.

"This is..." Even though he already knew Tōka's power, Neji was still shocked by what he saw.

Tōka used the Six Harmonies Divine Technique to bring the three into an illusion, where no one could overhear their conversation.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a little illusion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tōka took out three Scroll and handed them to the three people respectively.

Neji and Tenten received the Scroll, which clearly bore the characters "Heaven" and "Earth." At first, they thought it was a mission Scroll for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that this was slightly different from the Quest Heaven and Earth Scroll.

The most obvious difference is the scroll in Xiao Li's hand, which has the word "" written on it.

Heaven, Earth, and Man!

"Just take these three Scroll and head to the designated place." Tōka's words were like a Demonic Sound entering the ears of the three.

Their blank stares lingered for a moment, then their pupils regained their sparkle.

Looking ahead again, all that remained was a wisp of white mist gradually dissipating; Tōka was nowhere to be seen!

"Huh? What is this? Why do I feel it's important?" Tenten rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head, and looked at the Scroll in her palm with a puzzled expression.

For some reason, a voice kept telling Tenten that she must take this Scroll to that place deep in her memory.

Rock Lee was the same; although he didn't understand why, his body moved involuntarily.

Neji observed their actions and his apprehension towards Tōka deepened. Although ordinary Genjutsu was ineffective against him due to his Byakugan, Neji was unable to disobey Tōka's orders.

After a thorough search of almost half of the Forest of Death, Tōka finally found his target!

In the woods, three little devils walked happily through the Tree Shadow, seemingly having already collected Heaven and Earth Scroll.

The three-person team prepared to head to the central Tower to turn in the mission.

"Naruto, you idiot! Can't you put the Scroll away properly?!" Sakura gritted her teeth and forced out the words.

Each time she saw Naruto throw the Scroll into the sky, her anger grew stronger.

Sasuke gave Naruto a disdainful look. So what if he snatched the Scroll? Did he have to show off like that?

Naruto ignored all that, secretly glancing at the arrogant Sasuke, and tossing the Scroll in his hand even more enthusiastically, "Arrogant Sasuke, I snatched this!"

"You've said it a hundred times already!" A vein bulged on Sakura's forehead, and she clenched her fists, making a cracking sound.

"Hmph, why isn't that arrogant Sasuke talking?" Naruto chuckled and jumped in front of Sasuke, waving the Scroll in his hand in front of Sasuke's eyes.

"See that? Scroll! Scroll! I snatched it!"

Sasuke walked on expressionlessly, completely ignoring Naruto's idiotic behavior.

Sudden!

A strange gust of wind swept by, causing the three of them to be thrown backward. They tensed up and quickly regained their balance.

At this moment, Tōka had already appeared between Naruto and Sasuke.

With one hand on Naruto's shoulder and the other on Sasuke's, he said, "Everyone seems to be having a good time. Tell me what's making you happy so I can share in the joy?"

"Tōka... Teacher?" Sakura, who was standing to the side, was the first to recognize the person who had come in, and she called out those four words in disbelief.

Upon hearing this, Sasuke, who was about to attack, paused in his movements and mechanically turned his head to look at Tōka.

Sure enough... it was him!

Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply, his body sank to break free from Tōka's grasp, and he dashed out to quickly create distance.

"Idiot, get out of the way! He's not our teacher anymore!"

A loud shout startled Naruto and Sakura awake.

Yes, Tōka- sensei is no longer their teacher, but Rogue Ninja who betrayed the village, Konoha's S-rank Rogue Ninja — Ōtsutsuki Tōka!

Sakura was the first to react, leaping backward and hooking a Kunai pointing at Tōka.

Naruto, however, was not so lucky; or rather, Tōka's hand did not simply rest on his shoulder.

"Naruto, Rasengan... have you learned it?" Tōka remembered his promise to the Fourth Hokage; he was a man of his word!

Naruto stared blankly at Tōka, only snapping out of his daze when he heard Sasuke's shout, but he still kept his eyes glued to Tōka.

"Why..."

She uttered three words softly, as lightly as a breeze. If Tōka hadn't been standing so close, she would have almost thought she was hallucinating.

"Why what?" Tōka asked, puzzled.

"Why did you leave the village?!" Naruto suddenly looked up and shouted, a ball of blue chakra spinning wildly in his empty palm.

Bang!

A muffled sound rang out!

Naruto's palm landed squarely on Tōka's abdomen, but the Rasengan he had gathered in his palm vanished the instant it touched Tōka's body!

Because he sensed that Naruto's Rasengan was extremely unstable, Tōka did not dodge and let Naruto strike him with a palm.

Looks like you haven't finished learning yet!

Tōka smiled slightly, about to speak, when suddenly the force in his hand loosened, and Naruto's figure disappeared from his sight in such a mysterious way.

Similarly, Sasuke and Sakura, who were not far away, also faded away, and the surrounding scenery was blown away by the wind like ink painting.

Tick-tock...

In the Void Realm, an old man with a white beard and horns on his forehead appeared before them.

It wasn't that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura disappeared, but rather that Tōka was pulled into this world by a mysterious force.

"You've finally appeared, Six Paths!"