"Whoosh-thunk!"
A kunai whistled through the air and buried itself hard in the tree trunk half an inch from Shengu Xuan's ear, the ring at its end still trembling violently with a piercing buzz.
Konoha, on the outskirts of the Forest of Death.
Dark canopies blocked out the sunlight, and the air smelled of damp, rotting leaves.
Shengu Xuan leaned against the rough tree trunk, his eyes as calm as stagnant water. He did not look at the kunai that had nearly sliced off his ear, instead turning his gaze ahead.
Three prospective Genin wearing Konoha forehead protectors stood before him. Leading them was Daisuke, the troublemaker who most enjoyed picking fights at the Ninja Academy.
"Pretty quick on your feet, Shengu Xuan." Daisuke clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking loudly, undisguised malice and mockery on his face. "The graduation exam is tomorrow, and trash like you, who can't even scrape together enough chakra for a Clone Technique, actually dared to sign up? Are you trying to disgrace the word 'ninja'?"
His two lackeys immediately burst into laughter.
"Exactly! A civilian orphan with no Kekkei Genkai, no secret clan techniques, who can barely even manage basic chakra extraction. If you show up for the exam, you'll embarrass our entire year!"
"Daisuke, don't waste your breath on him. Teacher Mizuki said it himself: talentless dead lasts who hog resources need to face reality early. Break one of his legs so he'll stay put in the hospital tomorrow. We'd even be helping him save face!"
Shengu Xuan brushed the fallen leaves off his shoulder, a cold curve lifting the corner of his mouth.
It had been twelve whole years since he had transmigrated into this damned Naruto world.
No old mentor, no system, no bloodline. In a world where everything came down to bloodlines, eyes, and who your father was, being a civilian orphan born with next to no chakra was practically a death sentence.
He had thought he could only serve as cannon fodder, reduced to a handful of ash when Pain came to deliver his pain or during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Until today, when that hypocrite Mizuki, seeking absolute control over tomorrow's exam, had actually hinted to these fools in secret that they should ambush him on the outskirts of the Forest of Death and cripple him.
"Mizuki sent you?" Shengu Xuan's voice was quiet, yet carried a chilling calm.
Daisuke froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting this normally taciturn dead last to dare address their Chunin teacher by name. Fury immediately flared within him. "Shut up! Who do you think you are, calling Teacher Mizuki by name? Get him! Cripple him!"
Before he had finished speaking, the two lackeys behind him lunged like ravenous wolves. One came from the left and the other from the right, their fists cutting through the air toward Shengu Xuan's face and abdomen.
Shengu Xuan did not move.
It was not that he did not want to dodge, but that this body's physical capabilities simply could not keep up with their professionally trained speed.
At the critical instant before those two fists struck his body-
[Ding!]
An emotionless mechanical voice, seemingly from an ancient abyss, thundered through Shengu Xuan's mind!
[Host detected facing mortal danger. Activation conditions met!] [Myriad Worlds Dimensional Reduction Strike System activated!] [Binding the host's sole core cheat-the Shendu Template!] [Binding successful! Current fusion: 10%.] [Congratulations! Host has unlocked starting rewards: Dog Talisman (immortality), Horse Talisman (unlimited restoration), Fire Demon Chi (basic primordial fire), Shadowkhan (control of the Ninja Clan)!]
Boom!
In an instant, Shengu Xuan felt two indescribably vast forces flood wildly through every part of his body!
In his left atrium, the phantom of an octagonal stone talisman engraved with a dog totem flashed, bringing absolute vitality; in his right atrium, a stone talisman engraved with a horse totem erupted with brilliant white light, instantly widening and repairing his depleted, feeble meridians. At that moment, his physical and mental energy were forcibly locked at full capacity-at their "absolute peak"!
"Thud! Thud!"
Two heavy punches landed squarely on Shengu Xuan.
"Got him!" The two lackeys' faces lit up with wild delight.
Yet a second later, their smiles froze.
What they felt beneath their fists was not human flesh and blood, but an indestructible slab of ten-thousand-year-old cold iron! An enormous recoil shot up their arms. With two sharp cracks, both their wrists broke on the spot!
"Aaaaah-my hand!"
Clutching their twisted wrists, the two staggered backward screaming, staring at Shengu Xuan as though they had seen a ghost.
"What's going on?!" Daisuke's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the unscathed Shengu Xuan.
Shengu Xuan slowly raised his head.
Deep within his eyes, scarlet flames now flickered faintly. This was the primordial demonic chi of Shendu, the Fire Demon, one of the Eight Demons!
There was no need to form hand seals, no need to extract his pitifully small amount of chakra.
This was a power that stood entirely above the Naruto world's power system-the power of rules!
"Break one of my legs?"
Shengu Xuan rolled his neck, his bones grinding with a teeth-grating sound. He looked at Daisuke, his mouth spreading into a dangerous grin. "Not a bad suggestion. But I think breaking all three legs would suit you better."
"Y-you can stop playing these tricks!" Shengu Xuan's scarlet eyes made Daisuke's scalp prickle, but banking on the fact that he would soon become a Genin, he forced down his fear and abruptly drew a kunai. "Trash who doesn't even have chakra-I'll slaughter you!"
Daisuke roared and charged at Shengu Xuan, thrusting his kunai straight at his heart!
Shengu Xuan still did not dodge.
He merely snapped his fingers lightly.
"Snap."
The crisp snap echoed through the silent forest.
The next instant, something suddenly changed!
The shadow beneath Daisuke's feet and those cast onto the ground by the surrounding trees suddenly churned violently like boiling water!
"Bubble... bubble..."
As though coming alive, the black shadows rapidly climbed upward and coalesced.
Under Daisuke's horrified gaze, five strange, pitch-black ninjas clad in tight-fitting stealth outfits, their eyes glowing scarlet, "grew" out of his shadow without warning!
No chakra fluctuations! No breathing! Not even the presence of a living person!
These were Shendu's most loyal, most tireless killing machines-the Ninja Clan, foremost of the Nine Shadowkhan Legions!
"W-what the hell are these things?!" Daisuke screamed, his voice breaking with terror, and instinctively thrust his kunai at the nearest Shadow Ninja.
"Shhk!"
The kunai pierced the Shadow Ninja's chest without resistance.
Before Daisuke could celebrate, he discovered to his horror that the Shadow Ninja did not bleed at all. The pierced area turned into black mist, then instantly reformed.
Undying and indestructible! Immune to physical attacks!
"Tear them apart," Shengu Xuan said flatly.
"Whoosh!"
The five Shadow Ninjas instantly became five streaks of black lightning.
"No! Help-aaah!!!"
For the next half minute, the outskirts of the Forest of Death became a one-sided slaughterhouse.
The Shadow Ninjas used no flashy ninjutsu. Relying solely on their superhuman physical strength, uncanny movement through shadows, and absolute immortality, they pinned Daisuke and his two lackeys to the ground and brutally pummeled them.
The sounds of breaking bones mingled with shrill screams.
Only thirty seconds.
Daisuke and his two lackeys lay limp on the ground like dead dogs, without a patch of intact flesh on their bodies. Their limbs bent at grotesque angles; they were clearly crippled for good.
As they looked at Shengu Xuan standing in the shadows like a demon god descended to earth, only the deepest terror and despair remained in their eyes.
"A devil... you're a devil..." Daisuke spat bloody foam, his entire body convulsing.
Shengu Xuan walked up to Daisuke and looked down at him, his eyes cold. "Go back and tell Mizuki. I'll have a huge surprise ready for him at tomorrow's graduation exam."
With that, Shengu Xuan turned and headed toward Konoha.
As he left, the five Shadow Ninjas instantly dissolved into a pool of black liquid and silently merged into the surrounding shadows, as though they had never appeared.
Feeling the surging power within him, Shengu Xuan clenched his fists.
"The Twelve Talismans, the Eight Demons, the Shadowkhan..."
"From today on, bloodlines, destiny-all of that can go to hell."
"It's time I made the rules in Konoha!"
Before you continue