"Karin, I finally get to meet you in person!"
Following the address in the Chat Group, Tenten quickly found Karin in a courtyard. Overjoyed, she hurried forward and wrapped her arms around Karin.
This was the Shinobi World's first-ever meetup between online friends—a historic moment.
"This is wonderful! I've wanted to meet you all for ages, too!" Karin could feel Tenten's heartfelt excitement and was just as happy. She hugged Tenten back tightly.
Even now, it all felt somewhat unreal.
She'd escaped the hellhole that was Kusagakure and made it somewhere safe, where people cared about her.
These were her dear friends from the group. Though they were meeting for the first time, there was none of the awkwardness of strangers.
Aside from Anko, who had only just joined the group, and Sakura, who hadn't said a word since Karin joined, everyone else in the group was family.
"Karin, is someone here?"
Kana's voice came from inside the house, where she was arranging the furniture and cleaning.
Karin called out happily, "Mom, come out quick! A friend came to visit!"
"A friend?" Kana was taken aback.
Karin had been born while Kana was wandering from place to place. They'd never had a stable life.
When Kusagakure had taken them in two years ago, Kana thought they'd finally found a steady home. Little had she known it was the beginning of a nightmare.
Under those conditions, when they could barely keep themselves alive, no one wanted to get close to them. So how could Karin have made a friend?
Puzzled, Kana stepped into the courtyard. She soon spotted Tenten and her daughter hugging like close friends, happily chattering away together.
Kana could tell that Tenten's happiness was genuine, and so was her daughter's. The little bit of caution in her heart immediately faded.
"Aren't you going to introduce her to your mom?" Kana asked, smiling at the two girls.
Just like Karin, Kana couldn't shake the feeling that she was dreaming.
She'd never even dared to imagine a life like this.
"Hello, Aunt Kana. I'm Tenten!" Tenten greeted her warmly. "Karin helped me out on the way here, so I came by to thank her."
"That's right!" Karin nodded eagerly. "Tenten and I hit it off right away. We're best friends now, hehe!"
Seeing her daughter so genuinely happy, Kana still felt a little puzzled. But just as Karin had guessed, she didn't press for answers. She was simply glad for her daughter.
"Tenten, you're such a good girl. I'll be counting on you to look after Karin from now on," Kana said with a smile and a nod. "Why don't you two play in the courtyard for a while? I'll make you some pastries."
"But it's been a long time since I last made any myself. I'm not sure if I'm out of practice. I hope you won't mind, Tenten."
"You're too kind, Aunt Kana!" Tenten waved her hands quickly, then held out the fruit she'd bought on the way. "I brought some fruit. Sorry for the trouble, but could you wash and cut it while you're at it?"
As for helping in the kitchen, Tenten wanted to make a good impression, but she wasn't capable of that. She could only play dumb and hope Aunt Kana wouldn't hold it against her.
Kana didn't think much of it. She accepted Tenten's thoughtful gift with a smile and a nod.
Mo Chen was passing through a secluded patch of woods when he suddenly stopped. His eyes narrowed slightly behind the eyeholes of his Anbu mask.
Whoosh!
A grayish-white barrier flared to life, spanning hundreds of meters in every direction around him.
"Are they after me? Who could it be?" Mo Chen stayed where he was and opened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, carefully surveying his surroundings.
He didn't seem to have any debuffs on him, so the barrier was probably only meant to isolate the area.
The barrier had clearly been set up in advance, waiting for someone to walk into it.
If this had been a random ambush, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths.
So someone must have known he'd be passing through and prepared this place ahead of time.
But Mo Chen was only a rookie who'd just graduated from the Ninja Academy. The only people he'd offended were from Kusagakure.
His identity hadn't been exposed. Even if it had, Kusagakure couldn't have reacted this quickly, and they certainly wouldn't dare intercept him on the outskirts of Konoha.
The only possibility Mo Chen could think of was that rat hiding in the shadows—Shimura Danzō!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
As Mo Chen's thoughts raced, a barrage of shuriken flew at him from every direction.
An ordinary rookie would have been turned into a pincushion in an instant. Even someone at Sasuke's level would have been wounded and left scrambling.
But under the gaze of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Mo Chen didn't even need to block. His feet never left the ground.
He simply shifted his body slightly, easily dodging every shuriken that might have struck him.
The next moment, eight figures appeared from different directions and charged straight at Mo Chen.
They were dressed like Konoha Anbu, but their cloaks covered more of them than those worn by the Hokage's personal Anbu, and their masks were slightly different.
They were clearly members of Root!
Before they even reached him, they formed Hand Seals. In the blink of an eye, they'd completed the opening moves of their techniques.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!
Lightning Release: Fifty Thousand Volts!
Compound Ninjutsu: Lightning Earth Dragon Bullet!
Four of the eight used Earth Release, while the other four used Lightning Release. Together, they formed four compound ninjutsu that rushed at Mo Chen from four directions.
Judging by their skills, all eight were at least Special Jōnin, and they were elite fighters—nothing like the trash from Kusagakure.
Mo Chen's gaze sharpened. Just as he'd thought, they'd come prepared to counter him!
After all, the techniques he'd mastered were Water Release and Earth Release.
Earth countered Water, and Lightning countered Earth. Combined into compound ninjutsu, they'd leave Mo Chen completely outmatched if he tried to fight back with ninjutsu.
So they were trying to force him to use Wood Release!
That only made Mo Chen more certain that the attackers belonged to Danzō's Root. No one else would have any reason to impersonate them.
Unfortunately, they didn't know enough about him!
The corners of Mo Chen's mouth lifted beneath his mask. He calmly formed Hand Seals.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
Compound Ninjutsu: Earth Water Dragon Bullet!
Once again, eight fighters combined their techniques into four compound ninjutsu. These were Dragon Bullet techniques too, but their elements were at a disadvantage.
Though Mo Chen couldn't see their faces, he could tell that all eight enemies looked down on his response.
It made sense. He'd started too late, and the ninjutsu he'd chosen was completely outmatched by their elements. Wasn't he just asking to die?
But the next moment, all eight of them widened their eyes.
Mo Chen had indeed started late, but his jutsu came together astonishingly fast.
And each Earth-Water Dragon Bullet was more than twice as thick as their Lightning-Earth Dragon Bullets.
Before the Lightning-Earth Dragon Bullets could reach him, the Earth-Water Dragon Bullets had already taken shape. They counterattacked at once, crashing straight into them.
As the eight users of the Lightning-Earth Dragon Bullets watched in stunned disbelief, the Earth-Water Dragon Bullets bit through their jutsu and barreled onward toward the eight men behind them.
"How is that possible?"
"Dodge!"
"Damn it, is this guy a monster?"
The eight Root members were terrified. They shouted and leaped aside in a panic.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Even after losing some of their force, the Earth-Water Dragon Bullets were still devastating.
The four Earth-Water Dragon Bullets crashed into the woods, blasting the surrounding trees into ruins.
The powerful shockwave spread out, and one of the more fragile Root members spat out a mouthful of blood.
The rest managed to dodge, but their blood still surged in their veins...
[Thank you all for your support and gifts. Consider this chapter a bonus update. I've been busy lately with the holiday season, but I'll pick up the pace in a few days. Thanks again.]
Before you continue