In the blink of an eye, Shinju's group had already been on the road for half a day.
Normally, a ninja's running speed was incredibly fast, so there wasn't much need for vehicles.
But right now, Team 7 was on an escort mission, and they had to take into account the walking pace of Tazuna, who was just an ordinary civilian. So they had been walking the entire way.
That got Shinju thinking — could he create some kind of vehicle in the Naruto world… something to make traveling less exhausting?
Maybe… build a car?
Not realistic! He was just an elementary school kid — he didn't have the slightest clue about how to build a car!
He would have to think of another way…
As Shinju was lost in thought, he glanced upward and spotted a hawk circling above them, searching for prey.
"Shinju, what are you thinking about?"
Naruto came over and tugged on Shinju, who was spacing out.
"I was thinking… maybe it could carry us and help us travel faster," Shinju said, pointing toward the hawk several hundred meters above the ground.
Naruto: (||๐_๐)
"…Isn't that a bit too far-fetched?" Naruto said.
"Yeah, that bird's at least a few hundred meters up there. Kid, stop dreaming," Tazuna added, stepping forward.
Shinju didn't say anything. Sure, it sounded absurd, but he decided to try anyway!
He slowly reached for his ninja pouch and pulled out a shuriken inscribed with his own Body Flicker seal.
Then, raising his hand, he hurled the shuriken upward with all his strength.
Whoosh!
The shuriken shot straight into the sky.
Unfortunately, gravity was unforgiving — getting something to fly several hundred meters up was no small feat.
Halfway up, the shuriken lost momentum and began to fall.
At that moment, Shinju formed a quick hand seal — Body Flicker activated!
The Shinju on the ground vanished instantly.
When he reappeared, he was high in the sky, catching the falling shuriken.
Immediately, as he began to drop, he hurled it again!
Whizz!
Throw, flicker, throw.
Repeating the cycle twice, Shinju reached the hawk's side!
Hawk: ⊙▽⊙
I was flying peacefully — where the heck did this person come from?!
It flared its wings, ready to flee.
But Shinju placed his hand on its body at that exact moment.
A glowing seal wrapped around the hawk.
This was a Contract Sealing Technique Shinju had just figured out — it allowed him to form a contract with any non-human creature, linking their minds and enabling him to summon them at will.
As soon as the seal completed, the hawk became docile.
Shinju nimbly swung himself onto its back and descended toward the ground.
On the ground, Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and Tazuna: ヾ(Ő∀Ő)ﾉ
What the heck is this move?!
Their shock was no less than if they had seen someone step on their own foot and rise into the air!
He had actually pulled it off!
"That technique he just used… it looked like a summoning contract seal," Kakashi said, his visible eye twitching violently.
∑(°Д°)
Who taught this kid Summoning Technique?!
Do they even teach that at the Ninja Academy?!
Shinju landed on the hawk.
"Well? What do you think?" he asked, a little smug.
After composing himself, Kakashi said seriously, "Don't do that again. What if something goes wrong?"
"Yes, sensei!" Shinju replied obediently.
But then another problem arose.
The hawk was big, but could only carry one or two people at most.
And with five people in the group, including Tazuna, it wasn't going to work…
In the end, Shinju had no choice but to keep walking.
He even suggested sending one person ahead with Tazuna to finish the mission, but Kakashi flatly refused, saying it was too dangerous.
As they traveled, Shinju kept glancing around, hoping to spot some giant beast that could carry all five of them at once.
But for a long stretch, he didn't see a single animal.
Then, while walking, Shinju suddenly asked, "The weather's so nice — why is there a puddle on the road?"
"Maybe it rained a few days ago," Naruto answered casually from behind.
Shinju frowned.
Even if it had rained, there was no mud at all along the road — just a single puddle sitting oddly in the middle.
It looked strange.
As he was thinking about it, he felt that eerie chakra fluctuation again!
And with his sharp senses, he also caught the sound of dragging chains!
Shinju whipped his head around.
"Watch out!"
But it was already too late!
Two unknown ninjas burst out, dragging barbed chains that wrapped around Kakashi!
Naruto, standing closest to Kakashi, got slashed by the swinging barbs and froze in shock at the sudden attack.
Snap!
The assassins yanked hard, tightening the chains — and Kakashi's body crumbled into dust!
The instant the ambush happened, Shinju flung a shuriken from his hand!
Whizz!
It sped through the air, then split into countless copies mid-flight, raining down on the two assassins!
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique? Isn't this kid just a genin?!"
The ambushers panicked, swinging their chains wildly to block the storm of shuriken.
Clang clang clang…
A rapid series of metallic clashes rang out as Shinju's shuriken clones were deflected one after another.
But his goal had already been achieved.
In that moment of distraction, Sasuke pulled the stunned Naruto away to safety!
Shinju's hands blurred through a rapid series of seals.
Once he was sure Sasuke and Naruto were out of range, he inhaled deeply and exhaled the flames building in his chest!
"Fire Style — Dragon Fire Jutsu!" (A name Shinju made up on the spot)
Fwoooosh!!!
Scarlet flames erupted from his mouth, the front shaped like a dragon's head!
The fire dragon swallowed both assassins in an instant!
Its massive area of effect even scorched the forests on either side of the road.
Though Naruto and Sasuke weren't hit directly, the heat from the flames washed over them in waves, making them feel like they were being roasted alive.
As for the two assassins caught in the center — they were out of luck.
By the time the jutsu ended, a blackened crater marked the middle of the road.
In its center lay two charred, unrecognizable corpses.
Sasuke, Naruto: ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
What kind of jutsu is that?!
That's way too strong!
Right after Shinju incinerated the two ninjas, Kakashi reappeared — covered in soot, his mask partially burned.
He had used Substitution at the very last second to avoid the chain attack.
Those two attackers were just chunin-level — he could have easily taken them down.
So instead of jumping in right away, he'd hidden in a tree to see how Shinju's team would handle the situation.
But he hadn't expected to get singed by Shinju's jutsu… even his eyebrows were gone!
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