At the same time, in Sunagakure.
Unlike the livable environment around Konoha, Sunagakure was surrounded by endless desert.
The village was built right in the middle of the desert, with houses stacked from yellow sandstone bricks.
At this moment, on the vast sands outside the village, two figures — one tall, one short — walked slowly side by side.
Both of them wore black cloaks adorned with red cloud patterns.
"Sasori-senpai, have you heard? This generation's One-Tails jinchūriki isn't simple at all. So young, yet already became Kazekage," the taller man said casually.
Beside him, the man called "Sasori-senpai" was shorter and broader, like a crouching predator ready to strike.
But strangely, where "Sasori" walked, he didn't leave footprints — instead, a long groove dragged behind him in the sand.
Sasori spoke, his tone calm and certain:
"No matter how strong he is, he's just a boy. He'll fall before my puppet art."
"Explosion is art," the tall man countered firmly.
"Puppets are art," Sasori insisted.
"Art is eternal beauty, Deidara. Explosions are just toys for children," the shorter man rasped, his voice rough but undeniably commanding.
However, when it came to the topic of "art," Deidara clearly had his own bottom line.
Even though Sasori was his senpai, he refused to back down.
"Explosion is art! True art should pursue the brilliance of a fleeting moment!"
Sasori knew that arguing with Deidara about art — even for ten years — would lead nowhere.
He simply changed the subject, glancing forward.
"We're almost there. Sunagakure."
"This time, leave it to me!" Deidara said excitedly.
Sasori nodded.
"Fine. Make it quick. You know I hate waiting."
"Relax, Sasori-senpai. I promise," Deidara replied confidently.
Then, without warning, he pulled out a small clay bird from somewhere.
"Haa!"
After forming hand seals, the tiny clay bird rapidly expanded, swelling into a massive clay eagle four to five meters long.
Deidara leapt onto the clay eagle and soared high above Sunagakure…
...
At the same time, in Konoha's Fifth Training Ground.
The moment Tenten announced the start of the match, everyone rushed toward Shinju.
Naruto, charging ahead, noticed Shinju showing signs of opening the Eight Gates and quickly stopped him.
"Wait! You can't open more than the Sixth Gate," Naruto warned.
"That jutsu damages your body. I don't want you overusing it."
Shinju: (||๐_๐)
"If I lose, I lose, whatever. Why make it sound like you're worried about me?"┐(´-｀)┌
Naruto, whose real thoughts were exposed, still shamelessly explained:
"Once you open the Sixth Gate or above, your speed gets so crazy that we can't even follow you with our eyes. How are we supposed to fight you then…"
Shinju sighed helplessly and nodded.
"Fine, fine, I'll follow your rules. Happy now?" →_→
"Any other conditions?" Shinju asked.
"Better tell me all of them now."
Naruto and the rest of the Konoha Twelve thought for a moment, then shook their heads.
"That's all."
Shinju grinned, his expression full of quiet confidence.
"Good. Then I'll begin."
Everyone narrowed their eyes. Why was he so confident?
They'd already banned his Wood Release, Flying Thunder God, and Ice Release. Could Shinju still have some secret trump card?!
The next moment—
In the arena, everyone's expressions froze!
They saw Shinju's right eye transform into a windmill-patterned Sharingan!
Oh no — a Sharingan genjutsu!
But before anyone could react, they were all pulled into Shinju's genjutsu space!
Inside the illusion, a blazing golden sun hung high above!
On the sun's surface, patterns of Shinju's windmill-shaped Sharingan rotated ominously!
Then, the sunlight grew blindingly intense!
A pillar of divine light descended from the sun, enveloping everyone trapped within the genjutsu!
Kotoamatsukami!!!
...
The genjutsu ended.
Back in reality, Naruto and the others gasped for breath, drenched in sweat.
Just now, within Shinju's genjutsu, their consciousness had been crushed to dust by the overwhelming brilliance of his divine light!
The mental damage was enormous!
"Do you want to surrender?" Shinju asked casually.
He'd deliberately held back his power.
Otherwise, Naruto and the others might already be unconscious on the ground.
"Quit joking around! This was supposed to be a challenge, not a one-sided massacre!" Naruto snapped.
"Exactly," Neji said through trembling lips. "We can't just let you wipe us out without even landing a hit…"
Lee straightened his body despite his exhaustion, striking a fighting pose.
"Please… continue to teach us!"
Shikamaru: ¯\(ツ)/¯
"This is such a drag… why am I suffering for no reason?"
"I told you I didn't want to come, but nooo, someone had to drag me here!"
"Shikamaru, now's not the time to complain! You're the smart one here — hurry up and think of a way to beat Shinju!" Kiba said anxiously.
They were getting crushed by just one person. If word got out, they'd never live it down!
After Kiba spoke, everyone's eyes naturally turned to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru: (꒪⌓꒪)
"Why are you all looking at me? Against absolute strength, all strategy is pointless fluff…"
Saying that, Shikamaru gave them a meaningful wink.
The rest subtly shifted position, placing Shikamaru safely at the back.
Then, from behind the group, Shikamaru clasped his hands together:
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Whoosh!!
Shikamaru's shadow shot forward instantly, stretching all the way to Shinju's feet, connecting with his shadow!
But even while restrained, Shinju showed no fear.
"You can control my shadow," he said calmly, "but you can't control my eyes."
In the next instant, Shinju's entire body erupted with green light!
A skeletal framework of green chakra rapidly formed around him, enclosing his entire figure!
At the training ground's entrance—
Kakashi arrived just in time to witness this, and froze on the spot.
This… this… this…
ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
Single-eyed… Susanoo?!!
Even though it was only the basic skeletal form, this was already insane!
Could Shinju really wield the Uchiha clan's Sharingan freely?!
Inside the arena, the other Konoha Twelve stared wide-eyed:
∑(✘Д✘๑),(⊙o⊙),Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!!!
Beads of sweat rolled down Shikamaru's forehead.
"I've read about this in Konoha's archives… It's called Susanoo. Some even call it 'the power of the gods.' Offense and defense combined… it's terrifying."
The next moment, a massive hand formed on the Susanoo skeleton surrounding Shinju!
The hand swung down fiercely toward the group!
Boom!!!
The ground quaked violently as the hand slammed into the earth.
Naruto pointed at the Susanoo armor encasing Shinju, his voice trembling.
"That's cheating! I trained with you for three years — why have you never used this armor before?! ╭(°A°`)╮"
Shinju: ┐(´-｀)┌
"We only ever fought weaklings during those three years. Didn't need it."
"And using Susanoo against you guys now… Think of it as my acknowledgment of your strength."
Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others were left speechless.
They didn't want this kind of recognition!
All they wanted was to beat Shinju just once… why was it so damn hard?!
Afterward, Naruto and the rest unleashed everything they had, launching one desperate attack after another — but Shinju effortlessly countered them all.
Half an hour later, they finally surrendered.