"Waaah!!"
Shigaraki Tanuki bent down, and light burst forth from behind him, ripping straight through the clothes wrapped around his body!
Shinju raised his eyes and saw the strange patterns etched across Shigaraki Tanuki's back.
As expected, this was Shigaraki Tanuki's method of communicating with the Gozu Tennō, and the bizarre title he had just shouted was the creature created under the "Gozu Tennō" plan!
The truth matched Shinju's expectations exactly.
Half a second later!
"Chi!"
A massive beast's front claw shot out from the pattern on Shigaraki Tanuki's back!!
"Boom!!" Smoke exploded upward!!
The entire monster was summoned out by Shigaraki Tanuki!
Shinju's gaze pierced through the smoke, and he saw the strange creature known as "Nue."
It stood thirty to forty meters tall, crouched low to the ground, with a monkey's face, limbs like a tiger's, and a tail writhing like a snake—at the tip of that tail was yet another mouth!
Shinju: →_→
All one could say was that this monster perfectly matched Danzo's aesthetic tastes—ugly beyond belief.
The moment the monster appeared, chaos erupted throughout the park.
People screamed and fled in all directions—some even forgot their own children…
Shinju covered his face, floated into the air, and clapped his hands together.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall Barrier!!"
"Ka-ka-ka—!!"
Dozens of earthen walls shot up from the ground, enclosing the gigantic Nue inside!
Nue wasn't one to be bullied either. The snake-like tail on its back opened its mouth and spat out dozens of small snakes!
"Swish swish swish—!!"
Those tail-snakes scattered, charging toward every civilian in the area, trying to siphon off their chakra!
On the ground, Shigaraki Tanuki looked ecstatic.
"Just a little more—absorb a bit more, and Nue can transform into its final form!"
"I'll turn the entire Leaf Village into ruins!! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
The words had barely fallen—
"Splash—!!"
A rain of blood poured down from the sky, drenching him until he was completely red!
Shigaraki Tanuki looked up in a daze and realized that the tail Nue used to absorb chakra had already been severed by Shinju's chakra blade!
Shinju spoke calmly,
"Shigaraki Tanuki, stop now, and I can consider leaving you an intact corpse. (*Ӧ)σ"
Shigaraki Tanuki immediately retorted,
"You think I care about something like that?! From the moment I decided to activate the 'Gozu Tennō,' I was already prepared to die! (*Ӧ)σ"
"Nue, absorb my chakra too! Go completely berserk!! ╰_╯" Shigaraki Tanuki roared arrogantly!
On the other side, the freshly maimed Nue stared warily at Shinju—then it heard Shigaraki Tanuki's suicidal declaration!
"Wah wah wah!!"
From the severed tail stump, countless small snakes burst out again, ready to drain Shigaraki Tanuki's chakra!
At the same moment, Shinju brought his palms together!
Before Shinju could even shout the name of his technique, the clever Nue's body began to twist, and a spatial vortex appeared across its surface!
"Whoosh!"
The spatial vortex vanished in an instant—Nue escaped, taking Shigaraki Tanuki with it!
At the same time, Shinju murmured,
"So it really can connect to another dimension."
Immediately after, the tomoe in his left eye spun, and his dōjutsu activated!!
...
Inside the alternate dimension.
Nue was a creature created by Shigaraki Tanuki using Hashirama cells. Since Danzo had positioned it as a biological weapon, it needed to be easy to carry.
Thus, through research into spacetime ninjutsu, Shigaraki Tanuki developed the "Gozu Tennō" seal, sealing Nue into an alternate dimension, allowing it to exist in the form of a mark—simple and convenient!
Now, using his dōjutsu, Shinju successfully connected to Nue's alternate dimension and arrived here.
He instantly confirmed that this was indeed where Nue lived—almost every corner was saturated with Nue's chakra.
"To be able to research something like this… in a way, Shigaraki Tanuki is quite a talent," Shinju said as he walked through the alternate space, following the chakra trail to find Nue.
This space was filled with gigantic trees and thick ropes. Not far away stood a ritual platform shaped like a massive tree root—Shinju could sense Sai's chakra lingering on it…
"The siphoned chakra is connected to this place…"
As soon as Shinju finished speaking, the sound of a massive beast charging came from behind him.
"Wood Release: Wooden Hand Technique!"
Shinju clapped his hands together and shouted!
"Whoosh!"
Several giant wooden hands burst out of the ground and firmly seized Nue!
Shinju turned his head, looked at the struggling Nue, and grinned.
"I didn't cut off your head earlier because I wanted to spare your life. You didn't seriously think you were all that, did you? (σ≧︎▽︎≦︎)σ"
Nue: (▼ヘ▼#)
Damn it!!
Getting played like this hurt more than being killed!!
Just then, a gust of wind came from behind Shinju—no need to think, it was Shigaraki Tanuki's sneak attack!
Shinju didn't even turn his head.
"Aoki-no-Mikoto!"
A clone appeared and restrained Shigaraki Tanuki in a single move!
After finishing that, Shinju looked at Shigaraki Tanuki's back and said,
"So anyone with this mark can control Nue, right."
Shigaraki Tanuki didn't answer—he snorted coldly and turned his head away!
Shinju got straight to the point.
"Help the village with research, and I can consider sparing your life."
Shigaraki Tanuki replied stubbornly,
"I'm loyal to Danzo-sama. I won't serve you! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)"
Shinju said,
"If you're loyal to Danzo-sama, you should know this better than anyone. Danzo, who craves power, also wants what's best for the Leaf Village. ┐(´-｀)┌"
"Even if you don't think of yourself, you should think about your wife. She's just an ordinary person—she shouldn't be dragged into ninja conflicts."
Shigaraki Tanuki kept up his tough act.
"As my wife, she should understand my intentions."
Shinju said,
"Then what about your daughter?"
That made Shigaraki Tanuki's expression change instantly: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
Shinju continued bluffing,
"You probably don't even know yet that your wife is already pregnant. It's a girl."
"You wouldn't want your daughter to be born without a father, right? And after you die… have you guessed what I might do to your wife and child? ( ´▽` )"
Shigaraki Tanuki hesitated.
Shinju pressed the advantage and hit him with a genjutsu, making him see the evils Danzo had committed—and the happy life he could have after working for Shinju.
After that, Shinju directly stripped the "Gozu Tennō" mark from Shigaraki Tanuki's back and tossed him into the genjutsu space to reflect properly.
...
Back in Shinju Park, Naruto and the others arrived late.
"Hey, what happened here?" Naruto grabbed a passerby and asked.
"It wasn't a big deal. A monkey-looking monster showed up, then the Sixth disappeared together with it," the passerby replied casually, looking excited. "It's only been half a year, and the Sixth-sama has gotten stronger and stronger! ୧⍢⃝୨"
After understanding the situation, Naruto scratched his head.
"A monkey-looking monster?"
Shikamaru walked out of the crowd and patted Naruto on the shoulder.
"Relax. You know how strong Shinju is, don't you? (๑ت๑)"
As soon as Shikamaru finished speaking, Shinju stepped out of the alternate dimension and appeared in front of Naruto.
Shikamaru:
"Handled?"
Shinju nodded and shook the piece of back skin carved with the Gozu Tennō seal in his hand.
Naruto: !!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
"You… this… isn't this way too cruel?!"
Shinju:
"Relax. I already healed him. 눈_눈"
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