"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Seven or eight black shadows suddenly shot out from the forest!
These figures were all about the same height — roughly two meters tall. Each was clad in black armor, their faces hidden beneath helmets, wielding massive iron hammers that looked heavy enough to crush stone.
Without a word, the hulking armored warriors charged straight at the three of them!
Sai, who was closest, scrambled to react. He quickly pulled out a scroll and rapidly sketched the form of an ink eagle.
"Screech!"
With a sharp cry, the eagle came to life from the scroll!
Sai leapt backward and mounted the eagle, soaring into the air.
With Sai off the battlefield, Shinju and Naruto were instantly surrounded by the armored men.
"Who are you guys? Can you even understand me?" Naruto shouted.
The next moment—
BANG!!!
One of the armored warriors swung his hammer down, smashing it into the ground right where Naruto had been standing.
If Naruto hadn't dodged in time, that blow would've crushed his skull without question!
Shinju's pupils contracted sharply.
"These armored guys are here to kill us!"
"Take them down!"
He added, smirking, "Perfect chance to test out that new Rasenshuriken of yours!"
Naruto's face lit up, nodding eagerly.
After all his training, his Rasenshuriken was finally starting to take shape.
But because the jutsu's destructive range was so vast, Shinju had never allowed him to test it inside the village.
Now, at last, there was no need to hold back.
Shinju leapt high into the air, landing atop Sai's summoned eagle.
On the ground, Naruto faced the enemy alone.
He quickly created several shadow clones to hold off the advancing armored men, while his real body, assisted by two more clones, began rapidly forming the Rasenshuriken.
Within ten seconds, a massive shuriken made entirely of chakra began spinning in Naruto's hand!
Up in the sky, Sai's eyes widened in shock.
The sheer amount of chakra condensed in Naruto's palm was terrifying — its destructive potential was comparable to detonating hundreds of explosive tags at once!
But even more critical was the fact that Naruto had infused the jutsu with Wind Release chakra transformation.
That meant when the technique detonated, countless microscopic wind blades would instantly shred the opponent's internal organs!
Sai, remembering Shinju's earlier words, couldn't help but ask,
"Who taught Naruto this insane jutsu?"
Whoever had developed such a terrifying technique… Danzo-sama definitely needed to be warned.
Beside him, Shinju shrugged casually. "Me. ┐(´-｀)┌"
Sai: (´°Δ°`)!?
This kid looked about the same age as him… yet he'd created something like that?!
How could someone so young develop such a devastating ninjutsu?!
Then Shinju suddenly said, "Fly a little higher. This blast will probably reach us."
Sai swallowed hard.
"Just… how big is the damage radius on this thing? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Shinju thought for a moment before replying calmly:
"If Naruto's the one using it, then with him as the center point… the area within a two-hundred-meter radius will be obliterated. Beyond that, the damage drops off significantly."
Sai: ⊙▽⊙
How could he just casually throw around words like 'obliterate everything within a two-hundred-meter radius'?!
All his years in Root, Sai had never even heard of a single-target ninjutsu this devastating.
He urged his ink eagle higher into the sky.
Down below, Naruto hurled the Rasenshuriken straight at one of the armored warriors!
"FWOOOSH—!"
A terrifying surge of chakra exploded outward!
The slope that had once jutted out prominently… was blasted into a deep crater.
Every armored warrior caught in the blast's core was annihilated on the spot!
Their bodies fell into the pit, unmoving. Dead beyond saving.
But the technique's backlash didn't spare Naruto either — he collapsed, his right hand bloodied and torn, lying weakly on the ground.
Even so, a grin hung on his lips. He was thrilled he'd finally succeeded.
Up above, Shinju suddenly smacked his forehead.
"Damn, I forgot to leave at least one of them alive so we could figure out which village they're from."
In a flash, Shinju teleported down beside Naruto, kneeling to examine his injuries.
"Not too bad. Nothing life-threatening — I can heal this."
As he worked, Shinju activated his medical ninjutsu, carefully treating Naruto's wounds while explaining:
"Because your chakra control is still weak, you can only complete about fifty percent of the technique. You can't throw it at long range yet, only release it up close — which means you'll take damage too."
"But once you finish your Sage training at Mount Myoboku, you should be able to push it to full completion. At that point, you'll truly master the Rasenshuriken."
Under Shinju's skilled hands, Naruto's injuries quickly healed, and before long, he was back on his feet, brimming with energy again.
As soon as he stood, Naruto started bragging.
"Did you guys see that?! My jutsu! It was awesome, right?! (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ"
Shinju's expression darkened.
"Your jutsu? That's my jutsu! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ)"
Copyright awareness: maximum.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.
"Okay, okay… the jutsu you taught me… was totally awesome, right?! (•̀⌄•́)"
Shinju nodded, exasperated.
"Yeah, yeah. Super awesome."
Meanwhile, Sai knelt beside the fallen armored warriors, inspecting their condition.
"Their organs… completely shredded by microscopic wind blades. Even their cells… totally destroyed. Judging by the damage, they must've suffered horribly before dying…"
He exhaled sharply. "What a terrifying technique."
At this point, Sai wasn't even thinking about completing the mission Danzo-sama had assigned him anymore.
All he wanted was for Shinju and Naruto to spare him if they ever learned his true purpose…
"Find anything unusual?" Shinju asked, now standing beside him.
"None of these people are ninja," Sai analyzed seriously. "I can't sense any chakra flow inside their bodies at all."
Shinju nodded slightly.
He'd noticed the same thing during the battle earlier.
These armored warriors contained a strange kind of natural energy within their bodies… but it definitely wasn't chakra.
"Just how many secrets does this world still hold…?"
A spark of excitement lit up Shinju's face.
Ever since he'd arrived in this world, his understanding had been limited to the Five Great Shinobi Villages, believing that chakra and ninjas explained everything.
But now… something beyond that framework had appeared.
Just as he was pondering this, a strange rustling echoed from deeper within the forest.
Moments later, a smaller armored figure emerged from between the trees!
Unlike the others, this one was much shorter and slimmer — and his armor didn't cover his entire body.
From here, Shinju and the others could clearly see his eyes and mouth.
As soon as the figure appeared, the snow ferret in Sai's arms suddenly began to thrash violently, as if responding to a call.
"Could this be the snow ferret's owner? The client who hired us to find it — Kahiko?" Shinju asked in confusion.
The smaller armored figure glanced briefly at Shinju and his group, but then turned his head toward the crater where the massive armored corpses lay.
In an instant, his pupils turned blood-red!
"Fwah!"
Without a word, he drew his sword and charged straight at them!
Shinju's brows furrowed tightly.
The energy radiating from this one… was far stronger than that of the others.
And this energy… it was strange, deep, and mysterious — unlike anything Shinju had ever sensed before.
He muttered under his breath,
"Weird… could this be some kind of chakra substitute developed by one of the villages?"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo