Outside the dark confinement chamber, Nayou picked up a pen and began scribbling notes in a small pink notebook.
Titled "Research Report on Abnormal Sexual Orientation," this notebook meticulously documented everything—from the moment Roshi woke up yesterday until he fainted again due to extreme psychological stimulation.
It was so detailed it recorded every single muscle movement made by the subject.
Why did Nayou go to such lengths to torment Roshi? It was all because she worried about Shen.
Driven by what she called scientific curiosity, she wanted to see how quickly a normal man could be turned homosexual.
And who better than that hairless old Roshi as the perfect lab rat?
To further her research, the Hyuga heiress had even sacrificed many brand-new outfits she had never worn before.
As for Tsunade's makeup advice—well, that was reserved for other purposes entirely.
Meanwhile, high up in his luxury penthouse suite, Shen suddenly felt an invisible chill run through him. He practically jumped out of bed in alarm.
He ran his hands over the goosebumps rising on his arms and was instantly overcome with the certainty that something dreadful was about to happen to him.
"Who is it? Could it possibly be Lord Madara?"
With absolutely no clues, Shen stepped cautiously out of his room, unusually wary in his movements.
Even his Sharingan remained activated throughout the entire journey.
The hyper-vigilant Shen took over half an hour just to reach the dining hall downstairs.
After grabbing breakfast in record time, he didn't even greet anyone before retreating back upstairs with extreme caution.
"???" The commanders present stared in confusion, completely baffled by what they had just witnessed.
Orochimaru, long accustomed to these strange behaviors, seriously contemplated the situation and realized he wasn't even remotely surprised anymore.
Coming downstairs for breakfast, Nayou wore a chilling expression.
She glared at the nervous figure climbing the stairs, her determination growing stronger with each step he took.
About ten seconds of confused silence passed before both Jiraiya and Tsunade simply raised their glasses and drank some soda to calm themselves.
Jiraiya, who held plenty of embarrassing leverage over Shen, secretly hoped the guy would stay paranoid like this every day.
As for Tsunade, who had recently lost nearly half her fortune—no explanation was needed. She gladly joined in the toast.
Nawaki followed suit, sipping his soda alongside them.
Out of everyone at breakfast, only the Mamba Couple and Gerissen from Sunagakure genuinely looked worried about his headspace.
Judging by his overly cautious behavior, the three immediately recognized the symptoms—it clearly stemmed from having encountered tailed beasts for the first time, constantly fearing sudden attacks.
They couldn't name the exact condition, but they understood its general symptoms and coping mechanisms.
Indeed, Konoha's way of life simply wasn't something ordinary people could easily handle.
Spending another half-hour returning to his room, Shen quickly pulled out the spoils from last night.
His breakfast had already been carefully eaten during the climb upstairs.
Gently opening the sealing scroll containing half of Four-Tails' chakra, he glanced around his room several times before loosening the seal slightly.
Instantly, crimson chakra dripped out like water droplets.
For ordinary people, tailed beast chakra was nearly impossible to control—but with Shen's innate mastery and the heightened perception granted by Sage Mode, it flowed smoothly and obediently.
He placed half of the Four-Tails' chakra into a black missile casing, also adding a large amount of liquid hydrogen created through Sage Art.
This half-a-meter tall missile was indeed a physical weapon.
In terms of destructive power, it was definitely stronger than those small pillars used to detonate the Four-Tails.
"I guess it can rival the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball?" Shen, filled with confidence, stored the missile inside his pendant.
Now holding an ultimate weapon without pollution, why should he fear whoever lurked in the shadows?
"D-F Express — your fate's on its way!" With deep reverence, Shen deactivated the alert status he'd maintained for half a day.
The Tailed Beast Ball was merely a pure chakra-based explosion, but this DF-series Missile Model One combined knowledge from chemistry and physics.
High-concentration hydrogen would cause intense explosions once ignited.
Sometimes, one plus one equals more than just two.
At least Shen had full confidence that one missile alone would bring even the completed Kurama to his knees.
"When the Four-Tails' chakra recovers, probably Old Purple will have already gone."
Among all nine tailed beasts, only Son Goku, the Four-Tails, could be used to manufacture DF-series missiles.
Each missile consumed one-quarter of his chakra—mass production was practically impossible.
Although the pseudo-Sage Body could seemingly produce anything upon clapping hands together, it couldn't create something not existing on this planet.
Producing a true DF missile might remain distant and unattainable.
Arriving once again at the southern border of the Land of Earth, Onoki sneered down at the huge crater below.
"Elemental Chakra Mode?" He raised his hand, turning a letter to solid stone, then crushed it into dust.
Evidence? Completely unnecessary.
Onoki was naturally suspicious; as long as something aroused suspicion, he dared to take immediate action.
"Do you really think swallowing twenty billion ryō will go down without a fight?" After forming new intentions, he narrowed his eyes toward the Land of Grass.
Minutes later, floating midair, he accelerated away from the location.
Clearly, a major event would happen on the very day Iwagakure redeemed Roshi.
Meanwhile, at the Naka Shrine, Black Zetsu slumped before the stone tablet.
Though the inscription on this tablet differed from what he'd altered previously, its meaning remained essentially unchanged.
Now Black Zetsu was certain—the Sage of Six Paths had already become aware of his existence.
"That kid actually could be Asura's reincarnation!" His jagged white fangs ground together incessantly.
If the Sage of Six Paths won, he would be finished.
If the Sage lost, everything would simply return to square one.
Caught between conflicting thoughts, Black Zetsu gradually conceived a bold plan.
Madara hadn't yet gathered all nine tailed beasts and had entrusted the Rinnegan to Nagato, who was still under ten years old.
Yet the Shen he knew already possessed the pseudo-Sage Body, possibly awakening the Mangekyō tomorrow and perhaps unlocking the Rinnegan the day after.
Comparing these two sides in terms of power and potential, they simply weren't in the same league.
Black Zetsu, cautious for thousands of years, strongly considered trying to manipulate Shen just as he manipulated Madara.
However, the alteration of the Stone Tablet and the attitude of the Sage of Six Paths made him unwilling to take such a risk.
Moreover, with Madara and White Zetsu now fully focused on Shin, the Rinnegan on Nagato's body had become a treasure without a guardian.
Black Zetsu, who had never grown since his birth, instantly achieved full development under the immense pressure from the Sage of Six Paths.
He was no longer a kid hiding behind his Mother, no longer wanted to lurk in the shadows pulling strings from afar, nor would he dare cling to the hope of uncertain help from others.
Otsutsuki Black Zetsu made up his mind. From this moment onward, he would step out from the shadows and onto the grand stage of the shinobi world.
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