Team One, having slowed their underground movement, finally decided after intense discussion to stick together through thick and thin.
A simultaneous attack by over two hundred elite Rock-nin was simply too much for a lone hero to handle.
What Iwagakure had learned about them barely included Shen's skills in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu, Nayou's Byakugan and main house body techniques, plus Nawaki's Strength of a Hundred Technique.
One versus sixty would certainly end in defeat.
But three against two hundred might still hold a slight chance of victory.
Shen, who had started rising upward gradually, had already absorbed enough natural energy to reach full capacity.
Nayou and Nawaki were also both at peak condition.
As for the more than two hundred Rock-nin chasing closely behind them, they'd already consumed at least half their chakra reserves.
Confident in their odds of winning, Shen released his left and right hands and jumped out of the ground, then concentrated large amounts of sage chakra into both palms.
"Get ready!"
Nawaki, with his extreme water release ability, turned at least thirty meters of ground into mud-soaked earth.
"Now!" Through her Byakugan, Nayou detected enemy Rock-nin about to break through the surface.
Once Shen clapped both hands together, both retreated from the area.
Intense white light continuously radiated off his body.
Thin strands of lightning began appearing and quickly spread across this damp earth.
With crackling sounds echoing, several newly-emerged Rock-nin were instantly electrocuted into charred corpses.
The rest of the Rock-nin naturally opted to avoid the lethal area altogether.
However, this Lightning Release enhanced by Sage Art wasn't that simple to escape from.
[Sage Art: Thunderclap Quaking Earth!] Shen increased his output of sage chakra.
Originally short bursts of electricity gradually merged together forming sharp, spear-like strikes piercing deep underground.
After channeling the energy for about ten seconds, he finally released his hands from the clasp.
This single maneuver alone had already consumed nearly half his sage chakra.
"Tch, only twenty-eight guys taken down," muttered a slightly dissatisfied Shen while simultaneously absorbing natural energy from nearby.
Thanks to his sharp analytical mind, he was able to make up for the limited capacity of his pseudo-Sage Body.
Although large-scale Sage Arts couldn't yet be used consecutively, he could recover completely within just five minutes.
Are they trying to collapse this entire land? Through Sage Mode perception, Shen noticed underground Rock-nin concentrating chakra to form hand seals.
At the same moment, Nayou also detected something unusual and immediately arrived beside him.
Meanwhile, oblivious Nawaki saw a rocket-shaped Shen embracing Nayou flying directly toward himself.
Totally unprepared, he suddenly found his left foot grabbed as he got dragged forward.
As the collapsing ground crumbled beneath them, the black-clothed figure held his sister protectively with one arm while gripping a long sword in the other—cough cough, actually holding another young man instead—hopping on one leg all the way to safety.
Even White Zetsu, watching from hiding, was surprised by how deeply cultivated his internal power was.
Such formidable combat power probably couldn't even be developed without thirty years' training.
Above ground, Team One joyfully bounced along while underground, hardworking Rock-nin painstakingly refined massive quantities of chakra attempting their Planet-Destroying Seal Jutsu.
"So, does that mean 'no comparison, no harm'?"
White Zetsu felt the mission was too difficult and reluctantly transformed into Shen Uchiha's appearance.
He planned to head for the Land of Earth and make full use of this person's brilliant mind.
Then, he would lead a large group of Rock-nin straight here.
How many men would it take to successfully capture the Konoha Pest?
Inside the Tsuchikage's Building, Ōnoki believed over two hundred ordinary Jonin could silently abduct him.
That was until he received news that this individual had the nerve to bounce around energetically, happily showing off his presence all over Iwagakure Village.
A slap in the face—one that could've been predicted.
Shimura Danzō, Konoha's top tactician, hadn't set foot on a battlefield in years.
His strength couldn't rightly be called weak, yet it was Danzō himself who supported Sasuke after he first activated his Mangekyō, allowing him to fight five Kage—and even kill one.
So how accurate could his intelligence analysis really be?
"Cursed lies!"
Enraged, Ōnoki suspected that the anonymous Konoha insider who provided him with this intel might actually be the Third Hokage himself.
Otherwise, how could he fail to sense even the general whereabouts of that person, no matter which detection methods he used after he went underground?
"I am Shen Uchiha," a sudden voice echoed throughout Iwagakure Village from within the Tsuchikage's Building. "The Legendary Genius of Research!"
"Do you want my treasure? If so, then go dig it up underground—I've buried it all there."
After pulling off this prank, White Zetsu swiftly disappeared through the rooftop of the Tsuchikage's Building.
When Ōnoki arrived at the rooftop with dozens of elite Jonin, White Zetsu was already downstairs.
"Nyah nyah nyah~ I'm the mischievous Shen Uchiha!" Perfectly mimicking every motion, expression, and even subtle micro-expressions, White Zetsu looked exactly like Shen Uchiha himself.
After all, he had observed this person for eight long years—playing such a familiar role was effortless. He could copy every single detail without even trying.
As expected, Ōnoki flew into a rage and took off at full speed, with dozens of Rock-nin chasing after White Zetsu.
"Hehe, I'm right here!" The Mole King of the shinobi world popped up from the ground, revealing Shen's smug little face.
Ōnoki turned his head and saw that thoroughly annoying face—the kind of look that practically begged to get punched—promptly interlacing his fingers as chakra surged inside.
"Tsuchikage-sama, that direction leads to the school!"
"Of course I know!" Ōnoki lowered his hands while denying his own anger, "Old man? Me angry? Don't be ridiculous! I merely wanted to scare him a little."
White Zetsu, with excellent hearing, immediately got a brilliant idea upon noticing that.
Luring this old man—who could both fly and use Dust Release—near Team One clearly wasn't wise.
Let alone activating the Mangekyō? One move might erase people completely from existence.
At this moment, he shifted his focus toward those thirty-something—nearly forty—Rock-nin.
Luring enemies was an intricate art.
Fortunately, White Zetsu deeply understood this craft—no one knew more about drawing enemies in than him!
"Except for Shen..." he sighed inwardly while making another smug facial expression.
Under the gaze of dozens of eyes, he dove back underground.
"Pfft! Not very honorable of you, old man!"
In midair, Onoki instantly turned his head at the sound of the voice.
However, all he could see was a little head gradually sinking into the ground.
"You're already a seasoned Kage. You should know better."
"Even a ninja needs to use reason—"
"—show some common decency."
White Zetsu kept popping up in circles, making Onoki so angry that his temples pounded.
"Nyanyanyanya~ The Tsuchikage of Iwa has no shame! He bullies little kids!"
That sentence almost made the old flying man plummet from the sky.
After twisting his waist multiple times, he decided it was time to teach the younger generation a lesson.
"All of you, hunt him down! Show no mercy!"
Over thirty elite Jonin from Iwagakure glared fiercely at that grotesque face.
Each one swore solemnly on their ninja careers to wipe this person out from the shinobi world for good.
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