Toji and Kakuzu went their separate ways.
There were no unnecessary pleasantries. Each turned and left.
After packing his belongings, Toji set out on a new journey.
He did not rush straight to Konoha. Instead, he took a detour to Tanzaku Town at the edge of the Land of Fire.
Tanzaku Town sat at the junction of three countries, a place where all sorts of people came and went. Its heavy traffic made it an excellent place to gather intelligence.
After staying in Takigakure for so long, he had become somewhat disconnected from the Shinobi World.
Toji settled down there temporarily and began gathering information useful to himself.
He quickly learned—
The major shinobi villages had been established one after another.
Kumogakure had failed to capture the Nine-Tails and suffered heavy casualties.
Madara Uchiha had defected from Konoha.
Three days later.
Toji gathered information about himself in a tavern.
It was a bounty notice from Takigakure.
[Bounty: Takigakure defectors Kakuzu and Suguru Geto. Bring them back alive to Takigakure for a reward of seventy-five million ryō; corpses, thirty-five million ryō.]
No reason was stated, but the reward for bringing them back alive was twice as high.
They probably wanted to recover Earth Grudge Fear from him and Kakuzu. What a calculation.
Toji took a sip of wine.
The "Suguru Geto" on the bounty notice was the alias he used while traveling the Shinobi World. Aside from Kakuzu, whom he had only just parted ways with, no one knew that his new name was Toji.
From the very first day he had transmigrated, he had been preparing to defect.
For ten years, he had kept a low profile, wearing a face covering and mask to hide his appearance, all for this day. After defecting, he discarded everything that concealed his face. With a new name, no one would know his true identity.
Of course, this was the Shinobi World.
A shinobi's chakra and preferred techniques were like anti-counterfeiting marks. They could neither be hidden nor changed.
Toji planned to head to Konoha.
To be safe, though, a name and appearance alone were not enough. He needed to fabricate an entirely new identity and disguise for himself—
[Toji, a doctor from a distant land with a heart full of love.]
That was his plan.
Entering Konoha as a complete outsider, it would be nearly impossible to get close to shinobi hearts.
He needed a profession that perfectly suited his goal of stealing hearts.
There was no profession more fitting than that of a doctor.
Toji's medical skills were actually not bad.
As a taijutsu shinobi, learning how to treat his own injuries was mandatory. Combined with the fact that he had been a medical student in his previous life, he had learned quite a bit of Medical Ninjutsu over the past ten years.
He could not be called among the best in the Shinobi World, but it was more than enough to forge an identity and infiltrate Konoha.
Besides, he now possessed Earth Grudge Fear.
In his previous life, Toji had often seen a joke that Kakuzu was best suited to be a surgeon.
Now, he was putting that joke to practical use.
Toji returned to the inn, clapped his hands together, and summoned Earth Grudge Fear.
A writhing mass of black threads.
"This little thing has quite the distinctive look."
Without changing expression, Toji swallowed the black threads in one gulp and refined them in an instant.
Earth Grudge Fear immediately fused with his heart.
A strange power spread through his entire body, transforming and strengthening his flesh.
It was remarkably similar to the parasitic organisms in Parasyte, both existing by parasitizing their host's body.
The only trouble was that releasing Earth Grudge Fear required cutting open his skin and allowing the black threads to crawl out.
Toji clicked his tongue, finally understanding why Kakuzu's body was covered in stitching. It was all necessary for releasing Earth Grudge Fear.
"That's way too ugly..."
A person lived by their face.
Since he did not need Earth Grudge Fear for combat yet, Toji only cut one opening into each hand for releasing it.
Following the instructions recorded in the secret technique, Toji began training.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Having mastered the use of Earth Grudge Fear, Toji began the first step of his plan—
Stealing hearts.
Toji lay in wait outside an Underground Gold Exchange and severely injured five shinobi in succession.
While they still had a breath left, he raised his hands, released Earth Grudge Fear, and wrapped it around their hearts before devouring them.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...
The hearts beat powerfully, like the King Engine.
While granting him vitality, the meridians on those shinobi hearts, linked through Earth Grudge Fear, allowed Toji to gain new chakra attributes.
"Wind, lightning, water, fire, earth—I lack nothing now."
Toji clenched his fist, feeling the abundant vitality and strength inside his body.
Earth Grudge Fear truly was a miraculous secret technique. Even the ordinary hearts of these average shinobi had raised his strength by a considerable amount.
But it still could not be said to have brought about a qualitative change in Toji.
First, he fought with taijutsu rather than elemental techniques. Second, the chakra attributes gained through stolen hearts did not truly belong to him, so they could not fuse and evolve into Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta, or Kekkei Mōra.
In the end, it was merely external power...
Toji was not discouraged.
With a lifespan almost as long as heaven and earth itself, he possessed limitless possibilities.
After handing the corpses of the shinobi who had come out of the Underground Gold Exchange back to the exchange and collecting a large sum in bounties,
Toji began the second step of his plan—
Posing as a doctor.
Though he called it posing, he was genuinely practicing medicine.
Starting from Tanzaku Town, he headed toward Konoha. Along the way, he used Medical Ninjutsu to heal the sick and save the wounded in every village and town, charging only a symbolic treatment fee of "one ryō."
He told everyone the life story he had fabricated.
A gambling father, a sick mother, and himself, inheriting the teachings of an elderly miracle doctor. A homeland ravaged by war, and a determination to bring peace and take away pain... His sorrowful account moved everyone who heard it to tears and earned him even greater respect.
A month later.
Toji's reputation began to rise, and flattering titles for him spread throughout the Land of Fire: "Miracle Doctor Toji," "Bodhisattva Toji," "Saint Toji"...
Feeling that the time was right, Toji finally arrived at Konoha.
Standing at the village gate and looking into the distance, he could see the familiar Kage Rock. At present, though, only Hashirama Senju's massive face had been carved upon it.
"...I've finally reached Konoha."
Toji was overwhelmed with emotion.
Ten years.
He had finally gone from one village to another.
Konoha was still in its infancy, and its buildings did not yet cover much ground.
The Anbu and Konoha Military Police Force had not yet been established, but shinobi guards and barrier techniques were already in place.
Because of Madara Uchiha's recent defection, Konoha's atmosphere was somewhat tense.
As Toji approached, a shinobi with pale eyes immediately stopped him. "Halt! Who goes there?!"
The Byakugan...
A shinobi of the Hyuga Clan.
Toji answered calmly, "My name is Toji. I am a doctor."
"A doctor?" The Hyuga shinobi hesitated. "You have chakra?"
"Traveling everywhere to practice medicine, I need some means of protecting myself."
"You... wait. I need to report this to my superiors."
"No need to report it!"
Just then.
A loud, carefree voice filled with hearty energy suddenly rang out.
A tall man wearing red shinobi armor strode briskly out of the village. "I have long heard of Miracle Doctor Toji's great reputation. Welcome to Konoha."
The newcomer was none other than Hashirama Senju, hailed as the God of Shinobi!
Toji: "..."
He had never expected that the moment he left the beginner village, he would run straight into the boss.
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