"Woah… Tang turned into a completely different person. How'd he do that? Is this really martial arts too? So cool!"
Naruto circles Imperial Lee, looking from left to right, shouting excitedly.
"Martial arts… can do something like this? And it looks flawless… totally different from the Transformation Technique, which is so easy to see through." Yamato observes Imperial Lee, deeply curious.
"This is an advanced level of Rokushiki, Life Return. It's a technique only usable after fully mastering oneself and True Qi. Greatly altering one's body structure—changing the face is just a small feat." Imperial Lee explains.
His body trembles, muscles twitching and shifting again. Then, under his arms, another arm grows, his hair stands upright, rapidly lengthening into sharp spikes, and his flat teeth transform into pointed fangs.
He flashes his sharp teeth, all four hands simultaneously giving a thumbs-up to everyone.
"Oooooh! Awesome! So awesome! Martial arts are incredible and magical!" Naruto shouts loudly, his excitement clear.
"It's really impressive. This level of transformation is like molding your body like rubber into any shape you want, without the slightest flaw. If I could learn this, couldn't I make my forehead narrower? Then that pig Ino wouldn't have any reason to call me 'big forehead.' And my eyes could be bigger. My lips could be smaller too." Sakura says, her eyes sparkling as she stares at Imperial Lee, her mind wandering.
"Reaching this level isn't easy. You'd need to train Rokushiki to a very high level at least." Imperial Neji shakes his head nearby.
Unlike Imperial Lee, he doesn't use Life Return to change his appearance.
Instead, he touches his space ring again, pulling out two human skin masks, placing one on his face and tossing the other to Imperial Obito.
Imperial Obito catches it and applies it to his face.
The masks fit perfectly, instantly transforming both into entirely unrelated people.
"Woah, what's this now?" Naruto asks, curious.
"Disguise masks, a small trinket from the Empire's erotic market." Imperial Neji explains.
"Erotic market?" The four from the ninja world's expressions shift slightly.
"Since His Majesty the Emperor is the dream of millions of women across the Empire, but these women can't have him, Doctor Karin created these masks, claiming they let couples enjoy the love they most desire." Imperial Neji explains with a serious face.
The four ninja world members' faces twitch slightly.
This Karin woman is no ordinary person.
And Ryuji didn't get mad about this?
As if reading their thoughts, Imperial Neji continues:
"His Majesty is magnanimous and doesn't fuss over trivial matters like this. Alright, let's continue our journey."
"Right! Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Yamato-senpai, let's go!" Imperial Lee shouts loudly, crouching and starting to hop.
"Let's go! I'll get stronger. I'll save Sasuke!" Naruto shouts, hopping along.
Yamato, Sakura, and Sai exchange glances, then look at Imperial Neji and Obito.
Sensing their gazes, Imperial Neji clears his throat and says:
"I've long passed the phase of crazy physical training, and what I study isn't Rokushiki or Muscle Martial Arts, so I don't need to do this. You guys, do as you please."
"My strength mostly comes from the Sharingan and Spiritual Martial Arts." Imperial Obito adds.
The three ninja world members' faces twitch as they mimic Naruto and Imperial Lee's frog-hopping style.
The group continues hopping forward.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
A few days later.
Konoha Village, main gate.
Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, on guard duty, yawn with bored, weary expressions.
Suddenly, an enthusiastic shout rings in their ears.
"894,815. 894,816. 894,817. Hahaha! We're almost there! Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Yamato-senpai, you did it!"
"Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Yamato? Did I hear that right?"
Both are startled, turning around in unison.
They see, hundreds of meters from Konoha's gate, a burly man in tight green clothing with an ordinary face leading Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato, frog-hopping toward the gate.
Beside them are two other men with ordinary faces, one in white and one in black.
"It really is Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato. They're back!" Izumo, first shocked, then overjoyed.
"They're back! Finally back! Naruto's finally back! I'll go tell Hokage-sama right away!" Kotetsu says excitedly, turning and sprinting toward the Hokage building.
He wants to share this good news with the Hokage.
"This guy." Izumo smiles unconsciously, then greets the four ninja world members:
"Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Yamato."
"Oh, hey!" Naruto smiles back, standing and waving.
"Naruto, where have you all been these past two months? Why are you only back now? There wasn't even a shred of news about you! Do you know how worried Hokage-sama was?" Izumo asks.
"It's a long story. Did Kotetsu just go to inform Hokage-sama?" Yamato interjects.
"Yeah, Hokage-sama's been so worried about you these past two months. Now that you're finally back, of course we have to let them know right away. By the way… who are these three beside you?" Izumo shifts his gaze to the Empire trio while speaking.
The three have very sturdy builds.
"They… are our saviors. If not for them, we might never have returned from this mission." Yamato explains with a smile.
"Never returned? Was this mission that dangerous?" Izumo's expression turns serious.
Then he nods to the Empire trio:
"Thank you for your help, all three of you. If you ever need assistance, don't hesitate to ask. Konoha won't let its benefactors down."
"No problem. Helping those in need is what we should do." Imperial Neji says with a faint smile, instantly winning Izumo's favor.
"I've always heard about Konoha's grandeur. Seeing it today, it's truly remarkable. I'm eager to go in and take a look. Brother Yamato… Brother Izumo, can I head in first to explore?" Imperial Obito says, memories of Konoha from his childhood flooding back, a sweet image of a young girl flashing in his mind.
His heart races uncontrollably.
'Back then… Rin wasn't with Kakashi yet…'
'They even happily strolled the streets together, ate dango together, and…'
'I wonder how Rin's doing here… so curious. So excited. I… can't wait. I need to see Rin soon.'