Just Left the Novice Village, Encountered a Big BOSS

Toji and Kakuzu parted ways right there.

Without any superfluous pleasantries, they each turned and walked away.

After packing up his belongings, Toji embarked on a new journey.

He was in no rush to head toward Konoha; instead, he took a detour to Tanzaku Town, located on the border of the Land of Fire.

Situated at the intersection of three nations, Tanzaku Town was a melting pot of people and a hub of constant activity, making it an excellent place to gather intelligence.

Having stayed in the Waterfall Village for so long, he had become somewhat disconnected from the ninja world.

Toji settled down there temporarily to collect information that might be useful to him.

He soon learned that—

The major ninja villages had been established one after another.

Cloud Village had failed in its attempt to capture the Nine-Tails, suffering heavy casualties in the process.

Uchiha Madara had defected from Konoha.

Three days later.

Toji gathered intelligence about himself in a tavern.

It was a bounty notice from the Waterfall Village.

[Wanted: Waterfall Village rogue ninjas Kakuzu and Suguru Geto. Bring them back to the Waterfall Village alive for a bounty of 75 million ryo; for their corpses, 35 million ryo.]

No reason was specified, but the bounty for the living was double that of the dead.

They were likely hoping to reclaim the Earth Grudge Fear from him and Kakuzu; they certainly had a clever plan.

Toji took a sip of his drink.

"Suguru Geto," the name on the bounty, was the alias he used while traveling the ninja world. Aside from Kakuzu, who had just parted ways with him, no one knew his new name was Toji.

From the very first day he transmigrated, he had prepared for his defection.

For ten years, he had lived in seclusion, wearing masks and face coverings to hide his features, all for the sake of this day. After defecting, he discarded those disguises and adopted a new name, ensuring no one would know his true identity.

Of course, this was the ninja world.

A ninja's chakra and their signature techniques were like security watermarks—they could neither be hidden nor changed.

Toji planned to head to Konoha.

To be safe, a name and a face were not enough; he needed to fabricate an entirely new identity and persona—

[Toji, a doctor from a distant land with a heart full of compassion.]

This was his plan.

Entering Konoha as a complete outsider made it nearly impossible to get close to the heart of the ninja village.

He needed a profession that would perfectly complement his goal of plundering hearts.

The profession of a doctor was the most suitable choice.

Toji's medical skills were actually not bad.

As a taijutsu ninja, learning to treat one's own wounds was a mandatory course. Coupled with his past life as a medical student, he had mastered quite a few medical ninjutsu over the last ten years.

He couldn't claim to be the best in the ninja world, but it was more than enough to fake an identity and infiltrate Konoha.

Moreover, he now possessed the Earth Grudge Fear.

In his past life, Toji had often come across a joke that Kakuzu was best suited to be a surgeon.

Now, he was actually putting that into practice.

Toji returned to the inn, clapped his hands together, and summoned the Earth Grudge Fear.

A mass of writhing black threads appeared.

"What a peculiar little thing."

Toji didn't change his expression as he swallowed the black threads, refining them in an instant.

The Earth Grudge Fear immediately fused with his heart.

A strange power spread throughout his body, remodeling and strengthening his physique.

It was similar in principle to the parasites in Parasyte, both existing by parasitizing the host's body.

The only trouble was that releasing the Earth Grudge Fear required cutting openings in his skin to let the black threads crawl out.

Toji clicked his tongue, finally understanding that the stitches covering Kakuzu's body were a necessary condition for releasing the Earth Grudge Fear.

"That's just too ugly..."

A man has to care about his appearance.

Toji, having no need for Earth Grudge Fear to fight for the time being, chose only to slit his palms to release the threads.

Following the instructions recorded in the secret technique, Toji began his 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—

Plundering hearts.

Toji lurked outside an underground Bounty Exchange, where he severely wounded five ninjas in succession.

While they still had a breath left, he raised his hands to release the Earth Grudge Fear, wrapping them around their hearts to consume them.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump...

The hearts beat with the strength and power of a King Engine.

While granting him vitality, the meridians of the ninja hearts, connected by the Earth Grudge Fear, allowed Toji to master new chakra natures.

"Wind, lightning, water, fire, earth—I lack nothing now."

Toji clenched his fists, feeling the abundant vitality and power within his body.

Earth Grudge Fear was truly a miraculous secret technique; even the hearts of these mediocre ninjas had increased his strength by a significant margin.

However, it was not enough to say that Toji had undergone a qualitative change.

For one, he fought with taijutsu rather than ninjutsu; for another, the chakra natures obtained through plundering hearts did not belong to him in essence and could not be fused or evolved into Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tota, or Kekkei Mora.

In the end, it was merely an external force...

Toji was not discouraged.

Possessing a lifespan that was nearly eternal, he had infinite possibilities.

After handing the corpses of the ninjas from the Bounty Exchange back to the facility in exchange for a large sum of bounty money, Toji began the second step of his plan—

Impersonating a doctor.

Though he called it impersonation, he was actually quite skilled at medicine.

Starting from Tanzaku Town and heading toward Konoha, he treated the sick and injured in various villages and towns along the way, charging only a symbolic fee of "one ryo."

He told everyone he met the life story he had fabricated.

A gambling father, a sick mother, and a legacy inherited from an old master physician. A home ravaged by war, a vow to bring peace and take away pain... His sorrowful narrative moved everyone to tears, earning him even more respect.

A month later.

Toji's reputation began to grow, and flattering titles spread throughout the Land of Fire: "Divine Doctor Toji," "Bodhisattva Toji," "Saint Toji"...

Feeling that the time was ripe, Toji finally arrived at Konoha.

Standing at the village gate and looking into the distance, he could see the familiar Hokage Rock. However, at this time, only the large portrait of Senju Hashirama was carved upon it.

"...Finally, I've reached Konoha."

Toji's heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.

Ten years.

He had finally walked from one village to another.

At this moment, Konoha was still in its nascent stage, and the scale of its architecture was not large.

The Anbu and the Police Force had not yet been established, but the ninjas responsible for guarding the village and the barrier techniques were already in place.

Due to Uchiha Madara's defection some time ago, the atmosphere in Konoha was somewhat tense.

Just as Toji approached, a ninja with white eyes immediately shouted to stop him: "Halt, who goes there?!"

Byakugan...

A ninja of the Hyuga clan.

Toji said very calmly, "My name is Toji, and I am a doctor."

"A doctor?" The Hyuga ninja looked hesitant. "You have chakra?"

"Traveling to practice medicine, one always needs some means to protect oneself."

"You... wait, I need to report this to my superiors."

"No need to report!"

Just then.

A boisterous, hearty voice suddenly rang out.

A man wearing red ninja armor with a tall, upright figure walked quickly from the village. "I have long heard of the reputation of the Divine Doctor Toji. Welcome to Konoha."

The person who had arrived was none other than Senju Hashirama, known as the God of Shinobi!

Toji: "..."

He never expected that he would run into the final boss the moment he stepped out of the starter village.