Return to Konoha

Kakashi had thought himself talented enough already. He had graduated at five, become a chunin at six, and made jonin by twelve.

But what was this thing in front of him? If he remembered correctly, Chentian was only six years old. Why could he already solo a jonin?

And why had he even created his own ninjutsu?

All of it left Kakashi utterly bewildered. He even found himself thinking, If I had been this strong back then, would Father still have died?

A trace of loneliness flashed through Kakashi's eyes at the thought.

Rin, beside him, was different from Kakashi. Chentian's powerful strength had shocked her too, but what mattered more was his face.

"What an adorable little face! I wish I could squish it!"

Without realizing it, Rin Nohara had spoken her thoughts aloud, instantly darkening Kakashi's expression.

After merging the cards, Chentian eagerly checked his status.

"System, bring up the status panel!"

[Host: Chentian]

[Strength: 118]

[Speed: 123]

[Constitution: 122]

[Spirit: 131]

[Chakra: 2158]

[Talent: Space Talent LV3.]

[Taijutsu: Shuriken Basics LV10 (Max), Basic Taijutsu LV10 (Max), Konoha Great Whirlwind LV4, Personal Space LV1.]

[Ninjutsu: Fireball Jutsu LV6, Earth-Style Wall Jutsu LV5, Earth Dragon Bullet LV5, Substitution Jutsu LV10 (Max), Lightning Cutter LV1, Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave LV7, Water Wall Jutsu LV5, Water Dragon Bullet LV4, Body Flicker Jutsu LV6, Tailed Beast Bomb LV1.]

In an instant, Chentian's status panel had been completely transformed. His combat power was now absolutely at jonin level, and he was not even weak among jonin.

Because he had picked up so many Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave cards, that ninjutsu had directly reached level seven. It was terrifying.

Using the same ninjutsu, Chentian could unleash at least twice the power of others.

The Body Flicker Jutsu he desperately needed had dropped as well, and it was already level six—more than enough for him.

This meant that aside from genjutsu, Chentian no longer had any weaknesses.

If he had not actively hidden the sealing jutsu list, this panel would have been at least several thousand words long and impossible to look through.

Those were merely small surprises. What truly delighted Chentian was the Tailed Beast Bomb. It was a Tailed Beast Bomb!

Although the Tailed Beast Bomb's power declined considerably later on, it was unquestionably a top-tier technique in the early stages.

The only pity was that Lightning Cutter's level was far too low, leaving Chentian able to use only Chidori for now.

"Ah, why didn't Minato's Flying Thunder God drop?"

After his excitement faded, Chentian sighed greedily. If anyone else heard him, they would probably want to kill him.

After just one battle, he had gained strength close to that of an elite jonin, and he was still unsatisfied?

Having confirmed his strength, Chentian closed the status panel and turned his gaze back to Minato, Kushina, and Yagura.

Yagura was not weak. He was a genuine Kage-level powerhouse. Unfortunately, he had run into two monsters: Minato and Kushina.

Forget fighting two against one—even either one of them alone was more than he could handle.

Thus, Yagura had been getting beaten up the entire time. If Minato had wanted to kill him, he would have died ten times over already.

"Fine, fine, fine! Just you wait!"

After Kushina kicked him in the face again, Yagura finally came to his senses. Borrowing the force of her kick, he fled the battlefield and escaped into the distance.

He understood now. Minato might not kill him, but that did not mean they would not cripple him.

Even as he escaped, Yagura was in bad shape. Kushina knew monstrous-strength punches, and that kick was no joke. Half his face had gone numb.

Once the battle ended, Chentian immediately used the Body Flicker Jutsu to arrive at the battlefield, then began wandering around casually.

At least, that was how it looked to Minato and Kushina.

There were not many cards, and there were not even any ninjutsu cards. However, Chentian's chakra and spirit had increased considerably. In particular, there was a purple chakra card belonging to the Nine-Tails, which instantly sent his chakra soaring past three thousand.

In this battle he had planned himself, Chentian had made a fortune. He had also taken the chance to display his strength, putting Minato and Kushina at ease about letting him do whatever he wanted.

The only problem now was that he had no way to display the many ninjutsu he knew, because he had no way of explaining how he learned them.

He could say he had learned Chidori after seeing it once, but what about the others?

It was fine if he learned them by watching, just like how Kakashi's Lightning Cutter became Chidori. Since he had only just learned it, its power could be weaker.

But he could not possibly learn all those Water Style techniques after seeing them once, then use them with greater power than Mist jonin. That made no sense.

"Let's go. We'll talk after we get back!"

Before anyone could speak, Minato cut them off and took the lead in leaving.

Chentian and the others had no objections. The Land of Water was far too dangerous, and Madara and Black Zetsu were still lurking in the shadows. Returning home sooner was naturally best.

What no one noticed was that not all the explosive tags Chentian had placed earlier had detonated. One was still buried underground, covered in dense writing.

Naturally, those words had been written by Chentian.

As for why that explosive tag had not exploded, no one besides Chentian knew the answer.

Perhaps after witnessing the group's combat power, Uchiha Madara gave up on sending more people to cause trouble.

Yagura had also learned how powerful they were, so he likewise did not send anyone after them.

Without those people harassing them, Chentian's group greatly increased their speed. In only two days, they crossed into the Land of Fire.

"Alright, we've entered the Land of Fire. We can rest for a while."

Minato clapped his hands and stopped on his own initiative. They had been force-marching for the past two days, with barely any time to rest. Now that they had returned to their own country, they naturally needed to rest properly.

After stopping, Minato pointed at Chentian's right hand. Understanding, Chentian took out platter after platter of steaming grilled meat.

The forest was instantly filled with the aroma of grilled meat. For the group, who had been force-marching for two days, the scent was utterly irresistible.

After serving Kakashi and Rin, Kushina immediately began wolfing down the food.

For a time, the entire forest was silent except for the sounds of eating.

"Whew! I finally feel alive again!"

After polishing off three huge platters of grilled meat by herself, Kushina finally stopped in satisfaction.

Only after everyone had finished eating did they turn their attention to Chentian.

They had far too many questions about what had happened, including Kakashi and Rin Nohara.

Not to mention Minato and Kushina, who had known nothing and come purely to rescue people.

Chentian had been worried that Uchiha Madara would pursue them before, so he had urged everyone onward. Now, he should be able to explain.

Chentian himself was somewhat surprised and confused. He had called Kushina along specifically to guard against Uchiha Madara, yet Madara had not come after them at all.

Looks like he can't hold on much longer. As long as Rin Nohara is protected for a while, everything will be OK. Even without me saying it, Minato will arrange that.

After going over it in his mind, Chentian realized that although his plan had contained quite a few flaws, it could barely be considered a success.

Yagura had witnessed Kushina and Minato's strength. Combined with Konoha's Three Ninja and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Mist Village would never dare start a war. There was nothing to worry about.

But that was only for now. After some time passed, once those people who should leave had left and those who should die had died, Chentian would never dare mess around like this again.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was how he was supposed to explain everything to Minato and Kushina now?