After Shinju shouted those words, nothing happened for more than ten seconds.
One of the high-ranking officials of the Land of Earth couldn't help but mutter,
"Quite the show of momentum, but why's nothing happening after all this time? -_-||"
Shinju didn't bother arguing with him. He just smirked and said,
"Don't rush. Let the chakra take its course for a while."
The next instant, a deep rumble echoed beneath everyone's feet!
And then—
"Swoosh!"
A sharp crystal spike burst from underground, the size of a wardrobe!
The Land of Earth's Daimyo shook his head with a smile.
"Though a crystal of this size is rare, it's nothing compared to the Mount Shumisen I spoke of. (๑ت๑)"
Shinju ignored the Daimyo's remark and quickly formed another set of hand seals.
"Wood Release: Vines!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!"
Thick vines shot up from the ground, wrapping themselves toward everyone present!
Not only did the Land of Earth's Daimyo's face change in shock, but all his retainers also panicked and immediately assumed combat stances.
"Shinju, what are you doing?! Do you mean to attack our Daimyo?! ╰_╯"
Of course, that was all just empty posturing.
When faced with the unyielding vines conjured by Shinju's Wood Release, they had no means of resistance at all. In an instant, they were all tightly bound!
Even Ōnoki found himself restrained by the vines. His face filled with disbelief as he asked,
"Shinju, don't act recklessly…"
But before he could finish his words, the crystal spike that had emerged from underground suddenly rose even higher!
And then—
"Rumble—!!!"
The lower half of the crystalline mass surged upward from the ground, like a sword piercing straight toward the heavens!
After several seconds, a whole crystal mountain revealed itself before their eyes!
At that moment, Ōnoki finally realized why Shinju had used vines to bind them. He had restrained their movements so the crystal mountain erupting from underground wouldn't accidentally harm them.
Beside him, the Land of Earth's Daimyo's eyes went wide as saucers. (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!
The retainers following the Daimyo, meanwhile, were completely dumbstruck. Their eyes were frozen upward, and their mouths fell open with awe.
"A miracle! An absolute miracle!"
"Astounding… absolutely astounding!!"
"Not even a Sage descending upon the world could achieve something like this!!"
After a long silence, the Daimyo stiffly turned his head to Shinju, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"You… how did you do this? (≖╻≖;)"
"Don't tell me this crystal mountain was already buried beneath the land?"
Shinju shook his head.
That was impossible.
This crystal had been condensed purely from natural energy—without any real cost to him.
But if he said that outright, the Daimyo would definitely feel dissatisfied.
So Shinju improvised,
"I communicated with the underground mineral veins through chakra, gathering scattered crystals and fusing them together to create this mountain."
As he said this, Shinju deliberately feigned weakness,
"Sigh… unleashing this technique has already drained my chakra reserves dry. Even if I recover, my strength will be crippled—perhaps only a tenth of what it once was… (´□`」 ∠)"
Ōnoki frowned in doubt,
"Even with Sage Art, would chakra really be drained like that?"
Shinju: ∑(°Д°)
This old man actually knew his stuff…
He quickly covered up with another lie,
"You've never used Sage Arts, so you wouldn't understand. Even Sage Arts consume one's physical and spiritual energy."
"This time… I consumed far too much… _(´ཀ`」 ∠)__"
Hearing this, the Land of Earth's Daimyo lifted his head, his eyes glittering as he carefully admired the crystal mountain.
Truthfully, he wasn't too fond of the method Shinju used to create it.
But seeing Shinju's weak and fragile appearance left him very satisfied. (◔◡◔)
With this crystal mountain, not only could he make a fortune, but the Land of Fire had also lost one of its most formidable assets…
Totally worth it!!
At his side, Shinju keenly noticed the shift in the Daimyo's expression.
So, in order to further dispel suspicion—and to keep Ōnoki from doubting any longer—he simply closed his eyes and collapsed backward stiffly…
Earlier that day—
Shinju had led the Daimyo of the Land of Earth and several Iwagakure elites outside the village to perform the Crystal Mountain Technique. As the large procession marched through the streets, they naturally attracted plenty of attention. Many curious villagers followed to see what was happening.
Among them was Kurotsuchi.
When she witnessed the dazzling crystal mountain rise from the ground, she eagerly pushed through the crowd, forcing her way closer and closer…
At that exact moment, Shinju collapsed—falling right into her arms.
Kurotsuchi: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
After her initial shock, she quickly realized that the one who had fallen against her was none other than the handsome Shinju! (´◊ω◊｀)
Listening to his weak, ragged breathing, with his fresh masculine scent lingering at the tip of her nose…
Her heart started pounding uncontrollably… (´つヮ⊂︎)
On the other side—
Feigning unconsciousness, Shinju felt something soft beneath his head. Wait a second—wasn't he supposed to fall straight to the ground? What on earth was this cushiony thing behind his skull?! (￢‸￢)?
...
Because of this incident, Shinju and Tsunade ended up staying in Iwagakure a while longer.
During that time, in order to make his weakness appear more convincing, Shinju sealed away most of his chakra using sealing techniques. The small amount left circulated through his meridians just enough to fake signs of chaotic chakra flow…
Sure enough, this trick completely fooled the Iwagakure.
In fact, to confirm whether Konoha's genius truly had been crippled, Iwa sent their medical-nin to examine him several times. Every single time, they concluded the same: it was true.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki leisurely sipped his tea.
Now that he'd learned Shinju, the "monster" of the shinobi world, had lost most of his power, his happiness knew no bounds. ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )
The tea was clearly bitter, but to him, it tasted sweet!
He turned to his son, Kurotsuchi's father, Kitsuchi, and said,
"These young people really don't know their limits. How could he recklessly overdraw his chakra like that? Doesn't he know how much damage that does to the body? ╮(╯▽╰)╭"
"But on the bright side, Shinju's injury is truly a blessing in disguise."
"Otherwise, the issue of the Mountain Range wouldn't have been settled so easily."
"A crystal mountain may be called a miracle, but in the end, it was conjured from chakra—it didn't cost much. ┐(´-｀)┌"
"But add the downfall of a super genius strong enough to alter the balance of the great nations? That changes everything. վ--0027ᴗ--0027 ի"
Kitsuchi remained silent at his side the entire time.
Ōnoki asked,
"Kitsuchi, why aren't you saying anything?"
He frowned and replied,
"I just feel there's something suspicious about all of this… but I can't put my finger on it."
"Someone capable of single-handedly slaughtering his way through Amegakure… shouldn't be this fragile. (๑˙―˙๑)"
Ōnoki dismissed it carelessly,
"Rumors in the shinobi world are always exaggerated, that's perfectly normal. -(￢∀￢)σ"
"Maybe back then, Shinju only cut down a few lackeys and happened to finish off a heavily wounded Pain. The rest was just blown out of proportion by the rumor mill… ´∀`"
But after hearing his father's words, Kitsuchi only lowered his head further, silently holding on to his suspicions.