Konoha Village.
Kakashi, who had been brought back, awoke in the Konoha Hospital and the first thing he saw was Tsunade watching over him at his bedside.
"Tsunade-sama, I was controlled by Hiruko's curse mark and caused trouble for the village. I'm truly sorry."
Kakashi immediately spoke in guilt.
Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "Why bring up something so small? As long as you're safe, that's all that matters. ( ˙º˙)╯︎"
Still worried for the village, Kakashi's expression grew urgent as he continued,
"Now that Hiruko is stirring up chaos, Konoha has become everyone's target. Tsunade-sama, I have a plan."
"Hiruko wants my kekkei genkai. As long as the curse mark remains, he won't give up."
"So, if you place a seal inside me, and set the trigger condition to be when Hiruko absorbs my Sharingan, my chakra will automatically erupt."
"Even if it doesn't kill him, it will heavily wound him."
"In this way, sacrificing me alone could buy peace for the entire village."
After hearing Kakashi's plan, Tsunade's expression turned serious.
"Kakashi, when I succeeded the role of Fifth Hokage, the Third Hokage specifically told me this—no more sacrifices for the sake of the village."
"When danger comes, we can face it together, but we must never compromise by sacrificing our comrades."
"Because the Third Hokage once made that mistake, he left behind this lesson."
Kakashi hesitated. "But..."
Tsunade smiled. "You don't need to worry about this. Shinju has already gone."
But Kakashi, like a nagging mother, still worried aloud.
"Hiruko's methods are extremely strange. If something happens to Shinju..."
"I'm more worried about that kid than you are, but with his ability… even if he can't finish the job, at least he'll be able to escape," Tsunade reassured.
Kakashi nodded.
With his strength and dazzling achievements, Shinju had already proven to the entire shinobi world that nothing would happen to him…
...
Underground base.
Sasuke, fully dressed, rose from the bed.
The masked man's voice carried a hint of amusement.
"Since you've decided to cooperate with Akatsuki, I'll be counting on you to capture a Tailed Beast."
Sasuke's face remained stern as he nodded.
"There are still plenty of Tailed Beasts roaming free, huh? Seems like Akatsuki's efficiency is pretty poor."
Masked man: ¯\(ツ)/¯
"Our enemy is Shinju, after all."
"Why don't you try it yourself? (ー ー゛)"
Sasuke shut his mouth and said no more.
The masked man continued, "In that case, I'll need you to head to the Land of Earth."
"There, you'll find the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, and the Five-Tails, Kokuō."
"You'll be responsible for capturing the Four-Tails."
"Of course, if you manage to bring back both, I certainly won't complain. (o´Д`o)ノ"
"Alright, no time to waste—get moving."
"I still have to track down the Six-Tails' jinchūriki, Utakata…"
...
Land of Earth, Mount Shumisen.
After disposing of two small fry, Shinju and Naruto continued on their way to the summit of Mount Shumisen.
Halfway up the mountain, Shinju suddenly had an idea and smacked his forehead.
"Right, this is the perfect place to test the Tsuchigumo clan's secret technique."
Naruto blinked. "Huh, here? Shouldn't you wait until you're actually fighting someone? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Shinju explained, "This technique requires a long time to charge, but once released, the power is immense."
"Do you think anyone's going to give me thirty minutes to charge up during a real fight?"
Naruto thought about it and realized Shinju kind of had a point.
So, the two of them found a secluded spot halfway up the mountain.
Once they settled in, Shinju suppressed all traces of his chakra and said to Naruto,
"You should go ahead."
Naruto frowned. "Don't you need me to guard you? What if something unexpected happens?"
Shinju shook his head. "It's fine. Even if something goes wrong, I can stop midway. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
"You'd better leave now, or I might end up dragging you into it. （｀Δ´）"
Naruto thought it over, then nodded and reluctantly stepped back.
But he hadn't gone far before Shinju called him back.
Naruto assumed the usually-proud Shinju was just trying to get him to stay and help, so he turned around with a grin.
"See? I knew you couldn't charge something this big without me around.ヾ(●´∇｀●)ﾉ"
"What are you imagining?"
Shinju sighed helplessly, then said seriously,
"You run too slow. I'm worried that even half an hour won't be enough to get you out of the technique's range…"
"For safety's sake, I'll just send you back to Konoha."
Before Naruto could even protest, Shinju used the Flying Thunder God to instantly teleport him back to Konoha.
After Naruto was gone—
"Hah—"
Shinju returned, and without hesitation, activated Fury and Sage Mode!
The essence of Fury was to absorb natural chakra and then release it explosively.
By activating Sage Mode, he could absorb natural chakra even faster!
"Vmmm—!!!"
Vast natural chakra surged around Shinju, forming a massive vortex!!
With Sage Mode amplifying him, what normally required half an hour of charging only took Shinju fifteen minutes!
Then, with a sharp breath, Shinju gritted his teeth and shouted: "Detonate!!"
"Vmmm—!!!"
"BOOM—!!!!!!"
That day, the residents near the Mountain Range of the Land of Earth truly witnessed a gigantic golden wheel rising to the very heavens!
...
A few seconds before Shinju unleashed Fury…
Hiruko paced anxiously back and forth in a cave, muttering to himself.
"Those two still haven't returned. Could something have happened?"
"But no intruder has shown up either… this is driving me crazy…"
The next moment, he seemed to sense something. His face twisted, and he bolted out of the cave!
But the instant his body emerged from the entrance, the violent wave of chakra swept through and crushed him into minced flesh!!
...
Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
After settling the matter with Kakashi at the hospital, Tsunade returned to the Hokage's office, exhaustion written all over her face.
As she pushed open the door, she found Naruto sitting there.
"Why are you back already?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
Naruto answered honestly, "Shinju wanted to test a new jutsu's power. He was worried it might hit me, so he sent me back to Konoha."
Tsunade laughed. "What kind of new jutsu is so powerful it forces you to retreat all the way to Konoha? (σ≧︎▽︎≦︎)σ"
But in the next second, her expression froze as she realized something was wrong!
Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
"It couldn't be… that Tsuchigumo technique…"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. ´･ᴗ･`"
Tsunade's voice grew urgent.
"Where was he testing it?! (｡◕ˇ﹏ˇ◕｡ )"
Naruto answered casually, "The Land of Earth, Mount Shumisen."
"Why are you asking? Isn't investigating Hiruko the mission you gave us, Granny Tsunade? (°ー°〃)"
When Tsunade heard that string of place names, her whole body went rigid.
She muttered, "From now on, I won't assign you missions anymore… you'll be assigning them to me instead!! (´ཀ`」 ∠)_ "
Just as her words fell, the door to the Hokage's office burst open.
The deputy head of the Analysis Division rushed in, panting.
"Tsu… Tsunade-sama, urgent news!"
"The Mountain Range in the Land of Earth… has vanished!!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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