Cooperation

In a secret meeting room somewhere in the capital of the Land of Fire.

After their meeting with the Daimyo ended, the ministers gathered for a little "private meeting."

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you all know what the Daimyo meant by what he said today."

Cutting off someone's source of income was like killing their parents. The ministers had finally found a chance to make a fortune off the "rice prices," so how could they let Enshi Shu, that wet-behind-the-ears brat, ruin everything?

The Minister of Defense was especially aggressive. He planted one foot on the table and shouted, "The Daimyo is only the Daimyo because we let him be!"

"If that kid dares to ruin our plans, we'll just blow him up!"

"Hey, you can't put it like that. Whatever else he is, he's still the public face of the Land of Fire. We should at least show him some respect."

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Food—"Koizumi," the minister who looked the most like a sly old schemer—waved his hand to show there was no need to rush. Grinning, he said, "Why not take the old rice that's been sitting in the storehouses for ten or twenty years and clear it out?!"

"If we give them 'fresh, delicious' rice, they might even thank us!"

The ministers didn't take Enshi Shu seriously at all. After all, who would fear a young lord with neither money nor influence?

As they continued discussing how to divide the spoils, the walls around them had somehow turned black. The shadows then spread across the floor and slowly crept toward them from beneath the table.

By the time the ministers sensed something was wrong, the Shadow Ninja had already taken form. They appeared behind the ministers and quickly seized control of them.

"Who are you?! We're ministers of the country!"

The minister who spoke first, and whose domineering manner had made him seem so intimidating, didn't take the Shadowkhan seriously. But they soon taught him a lesson at the cost of his life: "Don't get too arrogant."

A sharp kunai plunged into his neck, and blood seeped out. His eyes filled with disbelief, and his lips trembled. After managing a single "How dare you?!" he fell silent forever.

One of the ministers had collapsed in a pool of blood right before their eyes. The others immediately quieted down. The Minister of Defense, who had just been shouting about blowing up Enshi Shu, instantly switched to a fawning expression and pleaded, "Gentlemen, let's talk this out."

The ministers had all been assassinated hundreds, even thousands of times before, and every time they had managed to bribe the assassins with money. They all thought the same thing: We can always earn back this little bit of money in a few days...

Unfortunately, the Shadowkhan hadn't come for money. They had no use for it. One after another, the ministers' throats were slit by sharp kunai, until only Minister Koizumi remained. Terrified by the sea of red before him, his legs gave way and he dropped onto the floor.

"Y-You... who are you people?!"

Only now did he realize that these black-clad ninja had come for their lives. Yet he couldn't imagine who would have the nerve to assassinate so many of the Land of Fire's high-ranking officials.

Then the meeting room door swung open, and Enshi Shu's youthful face appeared in the shadows. The Shadow Ninja stood beside him, swords in hand.

"Minister Koizumi... We've only been apart for a little while. Why do you look so wretched?"

"D-Daimyo?!"

Minister Koizumi's eyes filled with disbelief. He simply couldn't imagine how a powerless brat with blond hair had managed to build up his own forces so quickly when he'd had no power or influence just a day ago.

But Enshi Shu had no intention of answering him. He only made a gesture, and a sharp blade pierced through Koizumi's chest. Blood surged up his throat. Even as he fell, disbelief remained in his eyes.

Konoha, Hokage Building.

News of the Land of Fire's Daimyo's death had reached Konoha. Ordinarily, Konoha would have held a period of mourning, but... the former Daimyo had been so unpopular, and Konoha had more pressing matters to deal with. They could only postpone the memorial for now.

Once we've dealt with the Talismans, we can pay the new Daimyo a visit and express our apologies and condolences in person...

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought this over, then got down to business.

The loss of yet another Talisman had made the atmosphere in the Hokage's office tense. Though Shendu still seemed untrustworthy to the Konoha High Command, the Ox Talisman's catastrophic power was undeniable. Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately summoned Konoha's senior officials to reassess the Talismans' importance.

"Uncle, I hope you'll cooperate with Konoha to search for the Talismans. As for who they belong to..." Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could bring himself to say that the Talismans should belong to Konoha, Uncle interrupted him. Waving a hand dismissively, he said:

"Uncle doesn't care where the Talismans are, as long as they're not in the hands of the Shadowkhan!"

Just like in the original Jackie Chan Adventures, Uncle didn't mind who held the Talismans. Even though the Talismans kept getting stolen from Section 13, he was still willing to leave them in their care.

...Was it really going to be that easy?!

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu could hardly believe it. They had expected to have to haggle, or even shamelessly press their demands—and maybe end up falling out with him!

"But Uncle doesn't have enough people. We'll need your people to help."

"Of course!" They'd be making a killing by getting the Talismans, so failing to contribute would be a little too much. Before Uncle could change his mind, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately finalized the cooperation plan.

But he was stumped over who to send with Uncle and Chixing to find the Talismans.

Minato was definitely out. He'd gone out once and come back battered by the Ox Talisman, and Kushina had him grounded at home. If Sarutobi Hiruzen forced him to go, wouldn't Kushina blow up at him?

"How about Jiraiya?"

Utatane Koharu made the suggestion. As one of the Sannin, Jiraiya was certainly strong enough, and he had no shortage of large-scale ninjutsu.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "That old rascal's always going on about 'gathering material.' He's been missing for ages."

(At that moment, Jiraiya, enjoying a "bubble bath" at a bathhouse in the distant Land of Hot Water, sneezed.)

"Then who should we send..."

"Why not let me go?"

Just as Mitokado Homura began to consider the question, a cold, hoarse voice suddenly came from the doorway. Everyone turned to look. A man with long black hair and golden, slit-pupil eyes stood there.

"Orochimaru?"

That's right. It was none other than Orochimaru, a "man" who looked just like a snake!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was delighted to see his beloved student out in the sunlight again after spending so many days cooped up in his laboratory. But... the Anbu had recently gathered plenty of "information" about Orochimaru.

Things like "conducting human experiments with Danzo" and "kidnapping children to use as research materials." Basically, wherever you looked, there was "Orochimaru."

Still, none of it had been proven yet.

Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly didn't want his beloved student to fall into darkness. It would be better to give him something to do—and Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't have much time to spare.

So he waved a hand and accepted Orochimaru's offer. But Uncle suddenly began shouting—

"Oh, no! It's a Snake Demon! Chixing, get Uncle some sulfur!"

At Uncle's command, Chixing pulled a bottle of sulfur wine from his backpack and was about to splash it on Orochimaru. Sarutobi Hiruzen sprang to his feet and stopped him, quickly explaining:

"Uncle, Chixing, this is my beloved student Orochimaru. He just looks a little unusual. He's not a demon."

Uncle adjusted his glasses and scrutinized Orochimaru's "pale, cool-toned skin." Then he nodded. "That's true. I don't sense any dark energy."

After being examined for so long, Orochimaru couldn't help thinking, Heh... compared to me, Chixing might look more like some kind of demon, wouldn't he?

"What fascinating biological traits."

Orochimaru had been cooped up in his laboratory, continuing some sort of experiment, when Danzo suddenly came to see him and demanded that he retrieve the Talismans on his behalf.

But Orochimaru, who spent all day holed up in his laboratory, had no idea what the Talismans were. He rejected the request without a second thought. It wasn't until Danzo showed him the information he had on Chixing and Uncle that Orochimaru became interested.