The Ox Talisman (Part 1)

"Great! Looks like Uncle and Team Minato have both set out!"

Watching through Jack's shared vision from his hiding place, Qian Yu grinned maliciously. "Minato, Minato, who told you your son's the protagonist and your teammates are important characters? Don't blame me for milking you for Dimensional Points!"

"Milking you," of course, meant raking in Dimensional Points. And how would he do that? With the Twelve Talismans, naturally!

After Jack's battle with Minato, Qian Yu had immediately gone all in, spending every last Dimensional Point on the Jackie Chan Adventures limited pool. Though he'd completely drained his points in the end... at least he'd drawn the Shendu Statue and two Talismans. But that also marked the end of the beginner's one-tenth-price premium pool...

The pain of having to use only the regular pool from now on could be left for his future self to deal with! For now, he'd turn his attention to the Talismans.

One of the two Talismans represented the divine power of "healing"—the Horse Talisman. Qian Yu would use it for self-defense and to heal Jack's injuries. The other, naturally, was the star of this show: the Ox Talisman, which represented the divine power of "immense strength"!

All he had to do now was arrange a clever encounter and set the stage...

On a forest path outside Konoha.

"Ugh! I thought we'd get some dangerous, exciting, high-ranking mission! But we're just escorting a merchant to the capital!"

Obito sprawled on the goods piled in the cart, "dreams shattered," and complained nonstop like a nagging wife.

"What did you expect? To take on a high-ranking mission, get kicked to death like a stray dog, and have your name carved on a gravestone?"

Kakashi thought the dead-last had probably gone mad. He couldn't even gauge his own strength anymore. Kakashi shot him a contemptuous, half-lidded stare.

As one would expect, Obito's face flushed red. He scrambled to his feet and shouted at Kakashi:

"What?! You smug jerk, Kakashi! Are you cursing me to die?! Why don't you fight me one-on-one?!"

"Oh? You want me to kick you away like a stray dog on the roadside? I'd be happy to oblige!"

"Gaaah! You're making me furious!"

Obito's face turned even redder, and it was as if a kettle were whistling with steam. Rin, standing between the teammates, knew that this was her cue to play peacemaker. She stepped between Obito and Kakashi.

"Come on, you two, stop arguing. Just think of it as a chance to get some fresh air."

At Rin's words, some of the red faded from Obito's face. After thinking it over for a fraction of a second, he decided to indulge his goddess. He gave an arrogant "hmph" and sat back down.

Kakashi, meanwhile, thought, Why am I even arguing with an idiot? That would only be stooping to his level.

"Heh... Minato, your students sure are full of energy!"

At the head of the group walked Minato Namikaze, the jōnin leading the team, alongside the client for this mission: Dayuan, a wealthy merchant from the Land of Fire.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Dayuan."

Minato smiled and nodded, then suddenly grew alert. The surroundings seemed far too quiet... Aside from their conversation, there wasn't even the sound of birds.

—Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

"Enemy attack! Protect Mr. Dayuan!"

Thousands upon thousands of objects suddenly whistled through gaps in the trees. Shuriken nearly blotted out the sky. Minato shouted a warning to his teammates, then rushed in front of Dayuan and blocked every attack.

The rest of the team instantly moved to Dayuan's side, surrounding him in a secure perimeter.

As Minato braced himself for battle, each of the three young ninjas felt differently. Obito was so excited that he trembled, thinking, Finally! I can show off in front of Rin!

Kakashi drew the White Fang Short Blade, his expression still calm. As a shinobi, he believed he only had to follow orders, but the sudden appearance of an enemy after so long stirred him up a little.

Rin was a medical ninja and wasn't keen on fighting, but when she saw her two teammates raring for battle, she didn't hesitate to draw her Kunai and join the fray.

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

The shrubs all around them rustled at once. Birds and beasts fled in every direction, leaves scattered across the ground, and countless shadows slowly emerged from the darkness.

"The Shadowkhan?!"

"Why are they here?!"

Minato had fought the Shadowkhan not long ago and recognized them at a glance. They were undoubtedly Shendu's lackeys.

"Could it be...!"

The moment the bold thought crossed his mind, the Shadowkhan charged as one. Each wielded a katana, and they swung at the group in a fierce flurry.

Kakashi was the first to raise the White Fang Short Blade and block a strike. But when metal rang out with a sharp clang, his arm shuddered. His opponent was stronger than he was.

Rin was the only girl on the team, and she was a medical ninja who wasn't skilled at close combat. There was no way she could stop one slash after another with nothing but a Kunai.

As for Obito? He was busy charging up his half-baked Great Fireball Technique again. Unsurprisingly, all he managed was his "family heirloom little-flame technique." He didn't think to fight back with his Kunai until a Shadow Ninja was right in front of him.

After a few exchanges, the team's formation was quickly broken apart.

"Not good!"

Shadow Ninjas now surrounded them on all sides. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were nowhere to be seen. Dayuan, caught in the center of the battle, immediately hid beneath the cart. As for the horses? They'd already snapped their reins in fright and run off.

Dayuan was left completely exposed to the Shadow Ninjas. Seeing this, Minato immediately formed Hand Seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Minato's clones each wielded a Rasengan, briefly scattering the Shadowkhan encirclement. One of them then turned to Dayuan, who was terrified out of his wits, and said:

"Mr. Dayuan, it's too dangerous here. I'll take you somewhere safe!"

Dayuan immediately agreed. As a merchant, he knew all too well that he could earn more money if he lost it, but if he lost his life, he'd lose everything.

But just as Minato was about to lead Dayuan away from the center of the battle, the Shadow Ninjas pulled round objects from inside their clothes and slammed them onto the ground.

—Bang!

Smoke billowed out in an instant. Minato immediately tried to lead Dayuan away, but when he reached out, the arm he was holding didn't feel right.

A Shadow Ninja with blood-red eyes smacked Minato's hand away and burst through the smoke, coming face-to-face with him. Minato immediately slashed with his Kunai, turning the attacker into a cloud of black smoke.

As for Dayuan, he nearly got captured by the Shadowkhan. Luckily, Kakashi, who'd been missing for a while, suddenly burst through their encirclement with the White Fang and rescued him.

But Kakashi didn't look well. His still-developing body and limited chakra made it difficult to keep fighting a drawn-out battle.

Obito and Rin arrived late. They only managed to regroup with Minato and the others after a figure resembling a "captain" among the Shadowkhan gathered all the Shadow Ninjas together.

They were in much worse shape, both physically and mentally. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, and they panted heavily. Several Kunai in their weapon pouches had even cracked.