konoha village.
Inside a small restaurant.
The place looked just like Ichiraku Ramen from the anime—simple, homey, with just a few cloth banners hanging at the entrance to block the sun and give a bit of privacy to the diners.
Behind the counter, Toji was busy cooking up meals for the customers sitting shoulder to shoulder.
His mental link with Naruto was always active, but it felt more like chatting with a friend while eating. Sometimes he focused more on Naruto other times, more on the conversation or food in front of him.
Somehow, it never interfered with his normal life. He could balance both pretty easily.
That's how it had been ever since he ended up in the Naruto world.
He didn't just wake up here—he actually came over with his physical body, same age, same face, even the same name. The system that brought him here gave him a safe, low-profile identity: a regular Konoha villager who inherited a restaurant after his parents passed away.
Nothing suspicious.
It was a decent cover but also limiting—especially since he was trying to secretly push Naruto down a darker path. Being in Konoha made that tricky. This village was way more dangerous than the anime made it look. For someone without powers, even just walking down the street could get you caught in some ninja crossfire.
A stray shuriken or a falling rock could easily kill someone like him.
Sure, the system gave him "Dark Points" that could be exchanged for power-ups or items but using any of that openly was a huge risk. Chakra is easily detected here—people would immediately be suspicious if a regular civilian like him suddenly had chakra.
That could be a death sentence.
Even if he had a way to explain it, the danger of getting caught or blowing his cover was too high. If Naruto ever found out about him too early, the whole plan could fall apart.
That's why, even though he had the means to get stronger, he hadn't used those points freely.
Early on, his biggest goal was to get out of Konoha.
Put some distance between himself and Naruto.
But leaving wasn't easy.
Outside the village, it was mostly forests. He had no clue how far the next town was, or if some wild animal would show up and tear him apart. And with the world being in a state of war through many smaller villages, bandits or rogue ninjas were a real threat too.
He'd need a ninja escort to leave safely.
That meant selling everything he owned to pay for it.
But if he did that—liquidated his property, made requests to the ninja corps—it might raise suspicions. Guys like Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo were always paranoid. Even if he was just a regular guy, they might think he was a spy or a deserter, and that'd be the end of him.
To them, civilian lives were disposable.
Plenty of ordinary villagers died in the crossfire during ninja battles, and no one blinked an eye.
So, for now, Toji kept a low profile.
He stayed put. Waited. Watched.
He wasn't about to risk blowing everything early—not with Sarutobi or Danzo watching. And definitely not with Naruto still unaware of his true identity.
As for Naruto's safety?
Toji wasn't too worried.
Naruto was Konoha's only Jinchūriki who can safely keep the nine tails inside his body. As long as he didn't act out too much or show open hostility toward the village, the higher-ups wouldn't touch him. They needed Naruto to keep the other villages in check.
And right now, all of their attention was focused on the Uchiha clan anyway. Naruto wasn't even on their radar.
That's why Toji felt comfortable telling Naruto the truth about everything—no sugarcoating.
The only real concern was if Naruto somehow triggered alarms—got himself locked up or brainwashed because of some "butterfly effect" caused by Toji's interference.
But even then, he had backup plans.
That's what the remaining Dark Points were for.
The system's store had all kinds of one-time-use items—cheaper than permanent upgrades. Things like "One-Time Gender Swap" or "Temporary Izanagi."
He'd even considered using that gender swap option to fast-track Naruto's dark transformation and complete his mission.
But the system made it clear no shortcuts. Those tricks wouldn't increase Naruto's darkness level.
So, for now, Toji was holding onto those points for emergencies.
Unless he had absolutely no other choice, he wasn't going to waste them.