Startled Gulls and Egrets

The Ninja World.

Just as Hagoromo Otsutsuki began his cross-dimensional Scout, those hidden ancient beings began to react.

On Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage awoke from a dream that was far from pleasant. In the Chunin world was engulfed in war, yet the entire Ninja World was united in their hatred of a single enemy.

The scene was truly earth-shaking and the weather changed dramatically.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to see the enemy's true face, a subtle fluctuation startled him from his dream.

The Great Toad Sage opened his hazy eyes and glanced at the ground with displeasure.

"What happened that woke him up prematurely, and that he even went so far as to use his power to Scout the entire Ninja World? But—"

"What a pity, just a little short."

The Great Toad Sage recalled the scene from his dream, and his entire toad shuddered inexplicably. He then quickly closed his eyes again.

"Hurry up and go back to sleep; maybe you can continue the dream you just had."

In Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage, disguised as an old woman, opened her eyes from her dozing. She glared at the ground with displeasure and began to curse, "Even in death you can't rest in peace! You come back every ten years, don't you ever get tired of it?!"

As she spoke, she herself was slightly taken aback.

Judging by the timeline, it seems it's not yet time for Hagoromo Otsutsuki to awaken. So, what other reason is there for this Scout across the entire Ninja World?

J Wei: "Someone's here?"

At the command of the White Snake Sage, an adorable little girl with black hair and a golden crown slowly walked out.

"Lord White Snake Sage Immortal, what are your orders?"

"It's Ichikishimahime. Has anything unusual happened in the Ninja World lately?"

"Ah?"

The little girl looked slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting the White Snake Sage Immortal to care about this.

Unlike the Toad of Mount Myoboku, the people of Ryūchi Ryūchi Cave did not have close ties with the Ninja World, and therefore knew very little about it.

However, Ichikishimahime was clever after all; she quickly came up with an idea.

"Lord White Snake Sage, our contractor Orochimaru is in Konoha, the most powerful ninja village in the Ninja World. He must know a lot about the situation in the Ninja World. I'll go and get some information from him now."

The White Snake Sage glanced at her, but didn't say anything; he simply waved his hand lazily.

Ichikishimahime bowed and withdrew, leaving only the White Snake Sage alone seated on the enormous throne in the ancient temple.

After a long while, when Ichikishimahime came again to report to the White Snake Sage on the current general situation of the Ninja World, the White Snake Sage also fell into deep thought.

Could there be some special individual within the Akatsuki? If not the Akatsuki, then perhaps there's a special figure among his enemies.

"Go, send out those little snakes. Tell them to keep a close eye on the changes in the Ninja World during this time, and report back to me immediately if they discover anything interesting."

Although she didn't understand, Ichikishimahime nodded obediently in agreement.

"Yes, Lord White Snake Sage."

Shikkotsu Forest is humid and warm, with the air filled with the fresh scent of grass and moss. The earth is covered with white, bone-like trees, hence the name Shikkotsu Forest.

Katsuyu of all sizes slowly crawled on these trees, leisurely nibbling at the unique moss on these white trees.

At that moment, the ground shook, followed by a huge rumble from afar. All the little Katsuyu raised their heads, their two eyes standing upright, all looking in the same direction.

It turned out that the sleeping Katsuyu Sage had awakened; its enormous body, nearly 400 meters long, snaked through this vast expanse.

From a distance, it looks like a small mountain range; even the slightest movement causes the earth to shake.

Two long tentacles extended from its head, and the eye spots at the tips of the tentacles swayed dazedly, clearly not yet fully awake.

The enormous Katsuyu Sage immortal surveyed its surroundings in a daze, recalling why it had just been disturbed, and a hint of annoyance finally flashed in its confused eyes.

No matter what kind of creature it is, being disturbed from sleep is never a pleasant experience, especially when that creature is female.

Fortunately, the Katsuyu Sage was good-tempered after all. He got angry for a moment, then rolled over, changed his position, lay down, and continued his deep sleep.

The other Katsuyu in the Shikkotsu Forest also lowered their heads and continued their carefree feeding lives.

In a small town at the foot of the mountains in the Land of Lightning, Jigen (Ōtsutsuki Isshiki), dressed in monk's robes and carrying a Zen staff, traveled there.

Since sensing the arrival of the Otsutsuki clan a few years ago, he has been wandering around more frequently, never staying in one place for more than three days.

But after waiting for a while, he found that everything in the Ninja World was still the same as usual, without any special changes. He then realized that the Otsutsuki member who had suddenly entered the Ninja World had already met his end.

Instead of letting his guard down, he became even more cautious. If they could eliminate the Otsutsuki clan members who had descended, dealing with him now wouldn't take much effort.

Driven by this urgent desire, Isshiki didn't hesitate to expend his own power source to accelerate the transformation of the body named Jigen.

That day, after completing her daily physical transformation, Jigen was just about to rest a bit and enjoy some delicious food when a subtle fluctuation swept through her entire body.

Jigen paused as she was about to stand up, her brows furrowing slightly.

He was all too familiar with this fluctuation; for the past thousand years, this fluctuation had swept across the entire Ninja World every ten years.

He knew that the traitor's son was monitoring the entire Ninja World.

But why at this time?

Had my whereabouts been exposed?

Jigen looked down at his arm, clenching his fist tightly as he felt the power within his body.

After such a long period of modification, this body is now able to unleash the peak combat power of a Kage Level ninja in its normal state.

Could it be because this was discovered?

No, impossible. There are quite a few people in the Ninja World with such combat power. Your current strength is definitely not up to the Scout alert standard.

At that moment, countless thoughts raced through his mind, and finally, the increasingly unpredictable situation forced him to make a decision.

One person's strength is still too limited, especially now that this body has gained some power.

So, it's time to recruit some subordinates and have them find suitable vessels for us.

Jigen clenched his right fist and looked up at the sky, where the moon was.

"Kaguya, what belongs to me will always be mine. You shameless traitor, just wait until I come for you."

Konoha.

Taiichi was unaware that his slightest progress in training had alarmed all the bigwigs in the Ninja World.

At that moment, he stood up, patted his butt, and turned to look in Kakashi's direction.

"Oh, it's finished over there too, what a coincidence."

Just as he started walking in that direction, a feeling of being watched welled up inside him.

This feeling was all too familiar to him.

For a time, he was frequently spied on by a "bad guy" using Telescope Technique in Konoha, but as his strength increased, this spying stopped.

Now that feeling has resurfaced, it even makes Taiichi feel a little nostalgic.

"Wrong!"

The next moment, Taiichi's Chakra Perception suddenly surged forward with all its might, covering most of Konoha in an instant without any concealment.

This is definitely not Hiruzen Sarutobi's Telescope Technique. With his current strength, the Chakra fluctuations from the Telescope Technique cannot escape his perception at all.

But that feeling of being watched was silent and subtle, merely a glimmer of alertness deep within my own mind; it was definitely not an effect that Telescope Technique could achieve.

However, no matter how many times Taiichi senses, he did not detect anything unusual.

Taiichi frowned. Was he being too sensitive?

As Taiichi frowned in thought, Kakashi's figure rapidly approached from the nearby woods.

His entire body crackled with lightning, clearly indicating that he had entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode. He made no attempt to hide his presence along the way, cutting down any trees that blocked his path in an instant in order to get there as quickly as possible.

"Taiichi, how are you? Have enemies attacked?"

The voice could be heard even before the person arrived.

At this moment, it was impossible for Taiichi not to be moved.

Kakashi's actions were clearly out of concern that he was in danger. In his haste, he disregarded the difference in their strength and rushed over to help defend against the enemy.

Kakashi had just finished resting and was about to train a little longer when a surge of powerful Chakra swept over him from the nearby woods without any attempt to conceal it.

Kakashi naturally knew that location was where Taiichi's true form cultivated, but how could cultivation cause such a disturbance? Something must have gone wrong.

In that instant, Kakashi's body moved faster than his mind. He drew his White Fang Short Sword with his right hand, and with only one hand seal, he completed the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The next moment, he launched himself out, Body Flicker disappearing into Taiichi's direction. Along the way, he was unstoppable, cutting down everything in his path (actually, he just chopped down trees and cleaved rocks).

In just a few breaths, they traversed hundreds of meters and arrived in front of Taiichi.

But what he saw Taiichi lewd smile (actually, he was moved by Kakashi's actions), and there was no sign of danger around them.

"Matsushita Taichi, what are you doing?"

Kakashi's face immediately darkened, and he gripped the White Fang Short Sword and roared at Taiichi.

Taiichi also suppressed his emotions at this moment, perhaps he had indeed sensed something wrong just now.

But looking at Kakashi in front of him, he got a headache again.

He gave an embarrassed smile and explained his earlier "paranoia".

Kakashi looked suspicious, clearly not entirely convinced by Taiichi's explanation.

You, a master like yourself, could still misjudge things.

That smug look in his eyes clearly conveyed that meaning.

But how can this be explained?

Taiichi could only confirm again and again that he had indeed sensed something wrong.

Kakashi had no choice but to accept Taiichi's explanation.

"Don't be too happy yet. I wasn't the only one who noticed the commotion just now. You should think about how you're going to explain this when you get back."

Taiichi; this incident had caused quite a stir, and the whole of Konoha probably knew about it now.

Sure enough, on their way back, a squad of Anbu suddenly appeared in front of Taiichi and Kakashi.

"Lord Taiichi!"

The leader of the Cat-faced Anbu bowed slightly in greeting, then First Gate: "The Hokage-sama sent us to inquire about what just happened. Did he discover any enemies?"

This is why Minato knew that the powerful Scout was Taiichi's doing.

If it were anyone else, even Kakashi, the questioning wouldn't have been so simple; at the very least, they would have been summoned back by the Anbu and given a stern warning.

Taiichi recounted his situation again, and as he watched the Anbu walk away, he breathed a sigh of relief and a smile returned to his face.

"Hey, you've passed the Fourth Hokage's test, but there are still all the other Ninja Clan in Konoha, big and small. Your reckless Scout has violated quite a few taboos."

Kakashi couldn't stand Taiichi's smugness and immediately poured cold water on his Taiichi.

"Hey, it's nothing!" Taiichi put his arm around Kakashi's neck, his smile widening. "I, Taichi Matsushita, still have some influence. Besides, Minato will explain for me."

As he spoke, Taiichi turned to Kakashi with a malicious glint in his eye, "But you, you're gloating, aren't you? That's really unfair. I've decided that you'll be treating to dinner tonight, as a way of repaying me for sparring with you all this time."

Kakashi instinctively reached for his wallet, his heart bleeding; he was going to have to pay a hefty bill tonight.

He knew Taiichi's appetite well; it was enormous. He wondered what they would eat tonight and whether his wallet could handle it.

Half an hour later, at Konoha Q's Barbecue Restaurant.

Taiichi was enjoying a hearty meal of the perfectly grilled meat, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, right in front of him on the iron plate.

He held a piece of grilled meat in his chopsticks, chewing it constantly, his eyes shining as he stared at it, completely absorbed in the process of devouring it.

Kakashi, standing to the side, watched the meat platter piled up a foot high beside him, feeling nothing. He mechanically picked up pieces of grilled meat from the iron plate and put them in his mouth, completely unaware of their deliciousness.

A green shadow flashed past the window, and five seconds later it quickly reversed back, still running.

"Ah, it really is you guys. Taiichi, my dearest friend; Kakashi, my eternal rival, you're actually eating barbecue here."

Taiichi swallowed the grilled meat in his mouth with great effort, and seeing Kai still standing still, he happily greeted him, "It's Kai! I haven't seen you for three days. I thought you were on a mission. How about coming in and have some with us?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes at Taiichi speechlessly. This was clearly my treat, yet you're not being polite at all.

And also—Kai is a big eater!

It seems I'll have to take on more assignments in the coming month.

"Oh, no thanks, I'm not hungry yet."

Kai glanced at the roast meat on the table, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily, but he finally shook his head firmly.

Unfortunately, his stomach was clearly not on his side.

"Gurgle."

A disapproving growl escaped their stomachs, clearly audible to Taiichi and Kakashi even in the noisy environment.

Kai blushed, but ultimately succumbed to the strange looks from Taiichi and Kakashi.

"Okay, I'll just have a little."