News of Tsunade

Seeing that the Katsuyu Sage had already recognized him, Tokiju immediately called out, "It's me. Long time no see, Katsuyu Sage."

The Katsuyu Sage swayed her head and said, "It hasn't been that long, only twenty-some years. I just didn't expect you to still be alive."

"Judging by your current physical state, it must be because your summoning was interfered with, causing you to be reverse-summoned into a region where time does not flow, right?"

Although the words were phrased as a question, her tone was filled with certainty.

Hearing this, Tokiju sighed inwardly; as expected of a Great Sage who had lived for who knows how many years, she had grasped the crux of the matter at once.

Tokiju nodded, "You are correct. I was indeed reverse-summoned to a strange space, and time truly does not flow there."

"That is also the reason why I still retain this child-like appearance."

The Katsuyu Sage swayed her antennae; she did not doubt Tokiju's words.

As one of the three Great Sages, she knew many secrets of the Ninja World, and the bloodline connection on the Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll could not be faked.

"Then, little Tokiju, what is the reason you summoned me this time?"

"I must apologize first—regarding your mysterious reverse-summoning, I searched the entire Shikkotsu Forest and found no abnormalities."

Tokiju nodded; he did not care about that matter.

The event had already occurred, and dwelling on it now was useless; as long as it didn't happen again, it would be fine.

Ignoring the Katsuyu Sage's words, Tokiju replied, "I will investigate that matter myself. I summoned you primarily to ask where my older sister is now. And how is that brat, Nawaki?"

Upon hearing this, the Katsuyu Sage fell silent for a moment before speaking, "Lady Tsunade's current location should be near the Land of Hot Water."

"As for Nawaki..."

At this point, the Katsuyu Sage fell silent once more.

Seeing this, how could Tokiju not understand? That brat Nawaki must have died in battle, just as in the original history.

Thinking of this, Tokiju clenched his fists involuntarily, unaware of his nails digging into his palms.

Seeing that Tokiju was in a bad state, Uchiha Hikari stepped forward and reached out to hold his hand.

Feeling the slight tremor in his palm, Uchiha Hikari felt a pang of heartache; she, too, had experienced the pain of losing loved ones.

If Tokiju were a member of the Uchiha clan, this level of grief might have been enough to awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Tokiju looked up, feeling the warmth from her palm, and after taking a few deep breaths, he finally calmed his emotions.

Looking back at the Katsuyu Sage, he said, "Katsuyu Sage, thank you for telling me this. I am going to find my sister now; she must be in great pain."

"I can use the reverse-summoning technique to allow you and Lady Tsunade to meet in Shikkotsu Forest," the Katsuyu Sage proposed.

Tokiju shook his head upon hearing this, "No need. I want to take a good look at the current Ninja World while I search for my sister."

The Katsuyu Sage swayed her antennae and said, "Understood. I will keep your news hidden from Lady Tsunade for the time being."

Tokiju gave the Katsuyu Sage a thumbs-up and said, "I've troubled you. You may return now."

The Katsuyu Sage tapped her antennae, and then vanished along with a puff of white smoke.

Seeing that the Katsuyu Sage had left, Uchiha Hikari asked, "Tokiju, are you alright?"

Tokiju responded with a forced smile, then looked toward the bandit camp.

He took a deep breath, then used a Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the camp gate.

Uchiha Hikari did not stop him; she knew that Tokiju needed to vent his frustrations.

Tokiju shattered the camp gate directly, the massive noise immediately alerting the bandits inside.

"Enemy attack! We're under attack!"

"Hurry and notify the boss!"

"Damn it, are the guards blind?"

Tokiju looked indifferently at the gathering bandits, and once they had mostly assembled, he clapped his hands together. Countless points of light emerged from his sides.

"Light Style: Yasakani Magatama!"

This was a ninjutsu he had developed while in the sealing space by imitating Kizaru from the world of pirates; it was an excellent technique for clearing out small fry.

As Tokiju's voice fell, the points of light around him shot toward the bandits in front.

These bandits were generally composed of wandering samurai or ordinary people.

Their strength was no match for Tokiju, who possessed the power of a Jonin, and they were instantly riddled with holes by the countless light bullets.

After dealing with the bandits before him, Tokiju stood there in silence.

Although these people deserved to die, this was his first time killing someone, and his face turned slightly pale.

Uchiha Hikari walked behind Tokiju; she didn't speak, but instead hugged him from behind.

After the two stood there for a long time, Tokiju finally spoke softly, "Thank you. I'm fine now."

"Mm." Uchiha Hikari nodded, but she did not loosen her grip on Tokiju.

Tokiju looked up at the sunlight in the sky once more, feeling its warmth, and felt much better for it.

Looking at the bandit corpses before him, Tokiju's gaze grew firm.

This was the Ninja World, not the peaceful world of his past life; no matter how much he loathed it in his heart, killing was unavoidable.

After steadying his mindset, Tokiju patted the back of Uchiha Hikari's hand, signaling for her to let go.

Seeing that Tokiju had truly recovered, Uchiha Hikari finally loosened her arms from around him.

Tokiju smiled at Uchiha Hikari and said, "Alright, I'm really fine now. Let's go inside and see if there's anything good."

With that, Tokiju walked toward the interior of the camp.

Seeing this, Uchiha Hikari followed along quite naturally.

After a thorough search, they found some supplies and over a hundred thousand ryo in banknotes.

Moreover, they discovered several young girls imprisoned in the camp's basement.

Once they had set them free, Tokiju asked them to lead the way to their village.

As for those four Konoha ninja, they were fine.

Tokiju had hidden them in a relatively safe location and even sprinkled insect-repellent powder around them.

Naturally, these items had been scavenged from the pockets of the team's lead Jonin.

After traveling for some time, Tokiju finally brought the girls near a village.

Uchiha Hikari used a genjutsu to erase all their memories of him and Tokiju, then let them go their separate ways.

Upon entering the village, Tokiju discovered it was quite large, with a fairly complete range of industries.

After selling off the various supplies in his possession, their total assets reached over two hundred thousand ryo.

With this money, Tokiju first updated the clothing for both himself and Uchiha Hikari.

The outfit he chose for Uchiha Hikari was essentially the same configuration as the one in the game.

Looking at the brand-new Uchiha Hikari before him, Tokiju immediately gave her a thumbs-up.

It made her blush slightly.