"When you can last three minutes against me, perhaps I'll be merciful enough to tell you some of... the truth you've been dreaming of knowing."
Shengu Xuan's words sank deep into Sasuke's heart like a thorn.
After that, Sasuke remained silent the entire way, but the way he looked at Shengu Xuan had changed completely.
It was no longer mere shock and scrutiny. There was now an intense longing, almost tangible. It was a longing for the "truth," and also for "power."
For the first time, he saw someone as a goal he had to surpass, even pursue.
Soon, Team 7 arrived at their mission location-a vast stretch of farmland on the outskirts of Konoha.
A plump noblewoman in a luxurious kimono, her face thickly coated in white powder, stood on a field ridge, pinching her nose with a look of disgust.
"Are you the ninja the Hokage sent? Why are you all a bunch of brats?" the noblewoman, Lan Zi, complained in her shrill voice. "Look at this field! The weeds are almost taller than a person! You must clear every last one before sunset today! Not a single weed can remain! If you don't do a good job, I'll complain to Lord Hokage!"
Naruto's face fell instantly as he looked at the seemingly endless field overgrown with weeds.
"What the heck! With this many weeds, how long is this going to take?!"
"Quit whining, idiot! Get to work!" Sasuke snapped coldly. His mind was full of Shengu Xuan's words, and he was eager to distinguish himself in any way he could, to prove he wasn't "weak."
With that, Sasuke charged into the field first. His hands moved like lightning, pulling up handful after handful of weeds by the roots, his movements full of strength and... a trace of anger being vented.
"Damn it! That Sasuke!" Unwilling to be outdone, Naruto roared and rushed into the field, pulling weeds even faster and more roughly.
Pop! Pop! Pop! He even used Shadow Clones. With a dozen or so Narutos working together, the scene immediately descended into chaos, uprooted weeds and dirt flying everywhere.
"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" Sakura cheered Sasuke on from the side before slowly starting to pull weeds herself. But after pulling only a few, she was already panting with exhaustion.
Kakashi leaned beneath a tree, leisurely leafing through Icha Icha Paradise and turning a blind eye to the chaos before him.
Only Shengu Xuan stood on the field ridge with his hands in his pockets, watching the farce with interest like an overseer.
An hour passed.
Although Naruto and Sasuke had pulled plenty of weeds, the field as a whole looked even messier. The weeds they had pulled were scattered everywhere, and they had accidentally trampled some of the crop seedlings.
"Stop! All of you, stop!" The noblewoman Lan Zi finally lost her patience and let out a piercing shriek. "Are you idiots pulling weeds or destroying my field?! Look what you've done!"
She pointed at the field they had made a complete mess of, trembling with anger. "I want a refund! I'm filing a complaint! Is this how you Konoha ninja do your work?!"
Naruto and Sasuke both stopped, looking embarrassed as they surveyed their "masterpiece."
Kakashi closed his book too and sighed, preparing to step forward and deal with the mess.
Just then, Shengu Xuan slowly stepped out.
"This is... far too inefficient." He shook his head, sweeping his gaze over Naruto and Sasuke as though looking at a pair of fools.
"What did you say?!" Naruto immediately shouted indignantly. "Let's see you do it, then!"
"Exactly." The noblewoman Lan Zi put her hands on her hips and looked disdainfully at Shengu Xuan. "You brat! You've just been standing there this whole time, and now you have the nerve to make snide remarks! I'm telling you, if this work isn't finished today, you won't get a single penny!"
Shengu Xuan ignored their clamoring and simply walked to the center of the field.
He looked around, then lightly snapped his fingers under everyone's astonished gazes.
Snap.
The crisp sound rang out especially clearly across the open fields.
The next second, something suddenly changed!
The shadows of everyone present, the shadows of the field ridges, the shadows of the distant trees... all the shadows began churning and boiling violently, as though life had been breathed into them!
Gurgle... gurgle...
Black, viscous liquid poured out of the shadows and rapidly took shape.
One, two, ten, twenty...
In the blink of an eye, twenty pitch-black Shadow Ninjas with scarlet eyes appeared silently in the field like ghosts!
"Ahhh! Ghosts!" The noblewoman Lan Zi was so frightened that her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground.
"Th-those guys again!" Naruto fell onto his backside in fright, pointing at the Shadow Ninjas and barely managing to speak.
Sasuke and Sakura also went pale, their bodies retreating involuntarily. The oppressive presence of those inhuman beings filled them with instinctive fear.
Kakashi's lone eye abruptly narrowed, and his hand instinctively reached for his Ninja Tool Pouch. He stared tensely at Shengu Xuan, not knowing what he intended to do this time.
Yet what happened next made everyone's eyes nearly pop out of their heads.
After appearing, the twenty Shadow Ninjas radiating icy killing intent turned in perfect unison toward the weed-choked field.
Then...
They bent down.
And began pulling weeds.
Their movements were fast, precise, ruthless, and perfectly synchronized, like the most sophisticated machines. Every hand was like a sharp sickle. Wherever they passed, weeds were pulled up by the roots, while their other hands swiftly sorted and bundled them, stacking them neatly along the field ridges.
Not a single unnecessary word, not a single wasted movement.
Only the swish, swish, swish of weeds being pulled remained in the field.
The sight was bizarre in the extreme.
A group of killers who looked as though they had crawled out of hell were now carrying out highly efficient agricultural work like the most diligent, professional gardeners.
Naruto's mouth hung open. He had forgotten to be afraid.
The corners of Sasuke's mouth kept twitching. Watching the Shadow Ninjas pull weeds with an efficiency that could only be called art, then recalling his own haphazard, anger-venting efforts, his handsome face flushed bright red.
Sakura even rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was dreaming.
Kakashi lowered the hand resting against his Ninja Tool Pouch. His dead-fish eye now all but spelled out the word "absurd."
He had considered what method Shengu Xuan might use, perhaps some wide-ranging Wind Release or Earth Release, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Shengu Xuan would use that terrifying shadow army of his... for something like this!
This was simply... using a strategic weapon to swat mosquitoes!
Extravagant! Far too extravagant!
Under everyone's stupefied gazes, less than fifteen minutes passed.
The vast field that had been overgrown with weeds as far as the eye could see was cleared completely, without a single weed to be found. All the weeds had been tied into neat bundles and stacked along one side of the field ridges.
With everything done, the twenty Shadow Ninjas turned in unison, knelt on one knee before Shengu Xuan, and gave a silent salute. Then, with a soft pop, they turned back into black liquid, merging into the shadows on the ground and vanishing without a trace.
As though they had never appeared.
The entire world fell silent once more.
Shengu Xuan dusted nonexistent dirt off his hands, walked up to the noblewoman Lan Zi, who was already stupefied with fear, and looked down at her.
"The mission is complete." His voice was flat. "Can you pay us now?"
Madam Lan Zi shakily climbed up from the ground. She looked at the field, so clean it seemed to have been licked spotless, then at Shengu Xuan's harmless-looking face, feeling that everything she knew had been completely overturned.
"Ah! Ah! Yes! Yes!" With a shriek, she pulled a thick stack of money from inside her clothes and shoved it into Shengu Xuan's hand without even looking. It was actually twice the agreed payment. "It's all here! Please, just leave!"
All she wanted now was for this boy who could summon "ghosts" to hurry out of her sight.
Shengu Xuan took the money and nodded in satisfaction.
"Hey! Shengu Xuan! That's just cheating!" Naruto finally snapped out of it, pointing at Shengu Xuan and protesting loudly. "How can you use those weird shadows of yours to do missions?! That's not fair!"
Shengu Xuan glanced at him as though looking at an idiot.
"Why can't I?"
He waved the stack of bills in his hand, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile.
"The mission called for 'pulling weeds.' It never said we had to pull them by hand."
Before you continue