After hearing Aoi's account, Shinju and the other two turned around and looked at Morino Idate.
Shinju had already suspected that this guy might be a low-ranked rogue ninja from the village.
But he hadn't expected him to have such guts—to dare mess with the village's Scroll of Seals.
"It's not like that! He framed me back then!"
Idate denied Aoi's words vehemently.
Then, he began to explain what really happened.
Idate had once been a shinobi of Konohagakure, and Morino Ibiki was his older brother.
Back then, when Idate took the Chunin Exams, he was eliminated in the very first round.
At that time, his teacher—Aoi, who was a Chunin of Konoha back then—approached him and promised that if Idate could bring him the village's Scroll of Seals and the Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God, he would help him get promoted to Chunin without taking the rest of the exam.
Idate desperately wanted to become a Chunin at the time, so he actually did it—he stole the Sword of the Thunder God and the Scroll of Seals from the village.
It was only later that he learned the truth—the "Chunin promotion" Aoi promised him was actually for Amegakure's Chunin. Aoi was planning to defect from Konoha!
The Sword of the Thunder God and the Scroll of Seals that Idate stole were meant to be Aoi's proof of loyalty to Amegakure.
When Idate learned the truth, he was filled with regret and tried to take the two treasures back.
At the critical moment, Morino Ibiki arrived just in time to support him.
However, Aoi had already arranged for Amegakure shinobi to receive him, and neither Ibiki nor Idate stood a chance against them. The two were captured and interrogated on how to unlock the Scroll of Seals.
Inside the interrogation room, Ibiki refused to give in even at the risk of his life, creating enough chaos for Idate to escape.
From that day on, Idate wandered the streets, until he was eventually taken in by Wasabi Jirocho...
After recounting what happened back then, Idate's eyes welled up with tears.
"I never thought niichan was still alive… I thought he died saving me…"
"Not only is that guy still alive," Naruto said, "he's still the proctor for the first round of Konoha's Chunin Exams."
"Really? That… actually makes me feel better," Idate murmured.
Aoi, however, remained arrogant and scornful.
"Ibiki sure was unlucky—stuck with a little brother like you. You have no idea how badly you ruined his life!"
Idate lowered his head. Back then, he had been young and foolish, but now he knew just how badly he'd messed up.
"Looks like once we finish this mission in the Land of Tea, you'll have to come back to Konoha with me," Shinju said, standing up and placing a hand on Idate's shoulder.
Idate nodded. "Yeah… I'll take responsibility for what I've done. I won't run anymore."
But Aoi's expression shifted when he looked at Shinju—his face showing a hint of fear.
Logically, Shinju should've been poisoned by his needle and too weak to move. So how was he still talking… and even raising his arm?
Aoi hesitated for a moment, then concluded Shinju was just putting on an act to look tough. He sneered smugly.
"Don't force yourself. Using chakra while poisoned can cost you your life."
"Who said your little poison needle could affect me?" Shinju raised an eyebrow.
"I'm confident in my poisons," Aoi said proudly. "I created this toxin myself—no one's ever been able to neutralize it."
Shinju scoffed, full of disdain.
"Oh? And did you know… I'm also a medical-nin?"
With that, Shinju formed a ten-meter-long chakra scalpel and swung it casually!
Swoosh!
Half of Aoi's arm was sliced off effortlessly.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Idate: (⊙o⊙),ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!,Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
Aoi: ???
"Clean cut," Naruto breathed out after snapping out of shock.
Then Shinju raised his arm again—and in one smooth motion—he severed both of Aoi's arms completely, leaving him incapable of performing any ninjutsu.
"Bringing back a rogue ninja like you should earn me quite the bounty," Shinju said as he grabbed the screaming Aoi.
Aoi was stunned. He hadn't expected this young shinobi to be so ruthless. By the time he realized what had happened, his arms were already gone…
"I… I can't go to Konoha! I can't go to Konoha!" Aoi pleaded.
"There's a Sword of the Thunder God in my ninja tool pouch! Take it, keep it—just… just let me go, alright?"
He tried to bribe them into releasing him.
Shinju smiled faintly.
"You think I'd give up my principles for a mere tool?"
Still, he rummaged through Aoi's ninja pouch and soon pulled out a short, black rod shaped like a hilt.
"This is the Sword of the Thunder God?" Shinju asked.
"Yes! Yes, that's the Second Hokage's sword!" Aoi said quickly. "It's one of the sharpest ninja tools in the entire shinobi world! All you need to do is channel your chakra into it!"
Following his instructions, Shinju infused his chakra.
Bzzzzzz!
From the hilt, a blade of pure, condensed Lightning Release chakra extended instantly, glowing like a solid, tangible weapon!
To Shinju, it looked exactly like a lightsaber from Star Wars.
Absolutely insane. Cool as hell.
Beside him, Sasuke and Naruto: (´◊ω◊｀);〣( ºΔº )〣
No man alive could resist a glowing sword!
Aoi continued tempting him.
"So? Impressive, isn't it? Isn't this an amazing ninja tool?"
"If you take me back to the village, the tool will be confiscated. You'll never get to use it."
"But if you let me go, no one else has to know about this weapon. It'll be yours."
Shinju paused, actually considering his words.
After a long moment of thought, Shinju came to a conclusion.
"If I kill you, the weapon's still mine."
Aoi: ⊙▽⊙
Since when were Konoha shinobi this savage?
But after thinking it through, Shinju dismissed the idea. Killing him would mean losing the bounty.
Besides, the one currently leading Konoha was his own Tsunade-sensei.
And to be fair, Tsunade really did care about him as her student.
Not only had she taught him her finest medical techniques, she had even gifted him the First Hokage's necklace, one of her most treasured possessions.
So Shinju figured that if he talked to Tsunade-sensei about the Sword of the Thunder God, he'd probably still get to keep it.
With that thought settled, Shinju declared firmly:
"This Sword of the Thunder God is mine. And you… are also coming with me."
Upon hearing this, Aoi realized he had no way out.
In desperation, he tried to bite down on the poisoned tooth hidden in his molars.
But Shinju, as if expecting it, quickly reached out, pried his mouth open, and pulled out the fake tooth coated in poison.
"Told you already—I'm a medical-nin. You're not dying on my watch. 눈_눈"
After saying that, Shinju used medical ninjutsu to seal Aoi's chakra points, completely immobilizing him.
Aoi: (:D)∠)
Since when were Konoha shinobi this versatile?
If he'd known Konoha had grown like this, he never would've defected. He could've become a master of all ninjutsu by now.
After handling Aoi their small boat continued sailing toward the Shrine.
Before long, Naruto pointed east and shouted,
"Look! There's another boat over there!"
Shinju followed his gaze and spotted a small wooden boat—with three sword-wielding shinobi standing on board!
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo