Ox Talisman (Part 1)

"Excellent! It seems Old Man and the Minato Namikaze team have already set off!"

Relying on the shared vision of Jack, who was hiding in the shadows, Qian Yu revealed a cunning grin. "Minato, oh Minato, who told your son to be the protagonist and your team members to be such important characters! Don't blame me for shearing the wool!"

The so-called "shearing the wool" naturally referred to harvesting Dimension Points. As for how to harvest them? That would be through the Twelve Talismans!

Right after the battle between Jack and Minato, Qian Yu had gone all-in, dumping all his Dimension Points into the Jackie Chan Adventures directional card pool. Although it completely drained his points, he was fortunate enough to pull the Shendu Statue and two talismans. However, the beginner's 10% off ultimate card pool had also come to an end...

But let the future version of himself worry about the pain of only being able to pull from the standard pool! For now, let's turn our attention to the talismans.

Of the two talismans, one represented the "divine power of healing"—the Horse Talisman—which Qian Yu was temporarily using for self-defense and to heal Jack's injuries. As for the other, it was naturally the star of this show, the talisman representing the "divine power of infinite strength"—the Ox Talisman!

Next, all he had to do was design a clever encounter and set the stage...

Outside Konoha, on a path within the forest.

"Argh! I thought this was going to be some dangerous and exciting high-level mission! Turns out it's just escorting a merchant to the capital!"

Obito collapsed onto the cargo pulled by the carriage, having "lost his dreams," and grumbled incessantly like a disgruntled wife.

"What else do you want? To go on a high-level mission, get kicked to death like a stray dog, and then have your name carved onto a tombstone?"

Kakashi felt that this dead-last Obito must have lost his mind, unable to even gauge his own strength, and immediately shot him a look of disdain.

Our classmate Obito, naturally, turned red with rage. He scrambled to his feet and shouted at Kakashi:

"What?! You smug Kakashi, how dare you curse me to die?! Do you dare to fight me one-on-one?!"

"Oh? You want to be kicked away like a stray dog on the side of the road first? I'd be happy to oblige!"

"Waaaaah! You're infuriating me!"

Obito's face turned even redder, as if one could hear the "hissing" of a boiling kettle. Rin, who was in the middle of the team, knew that whenever this happened, it was time for her to play the peacemaker. She stepped between Obito and Kakashi.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Just think of this as coming out to breathe some fresh air."

As soon as Rin spoke, the redness on Obito's face faded a bit. After thinking calmly for a fraction of a second, he decided to give his goddess some face. With a huff of feigned arrogance, he sat down on the spot.

As for Kakashi, he thought to himself, Why am I bothering with an idiot? Isn't that just lowering himself?

"Hehe... these disciples of Jonin Minato... they really are full of vitality and energy!"

Walking at the very front of the team was Minato Namikaze, the Jonin leading the squad, along with the client for this mission, a wealthy merchant from the Land of Fire named Dayuan.

"I apologize for the spectacle, Mr. Dayuan."

Minato nodded with a smile, then suddenly became alert. The surrounding environment seemed a bit too quiet... aside from the conversation of the few, there didn't seem to be even the sound of birds...

--Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

"Enemy attack! Protect Mr. Dayuan!"

From the gaps in the forest, thousands of piercing sounds suddenly erupted. It was a barrage of shuriken that nearly covered the sky. Minato immediately shouted to warn his team members, then rushed in front of Dayuan to block all the attacks for him.

The rest of the team instantly flashed to Dayuan's side, forming a secure perimeter around him.

While Minato stood ready, the three youngsters each harbored different feelings. Obito was extremely excited, his body trembling with thrill, thinking to himself, Great! I can finally show off my skills in front of Rin!

Kakashi drew his White Fang blade, his expression remaining calm. Although as a ninja he believed he only needed to follow orders, the appearance of an enemy he hadn't seen in a while made his heart race a little.

Although Rin was a medical ninja and didn't particularly want to fight, seeing her two companions readying themselves with such high spirits, she didn't hesitate to draw her kunai and join the fray.

A strange noise came from the bushes. Obito wanted to charge in immediately, but the very next moment, he regretted it.

The surrounding shrubs rustled in unison, birds and beasts in the forest were startled and fled in all directions, fallen leaves scattered on the ground, and countless dark shadows slowly emerged from the darkness.

"Shadowkhan?!"

"How could they be here?!"

Minato, who had clashed with the Shadowkhan not long ago, recognized their identity at a glance. There was no doubt they were the minions of Shendu.

"Could it be...!"

Just as the bold thought occurred to him, the Shadowkhan rushed forward in a swarm, each wielding a katana, hacking wildly at the group.

Kakashi was the first to grab his White Fang short blade, blocking horizontally, but as a crisp metallic clashing sound rang out, he felt his arm tremble violently; the opponent's strength was greater than his own.

As for Rin, being the only girl in the team and a medical ninja, she wasn't skilled in direct combat. It was clearly impossible for her to block the successive strikes with just a kunai.

As for Obito? He was busy trying to conjure his half-baked Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, which, as expected, only resulted in an "ancestral tiny flame," and he didn't remember to use his kunai to fight back until the Shadow Ninja was right in front of him.

After a few rounds, their formation was quickly scattered.

"Oh no!"

The area was already filled with Shadow Ninjas. With Kakashi, Obito, and Rin nowhere to be seen, Dayuan, who was at the center of the battle, immediately hid under the cargo cart. As for the carriage? It had long since broken its reins and fled in terror.

Dayuan was left directly exposed to the gaze of the Shadow Ninjas. Seeing this, Minato immediately formed hand seals: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Minato's shadow clones each held a Rasengan, temporarily scattering the Shadowkhan's encirclement. Then, one of the clones said to the terrified Dayuan:

"Mr. Dayuan, it's too dangerous here. Let me take you to a safe place first!"

Dayuan nodded in agreement immediately. After all, as a merchant, he knew clearly that money could be earned again, but if he lost his life, he would have nothing left.

But just as Minato intended to take Dayuan away from the center of the battle, the Shadow Ninjas pulled spherical objects from the inner layers of their clothing and slammed them onto the ground.

--Bang!

A massive cloud of smoke billowed out in an instant. Minato immediately tried to pull Dayuan away, but as he reached out, the arm he grabbed felt wrong.

A Shadowkhan with crimson eyes swatted Minato's hand away and lunged straight out of the smoke, closing the distance until they were face-to-face. Minato reacted instantly, slashing with his kunai and dissipating the creature into a puff of black smoke.

As for Dayuan, he had nearly been captured by the Shadowkhan, but Kakashi, who had been off-screen for quite some time, suddenly burst through the encirclement wielding the White Fang to save him.

However, Kakashi's expression was grim; his underdeveloped body and limited chakra reserves made it incredibly difficult to sustain a prolonged battle.

Obito and Rin, who had arrived late, only managed to regroup with Minato and the others after a Shadowkhan that appeared to be a "captain" recalled all the other shadow ninjas to its side.

Their morale and physical condition were far worse; sweat had soaked through their clothes, they were gasping for air, and several kunai in their ninja tool pouches had already shattered.