The two of them continued on their way, joking as they went, and soon found a bandit encampment.
Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari stood on a branch some distance away, carefully observing the layout of the bandits' camp.
After observing the camp, they figured it held only twenty or thirty bandits, and there were no powerful chakra signatures inside.
Just as Tokiju was about to make his move, Uchiha Hikari stopped him.
He looked at her in confusion and saw that her eyes had already changed into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Following her gaze, Tokiju understood why she had stopped him.
He spotted three figures nearby... no, four, all wearing Forehead Protectors.
One stood some distance away, seemingly watching the other three.
Given their arrangement, Tokiju immediately thought of a Konoha team leader and a three-person squad.
Looking closely, he saw that all four wore Konoha Forehead Protectors. They must have taken a mission to deal with the bandits here.
Tokiju looked at Uchiha Hikari, pointed at the team leader who was watching the others, and asked, "Can you tell how much chakra that guy has?"
Uchiha Hikari nodded. "He has quite a bit less chakra than you, but a lot more than those three brats. He should be somewhere between the Chunin and Jōnin ranks you mentioned."
Tokiju understood. The man was probably a Special Jōnin with a particular area of expertise.
"What do you think? Should we go after them?" Uchiha Hikari asked.
Tokiju thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. Use genjutsu to control the one watching them and see if you can get any useful information out of him. I'll deal with the brats."
"Also, these ninjas are from my village, so please be careful not to hurt them."
Uchiha Hikari rolled her eyes. Did he think she didn't know how to hold back?
Besides, compared to those brats, he was the one who seemed more like a kid.
She kept the thought to herself and vanished from the treetop with the Body Flicker Technique.
Seeing this, Tokiju also used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing behind the three brats.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Three knife-hand strikes knocked the trio out cold.
After two years of training under Uchiha Hikari, Tokiju's combat skills were now passable.
Dealing with three Genin was a piece of cake.
At the same time, Uchiha Hikari had also taken care of the Special Jōnin and was questioning him with genjutsu.
Tokiju didn't interrupt. Instead, he began searching the three brats for money.
He found a few Kunai and Shuriken, as well as some awful-tasting soldier pills.
As for money, he didn't find a single coin.
On second thought, what would Genin need money for on a mission? If they died, it would only end up in their enemy's hands.
Tokiju silently cursed, dragged the three of them somewhere out of sight, then walked over to Uchiha Hikari.
Sensing him approach, Uchiha Hikari stopped using genjutsu on the Special Jōnin.
The man was drooling all over himself and staring vacantly into space. Tokiju blinked in surprise and hurriedly asked, "Is he all right?"
Uchiha Hikari glanced at Tokiju and curled her lip. "It's nothing serious. He'll be fine after a nap."
Really? I don't believe you...
Tokiju grumbled inwardly, but didn't dare say anything.
"Honestly, are all ninjas this weak these days? I haven't even gone all out, and he's already down for the count."
She hadn't even used her Mangekyō Sharingan. She'd only used her Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and the guy already couldn't take it.
"Uh..." Tokiju wasn't sure how to respond.
It was hard to call them weak. Times were changing, and ninjas would surely keep getting stronger.
But it was hard to call them strong, either. Ever since the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara died, no one in the Ninja World had surpassed Kage Level.
And, girl! You have no idea what the Mangekyō Sharingan means in this era.
"Ahem!" Tokiju cleared his throat and changed the subject. "He's only a Special Jōnin. Of course he couldn't withstand your Sharingan."
"Let's talk about the information you got instead."
Uchiha Hikari nodded, not lingering on the topic.
She spoke slowly. "According to him, it's Konoha Year 50. The Third Ninja World War ended not long ago, and the Fourth Hokage is in power."
At that, Uchiha Hikari scoffed. "Another war. Honestly, the world would be better off if the whole ninja profession disappeared!"
Uh, that sounds a little extreme.
Tokiju thought to himself but said nothing. Uchiha Hikari's hatred for the Ninja World and the Uchiha Clan wasn't something she could forget so easily.
She was already much better than she'd been in the game. At least she no longer wanted to destroy the world.
As for everything else, he could only hope that time and the good things in the world would help her slowly move on.
He'd decided: once he borrowed some money, he'd take her to the Land of Hot Water for a hot spring bath and let her enjoy the soothing service.
Still, it was already the Fourth Hokage's era.
Tokiju rubbed his chin. This era wasn't bad, at least compared to the Third Hokage's.
If Namikaze Minato was in charge, Tokiju would have an easier time settling back into the village, though he'd surely still be watched in secret.
I'm looking at you, Shimura Danzō!
By now, Root must have been nearly fully established. Even with the Fourth Hokage keeping it in check, it could still cause plenty of trouble.
So bringing Uchiha Hikari back to the village on his own was out of the question.
If he wanted to live in peace after returning, he needed someone influential to vouch for him.
And there was just the person: his big sister, one of the Konoha Sannin, the Slug Princess, Princess Tsunade.
But Tsunade had probably already left Konoha and was wandering around the Ninja World, out of contact. Nobody knew where she was.
Tokiju had a way, though. He bit his thumb and started forming Hand Seals.
But after making the Boar Seal, he stopped.
Uchiha Hikari looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Tokiju paused, then answered, "Uh... I was about to use the Summoning Technique."
"But then I suddenly remembered that last time I used it, I summoned myself into the Sealing Space where you were sealed. I'm a little afraid to use it now."
Uchiha Hikari facepalmed. "So that's how you got here. I've been wondering how you managed to get in."
Seeing Tokiju's strained expression, Uchiha Hikari smiled faintly and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's fine. Go ahead and use it this time. Even if you get summoned somewhere else again, I'll go with you."
Feeling their chakra connect, Tokiju was deeply moved.
Since she'd said that, what did he have to be afraid of? He'd just go for it.
"Summoning Technique!"
His palm struck the ground, and a summoning formula appeared. After a puff of white smoke, a slug half the size of a person appeared in front of Tokiju.
Seeing the slug's size, Tokiju knew he'd used too much chakra. He'd only meant to summon one about the size of his palm.
But that was a minor mistake. This slipup would be useful experience for next time.
The Katsuyu Sage looked at Tokiju and asked, her voice tinged with confusion, "Are you... little Tokiju?"
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