Half an hour later, Team One followed the injured ninja with unclear intentions to a small village near the border of the Land of Fire.
Using the shinobi world map in his mind, Shen calculated their squad's location. When he reached a conclusion, he was internally startled. "Isn't this exactly where Orochimaru's Sound Village will be in the future? So does that mean the Sword of Kusanagi here is actually the Extendable Kusanagi Blade, right?"
The genius Shen wore a very strange expression. He absolutely couldn't believe that Orochimaru—with his obsessive collecting habits—would randomly choose this place as his territory.
Now, he finally had some idea about what was going on, so he quickly signaled to the other three members of Team One.
"A kekkei genkai user?" Nayou immediately caught on and quickly raised her guard.
Orochimaru looked like a curious little kid.
As for Nawaki, he still didn't understand anything.
Looking at the quiet, ruined little village, Shen knew the other party definitely had a hidden agenda. Indeed, the shinobi world truly was a ruthless place where only the strong survived.
Nayou, keeping vigilant, spotted a figure approaching rapidly behind them using her Byakugan.
"Hello there, welcome to paradise!" A slightly fanatical voice came from behind Team One.
Shen dropped the act—he revealed his hand. "Alright, old man, pretending's been enough. If you keep it up, won't you seem a bit too over the top?"
"Hahahaha! This time there are four people!" The newcomer became even more excited.
Upon hearing the arrogant tone, Shen couldn't help but turn around to look.
He saw a man wearing white clothes, dark circles clearly visible beneath his eyes, and his hair tied into two topknots. Holding the Sword of Kusanagi—the mission objective of Team One—he bore a childishly delighted smile.
Honestly speaking, this person's appearance really resembled that of a certain "little mouse" from a past life of one particular transmigrator.
"The Kaguya Clan? When did these war-hungry bastards come to the Land of Fire?" Shen instantly figured it out mentally.
Observing the visitor with growing realization, he recalled that among the Kaguya, only Kimimaro fit the description—a masterpiece created by Orochimaru who could be considered somewhat normal.
As descendants of the alien Otsutsuki clan, the Kaguya naturally possessed unique traits—all of them fought using their bones.
However, their bones weren't ordinary human bones, but rather specially secreted hard bone structures produced by cells within their bodies.
Unfortunately, from what Shen knew, only Kimimaro among the Kaguya—and Kaguya otsutsuki herself—possessed such abilities. All others from the clan were simply brutal and warlike.
In the end, while attempting to destroy Kirigakure (Mist Village), except for Kimimaro—who missed the battle due to illness—the entire Kaguya Clan was ambushed and wiped out by their enemy.
From this, one could deduce quite clearly that this clan's members obviously weren't quite right in the head.
"In that case," thought Shen, his wildly speculative mind spinning, "could this Kaguya Clan be somewhat similar to the Senju Clan? Both possessing weakened versions of the Sage of Six Paths' powers. Could the Tenseigan on the moon appear cloudy because it lacks the Kaguya Clan's capabilities? If the Hyuga and Kaguya abilities combined, would that result in the birth of the Tenseigan?" These wild ideas racing through his head, Shen immediately decided to run some tests.
Completely unaware that he had already become a test subject for someone, the member of the Taketori Clan widened his mouth into a grin and said, "You're also here to claim this sword, right? Well then, if you can defeat me, I'll gladly give it to you."
Seeing those words spoken by the person he called "That Lord," the Injured Ninja's face once again showed hesitation.
He seemed to hold little respect toward the one he referred to as "That Lord," and instead, there was an eager expectation in his eyes.
Nayou, carefully observing his every move, spotted this hesitation using her Byakugan.
"This uncle doesn't seem like a bad guy," she judged inwardly.
Orochimaru observed with interest the person currently holding the Sword of Kusanagi.
He found this person quite fascinating and declared, "I'll handle him alone."
"Wait Snake Uncle, let me deal with him."
Shen, aware of this opponent's weakness, decided to personally subdue him.
After all, if he accidentally killed him, where else could he find such a perfect guinea pig?
"Shen, this person isn't simple. We don't even know what special abilities his Sword of Kusanagi possesses." Nayou worried about whether her friend could handle this opponent.
She felt that rushing into battle without gathering intelligence first was unwise.
"Don't worry, Nayou. He's no match for me." With crimson eyes, Shen instantly vanished from his spot.
"Hmm? That's pretty fast!" The Taketori clan member raised the Sword of Kusanagi defensively before him, and after praising his opponent, actually grew more excited. "Looks like you're going to let me truly enjoy this fight!"
"Of course! You are my important test subject, after all!"
The moment Shen finished speaking, he reappeared behind his opponent.
His right hand shaped like a blade palm, seemingly intending to knock out his 'test subject' with one strike.
"Swish!"
The Taketori ninja swiftly slashed backward.
Hearing these words, he understood exactly what Shen intended. After all, which ninja would warn their opponent before attacking?
"Boom!" At the moment Shen's body made contact with the Sword of Kusanagi, it dissolved into swirls of white smoke.
Using the Substitution Technique, Shen quickly emerged from underground, grabbing both legs of his opponent tightly.
[Uchiha Taijutsu Flow: Burial in Earth!]
This gullible guinea pig of a test subject now had nothing but his head sticking out of the ground.
He stared with dazed eyes at Shen, who was emerging from underground with a smirk.
"Is this guy really this weak?" Nawaki's eyes were wide open, disbelief clearly written on his face.
"Cough cough... Shen, you really are impressive," Orochimaru coughed a few times, then muttered dryly.
Fidgeting nervously with her hands again, Nayou stammered awkwardly, "Y-yes, Shen… you really are amazing."
Upon hearing these two comments, Shen immediately began mentally grumbling, *Yeah yeah, I know I'm truly incredibly amazing—but this song is cursed! I should shoot an MV someday just to give the bored folks back in Konoha something to enjoy!*
"Just who exactly are you? I've never encountered a ninja capable of silently hiding beneath the earth without being detected by me!"
Grinning broadly, Shen squatted down beside the helpless test subject whose head alone protruded from the ground and said, "Remember this name—Shen Uchiha!"
"Despicable! This isn't how a real fight works. If you've got the guts, just release me and we'll have another round!"
Shen immediately gave Nawaki a strange look. "Hey, Mr. Hot-head over there, is this guy related to you? Why do you two sound exactly alike?"
This instantly set Nawaki off. "I don't have any relatives as stupid as him! And stop calling me Hot-head, will you?"
He meant to make it clear that while he might be a bit reckless, he'd never be taken out in one move like this guy.
Shen gave Nawaki another look that clearly said, "Are you serious?" "Did you forget about that genjutsu from over a hundred chapters ago? Can't you show some self-awareness for once?"
"Shen Uchiha, you challenge me to a one-on-one fight!"
"Are you out of your mind? My one-way ticket to the afterlife is still buried underground."
"What do you mean 'your one-way ticket'? That's my mission gold!"
Orochimaru, who had been silently observing all along, chimed in, "Actually, that's my freedom you're referring to."
Nayou paid no attention to her teammates' playful antics. Her eyes remained locked on the injured ninja, who seemed to have suddenly relaxed his guard.
Numerous questions immediately surfaced in her mind.
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