Tetsuya charged across the battlefield in one direction, attacking anyone he encountered.
But his fighting methods were far too limited at the moment, so he struggled whenever he faced Jonin with more combat experience.
Fortunately, he had the Evil God Immortal Body. He simply traded injury for injury, leaving his opponents utterly bewildered.
An opponent's ninja blade had clearly pierced Tetsuya's throat, yet Tetsuya retaliated with a point-blank Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, burning him to charcoal.
Even after reaching the Pure Land, the man probably still couldn't understand how someone could keep fighting after suffering a fatal wound.
"Hsss! Ow, ow, ow!"
Up in the treetops, Tetsuya held the wound in his abdomen and stitched it closed, one stitch at a time.
The wound would heal even without stitches, but sewing it up would make the process a little faster.
He only had the Evil God Immortal Body, not a constitution like Hashirama Senju's that could rapidly heal wounds.
"Hey, kid, you really are freaky. You've taken several fatal wounds without dying. How do you do it?"
Huang Bai sat on Tetsuya's shoulder, taking the occasional puff of his cigarette. He simply couldn't make sense of Tetsuya's condition.
"What's so freaky about it? It's just my special constitution."
Tetsuya finished stitching the wound and cut the thread with a kunai as he spoke.
"As long as an attack doesn't vaporize me in one go, ordinary fatal wounds generally can't kill me. And barring any accidents, my natural lifespan should be much longer than an ordinary person's."
"Really? Now that's interesting."
Huang Bai smiled.
"In that case, your constitution really does suit our Yellow Weasel Clan's senjutsu. As long as you live long enough, you'll learn it sooner or later."
"I think we're a pretty good match, too."
Tetsuya put away his medical kit and stood up.
As he felt the aches and pains all over his body, he realized he was gradually getting used to them.
Perhaps the Evil God Immortal Body did more than keep him alive. It might affect his perception of pain, too.
He wouldn't turn into a pain-loving freak like Hidan, but his ability to endure suffering was still far greater than most people's.
"All right, let's keep moving."
"Are you sure you're up for it?"
Huang Bai glanced at the wounds of various sizes covering Tetsuya's body.
"It's fine. These injuries won't affect my fighting."
Huang Bai took another puff of his cigarette and said,
"I think you've gained enough combat experience for this outing. Keep going, and you might do more harm than good."
"Really? Then should we head back?"
"Sure, then let's..."
Huang Bai was about to suggest heading back when he suddenly sensed something. He straightened up and stared warily ahead, both ears pricking up like radar dishes.
"What's wrong, Immortal Huang?"
"Someone's fighting, and they're pretty strong."
"Oh? Pretty strong? About how strong?"
Tetsuya's interest was immediately piqued.
"Stronger than any opponent you've encountered so far."
"Stronger than anyone I've fought!"
Now that was interesting. The strongest opponent he'd encountered since setting out had been a Jonin from Iwagakure. That man had been powerful and experienced, and if Tetsuya hadn't used his Evil God Immortal Body to catch him off guard, he probably wouldn't have been a match for him.
"Could it be a Kage-level fighter?"
A Kage-level fighter—and one from the First Shinobi World War, at that. Those were all legendary powerhouses from long ago, people he'd hardly ever seen in the anime or games.
"I'm not sure. What, do you want to take a look?"
"I do."
Tetsuya answered without hesitation. After all, as long as he didn't run into sealing jutsu, things were unlikely to go wrong for him.
Even sealing jutsu wouldn't be a problem with Huang Bai around. Genjutsu and sealing jutsu were the Yellow Weasel Clan's greatest specialties.
As long as it wasn't something like the Reaper Death Seal, he had nothing to fear.
"Then let's go take a look. Watching powerful fighters in action is a rare learning opportunity, too."
Following Huang Bai's directions, Tetsuya quickly approached the battle.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Before he even got close, Tetsuya heard the Water Dragon Bullet. Raging water formed a dragon and hurtled toward a group of ninja.
By Tetsuya's estimate, there were about twenty Cloud Shadow ninja present, all surrounding and attacking a single man.
That man's identity surprised Tetsuya, yet it also made sense.
"That's Tobirama Senju!"
They had been traveling steadily all this time, and Tetsuya had often activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode while on the move to practice controlling it. He hadn't expected them to travel all the way from the battlefield between Iwagakure and Mist Shadow to the one between Cloud Shadow and Konoha.
"You know that white-haired ninja?"
Tetsuya nodded.
White hair, red eyes, blue armor, a forehead protector that looked like a sticker, a furry collar, and three red markings on his face—this was Tobirama Senju, Konoha's Second Hokage and the younger brother of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi.
"Tobirama Senju, Konoha's Second Hokage."
While answering Huang Bai's question, Tetsuya also considered the situation before him.
Tobirama was alone here, so it seemed he had stayed behind to cover Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others' escape.
"This Senju's presence is starting to weaken. Looks like he's badly injured and already on his last legs."
Huang Bai kept his small eyes fixed on Tobirama as he spoke.
"Yeah, I can tell. He's probably fighting with the resolve to die."
"What are you planning to do?"
Tetsuya considered it for a moment. These Cloud Shadow ninja were roughly jonin on average. They only stood a chance because Tobirama Senju was already on his last legs; otherwise, they couldn't have done anything to him.
Still, barring anything unexpected, Kinkaku and Ginkaku should arrive soon.
Once they did, even burning through his own lifespan wouldn't let Tobirama Senju accomplish much.
"Let's watch for now."
Then Tetsuya suddenly added,
"Immortal Huang, could you put a genjutsu over me in a bit?"
"A genjutsu? What are you trying to do? What kind do you need?"
"Something simple. Just a genjutsu that keeps people from seeing what I really look like."
"So you're going to get involved after all."
Huang Bai saw through Tetsuya's intentions.
"Yes. I want to see what interesting things happen if Tobirama Senju makes it back to Konoha alive."
"Then why not save him using your own face? He'd have to repay you once you got back, wouldn't he?"
"No need. I think he's more likely to drive me out of the village than repay me. Besides, I have an interesting idea."
As he spoke, Tetsuya activated the Transformation Technique, changing his appearance once again.
Spiky black hair, scarlet eyes, and a stern face—despite his gentle smile, his entire being radiated an air of showing off.
Yes, the appearance he had taken was Sasuke Uchiha's.
No, Sasuke hadn't been born in this era yet. So rather than Sasuke Uchiha, it would be more accurate to call this the face of Uchiha Izuna.
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