171-175

*Chapter 171: Eyes of the Rules*

Hinata Hyuga had just woken up, her face full of confusion.

However, she immediately felt a cool breeze at the front of her body and quickly covered herself, her face turning bright red.

"What... what happened to me?"

Hanabi Hyuga suddenly rushed over and hugged Hinata tightly.

"Sis, I thought I’d never see you again!"

Hinata finally snapped out of it, remembering how her heart had been pierced.

"Am I dead? Why are Hanabi and my husband here?" Hinata began to feel a wave of sadness.

"Sis, you're fine! Touji saved you!" Hanabi said excitedly.

"Oh, so it was Touji? And... is this my clothing?" Hinata's face turned red again.

Since Touji had torn her clothes, Hinata found it a bit more acceptable. After all, they were engaged and technically considered husband and wife.

"Hubby, I’m such a burden to you!" Hinata’s face fell into a look of despair.

If she had been stronger, she wouldn't have been captured.

With that thought, Hinata lowered her head even further.

Touji shook his head helplessly, then took off his own clothes and draped them over Hinata.

"Don’t worry. I’m here. If anyone dares to hurt you, I’ll make sure they pay!"

Since Hinata was known as the "Goddess of Death," Touji didn’t mind letting that title continue.

Meanwhile, Kakuzu’s name had already been written on his kill list.

"Hanabi, I need your power!" Touji turned and looked at Hanabi.

Although Touji wasn’t afraid of the Akatsuki attacking him, he couldn’t stop them from bothering the other ninjas in the Leaf Village.

He needed to grow stronger, and the quickest way to do that was to sign in!

Hanabi looked at Touji, still a bit confused.

Although she didn’t know exactly how Touji needed her help, he was also technically her husband now.

Watching how Touji saved Hinata, any lingering doubts she had disappeared.

"Alright... What do you need me to do, my husband?" Hanabi asked.

"It’s simple. Look into my eyes," Touji said, placing his hands on Hanabi’s shoulders and squatting down.

"I’m sorry, Hanabi. Kotoamatsukami!"

*Ding! Due to external interference, Hanabi Hyuga’s affection level has increased to 150 points!*

*Ding! Since Hanabi Hyuga’s affection has exceeded the limit, you have now acquired her full ninja and weapon techniques!*

*Ding! Low-level Shuriken Techniques upgraded to high-level Shuriken Techniques!*

...

*Ding! Low-level Byakugan is fusing!*

After a series of system notifications, Touji finally heard what he wanted.

Even though using his other Kotoamatsukami on Hanabi might seem wasteful, the Akatsuki had already invaded the Leaf Village, and Touji didn’t have time to raise her affection slowly.

His target this time was Hanabi’s Byakugan.

Touji’s own Byakugan had already reached its limit. With another set of Byakugan, he was sure he could evolve his eyes to the next level—*Tenseigan*!

Suddenly, Touji felt his eyes become clearer.

It was as if his muscles were massaging his eyes, making him hum involuntarily.

After about half a minute, the cool sensation stopped.

His previously white pupils had turned a light blue.

"Your eyes have changed... they’re even more profound than before!" Hinata said in amazement as she gazed at Touji.

She had seen these types of pupils before, but only in the Hyuga family’s ancient texts. She had thought they were just myths.

But Touji had actually evolved them!

Just as Touji thought everything was over and he was about to stand up, an intense pain shot through his eyes.

His Rinnegan and Tenseigan began fusing, making his vision blur, like an old TV turning to static.

Hinata and Hanabi watched in panic, worried but unsure how to help. They could only wave their hands anxiously from the side.

Touji felt as though his eyes were about to explode, not just from the fusion of the Rinnegan and Tenseigan, but as if his entire being was being sucked into a black hole centered on his eyes.

The powers of the Priestess, Sage Chakra, and Ice Release—all of it seemed to be getting thrown into the mix.

The excruciating pain made Touji wish he could gouge his own eyes out.

After about ten minutes, the pain finally subsided.

His eyes returned to normal, though his pupils appeared black. Upon closer inspection, they seemed to contain tiny stars—an entire *cosmos* within his eyes.

*Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the Eyes of the Rules!*

*Ding! Due to the fusion of the Rules, your body has sustained irreversible damage!*

*Ding! As the host possesses an immortal body, the damage is being repaired. Estimated recovery time: ???*

Touji let out a deep sigh of relief.

Thankfully, he had the immortal body. Without it, fusing the Eyes of the Rules would have left him crippled, possibly stuck in a wheelchair wearing a helmet for life.

But even though his body was repairing itself, those question marks in the system’s message made his eye twitch.

He chuckled bitterly—regeneration always took time, but at least he was still alive.

As Touji shakily stood up, he realized his Chakra reserves were completely drained. Even the Priestess’s power had been sucked dry.

Fortunately, his body was recovering, though at a painfully slow rate.

Right now, Touji was at his weakest. Even a newly graduated ninja could beat him easily.

But the battle outside was still raging, and there was no time for rest.

Just then, everything outside fell silent, followed by a commanding voice booming through the air.

"One bag of rice, how many floors can you carry?"

Touji’s heart skipped a beat. He rushed to the window and saw Tendo Pain slowly rising, clearly preparing to unleash a devastating attack.

Touji’s eyes brightened with an idea.

He had borrowed Shion’s power to defeat a demon before—perhaps Hinata and Hanabi could help him this time, too.

"Hanabi, Hinata, I need your help now!" he said urgently.

"What do you need us to do?" they replied in unison, without hesitation or doubt in their eyes.

"Close your eyes!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 172: Time Stop (Request for Subscription!)

Having learned from the previous experience, Touji was much faster at absorbing chakra this time.

In about thirty seconds, he felt his chakra had recovered significantly.

He quickly pushed the two away.

It wasn’t because he couldn’t continue absorbing, but because Pain's "Shinra Tensei" had reached its final stage. If he didn’t act immediately to stop it, it might be too late.

"Wait here for me!"

"Okay..."

"Mm..."

Seeing Hinata Hyuga and Hanabi Hyuga blushing, Touji couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!"

With that, Touji jumped out of the window and flew straight towards Pain.

Although the "Eye of Rules" sounded extremely powerful, Touji had just acquired it and didn't yet know how to use it.

Additionally, he didn’t have much chakra left to waste.

So Touji felt a lot of pressure!

Flying towards Pain, Touji saw Pain frown when he noticed him.

"You finally came out? Although you haven’t reached your limit, feel the pain anyway!" Pain said as a huge force began pushing outward from his body.

Touji's first instinct was to dodge.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a large portion of his already limited chakra was consumed.

The immense force passed right by Touji and headed directly toward Konoha Village.

Touji was stunned.

He hadn't expected that with just a thought, he could avoid Pain’s long-prepared Shinra Tensei.

However, the chakra consumption was too fast—just that single thought had used up nearly a third of his chakra.

In the next second, Touji realized what was happening.

Shinra Tensei had already been unleashed.

The force was strong enough to destroy Konoha Village. There was no way the villagers and ninjas could escape in time.

"Damn it, stop right now!"

Touji roared, and the advancing force actually stopped.

Not only that—the entire world around him seemed to freeze.

Touji was ecstatic.

He hadn’t expected that the "Eye of Rules" could stop time itself, giving him ample opportunity to act.

However, just as he took a step, Touji felt dizzy, and nearly all of his chakra was drained.

His pupils shrank, and he didn’t dare to move another inch.

He hadn’t anticipated that just taking one step would leave him with only a tiny bit of chakra. If he took another, he'd be completely drained.

But as long as he remained still, the chakra consumption was slow.

Touji quickly understood the rules of the time-stop ability.

In this time-stopped state, as long as Touji didn’t move, the chakra consumption was minimal—similar to using the Byakugan.

However, if he moved and altered anything around him, it would consume a vast amount of chakra.

In other words, in this state, even clapping his hands could drain him of all his chakra, leaving him like a dried-up husk.

Touji frowned.

He had acquired the godlike "Eye of Rules," but without enough chakra, he could only watch helplessly as Konoha was destroyed.

Suddenly, Touji had an idea.

Though he couldn’t act himself, he could summon the Slug Sage and absorb its senjutsu chakra!

With that thought, Touji quickly formed hand seals.

When he completed the final seal, the Slug Sage appeared, but Touji felt most of his remaining chakra being consumed in the process.

He barely managed to stay conscious.

Fortunately, the Slug Sage now stood before him.

"I'm sorry, Slug Sage. Though I don’t know how much of your power I've summoned, please lend me your senjutsu chakra!"

As Touji spoke, he immediately began absorbing the Slug Sage’s chakra.

As he moved, his chakra drained rapidly again.

Luckily, he had connected to his "battery," or he would’ve passed out.

In a few minutes, Touji’s chakra recovered significantly, though the Slug Sage looked visibly weakened.

Touji quickly stopped.

No matter how much senjutsu chakra he had absorbed, this was only a clone of the Slug Sage. If he drained it too much, she’d likely hold a grudge against him, and he'd never sleep peacefully again.

Touji dismissed the summoning and immediately summoned another clone.

He continued absorbing chakra for another half hour before stopping.

By then, Touji’s senjutsu chakra had recovered to about half capacity.

"Alright, that’s enough. Time to resolve this once and for all!"

Touji wiped his lips, which were beginning to feel sore, and reactivated the world around him.

Pain was taken aback.

Just a moment ago, Touji had almost no chakra left, but now his body was overflowing with it.

"Come back to me!"

Touji shouted.

The force of the Shinra Tensei, which had been unleashed toward Konoha, suddenly stopped.

This time, it wasn’t because time had stopped; Touji had absorbed the force back with his own power.

Pain stared in disbelief.

The power of Shinra Tensei depended on how long it was charged. The longer the charge, the stronger the attack.

However, the longer the charge, the longer the cooldown before it could be used again.

This Shinra Tensei had been charged for several minutes, yet Touji had absorbed it all by himself.

"Touji, just what kind of person are you?!"

Meanwhile, the ninjas and villagers in Konoha were cheering.

The devastating force that could have obliterated the village had been stopped, and they had been saved.

"Touji saved us!"

"He’s a hero!"

"If anyone ever calls Touji a rogue ninja again, I’ll fight them!"

Even Jiraiya, who lay injured on the ground, sighed in relief.

If his student had destroyed Konoha, Jiraiya wouldn’t have been able to rest in peace, even in death.

Thankfully, Touji had appeared just in time to prevent the disaster.

"Well done, Touji!"

But Touji was growing frustrated.

It wasn’t that he was running out of chakra, but because the system notifications in his head wouldn’t stop ringing. It had been half a minute, and they were still going.

If this were any other time, Touji would’ve been overjoyed, but the Akatsuki were still around, and Pain hovered nearby.

Having the system bombard him with notifications right now was just annoying.

How was he supposed to focus on the battle like this?

It was driving him crazy!

End of chapter.

*Chapter 173: The Return of the Ten Thousand Swords (Please Subscribe!)*

Kakuzu looked at Touji, sneered, and charged toward the room Touji had just exited.

But before he reached the doorway, he suddenly noticed Touji standing in front of him, a cold expression on his face.

"Are you ready?"

"You bastard, get out of my way!" Kakuzu roared.

His hands rapidly formed hand seals, and chakra erupted from his body.

"Die!"

Just as Kakuzu’s chakra peaked, it suddenly froze, as if it had solidified.

“What’s happening to me?” Kakuzu looked at Touji in horror, but his body refused to move.

“I heard you have several hearts. Was it four or five?” Touji asked, pulling out the Thunder Sword and stabbing it directly into Kakuzu’s heart.

Instantly, a shadow emerged from behind Kakuzu and disappeared.

"Please, spare me! I was wrong!" Kakuzu pleaded in terror.

Touji’s lips curled into a sneer as he coldly replied, "Didn't you escape from Hashirama Senju before? Let's see if you can escape this time."

With that, Touji plunged the Thunder Sword into Kakuzu again.

Kakuzu let out a roar of fury.

He finally understood—Touji was here to exact revenge and to torture him to death.

Desperate, Kakuzu shouted towards his allies for help.

"Help me, quickly!"

Several members of the Akatsuki rushed toward Touji, but no matter how far they ran, they couldn't get any closer to the two.

It was as if a massive chasm separated them.

Touji’s sneer grew wider.

The technique known as Space-Time Abyss.

When space manipulation is mastered to its fullest extent, it creates a law that prevents any ninja without spatial abilities from ever reaching Touji.

And now Touji could take his time torturing Kakuzu!

Touji brandished the Thunder Sword and began slashing at Kakuzu repeatedly.

At first, each strike was lethal.

But when Kakuzu was down to his last life, Touji struck him over ten times, yet Kakuzu still didn’t die.

“Please, I’m begging you, just let me die!” Kakuzu howled in agony.

Kakuzu knew that survival was impossible, but he only wished Touji would end his suffering swiftly.

Touji snorted coldly and said angrily, "If you kill people, you should be prepared to be killed in return. I'm tired now, so I'll grant you a swift death."

With that, Touji stabbed the Thunder Sword into Kakuzu without hesitation.

Ding! "Kakuzu has been slain! The host may select one jutsu or ninja tool from Kakuzu's body!"

Touji had no intention of selecting Kakuzu’s hearts.

After all, Touji was already practically immortal, and the heart-stealing technique would be redundant.

What Touji was more interested in was Kakuzu’s shuriken technique.

After all, Kakuzu had once thrown a shuriken at Hashirama Senju from 800 miles away, demonstrating immense strength.

Though that story was likely exaggerated, it still showed Kakuzu’s abilities.

"Select the shuriken technique!"

Ding! "Shuriken technique selected successfully!"

Ding! "Low-level shuriken technique has been upgraded to high-level shuriken technique!"

Touji’s mind buzzed.

He could now sense every shuriken and kunai in the vicinity. With just a thought, he could control them.

Touji’s heart leapt with joy.

Though he had many abilities, his long-range attack options were limited.

Now, with the ability to sense countless ninja tools, this would become his most powerful attack method.

Touji let out a cold snort.

Immediately, the countless scattered ninja tools on the ground began to tremble.

Even the tools within others’ pouches flew out.

In an instant, the sky was filled with ninja tools, forming a dark cloud that blocked out the sun.

“What’s going on? Is this your jutsu, Pain?”

“No, this power is too strong. I’m no match for him.”

“Damn it, is this the power of a god?”

The Akatsuki members stared in awe, while the Leaf ninjas looked confused, shielding their ninja tools instinctively.

At that moment, Touji floated into the air and shouted down, “Everyone, please lend me your ninja tools!”

“It’s Touji!”

“It’s Touji! Throw out your tools!”

“Yes, we must help Touji!”

In an instant, countless ninja tools flew into the sky, completely blocking out the sun.

“It’s that brat controlling them! Should we run?”

“This... This is art!”

“No, this is divine power, beyond our ability to resist!”

“Stop cowering! Attack Touji, that bastard!” Sasuke Uchiha roared, his chakra surging as his Susano’o appeared, aiming its bow and arrow directly at Touji.

“Die!”

The chakra arrow flew across the sky toward Touji.

But midway through, countless ninja tools converged to form a shield, blocking the attack.

Boom!

A violent explosion shook the earth.

Countless ninja tools fell, only to rise again before touching the ground.

“No one from the Akatsuki is leaving today!” Touji snorted, as the ninja tools in the air began spinning and whirling.

Then they fell, straight toward the Akatsuki members below.

Pain felt as though the sky was collapsing, crushing down on him, but he could do nothing, only watch helplessly.

“Konan, run!” Pain shouted. Without waiting for her reply, he grabbed Konan.

He then used his Shinra Tensei, propelling her to safety.

Boom!

Ninja tools rained down like a storm, hitting the ground with tremendous force.

The impact kicked up dust that enveloped the entire Leaf Village.

Ding! "Sasori has been slain! The host may select one jutsu or ninja tool from Sasori's body!"

Ding! "Deidara has been slain! The host may select one jutsu or ninja tool from Deidara's body!"

Two notifications sounded.

This meant that Sasori and Deidara were completely dead.

But it also meant that some Akatsuki members were still alive.

Touji didn’t intend to continue the chase for now. He had exhausted his chakra and would need to absorb more to keep fighting.

Touji slowly descended to the ground.

Immediately, cheers erupted as people rushed toward him.

Defeating the Akatsuki single-handedly—such strength demanded respect. And fear from his enemies.

“Hero!”

“Leaf’s hero!”

The entire village erupted in celebration.

At that moment, Kakashi, dragging his injured body, approached.

"Have you seen Naruto?"

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 174: Battle with Uchiha Madara*

Touji’s heart skipped a beat.

This entire large-scale effort had been made to protect Uzumaki Naruto, to safeguard the Nine-Tails.

But now, even though the battle was won, Naruto had disappeared.

A bad feeling surged in Touji’s mind.

“As expected, you're the number one dutiful son, putting in so much effort!”

“What do you mean, ‘number one dutiful son’? Touji, do you know where Naruto is?” Tsunade frowned and asked.

Touji nodded slightly.

“I think things have taken a turn for the worse,” Touji said with a cold snort, his mind racing to locate Uchiha Madara.

Suddenly, an image appeared before Touji’s eyes.

It was the Akatsuki, surrounding Naruto, performing some kind of ritual!

Touji frowned.

Although he knew where Uchiha Madara was, he had no chakra left in his body and urgently needed to replenish it.

“Three days. In three days, the Ninja World will face an unprecedented crisis!”

Without explaining further, Touji turned and left, ignoring the confusion of the others.

Normally, his chakra would recover quickly—perhaps even within half a day.

But since he had fused with the Eye of Rules, his body had been riddled with internal damage.

Not only could he not recover fully, but even restoring a tenth of his strength seemed impossible.

To defeat Uchiha Madara, and potentially Otsutsuki Kaguya lurking behind him, Touji had no choice but to seek assistance.

He quickly scribbled a note and handed it to Tsunade.

“Tsunade-sama, please gather these people as soon as possible. I need to quickly restore my chakra!”

Tsunade took the note, and upon seeing the names listed, she frowned.

“I get that you need to recover your chakra, but why are all the names on here women?”

Touji couldn’t help but cough awkwardly.

Although his recent efforts had drastically improved his favorability with many of the ninjas in Konoha, the idea of recovering chakra from a man was still something he couldn’t accept.

“Oh? My name is on here as well. I suppose I’ll let this one slide,” Tsunade smiled faintly.

No matter what Touji planned, as long as he didn’t go too far, Tsunade would be there to step in if needed. So she willingly agreed.

Three days later, Touji felt his energy had fully returned, though his body still felt somewhat weak.

Even after drinking several boxes of nutritional supplements, he wasn’t back to his peak.

“Touji, is Uchiha Madara really still alive?” Tsunade looked at him with serious eyes.

Although she trusted Touji completely, the news was just too shocking for her to fully accept.

After all, Madara was a legend from her grandfather Hashirama Senju’s era—a force beyond measure.

Because of this, Tsunade was willing to cooperate with Touji, even if it meant taking bold risks.

“You’ll see soon enough. How are the preparations going with the Allied Shinobi Forces?”

“At first, the other four nations were reluctant to join, but as soon as they heard it was you who called for it, they immediately agreed. However, it will take some time for them to arrive, so only a few elite forces will be available for now.”

Touji nodded slightly.

In truth, sending ordinary ninjas would be futile—they would only be walking into a death trap.

Even elite jounin might not be able to contribute much, aside from cheering from the sidelines.

“Alright, let’s head out!” Touji waved his sleeve, and everyone, fully prepared, followed him out of Konoha.

After hours of walking, they finally arrived at their destination.

A towering tree loomed ahead, its top disappearing into the sky.

Strangely, this massive tree only had a few branches and leaves.

Using his Byakugan, Touji saw a solitary flower blooming at the very top.

“I knew you would come!” Uchiha Madara stood on one of the branches, sneering down at the gathered ninja army.

Beside him, Uchiha Sasuke appeared exhausted, clearly having used some secret technique and not yet fully recovered.

“Madara, stop this madness. It won’t end well,” Touji said helplessly, just short of revealing Black Zetsu’s secret.

“Stop? Out of all of you, only you, Touji, have caught my attention. The rest are nothing but a ragtag bunch of weaklings,” Madara sneered, his gaze filled with contempt as he looked at the crowd.

The ninjas felt irritated but didn’t dare speak up.

After all, the man before them had ended the Warring States Period—Uchiha Madara.

His power had long surpassed ordinary comprehension.

“I’ll handle Madara. The rest of you take care of the others!” Touji said seriously.

The ninjas breathed a sigh of relief.

Facing Madara would have been certain death. At least fighting the other Akatsuki members gave them a fighting chance.

After all, no one wanted to die.

Without hesitation, Touji flew towards Madara, pulling out his Lightning Blade Fang as arcs of electricity danced in the air.

“Today, I’ll fight you, the living legend!”

“Very well, I’ll fight you, the strongest of this era!”

As soon as the words left their mouths, both figures vanished, darting around in the sky with flashes of metal clashing.

After several exchanges, Touji’s face turned serious.

He had expected his Eye of Rules to give him a significant advantage.

But Madara, after several rounds of combat, had already adapted to his abilities, dodging critical attacks every time.

This level of battle awareness was exactly why Madara had become a legend.

“Impressive, you are indeed strong! If given more time to grow, you might surpass me. Unfortunately, you don’t have that time—you’ll die by my hand today!”

Madara’s hands flew through a series of hand seals, and a massive Susano’o appeared before them.

Touji clapped his hands, summoning a giant statue with a thousand hands behind it.

Madara, upon seeing this, couldn’t help but tremble, before breaking into a grin.

“I didn’t expect this! Last time I lost to Hashirama, but this time, I won’t lose to you!” Madara exclaimed excitedly as his chakra surged, enlarging his Susano’o.

Without hesitation, he charged at Touji.

Not backing down, Touji controlled the statue to rush forward as well.

“Madara, Hashirama defeated you last time, and this time I’ll do the same. Prepare to die!”

In an instant, the thousand hands behind Touji’s statue began to move, all striking towards Madara.

Thick smoke billowed, covering half the sky.

But Touji didn’t dare let his guard down.

The system notification still hadn’t chimed!

 (End of Chapter)

*Chapter 175: The Eye of the Moon*

A gust of wind blew through, gradually dispersing the smoke.

A lone figure stood amidst the clearing mist, his body covered in wounds, both large and small.

Anyone else would likely have died from such injuries.

But this was Uchiha Madara, one of the legends.

"Kid, I have to admit, you're strong. I, Madara, acknowledge you as the strongest. Not even Hashirama ever pushed me this far," Uchiha Madara said, a crazed smile spreading across his face.

He then placed his hands on the towering tree in front of him.

In the next moment, Madara's hands began to absorb the massive tree as if they were black holes, slowly drawing it into his body.

"You were too careless. You never should have given me a chance to catch my breath!"

The wounds on Madara's body started to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few seconds, he was fully restored. His back no longer ached, his legs no longer felt weak, and a punch from him now created a shockwave in the air.

"This is my true, strongest form!" Madara declared, his entire body turning pure white, with several black orbs floating behind him in mid-air.

"The Sage of Six Paths Mode!"

Touji was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Madara to achieve the Six Paths Sage Mode.

In the original storyline, Madara had only reached the level of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, still a bit short of the Six Paths Sage Mode.

Yet now, he had directly reached it.

"After our fight just now, I realized that even in Six Paths Mode, I might not be your match, so I’ve decided not to fight you anymore!"

As Madara spoke, the sky suddenly darkened.

Touji looked up and saw a blood-red eye suspended in the sky.

A chill ran down his spine.

To prevent the Eye of the Moon Plan, he had specifically chosen to battle Madara during the day.

But he hadn’t expected Madara, in his Six Paths Mode, to be so powerful that he could darken the sky and create a massive Rinnegan in the heavens.

Touji felt his vision blur, and when he opened his eyes again, the world had completely changed.

There were now tall buildings and busy streets full of cars.

All the schoolgirls here wore JK uniforms, while the successful women were dressed in office attire.

Compared to them, Touji looked completely out of place.

"Look, look! Someone’s cosplaying as my favorite character, Touji from The Shadow of the Moment!" A schoolgirl rushed over, excitedly grabbing Touji’s hands.

Hearing her shout, several other girls quickly ran over, surrounding Touji with excitement.

"The costume is so accurate! Look at his contact lenses; it’s like the universe is spinning in his eyes!"

"Contact lenses? That’s nothing! Look at his Thunder Blade; that’s the most detailed part of the cosplay!"

The girls eagerly examined Touji’s props, while Touji was left utterly confused.

Logically, he didn’t belong to the Naruto world. Even if someone noticed him, they shouldn’t recognize him.

But these girls could all call out the name “The Shadow of the Moment.”

And when he looked closer, the three schoolgirls in front of him were none other than Hinata Hyūga, Sakura Haruno, and Temari.

Just then, another girl ran up and grabbed Touji’s hand.

"Touji-kun, do you remember me? Everyone’s acting so weird!"

Touji was stunned.

He didn’t recognize the girl, his expression showing only confusion.

But Sakura, standing nearby, seemed to recognize her.

“Xiao Tian, how can you say we’re weird? Weren’t we all cosplaying? You were supposed to cosplay Tenten, Xiao Tian was supposed to be Hinata, Xiao Shou was supposed to be Temari, and I was supposed to be Sakura Haruno. But you didn’t even bring your costume!” Sakura pouted with her hands on her hips, looking annoyed.

“Yeah, and now we’ve found such a great Touji cosplayer. You can’t miss this opportunity!” Temari laughed.

“So, am I supposed to be his wife now?” Hinata giggled, covering her mouth.

“Oh, we’re all part of his harem now! Touji-kun, ready to finish the mission?” Temari playfully nudged Touji with her shoulder, a mischievous grin on her face.

Touji finally realized what was happening.

The girl who had just run over was Tenten.

Without her signature hairstyle, he hadn’t recognized her right away.

But it seemed Tenten hadn’t fallen under the illusion's influence; she still had her original personality and memories.

As for the other girls, they had all fully immersed themselves in the roles they were playing.

Seeing Touji’s lack of response, Tenten’s face fell, and she turned to leave.

Touji quickly grabbed her hand.

“Tenten, don’t go!”

Tenten froze, then her face lit up with joy. She hugged Touji tightly, tears streaming down her face.

“I knew it! Touji-kun would never change! You’re still the same Touji-kun!”

“Oh, getting into character so quickly?”

“I think Xiao Tian’s legs are getting weak from being near a handsome guy!”

“So, is Touji cheating on me? Am I being replaced?”

“Xiao Tian, you just realized? Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of Touji cosplayers at the convention, but you probably won’t find one as accurate as this.”

The girls all burst into laughter.

Touji frowned and hurriedly pulled Tenten along as they ran away.

The situation was too complicated. He needed to break free from the Tsukuyomi world quickly. The longer he stayed, the harder it would be to escape.

As they ran, Touji noticed that most of the people on the streets were characters from the Naruto world.

However, they had all lost their memories of the shinobi world and instead treated those memories as part of an anime called Naruto.

When Touji checked his own body, he couldn’t feel any chakra.

His powers as a priestess and his connection to natural energy were also gone.

Fortunately, he could still control the Eye of Rules. With enough energy, he could definitely break the illusion.

But he needed to act fast.

Time flowed differently in the Tsukuyomi world than in the shinobi world.

If a minute here was a year outside, it would be useless to escape later.

They finally reached a secluded corner.

Tenten, panting and out of breath, collapsed onto a chair, coughing as she tried to recover.

Completely unaware of her skirt, she sat down without a care.

Touji blushed and quickly turned away, too embarrassed to look.

Noticing his reaction, Tenten finally remembered that she was wearing a JK uniform instead of her usual pants. She quickly adjusted her sitting posture, her face flushing red.

“Touji-kun… What’s happening to everyone? Where are we?”

“They’re all under an illusion. We have to find a way to break it!”

(End of Chapter)