"Interesting..."
Shengu Xuan stopped on a secluded street in Konoha. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, connecting it to the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings.
The Shadowkhan within him were issuing a silent warning. It was a resonance originating from the shadow dimension; any malice lurking in the darkness stood out as clearly as a torch in the night.
Three streams of cold, emotionless killing intent locked onto him from ahead, behind to his left, and the eaves overhead.
"Root's rats? You really can't wait, can you?" A cold smile curled Shengu Xuan's lips, but his heart remained utterly unruffled.
To him now, these so-called elite ninja were fundamentally no different from those brats at the Ninja Academy.
The only difference was that they were better at getting themselves killed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Without a single wasted word, three dark figures attacked simultaneously from three directions like phantoms!
The leader formed hand seals with astonishing speed. What he spat out was not ninjutsu, but a strange purple smoke, with countless tiny insects faintly visible writhing within it.
"Secret technique: Poisonous Insect Smoke!"
This was not the Aburame Clan's insect-control technique, but highly poisonous nanoscale insects developed by Root through cruel human experimentation. Once inhaled, they could paralyze the nerves and corrode the internal organs within three seconds.
The Root ninja behind him to the left held a short blade gleaming green, its surface covered in twisted inscriptions, and silently thrust it toward Shengu Xuan's back, straight for his heart. This was a Cursed Seal Blade designed specifically to destroy chakra pathways and seal off chakra.
Meanwhile, the man on the roof brought his hands together, then spread his fingers and aimed them at Shengu Xuan.
"Mind Body Switch Technique Puppet Cursed Seal: Bind!"
An invisible mental assault instantly enveloped Shengu Xuan! This was an evil variant of the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique. It required no physical contact, forcibly invading and controlling the target's mind directly through a cursed seal!
The three worked in perfect coordination. Their three-pronged killing strike-physical, poisonous, and mental-was enough to kill most jonin in an instant!
But they were facing Shengu Xuan.
Bang!
The short blade imbued with a poisonous cursed seal struck Shengu Xuan precisely in the back, over his heart. A flicker of cold satisfaction crossed the Root ninja's eyes, but his expression froze the next second.
He felt as though he had stabbed not flesh, but a red-hot branding iron! A blast of demon chi, searingly hot as though it came from the depths of hell, surged furiously back along the blade!
Sizzle!
The cursed-seal short blade, forged from a special metal, actually turned red-hot and melted at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Aah!"
The Root ninja let out a brief scream. That terrifying Fire Demon Chi even spread along the molten metal to his arm, instantly burning half of it to charcoal!
At the same time, the purple poisonous smoke, potent enough to kill a giant elephant, seemed to encounter an invisible barrier half a meter from Shengu Xuan's body. A scorching current of air evaporated it completely. The infinite restoration granted by the Horse Talisman made him immune to all poisons, instantly purging any negative condition.
And the "Mind Body Switch Technique Puppet Cursed Seal," powerful enough to shatter an elite chunin's mind, was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil the instant it rushed into Shengu Xuan's mind!
Who occupied Shengu Xuan's sea of consciousness? The will of Shendu, the Fire Demon, one of the Eight Demons!
A mere human mental technique sought to shake a demon's soul?
Roar!
An intangible dragon roar exploded on the mental plane!
The Root ninja on the roof abruptly stiffened. Blood instantly sprayed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he fell rigidly from the eaves like a puppet with severed strings. He slammed into the ground, his body convulsing violently. His mind had clearly been completely crushed, reducing him to an idiot.
"What?!" For the first time, utter horror appeared in the eyes of the sole remaining Root ninja, whose arm had been half burned away.
One exchange! Just one exchange! Of the three elite assassins trained by Root, two were dead and one wounded!
And their target had not even moved his feet!
"Too weak." Shengu Xuan finally moved. He slowly turned, his scarlet eyes regarding the Root ninja with the ruined arm indifferently. "You're not even qualified to give me a warm-up."
"You... what kind of monster are you?!" the Root ninja asked hoarsely, fighting back excruciating pain and fear.
Shengu Xuan did not answer. He merely raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The crisp sound rang through the deathly silent street like a summons from the god of death.
The shadow beneath the Root ninja's feet, and all the surrounding shadows stretched by the setting sun, came alive at that moment!
Gurgle... gurgle...
Black liquid surged from the ground, rapidly taking shape. One, two, ten, fifty...
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred Shadow Ninjas armed with katanas, spears, and kunai packed the entire street! Their scarlet eyes formed a sea of red, fixed unwaveringly on the last Root ninja.
There were no chakra fluctuations, no signs of life-only pure, suffocating killing intent!
"This... what... is this..." The Root ninja broke down completely. The composure and cruelty he took such pride in were crushed to pieces before this scene straight out of a painting of hell.
"Tear him apart. Then clean up those two corpses as well," Shengu Xuan ordered flatly.
Whoosh!
Over a hundred Shadow Ninjas instantly became a black tide, surging toward the despairing Root ninja.
"No! Lord Danzo, save me-aaah!!!"
The piercing scream cut off abruptly, instantly drowned out by the sound of countless blades tearing through flesh.
But just as the Shadowkhan were about to reduce that Root ninja entirely to shreds-
"Stop!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
More than a dozen figures instantly appeared on the surrounding rooftops. Several leading Anbu ninja formed hand seals simultaneously, sending a sweeping barrage of fireballs and violent winds toward the Shadowkhan!
These were the Anbu directly under the Third Hokage!
Shengu Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly and issued a mental command.
Faced with the surging ninjutsu, the Shadowkhan made no attempt to dodge.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted in the center of the street, and flames and fierce winds swallowed dozens of Shadow Ninjas.
Yet when the smoke and dust cleared, the Anbu ninja saw something that made their scalps prickle.
Although the Shadow Ninjas struck head-on by the ninjutsu had been blasted to pieces, those broken black fragments writhed like liquid, reforming into complete, unharmed bodies in just one second!
"Physical attacks don't work... and neither does ninjutsu?" an Anbu wearing a cat mask cried out involuntarily. "What on earth are these things?!"
"They aren't creations of this world!" The young Anbu squad leader, code-named Tenzo-the future Yamato-looked utterly grave. "Everyone, protect Shengu Xuan! Prepare sealing jutsu!"
The dozen or so Anbu immediately took formation, shielding Shengu Xuan in the center as they faced off against the hundred-plus Shadow Ninjas in the street.
For a moment, the scene became exceedingly bizarre.
The Anbu were trying to protect Shengu Xuan, yet the things attacking them had been summoned by Shengu Xuan himself.
Shengu Xuan watched with interest. He neither ordered the Shadowkhan to continue attacking nor dismissed them.
He wanted to see how Konoha's Hokage would handle this.
"Enough."
An aged yet imposing voice came from the end of the street.
Everyone's heart tightened, and they all turned to look.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi approached slowly, dressed in the Hokage Ceremonial Robe, a pipe between his lips, escorted by a squad of Anbu. His eyes no longer held the gentleness they had in his office. Instead, sharp as a hawk's, they swept over the two Root corpses on the ground and the barely breathing ninja with the ruined arm restrained by the Shadowkhan.
"Hmph!" The Third snorted coldly, a terrifying pressure instantly enveloping the scene. "Danzo's dogs have overreached!"
He did not look at Shengu Xuan. Instead, he addressed an empty corner coldly. "Go back and tell Danzo that Shengu Xuan is Konoha's treasure, the future I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, am personally watching over. If he dares entertain any more crooked ideas, he shouldn't blame me for disregarding our old ties and visiting Root's base personally for tea!"
As his words fell, the ninja with the ruined arm held by the Shadowkhan suddenly stiffened. Black blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and he died instantly. The cursed seal hidden within his body had activated, destroying him.
The Third Hokage's gaze grew even colder.
Only then did he turn toward Shengu Xuan, who stood surrounded by the Shadowkhan like a demon god.
Even with the Hokage there in person, Shengu Xuan's face showed not the slightest awe or nervousness.
The Third took a deep draw from his pipe and slowly exhaled, his tone softening somewhat. "Shengu Xuan, have your 'summons' withdraw. This is Konoha. No one can hurt you here."
Shengu Xuan met the Third's gaze for a moment, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap.
Over a hundred Shadow Ninjas instantly turned into black liquid and silently merged into the shadows on the ground, as though they had never appeared.
Only three Root corpses and a deathly silence remained on the street.
Looking into Shengu Xuan's excessively calm eyes, the Third Hokage found that the gratification he felt in regarding the protagonist as "Konoha's treasure" had, for some reason, quietly become tinged with an indescribable... wariness.
This boy seemed even harder to control than he had imagined.
"Come with me, child." In the end, the Third put on his trademark kindly smile. "We need to have a proper talk about your future. Rest assured, from today onward, all of Konoha will stand behind you."
All of Konoha will stand behind me?
Shengu Xuan sneered inwardly.
No. Rather, sooner or later, all of Konoha will prostrate itself at my feet.
He said nothing, merely following silently behind the Third Hokage toward the Hokage Building, the symbol of Konoha's center of power.
The Third looked at Shengu Xuan's back, his gaze complicated.
Could he truly control this power that defied common sense? Or did he need to find a sufficiently sturdy "shackle" for it?
It seems I'll have to let that fellow guide him... the Third decided inwardly. Only the sharpest spear is worthy of the sturdiest shield.
Before you continue