The Iron Fortress! The suspicious Haido
After traveling with the caravan for half a day, Shinki and his two companions decided to return directly to their village.
At this moment, Heyan walked over with a worried expression.
"Nirugu disappeared!"
Naruto asked doubtfully, "Didn't you say it rarely leaves the caravan? Why don't we just look again?"
Heyan hurriedly explained.
"Nirugu and that boy named Timothy disappeared together."
"As you all know, Nirugu really likes that guy named Timothy, and she might have left with him."
"You're Ninjas from Konoha, could you help me look for it?"
"I see." Sai nodded. "But before that, we had already safely handed the Ferret over to you, so the mission is complete."
"If you want us to help you again, you'll need to go to Konoha and post another mission."
Heyan: "..."
"Do you have to be so rigid? Rules are rules, but people are flexible!"
"I can pay you for two missions, but please find Nirugu for me first."
"Shinki, why don't we help the old man?" Naruto, seeing this, tugged at Shinki's sleeve. "The old man even let us have lunch today."
"All right."
Shinki thought for a moment and nodded.
He was very curious about Timothy, and while he was looking for the Ferret, he could take the opportunity to investigate him.
Thinking of this, Shinki took Sai and Naruto's hands.
"While he was unconscious today, I placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on his armor."
After saying that, the three of them vanished from the spot.
Old Man Heyan stared in utter shock at the three people who had vanished before him, and then gave a trembling thumbs-up.
"As expected of Konoha Ninjas, they're reliable!!"
Beside old man Heyan, his granddaughter's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Grandpa, that red-haired Ninja is really charming! (´◊ω◊`)"
Heyan covered his face. He admired these young Ninjas, but that didn't mean he could just stand by and watch them steal his prize!
Heyan said, "We've traveled to so many places on the mainland, what kind of men haven't you seen? What's so special about a Ninja?"
The granddaughter pouted, "But none of those other people are as handsome, as strong, or as mysterious as him. Anyway, I just like him! (*￣3￣)"
Above the valley.
The three from Shinki appeared behind Timothy like ghosts.
Timothy trembled in fright and drew his sword to stab backward!
At the critical moment, Shinki drew his Bone Blade from his waist and blocked the middle of Timothy's longsword!
"Clang!"
"Smack!!"
The collision shattered Timothy's longsword into two pieces.
Both parties were stunned!
Timothy hadn't expected his longsword to be so fragile!
Shinki never expected that Kimimaro, that sickly fellow, would actually be so resilient...
Timothy, clutching the broken sword, asked somewhat awkwardly, "Why did you suddenly appear behind me?"
"If you're going to leave, why take the old man's Ferret with you?" Naruto said, displeased.
Timothy scoffed, "You think I wanted to bring it along? It wanted to follow me on its own! →_→"
"Then give us the Ferret, and we'll go back."
Sai interjected.
Naruto nodded.
Timothy glanced at the distant mountains, then at the Ferret perched on his shoulder.
"Why don't you come with me to see Lord Haido first?"
"Our base isn't far from here. Come with me, and I'll let you take the Ferrets."
"That means we have to walk a long way, which is too tiring."
Naruto was speechless.
Unlike Naruto, Shinki's face showed curiosity.
He wanted to figure out the energy behind Timothy and see what kind of person Lord Haido, whom Timothy so highly praised, really was.
However, before Shinki could speak...
The earth suddenly began to tremble!
The tremors gradually increased in intensity, as if a gigantic beast, hundreds of meters tall, was approaching their location!
"Look!"
Sai suddenly looked at the distant mountains, a look of terror appearing in his eyes!
Shinki Naruto then looked up.
In the distance, nestled among the mountains, appeared a colossal creature!
A rough estimate puts it at a height of one or two hundred meters!
The enormous creature was covered in steel, with Steam constantly rising from its top!
Shinki was somewhat surprised.
I never imagined that such a massive mobile Iron Fortress existed in this world!!
Soon, the Iron Fortress moved in front of Shinki and the others!
"Ku--"
The hatch at the bottom of the fortress opened.
Timothy immediately gestured for them to come in. "This is our base. Wouldn't you like to go in and take a look?"
"Think about it!"
Naruto and Shinki nodded their heads rapidly.
No man can say no to a giant machine!
So the three of them followed Timothy into the Iron Fortress.
Walking on the steel floor, Shinki felt as if he had stepped into another world.
It felt as if I had stepped from a barbaric era into a civilized one.
This was the first time he had ever seen machinery of this scale on this continent.
Soon, Timothy led the three to the main hall of the fortress.
In the center of the main hall sat a man wearing half-glasses.
The man was dressed in a long robe and wore a tall hat; he had a refined demeanor and a friendly smile.
He gives off a feeling similar to the uncle next door.
However, Shinki always felt that there was a hint of hypocrisy in this person's smile.
Timothy knelt down and bowed the moment he saw the man.
"Lord Haido."
"In your message, you said that these are the children who discovered the strange energy within their bodies?" Haido looked down and Shinki the three of them.
"Yes."
After speaking, Timothy drew the broken sword from his waist and assumed a fighting stance facing the group of Shinki: "Come on, show Lord Haido your Chakra in battle."
The three from Shinki: (ー_ー)!!
"I refuse."
The three of them said in unison.
Timothy's tone made it sound like the three of them were monkeys being watched.
Haido, seated in the center, immediately laughed, "Excuse me, it was my subordinate who was rude."
With that, Haido got up from his seat and went to Naruto's side.
"It's said you possess power comparable to Timothy's? You call this power 'Chakra'?"
Naruto shook his head and said seriously, "My power is much stronger than Timothy's."
Haido smiled.
"Since you possess such great power, wouldn't you like to contribute to world peace?"
With great power comes great responsibility.
"Let's build a Land of Plenty together, a world without conflict, where the weak are not bullied. I need your strength."
Upon hearing Shinki, Shenmu's expression turned strange.
This person's speech sounds exactly like that of a pyramid scheme leader!
Sai remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Of the three, only Naruto looked thoughtful. "That sounds tempting, but I'm going to be Hokage, I can't go with you guys."
As the group was chatting, Nirugu poked his head out from Timothy's armor and bared his teeth at Haido.
"What's this?"
Haido pointed at Nirugu and asked.
Timothy quickly explained, "It's a mink kept by some caravan; it's been following me."