Another Jonin produced a summoning scroll.
"Using the scroll at this location should allow us to further pinpoint the swords' position."
All three Jonin wore grave expressions. This mission to recover the seven ninja swords had required bringing the summoning scroll itself.
If they failed and lost it, the Hidden Mist Village would forfeit the legendary blades permanently.
The Jonin in charge unrolled the scroll. The two sensory ninjas beside him expanded their perception to maximum range.
Neither detected that Zenji was already less than a hundred meters away—standing behind a large tree, watching them with cold indifference.
Just as the Jonin completed his technique and began searching for the swords' specific location—
Zenji stepped from the shadow of the tree.
No sound. Not even the faintest disturbance of air. As if nothing had happened at all.
He appeared instantly behind the summoning specialist, struck the back of his neck, and seized the scroll with his other hand.
The Jonin's eyes rolled back. The connection between soul and body—severed.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Both sensory ninjas collapsed sideways, crashing to the ground.
The remaining Hidden Mist ninjas felt their hair stand on end. An aura of deathly stillness radiated outward, and fear erupted from their very souls, clenching around their hearts.
The two remaining Jonin reacted with impressive speed. They suppressed all emotion instantly and retreated in perfect synchronization.
Thick fog surged outward, blanketing the surroundings.
Zenji's vision blurred immediately. Without his old body's chakra-saturated state, he could no longer perceive the detailed distribution of energy.
But he could still sense chakra in general terms. And most importantly—this body couldn't be detected by chakra perception at all.
He stepped forward, melting into the fog.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bodies hit the ground in rapid succession. Chakra signatures vanished one after another.
The squad captain lay prone on a tree branch, staring down into the mass of white.
"Nothing! There's nothing! Why can't I see anything?" His eyes darted frantically, searching the fog for any sign of movement.
The air was terrifyingly silent. Beyond the occasional sound of bodies falling, no other movement existed.
The enemy was clearly operating right beneath him, killing his comrades one by one—yet he hadn't glimpsed them once.
Knowing the enemy was there while being completely unable to detect them... the feeling bred pure, primal fear.
His neck tightened. A large hand had seized him from behind—when, he had no idea.
Terror erupted through him, but his body refused to respond.
No matter how frantically his will struggled, neither chakra nor muscle obeyed.
A bubble-like barrier enveloped him entirely. He floated slowly upward.
Under the sunlight's illumination, he vanished completely. Without a trace.
Zenji stood on the branch as the thick fog dispersed around him.
"With this body's capabilities, I could likely assassinate any Jonin in a one-on-one encounter."
The faint sound of flapping wings came from the woods behind him. A crow soared through the air, its pupils a bloody crimson.
Swish.
A small pebble pierced straight through it. The bird burst apart completely.
Far away, a rapidly advancing squad halted abruptly.
Seeing their captain stop, the team members pulled up as well.
"Shisui, what happened?"
Uchiha Shisui had one eye closed, brows furrowed tightly.
"My summon was killed. It couldn't even react—destroyed by a pebble." His tone was heavy.
"A pebble?" One ninja's voice carried hesitation. "The opponent isn't a ninja?"
"That fog was obviously the Hidden Mist Technique," another Uchiha countered. "Why would a ninja use a pebble?"
Ninja tools like kunai and shuriken were meticulously forged and extremely durable. Only with chakra enhancement could they unleash their true potential—piercing trees, penetrating rock, achieving supersonic velocity.
Very few shinobi bothered with stones.
"There was no chakra attached to it." Shisui's voice grew heavier still. "Pure physical strength."
The figure he'd glimpsed through his summon's eyes flashed through his mind. Just from the stance alone, he could tell the opponent was terrifyingly powerful.
He waved his hand. The squad resumed movement, but with heightened vigilance.
When they reached the destination, the fog had already dispersed. Only traces of Hidden Mist presence remained.
The enemy seemed as if they'd never existed at all.
Inside the valley barrier, Zenji guided his borrowed body into the laboratory. It lay down on the experimental table surrounded by protective formations.
The forehead bulged suddenly, splitting open to reveal a pitch-black eyeball.
The Yin Horcrux drifted free and returned to his original body.
Zenji opened his eyes. He released his left hand, and the Yang Horcrux flew out.
It floated to Uchiha Seisho's forehead and merged back in. This wasn't Incarnation—he was merely using the man as a shelf to store the Horcrux.
To ensure the Incarnation ritual remained perfect, this Horcrux had to stay completely pure and blank. Aside from the final embryo, it would merge with no other vessel.
"Using 'Ninja Killer' and 'Taijutsu Expert' as evaluation criteria, this body's framework can be considered perfect." Zenji stood before Toji Fushiguro's form, speaking softly.
"But for my true new body, this only completes two minor aspects: a formidable physical foundation and a method for explosive chakra release."
If his ultimate body plan was divided into Sage Eyes and Sage Body, this prototype satisfied merely one or two Sage Body requirements.
"I need more materials. Especially Hashirama's cells—and the chakra of Asura and Indra."
His thoughts turned to Konoha.
To obtain either, he could only find opportunity there.
The chakra of Asura and Indra descended from the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage's chakra descended from Kaguya Otsutsuki. And Kaguya had become the progenitor of chakra by consuming the Chakra Fruit.
In the Naruto world, bloodline determined almost everything. The higher one climbed the pyramid of power, the more absolute this truth became.
Naturally, the more perfect his new body, the better. If it weren't impossible, Zenji would have used the Ten-Tails itself as material.
"Neither Sasuke nor Naruto have been born yet. If I can infiltrate Konoha, I'd have excellent chances of obtaining both chakra types."
His eyes narrowed.
If he only wanted those two bloodlines, there'd be no need to actually join the village.
But the main characters of this world were concentrated in Konoha. For the Book of Ages to grow, it couldn't do without them.
More importantly, Zenji had set his sights on all of Konoha itself.
"The Land of Fire possesses the best geographical resources. If I want to rule the entire world, using it as my base is optimal."
The decision crystallized.
His perception locked onto the Book of Ages. Beyond the original page, five others now existed.
One had just been born.
"Capturing the Byakugan generated five pages. Killing twelve elite Hidden Mist ninjas—including three Jonin—produced only one." He shook his head slightly. "The difference in historical weight is truly massive."
The Tiger Talisman's divine power acted upon Toji Fushiguro's soul information cluster, instantly splitting it in two.
They possessed identical memories. Identical feelings.
Yet their emotions and reactions were entirely different.