The whole village was stunned! Had the god of the Land of Waves descended?

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Sasuke!"

"Sakura!"

"Are you all okay?!"

Amid a burst of boisterous shouting.

A blond boy in an orange tracksuit charged onto the bridge like a whirlwind.

It was Naruto Uzumaki, who had gone to the village earlier to rescue people.

Behind him followed villagers from the Land of Waves, carrying all manner of farming tools and kitchen knives.

They had originally come prepared to die.

They had wanted to fight Gato's gang to the death on the bridge.

The little boy Inari was holding Tsunami's hand.

They walked at the very front of the crowd.

Tear tracks still marked his face.

But his eyes held an unprecedented stubbornness.

Yet when Naruto and the villagers rushed onto the bridge.

And saw the scene before them.

Everyone seemed to have been frozen by a spell.

They stood rooted to the spot.

Naruto's blue eyes went wide.

His mouth opened wide enough to fit a goose egg.

"What on earth happened here..."

Severed limbs littered the broad bridge deck.

Blood gathered into little streams, flowing along the cracks in the bridge deck.

The stench of blood and entrails hanging in the air was so strong that it was almost impossible to breathe.

And in a deep crater not far away.

There were also scorch marks left by intense heat.

That was the handiwork of Shengu Xuan's Pig Talisman laser beams.

"Blergh!"

Several villagers with weaker stomachs dropped their weapons outright.

They leaned over the bridge railing and vomited violently.

Inari's face went deathly pale with fright.

He clung tightly to his mother's leg.

He did not dare take another look.

Kakashi deactivated his Sharingan.

He pulled his forehead protector down to cover that weary eye.

He glanced at the corpses strewn across the ground, his tone complicated.

"Naruto."

"You're here."

"As you can see."

"The battle is over."

"Gato and his men."

"Have all been dealt with."

Naruto swallowed.

He pointed at the chunks of flesh scattered everywhere, his voice trembling.

"All dealt with?!"

"Kakashi-sensei."

"You killed hundreds of people all by yourself?!"

"That's way too brutal!"

As far as Naruto knew.

The only person capable of something like this was Kakashi, Konoha's elite jonin.

Kakashi gave a bitter chuckle and shook his head.

"It wasn't me."

He turned his gaze toward Shengu Xuan, who stood off to the side.

Gazing idly at the sea.

Following Kakashi's gaze.

Naruto and the villagers.

Even Zabuza and Haku, who lay bound on the ground.

All focused their eyes on that black-haired boy.

Naruto rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Shengu Xuan?"

"Him?"

"How could he possibly..."

Sasuke coldly cut Naruto off.

He walked up beside Naruto and lowered his voice.

He spoke in a trembling tone that only the two of them could hear.

"Shut up."

"Dead last."

"You have no idea what just happened."

"That guy."

"He's not human."

"He summoned ten black monsters, each five meters tall."

"They stomped all of Gato's men to pieces like ants."

"And..."

Sasuke paused.

A trace of fearful recollection flashed through his eyes.

"Before that."

"With just a look."

"He fired two beams of red light."

"And instantly vaporized that masked Kirigakure ninja's Kekkei Genkai."

"There wasn't even a scrap left."

Naruto sucked in a breath.

He felt his entire worldview falling apart.

"What?!"

Firing red light from his eyes?

Summoning five-meter-tall monsters?

Was this really the same Shengu Xuan he knew, who slept through class all day and did nothing but make sarcastic remarks?!

At that moment.

Old Tazuna shakily stepped out from behind Kakashi.

He looked at the corpses scattered everywhere, then at Shengu Xuan.

Suddenly, his legs gave way.

With a thud, he dropped to his knees before Shengu Xuan.

Tears streamed down Tazuna's aged face.

His whole body trembled with excitement.

"Young Shengu!"

"No!"

"Lord Shengu!"

"Thank you!"

"Thank you for saving the Land of Waves!"

"You are the savior of our entire village!"

"You are the god of the Land of Waves!"

As Tazuna knelt.

The villagers who had been vomiting and trembling in fear also came to their senses.

Gato was dead!

The tyrant who had oppressed them for so many years was finally dead!

There was finally hope for the Land of Waves!

Thud!

Thud!

One villager after another dropped to their knees before Shengu Xuan.

There was no longer any fear in their eyes.

It had been replaced by fervent gratitude and reverence.

In this world where the strong preyed on the weak.

Someone who possessed absolute power and was willing to rid them of a tyrant.

Was a god in their hearts!

"Lord God!"

"Thank you!"

"Thank you for saving us!"

As the thunderous cries of gratitude rang in his ears.

Shengu Xuan merely frowned slightly.

He did not like being worshipped by the weak.

He found it dull.

He had only done all this because Gato had spoiled his fun, nothing more.

Shengu Xuan waved impatiently.

"Enough."

"Old man."

"Stop bowing."

"I'm no god."

"I'm just a ninja who works for money."

"Now that Gato's dead."

"Work on the bridge can continue."

"Hurry up and pay the balance."

"I still need to get back to the village and sleep."

Tazuna hurriedly nodded over and over.

"Yes, yes, of course!"

"I'll pay the balance in full!"

"And not only that."

"To commemorate your kindness, this bridge."

"I've decided to name it Kamiya Bridge!"

"So the descendants of the Land of Waves will remember your name forever!"

Shengu Xuan rolled his eyes.

"Don't bother."

"Why call it Kamiya Bridge?"

"It sounds awful."

"Call it whatever you like."

"Just leave me out of it."

He turned his head.

And looked at Zabuza and Haku on the ground.

Shengu Xuan walked up to Zabuza.

He looked down at him.

"Hey."

"No eyebrows."

"Gato is already dead."

"Your employer is gone."

"What are you planning to do now?"

Zabuza gritted his teeth.

He stared fixedly at Shengu Xuan.

He knew that whether he lived or died now depended entirely on a single thought from this boy.

"If you're going to kill me, do it!"

"Enough talk!"

"I, Zabuza Momochi, will never beg you for mercy!"

Haku called out weakly.

His eyes reddened.

"Mr. Zabuza..."

Shengu Xuan looked at the two of them, both ready to face death.

Suddenly, he found it rather funny.

"Kill you?"

"I wouldn't want to dirty my hands."

He turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei."

"I'll leave these two to you."

"Kill them or let them go. Your call."

"I'm tired."

"I'm heading back to Tazuna's house to rest."

With that said.

Shengu Xuan slipped his hands into his pockets.

He walked toward the village without looking back.

Kakashi watched Shengu Xuan's retreating figure.

A flicker of something complicated passed through his lone eye.

This boy never did things the conventional way.

He possessed godlike power, yet cared nothing for fame or fortune.

He was decisive when it came to killing, yet at times displayed an inexplicable casualness.

Kakashi silently asked himself.

Shengu Xuan...

Just what kind of person are you?

Meanwhile.

Shengu Xuan suddenly stopped on his way back to the village.

He lowered his head and looked at his right hand.

In that instant just now.

He had clearly felt it.

The mysterious energy within him, which had been calm.

Had suddenly stirred with a strange pulse.

It was an entirely new sensation, different from the dragon's ferocity, the horse's gentleness, and the pig's searing heat.

It was a wondrous rhythm, as though it could grant life to lifeless things.

The corners of Shengu Xuan's mouth once again curved sharply upward.

"This feeling..."

"It looks like..."

"The next surprise already can't wait to come out."

The journey back to Konoha was destined to be anything but peaceful.