Eh? Just now you summoned such a massive beast, why didn't you use it to crush the enemy? With something that big, even one attack would've been a spectacular sight!
The man calling himself Tobi, but whom Aoyama knew as Uchiha Obito, spoke with exaggerated hand gestures, bouncing around as he talked.
Aoyama, who already knew the truth of "Tobi's" identity, had no intention of exposing him. Instead, he acted as though this strange masked man was simply a new ally he had met, replying with a serious face:
"You mean Behemoth? I only just obtained the summoning contract. I don't even know how much power Behemoth can unleash. I just thought to call him when things got desperate… but I didn't expect a single stomp would be enough to split the earth apart."
That one stomp from Behemoth was enough to shatter the ground. No summoning beast in the shinobi world could produce such destructive might.
Obito, still playing the fool, let out an admiring whistle:
"Ehh~ is that so? That's amazing!"
Aoyama shrugged. "But without your help, I probably would've been dragged back to Konoha already. Let's get moving before more pursuers show up. We're still inside the Land of Fire's borders—any Konoha shinobi could find us at any time."
Obito nodded rapidly. "Mm-hm! You're right. Oh, by the way, I'm a rogue ninja too, just like you. That's why I helped you! Don't you think we should be friends? My name is Tobi—Tobi with a T, Tobi with a B. I'm really strong, y'know!"
"Tobi, huh? That's a good name. I'm Aoyama. But… you remind me of someone I used to know."
Aoyama deliberately paused mid-sentence, making Obito tense, before continuing:
"It's just that guy died on the battlefield… and he still owed me tens of millions of ryō! Damn it!"
"You bastard! Who owes whom money here?! It was you who borrowed from me, not the other way around! Tens of millions—what a liar! Damn you, Aoyama, why don't you just drop dead already!"
Behind the mask, Obito's face nearly twisted out of control. If not for his disguise, his expression would've given everything away. Forcing himself to let it go, he huffed through his nose and then burst out laughing.
"Is that so? Well, if I remind you of a good friend, then we're destined to become great friends ourselves! Anyway, let's hurry up and get going. I defected with you, remember? If Konoha catches us, we'll both be dead meat!"
The escape went smoothly after that. With most of the Konoha shinobi shaken off earlier, no further pursuers appeared. Only Kakashi, with the help of his ninja hounds, had been able to track him down before. Otherwise, the ANBU squad would never have intercepted them.
Aoyama judged the terrain. "If we keep heading this way, we'll cross the Land of Fire's border and enter the Land of Grass."
The Land of Grass did have a shinobi village and some strength, but its small territory and weak resources left it as nothing more than a subordinate state of the Land of Fire.
Once across the border, they ran into a group of bandits who thought they'd found easy prey. Instead, they were beaten down mercilessly, their pitiful belongings stripped away.
Obito asked curiously, "Aoyama, why did you leave them alive? As a rogue ninja, it's not like you need to go easy on anyone."
Rogue ninjas were traitors, hunted by every village. Most of them fought brutally, never leaving witnesses. Aoyama, his forehead protector now slashed to mark him as a missing-nin, could kill as much as he pleased without anyone daring to lecture him.
Weighing his newly stolen purse and finding it disappointingly light, Aoyama sighed.
"Tobi, don't you think leaving those guys alive makes for a great decoy? Sure, we're in the Land of Grass now… but who says we'll stay in the Land of Grass?"
Obito's eyes widened behind the mask. "Ohh! So you're planting false clues to mislead the Konoha pursuers? Amazing! You're incredible, Aoyama! Ah—look, a dango shop! Let's eat, let's eat!"
Sitting inside, Aoyama paid for the skewers, chewing slowly as he said coldly:
"Tobi, you still don't get it. Leaving those bandits alive means they'll spread word of us being in the Land of Grass. When the pursuers hear it, they'll believe it's a trick to throw them off. But here's the real trick—are we really in the Land of Grass?"
"Eh?!"
"You idiot! We are in the Land of Grass, but Konoha will assume that's too obvious, so they'll think it's a lie. They'll start searching elsewhere. Honestly, I regret making friends with you—you're dragging down my IQ!"
After being insulted again and again, Obito finally caught on.
"Ahh, I see! So, we are here, but because of those bandits' testimony, Konoha will assume it's false intel and go searching somewhere else! That's brilliant, Aoyama!"
Aoyama smirked wickedly. "Good. You're not completely hopeless after all. You're even a little bit smarter than that friend of mine who died without paying me back. Just a little bit."
Obito was boiling inside, nearly losing control of his temper. This guy… why did everything he said make him want to stab him?!
That night, in a small house they had rented by force, Aoyama lay staring through the gaps in the roof at the glittering stars. They reminded him of the distant world he had once called home.
Being a transmigrator wasn't so bad… but who wouldn't prefer lying in bed with Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and a slice of watermelon? That was true happiness.
Still, he had crossed into this world. There was no point in longing for Wi-Fi now.
Rolling over, he opened the Book of Monsters, muttering to himself as he studied the newly unlocked beasts:
"Little Godzilla now has power on par with a Special Jōnin, with a body tough as steel. Summoning him is the same as gaining an extra jōnin-level ally."
Little Kong's strength is close to Godzilla's, but his agility is better. His skin isn't quite as tough, though, so he's only about Special Jōnin level. But if he wields weapons—clubs, axes, whatever—his fighting strength shoots up, making him at least Jōnin-class.