Two days later, news of the World's Strongest Ninja Tournament had spread across the entire shinobi world, instantly igniting everyone's enthusiasm.
In this world, fame and profit are what people chase—very few could resist the temptation of "Number One Under Heaven"!
Thanks to the electric train being such a convenient means of transportation, even those living at the farthest corners of the world were able to return in time.
In no time at all, Konoha's city streets were packed with people, and traffic came to a complete standstill.
Pushing through the dense crowd, Naruto's face was flushed with excitement as he said, "Sasuke, Neji, we should sign up and join too!"
Sasuke eyed him suspiciously. "Do you think that's what we're here for? Isn't that exactly why we came—to the registration site?"
"Aww, really?" Naruto chuckled awkwardly, "I didn't realize with all these people around."
Neji's eyes burned with intensity. "Number One Under Heaven I won't aim for, but I definitely must make it into the Top 16."
Sasuke gave him a slow up-and-down stare. "If you just want to speak, then why keep your hands on your hips like that? Are you trying to hide something with that posture?"
The way Neji stood reminded Sasuke a bit too much of Big Sasuke from three years ago, making him feel somewhat offended.
Rubbing his chin, Naruto said, "Come to think of it, we haven't seen much of you this week!"
"Impure thoughts again!" Neji shouted angrily. "You two bastards, where did your minds go this time? My sensei said the Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu is inherited from the Otsutsuki Clan's Taijutsu techniques, and he gave me a new training goal so I could approach that level. I rushed into it too quickly and accidentally pulled my back, so I've just been resting at home!"
"Really?" Naruto and Sasuke asked in unison, not hiding their skepticism at all—it was practically written across their faces.
Neji spoke earnestly, "I know what impure things you're thinking, but it's not like that at all! I'm a Taijutsu specialist, so how could I possibly twist my back doing something like that?"
Now that Neji had made it clear, both Naruto and Sasuke nodded thoughtfully—it did seem to make sense.
In terms of physical strength, how could Tenten possibly compare with someone like Neji, a top-tier Taijutsu expert?
They must've just misunderstood!
At that moment, both of them felt a bit ashamed—their thoughts had been too impure.
Just then, Naruto's phone rang.
"Huh? It's Tenten?" Seeing the caller ID, Naruto answered the call without hesitation.
"Oh right, Neji didn't bring his phone... Yes, he's here with us... Huh? She wants Neji to buy some tiger and ox penises (used in traditional remedies) to bring home...? No problem, I'll make sure to pass that along!"
After hanging up, an awkward silence settled among the three.
"Ha, women are just trouble!" Neji forced a laugh while waving his hand. "By the way, where were we? We were going to register, right? Let's hurry up. I still need to go home to do laundry and cook later!"
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances, each seeing fear in the other's eyes. Could adult life really be this terrifying?
As the trio approached the registration site, they saw a long, winding line that snaked like a dragon.
Letting out a discouraged sigh, they were about to step forward to wait in line, when suddenly the person at the very front of the line exploded into smoke as soon as he finished signing up.
Naruto clapped his hands together. "We can use clones to hold our place in line!"
Sasuke nodded. "That would make things much easier!"
However, as they spoke, they felt someone tugging at their clothes. Turning their heads, they saw Neji looking at them with a pleading gaze. "Using clones might lead to accidents, and it also shows we aren't sincere enough. Let's wait in line with our true bodies!"
What kind of pressure have we put on a kid like this... The two exchanged glances and patted his shoulders. "Alright then, we'll wait in line ourselves!"
Neji couldn't help but tear up. "Great buddies!"
The three positioned themselves at the back of the line, advancing with the crowd while discussing the top contenders for the upcoming event.
Naruto said, "Well, obviously the Five Kages will be there, but even within Konoha alone, we've got the Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, and Ino–Shika–Cho clans—there are just way too many strong fighters!"
Sasuke proudly declared, "Out of the top 32, the Uchiha clan is likely to take four spots!"
Neji then asked, "I wonder if there'll be competitors from outside the Alliance. Although our Alliance already covers half the shinobi world, I've heard there were some stubborn factions back then who refused to merge with the major ninja villages..."
As time passed, the three had already reached the front portion of the line.
At that moment, some commotion came from ahead.
Stretching their heads forward to peek, they saw someone with a scythe on his back causing trouble.
"Hey, let me cut in line! Do you know I'm a jonin?"
"Idiot! Everyone here signing up, nine out of ten are jonin!"
"Tch, even jonin have become so common these days?" The young man with the scythe spat angrily, then suggested, "How about this then—stab me once and I'll trade you this spot?"
The jonin being provoked was startled. "Are you insane?"
Observing the spectacle in front, Naruto curiously asked, "Isn't that Hidan, the 'perpetual underachiever' senior? Has he graduated yet?"
"He must've graduated by now, right?" Neji wasn't very certain. "Otherwise, how could he become a jonin?"
"You can't be sure about that!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Maybe he was conned into buying forged ninja certification?"
Anyone caught fighting gets disqualified, so the man dared not attack. Eventually growing impatient with Hidan, he said, "Fine then, you can take my spot..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, someone behind him grabbed his arm. "If you switch places, that's your choice, but once you do, you have to go to the back of the line and start over!"
The jonin who offered to switch looked very displeased. When he turned around, he saw a boy with extremely pale skin behind him.
"Kid, do you even understand what you're saying?"
"I'm talking about the 'rules'!"
Before he could argue, the man was suddenly enveloped by an invisible force that lifted him up and directly placed him at the end of the line.
Fighting would get you expelled, but what just happened certainly couldn't be considered a fight!
The crowd around them watching the spectacle were all deeply shaken. Although that person wasn't particularly powerful, he was still a jonin after all. To be caught and moved like that without any resistance was shocking!
Even they couldn't make heads or tails of how he did it!
For a moment, everyone looked toward the pale-skinned boy with evident wariness in their eyes.
Unaffected by the surrounding gazes, the white-skinned boy simply smiled as he looked toward the registration staff. "Can I sign up now?"
"Of course, what's your name?"
"Toneri otsutsuki!"
After saying that, Toneri suddenly looked up at the sky. He didn't lower his head and continue the registration until the staff called him.
In the spatial rift, two figures emerged.
"He has such alertness. Not bad for a newly emerged otsutsuki," Momoshiki said playfully, eyeing Toneri greedily.
Kinshiki's expression turned serious. "Each otsutsuki's birth consumes massive amounts of chakra. This planet's chakra has become unusually active!"
"A thousand years without harvesting—this rich land was bound to become overflowing with energy," Momoshiki licked his lips. "These moving chakra reservoirs are practically waving at me, making me itch to collect them! Especially that newborn brat. I don't think his name exists in the clan records, right?"
"It naturally doesn't," Kinshiki replied.
"Though the clan prohibits devouring fellow otsutsukis, unnamed savages don't count," Momoshiki grinned. "What a stroke of luck! I actually found a wild otsutsuki like this!"
Kinshiki carefully asked, "Lord Momoshiki, you plan to—"
Momoshiki contemptuously looked at the outside world. "That brat wants to flaunt his power among these inferior creatures? Then let's join in too. Let him taste what it's like to be crushed by dimensional superiority!"
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