"Swoosh!"
Another stone thorn shot out of the ground the moment Shiki beckoned.
It spun once in the air, then dropped neatly into his hand.
He pointed it straight at Sarutobi Shinnosuke, still pinned under his foot.
"You—!"
Shinnosuke opened his mouth, ready to roar in anger
But the words died instantly in his throat.
Because he finally saw Shiki's eyes clearly.
That coldness.
That arrogance.
That absolute, effortless dominance…
He would die.
If Shiki wanted, he would die here. Right now.
Shinnosuke's heart froze.
"W-Wait! Wa-Wait! I—I'm the Hokage's son! My father is the Third Hokage!"
Shinnosuke shouted desperately.
He didn't want to die.
He was a genius.
An elite jōnin at his age.
He had a future, a path, a destiny.
He couldn't die here.
"Oh?"
Shiki raised an eyebrow.
Some of the killing aura faded, though the stone thorn remained casually in his grip.
Shinnosuke exhaled sharply, relief flooding him.
He didn't feel ashamed for begging.
A ninja's pride meant nothing if it kept you alive.
"Shiki, listen—you're Konoha's hero. You have a bright future. Killing me would be… unwise. Very unwise."
His tone softened, but behind his forced calm, hatred was already taking root.
He would remember this humiliation.
He would repay it.
One day.
"Well, you're not wrong."
Shiki shifted his weight, still stepping on Shinnosuke's head, but now smiling.
Shinnosuke relaxed further.
At least he would live...
Then Shiki continued:
"But you came all the way here to cause trouble for me. If I just let you walk away… wouldn't that make me look bad?"
"…"
Shinnosuke almost fainted.
Your face or my life — which one is more important!?
Why did he come here!?
Why did he let Asuma influence him!?
Why did he pick a fight with a damn monster!?
Cutting through a Tailed Beast Bomb with a sword…
That wasn't exaggerated.
It was real.
And now he understood what kind of creature he had provoked.
Shiki noticed the panic in his eyes and smiled lightly.
"Relax. I won't kill you."
"I—I swear I won't trouble you ever again!"
Shinnosuke's vow felt like pure air — useless and meaningless.
Shiki didn't care.
"Right. I said I won't kill you."
He lifted the stone thorn slightly.
"But…"
Without warning—
SLASH!
The stone blade sliced cleanly.
Shinnosuke didn't even see it.
Only realized it when blood sprayed the ground.
His arm — the one pinned by the previous stone spike — fell away completely.
"AAAAHHH!"
His scream echoed across the forest.
Shiki didn't even look at the severed limb.
Retracting his foot from Shinnosuke's head, he spoke calmly:
"Alright. You can crawl away now."
Shinnosuke trembled, forcing himself up with his remaining arm.
His eyes were trembling with rage, hatred, disbelief.
He was a ninja.
And now he had lost an arm.
One-handed hand seals?
Even if they existed, mastering them would take years and he wasn't even sure he could.
His future as a shinobi… shattered.
"You—!"
He wanted to curse, to threaten, to shout—
But Shiki turned his head slightly and said:
"If you don't leave right now, I'll take your other arm too."
"…"
Shinnosuke's eyes reddened.
Veins throbbed across his forehead.
Without a single word more, he turned and fled.
His retreating silhouette disappeared among the trees.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Shiki waved his hand lightly, letting the earth settle back into place, as if nothing had happened.
He had deliberately let Shinnosuke live.
Because Shinnosuke himself wasn't the point.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was.
Shinnosuke was just the test.
Would the old Hokage swallow this?
Would he try to fight back?
Would he dare to confront Shiki while Tsunade was on the verge of becoming a true Kage-level powerhouse?
Shiki licked his teeth and smiled.
"Well… what a pleasant surprise."
After a month of boredom, something interesting had finally happened.
Without looking back, Shiki stepped into the forest and vanished.
Sarutobi Residence — Night
Sarutobi Shinnosuke staggered through the door.
"Shinnosuke!"
Biwako's face drained of all color.
Her son stood there covered in blood and missing an arm.
"Shinnosuke!! What—"
Before he could even respond, dizziness overwhelmed him.
His vision blurred, and he collapsed to the floor.
"Someone! Call the medic-nin! Hurry!"
Later, inside the Sarutobi house.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Hiruzen.
Biwako.
Shinnosuke, pale and bandaged.
Asuma, trembling in the corner.
Even after treatment, Shinnosuke was weak and gray-faced.
Hiruzen's voice was flat as he stared at Asuma.
"So. This all started because of you?"
Asuma opened his mouth—
But no sound came out.
The moment he returned home and saw his brother's condition, he nearly fainted.
Knowing Shiki did it because of him, Asuma didn't even dare breathe loudly.
"Hiruzen!"
Only Biwako dared call the Hokage by name.
"If you're angry, then be angry at the one who cut off our son's arm! Why scold Asuma!? Our son has lost an arm!"
Hiruzen slammed his pipe down.
"Do you think I wouldn't punish him if he struck first!? Even if he's the Golden Lion, if he attacked first — I would deal with him myself!
But—"
"But what!? You're the Hokage!"
"That's exactly the problem!
Because I am Hokage… I cannot act on personal anger!"
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