Traces

It did not seem like much time had passed, yet a glance at the sun in the sky revealed it was already midday.

Shen Ye felt a bit strange; two people were missing from the classroom, and he wondered if the teacher hadn't noticed at all.

Perhaps for the teachers at the Ninja Academy, whether these students were in class or not was unimportant, as their duty was merely to impart knowledge.

"The morning is over, let's head back to the classroom, otherwise we might provoke the teacher."

"However, we still have a guest here who has been hiding for quite some time."

Minato frowned. He had been keeping his nerves taut for the sake of this training, yet he still hadn't detected the person Shen Ye was referring to.

"I didn't expect your senses to be so sharp; in that case, I won't hide myself any longer."

A voice drifted from the woods where they were training. Minato found it vaguely familiar, yet no matter how he tried, he couldn't place who it was.

Shen Ye fixed his gaze on the darkness within the woods, and a petite figure slowly emerged, his black hair tied back behind his head.

"Nara Shikaku, you've been sneaking around following us—what is your objective?"

"I just saw you two suddenly leave the classroom and was curious, so I followed."

"And are you satisfied with the result?"

"I was a bit too far away to see exactly what you two were doing, but your strength is truly astonishing."

Before Minato and Nara Shikaku could react, Shen Ye exerted force through his feet and lunged in front of Nara Shikaku in an instant.

A strange smile appeared on Shen Ye's face as his palm, condensed with a massive amount of chakra, landed on Nara Shikaku.

By the time Nara Shikaku reacted, the attack had already ended.

However, Nara Shikaku patted his body up and down, finding nothing amiss, as if everything that had just happened were merely an illusion.

"Don't be surprised; I never intended to do anything to you."

In truth, the moment he made contact with Nara Shikaku, Shen Ye had already silently recited the system command to steal a skill.

Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill: Shadow Possession Jutsu from Nara Shikaku! Skill cooldown: 3 hours.

Patting Nara Shikaku on the shoulder, Shen Ye wore a smile once again.

After all, this guy might be his future teammate, so it was better not to scare him too much.

Still reeling from the shock, Minato walked over and placed his hand on Nara Shikaku's shoulder.

"Shen Ye is actually a very good person; we will all be good brothers in the future."

It seemed Minato and Nara Shikaku spoke often, as Nara Shikaku did not appear uneasy in the face of Minato.

"Since the three of us left the classroom together, why don't we go taste some delicious Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

Without any hesitation, the three of them walked together toward Ichiraku.

People walking on the street cast glances at the three of them from time to time, as if looking at delinquent youths.

After all, boys of this age who were not in the Ninja Academy were either trash with no ability to cultivate or small pests within the village.

However, the three of them didn't care about such looks, their minds set solely on eating steaming hot ramen.

"The three of you, I have a business proposition—would you like to try it? It would be more than enough for the three of you to eat, drink, and play every day."

A strange ninja suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Although the headband he wore was from Konoha, he didn't inspire any sense of goodwill.

Nara Shikaku watched the guy vigilantly, subconsciously blocking Shen Ye and Minato behind him.

Shen Ye caught this small gesture, and a warmth inevitably flowed through his heart.

However, the combined strength of the three of them might not be a match for this guy, so they had to be careful.

"Let's hear it. It just so happens that the three of us have no money for ramen."

"There is a scroll in the Hokage Office. If you can bring it to me, you'll have not only today's ramen, but every day thereafter."

Shen Ye curled his lip; this guy really thought they were naive children.

Before Shen Ye could react, Minato had already stepped forward to launch an attack.

"You traitor to the village, wanting me to help you steal secrets from the Hokage—you'd better surrender!"

"What an impulsive youth."

The strange ninja shook his head helplessly and waved his hand, casting a barrier around them that hid the passing crowds on the street.

Shen Ye cursed silently; his stealing skill was still on cooldown, and it would be difficult to defeat him with his current abilities.

"This guy is the one impersonating Jiraiya—let's be careful."

"Shadow Bind Jutsu!"

Nara Shikaku ignored the guy entirely, attempting to use his ninjutsu to instantly restrain him and facilitate the next moves from Minato and Shen Ye.

However, the guy before them was not as simple as Nara Shikaku had imagined.

"You want to control me with such a petty trick? Look around—where are there any shadows left!"

I don't know what ninjutsu this guy used, but a massive dark cloud appeared within the barrier, blocking out all light and rendering Shikaku's ninjutsu completely ineffective.

Shen Ye's mind raced as he calculated a countermeasure, ultimately deciding to combine Sage Mode with the Strength of a Hundred to shatter a gap in the barrier.

"The two of you, follow my lead and don't fall behind."

Minato and Shikaku nodded in succession, focusing all their attention on Shen Ye and ignoring the other guy entirely.

The strange ninja frowned; although he wanted to completely wipe these three brats out within the barrier, he had to restrain himself since this was Konoha territory.

"Strength of a Hundred!"

Cycling the chakra flow he used in his daily Sage Mode training, Shen Ye concentrated his chakra into his fist.

Suddenly, the power surged out of control, scattering aimlessly in all directions.

Damn it, I forgot that this small body can't handle such immense power yet. I hope this does something.

A thunderous roar echoed in the ears of everyone inside the barrier, and beams of sunlight began to pour in from the surroundings.

A smile appeared on Shen Ye's face; it seemed the plan had succeeded, though it was a pity they hadn't managed to detain that guy.

"We need to report this to the Third immediately. We saw someone impersonating Jiraiya."

"I hope what we saw was his true face, but I have a feeling he's deliberately hiding something."