The matter was finally settled.
Temujin led the group from the Shinju and made another trip to the castle.
They rescued the other children inside the castle who had been used by Haido.
Now, Temujin stood in the control room of the castle, speaking to Shinju and the others.
"I'll be traveling with these children, wandering along with the merchant caravans from now on. As for this castle and the Stone of Gelel inside it… they're useless to us."
"If you don't mind, you can take it back and use it."
"I believe you, people with such strong convictions of justice, will make good use of the Stone of Gelel."
"Of course, if you want to destroy it, that's fine too."
After Temujin finished, Shinju and Naruto's eyes instantly lit up.
This massive castle… just selling it as scrap could probably fetch several million ryo!
Not to mention, the castle itself had immense strategic value. It was equipped with all kinds of advanced weaponry — it was practically a moving turret.
If they could somehow bring this thing back to the village, Konoha's defensive strength would easily rise by at least two levels!
After giving them some simple instructions on how to operate the castle, Temujin left with the merchant caravan.
On top of the castle, Shinju, Naruto, and Sai exchanged helpless glances.
"This thing is massive… how are we supposed to get it back?" Sai finally asked.
Shinju and Naruto stayed silent.
The castle's built-in power system required burning the Stone of Gelel for fuel.
However, the amount of Stone of Gelel left inside was extremely limited, and Shinju wanted to keep as much as possible for research back at the village.
Even if they did use the Stones to power it, with the castle's sluggish speed, it would probably take forever to drag it back to Konoha.
They were stuck in a deadlock…
After thinking it over, Shinju decided to use Wood Release to drag the entire castle back!
...
A month later.
Konoha Village.
Hokage's Office.
Tsunade and Shizune were discussing Shinju's group, who had gone out looking for a ferret and hadn't returned for over a month…
"Do you think… Shinju might have been ambushed by ninja from another village?" Shizune asked worriedly.
"That boy is cunning. If anyone's setting traps, it's him. Even if someone ambushed him, he's got the Flying Thunder God — he could escape anytime," Tsunade replied firmly.
Shizune frowned. "But they've been gone for over a month without a single message…"
Just as they were talking, an Anbu suddenly reported in.
"Hokage-sama, about ten kilometers west of the village, Shinju's True Several Thousand Hands wooden construct has appeared… and it seems to be dragging something behind it…"
Tsunade shot up straight from her chair, eyes wide with excitement.
"I knew that brat would be fine!"
"Wait, hold on!"
"You said Shinju is using the Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands… to move something?! --003d͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)"
The wooden Buddha summoned by the True Several Thousand Hands was at least five to six hundred meters tall!
What on earth could be so massive that Shinju needed that to haul it?!
The Anbu reported honestly: "Yes, Hokage-sama. He's dragging a huge steel structure… it looks like… a castle!!!"
Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a stunned glance, seeing the shock mirrored in each other's eyes.
Then Tsunade waved her hand decisively.
"Come on, let's go see what trouble that brat has stirred up this time!!"
...
About seven kilometers outside Konoha.
A five-hundred-meter-tall wooden Buddha was hauling a massive castle, two to three hundred meters high, using thick wooden vines!
The ground trembled violently wherever it passed!
When Tsunade arrived, her jaw nearly hit the ground.
"T-this-this… where the hell did Shinju get a castle like that?!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ"
...
A few minutes later, the entire Konoha Village noticed the tremors caused by the movement.
Everyone came out of their homes, looking toward the outskirts.
"Holy crap~~~! That thing's gigantic!!"
"That huge wooden Buddha… Shinju summoned that, right?!"
"Look behind it! What's it dragging?!"
"Whoa, looks like a giant chunk of iron?!"
"Is our village really this extravagant now? Using Wood Release just to haul stuff?!"
Soon after, Shinju's wooden Buddha appeared before the villagers, dragging the castle into view.
Everyone's faces were filled with awe and disbelief!
After Shinju brought the castle back to the village, he was immediately summoned to the Hokage's Office.
At that moment…
Aside from Danzo, every high-ranking official of Konoha was grinning from ear to ear!
Tsunade went through the formalities: "Where exactly did you get this castle?"
Shinju shrugged. "Back then…"
He then explained everything they had seen and experienced on their journey.
The council members were stunned.
"Wait… are you saying you used Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands to drag this entire castle all the way from the southern border of the Land of Wind… back to Konoha?!"
Shinju raised his hands. "Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to use to move this giant thing?!"
The room fell silent before everyone collectively sucked in a sharp breath.
Honestly… for Shinju, this probably was the best method.
Still, such an outrageous feat was something only Shinju could pull off!
After asking him a few more questions, the council finally allowed Shinju to go home and rest — after all, he'd been hauling that castle for over a month.
Shinju nodded, then suddenly rubbed his hands together with a grin and asked,
"So… since I brought back such a valuable treasure for the village… shouldn't there be a reward?"
Tsunade, knowing exactly what he was thinking, waved him off.
"Go home first. Your reward will be transferred to your account in a few days."
Shinju grinned. "Alrighty then! ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )!"
...
After leaving the Hokage's Office, Shinju gazed at the towering castle standing outside Konoha.
By now, villagers were gathering in groups, pointing and whispering excitedly about the massive structure.
At that moment, Ino, who had been waiting patiently, walked up to Shinju with a carefully prepared bento box.
"Shinju-kun, I made this for you… dragging something that huge back here must've been exhausting."
Blushing, Ino shyly handed the bento to Shinju.
Shinju accepted it, then casually pulled out a shimmering piece of the Stone of Gelel from his pocket.
"Here. I heard this stone has endless potential uses. I haven't studied it yet, but it should be harmless to the body. It's yours."
Ino accepted the smooth, bluish-green gemstone from Shinju, her hands trembling slightly.
A gemstone!
(⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
Shinju… gave her a gemstone!
A boy giving a girl a gemstone — there was only one meaning behind that!
This was basically a token of affection!
Shinju-kun definitely liked her!!
With a blissful expression, Ino clenched the stone tightly in her hands.
When she got home tonight, she'd make it into a pendant and wear it every single day!
"Why's your face so red? Are you feeling sick?" Shinju asked.
As he spoke, he gently pressed his hand to her forehead in concern.
ヽ(〃∀〃)ﾉ
Ino felt like a steaming kettle, her face burning red as imaginary clouds of steam puffed out from her head…
Being touched by Shinju was too much — her legs went weak instantly!
"Shinju-kun, I… I'll go home now to help out at the shop…"
Finding an excuse, she turned and bolted away.
Shinju stared at her retreating figure, then glanced down at the hand that had touched her forehead.
Why'd she run away so fast?
Was he… not thoughtful enough?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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