Even as Torifū ate, he felt a persistent sensation of being watched, making him profoundly uncomfortable. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but the feeling didn't fade with time. Instead, it intensified, prompting him to become cautious. There might be ninja activity nearby. Someone capable of eliciting such a feeling in him couldn't be an ordinary person; it had to be a ninja!
However, he needed to determine the number of opponents and their purpose. While rogue ninja typically operated along border lines, it was unlikely for them to be active in such a primitive forest. They usually needed to ambush and rob passing travelers and merchant caravans to fill their stomachs. Who would they rob in this forest? It didn't seem normal.
Through telepathy, Torifū communicated his thoughts to Aokumo and Ryūfū, cautioning them to constantly monitor their surroundings for any movement. If danger arose, they were to escape immediately. The enemy was hidden, while he was exposed; being reckless was unwise and would only lead to a quicker demise. Aokumo and Ryūfū were seasoned veterans. Upon receiving Torifū's telepathic message, they made no outward movements. They acted as if nothing was amiss, continuing to eat and drink as usual. Unfortunately, Torifū had forgotten to scatter some crystal seeds in the forest when they were in the air. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so passive.
After steadying his emotions, Torifū began his training; after all, that was his primary objective, and he couldn't let being watched make his trip a waste. Interestingly, Torifū noticed that the natural energy at that moment was even higher than before. This sensation persisted for about an hour before finally diminishing, and along with it, the extra surge of natural energy also faded. A somewhat absurd thought occurred to him: 'Could this natural energy be related to the ninja watching me?'
Once the feeling of being watched completely disappeared, Torifū exhaled a small puff of cloud, transforming it into numerous tiny cloud birds. He then sent them to disperse into the forest, to seek out and track any nearby individuals. After about twenty minutes, just as Torifū was starting to doubt whether his initial feeling was mistaken, the first cloud bird discovered a ninja and carefully followed them.
Torifū connected his vision to the cloud bird, but after watching for a long time, he couldn't identify the person. He could only instruct the cloud bird to continue following. Half an hour later, a village-like settlement appeared before Torifū, which completely threw him off. Could it be that all this time he had stumbled upon a primitive tribe's lair? It didn't look like it, and everyone in the village seemed to be a ninja. Fortunately, there weren't many people, only about a hundred, not much different from the Oyashirō clan.
However, just as Torifū was about to control the cloud bird to gather more information, a hand suddenly struck and dispersed the well-hidden cloud bird. The ninja who had been followed had no idea what had happened, looking utterly bewildered. Torifū, on the other hand, felt a bit troubled. He had clearly been discovered. From the last image left by the bird, it was certainly not someone from a Land of Fire clan. Both their attire and the village's style differed from Konoha Village. Everyone wore light blue jackets, but none wore a forehead protector, making it impossible to tell which country they belonged to.
"Aokumo, Ryūfū, get ready. There might be a fight."
Aokumo and Ryūfū, who had been training, snapped their eyes open. Although their bodies showed no movement, Torifū knew they had adopted a combat stance. Since the other party had already discovered Torifū's surveillance, they naturally wouldn't let it go so easily. And since Torifū was alone, he would be easier to deal with.
Indeed, shortly after, a water arrow shot out from the forest. However, this attack didn't seem intended to harm Torifū but rather to test him. Torifū didn't even dodge. The water arrow flew past his ear, landing in the lake behind him with a booming explosion. Countless fish and shrimp in the lake lost their lives as a result.
"How did you find us?" a clear voice called out from the forest. "Are you still not giving up after pushing us to such a state?!"
Torifū was utterly bewildered by this statement. What was all this about? Why did it sound like he was the pursuer? However, Torifū was not one to be trifled with. Not only had they been watching him, but now they had directly attacked, which meant they were enemies.
"I don't understand what you're saying. I was just visiting this lake. You were the one who attacked first."
As soon as Torifū's words fell, a tall man with long, flowing hair emerged from the forest. Judging by his age, he seemed to be around Hiruzen Sarutobi's age, but much taller and more muscular than Hiruzen.
"Young man, you seem quite strong for your age. Leave this place quickly, and don't disturb us again, and I'll let you live."
Torifū's temper flared. This guy was quite presumptuous. He wanted to claim a piece of land in the Land of Fire's territory and forbid others from coming? Where did he get off?
"This is the Land of Fire's land. It's not up to you to say I can't come here."
To his surprise, the man simply smiled: "Then I'll just have to make sure you can't come here again." With that, he lunged forward! He extended his right hand to grab Torifū's throat, but just as he was about to make contact, Torifū dispersed into a cloud of mist. The man's momentum couldn't be stopped; he ended up grabbing a large tree, whose trunk, about the thickness of a bowl, was instantly snapped in half.
Torifū frowned upon seeing this. This guy was pretty strong. He truly didn't know who this person was. His sheer brute force was already impressive, which genuinely piqued Torifū's interest.
The mist coalesced into Torifū's form some distance away from the man. Then, Torifū condensed the remaining cloud vapor into a cloud sword. He pointed his finger into the void, and the cloud sword immediately shot out, flying towards the man. The man tried to block it, but the cloud sword pierced directly through his defensive hands and entered his body. He instantly felt as if he had plunged into an ice cave. His breath seemed to carry ice shards, making his lungs ache painfully. However, he could still endure it. He forcefully slapped his chest a few times and then charged at Torifū again.
"Water Release: Water Thorn!" Seeing that he couldn't catch Torifū, the man stood on the lake's surface and performed his ninjutsu. The entire lake's water was at his disposal, giving him a complete advantage of the terrain. As soon as his words fell, the water surface violently vibrated, and massive thorn vines erupted from the water. Each vine was as thick as a bowl, and by now, there were countless thorn vines on the water's surface. They intertwined, crisscrossed, twisted, and coiled as they assailed Torifū.
"Kid, remember my name, En no Gyōja! Next time you see me, hide! Hahahaha."