If no one surpassed him in detoxification, then if he could neutralize poisons so thoroughly, how could he possibly be incapable of creating them?
Now that he had said it, the people present found that, after thinking it over, his words were not empty arrogance after all.
"Kid! You…"
Just as Pakura was about to angrily rebuke him, Shinichi casually flicked his wrist, producing three small bottles in his palm, and with a casual toss, the bottles flew steadily toward Pakura.
"Take them. These are three poisons I've personally formulated. Bring them back and let Chiyo have a look. If she can find a way to neutralize even one of them within three days…"
Shinichi paused before saying calmly,
"I, Shinichi Higashino, will personally present my own head."
In truth, Shinichi had long since become the world's foremost expert in poison techniques.
Not only did he possess top-tier medical knowledge, but he also had the Gourmet talent, which allowed him to discern the minute composition of any ingredient. Any poison that entered his mouth could be completely analyzed down to its components and proportions, and fundamentally speaking, poison and medicine differed only in their composition.
It was simply that Shinichi had never been particularly interested in poison techniques. He had always kept his distance from any methods that might tarnish his bright and upright public image.
As for these three poisons, let alone giving Chiyo three days, even if she were given an entire week, she still would not be able to discover a cure.
She was indeed a master when it came to creating poisons, but in terms of detoxification, she was far inferior to Tsunade.
In the original timeline, she had been completely helpless against the poison Sasori had inflicted upon Kankuro. In the end, it was only Tsunade's student, Sakura, who managed to cure him.
At the beginning of the month, Shinichi had deliberately given these three poisons to Tsunade for testing, and it had taken her a full seven days to barely find a cure for just one of them.
If even Tsunade had struggled so much, then Chiyo stood even less of a chance.
Hearing this, Pakura's expression immediately changed as she stared uncertainly at the three small bottles in her hand.
The expressions of everyone else present changed as well, every pair of eyes locking onto those three plain-looking little bottles in Pakura's hands.
"Of course, you all get a share too."
As he spoke, Shinichi flipped his hand once more, producing another three sets of poisons, which he tossed one by one toward the representatives of the other Three Great Ninja Villages.
"You can also take them back and try to find a cure. The same words apply to all of you."
A Yotsuki's face darkened as he shifted his gaze from the bottle in his hand and glared at the young man before him.
"Shinichi Higashino, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"What am I trying to say?"
Shinichi tilted his head slightly and looked calmly at A.
"I'm trying to make one thing perfectly clear to all of you. Not only am I the greatest master of poison techniques in the world today, but I am also among the very best in the world when it comes to tracking, infiltration, and disguise. I believe Village Hidden in the Cloud, in particular, should understand this quite well."
At those words, A Yotsuki's expression became even uglier, while Darui's pupils suddenly shrank and his expression changed dramatically as though he had thought of something utterly terrifying.
Poison and infiltration, once those two concepts were combined, it meant… As though to confirm the unease surging through Darui's heart, the young man continued in the same casual tone, as if chatting about everyday matters.
"So everyone here had better be careful. Don't ever give me an opportunity to infiltrate your villages, because if I happen to get inside..."
He raised his eyes, slowly sweeping his gaze across the representatives of the Four Great Ninja Villages.
"I might end up poisoning every single person in your village to death."
The instant those words were spoken, it was as though someone had pressed a pause button over the entire conference hall.
Deathly silence.
Everyone's faces turned pale, and it wasn't only the representatives of the Four Great Ninja Villages; even the delegates from the smaller nations and the journalists in the audience felt a chill run down their spines.
A man who could fly, infiltrate, and possessed the world's greatest poison techniques; if he truly intended to do such a thing, who could stop him? Who could defend against him?
"Are you threatening us? Do you really think you can do it?" A Yotsuki finally asked through gritted teeth after a long silence, his face extremely grim.
"You may take it as a threat. As for whether I can do it, you are welcome to wait and see. To satisfy your curiosity, I can even make your village my first target."
"You…"
A Yotsuki's expression changed drastically, and just as he was about to continue, Darui quickly grabbed him and shook his head, signaling him not to act rashly.
This was no joke.
Even if Shinichi Higashino could not actually poison an entire village to death, if someone like him infiltrated their water supply or granaries and tampered with them, the consequences would be equally disastrous.
Not to mention that he wouldn't be limited to infiltrating only once. If he came several more times, Village Hidden in the Cloud might truly have very few people left.
"Hmph!"
Held back by Darui, A Yotsuki's expression shifted repeatedly, but in the end he merely snorted coldly and said nothing further.
Shinichi paid him no more attention and instead gestured toward Minato Namikaze, who had remained silent throughout.
"I believe everyone here is already very familiar with this man, the famous Yellow Flash. When it comes to space-time Ninjutsu, there is no one equal to him in the world today."
"Those from Village Hidden in the Mist and Village Hidden in the Cloud, during your previous battles against us, I'm sure you've already experienced firsthand how troublesome Senior Minato is. You've also picked up his specially made kunai and taken them back for study, hoping to find a way to counter his space–time ninjutsu, haven't you?"
Shinichi spoke unhurriedly, his gaze sweeping over Yagura and A Yotsuki, whose expressions had grown noticeably unnatural.
"But what I want to say is that it isn't only me who has restricted my own methods."
"Even Senior Minato has been restricting himself."
'When have I been restricting myself?'
A question mark appeared in Minato's mind, yet his expression remained unchanged as he maintained his usual smile.
"Senior Minato could leave a mark somewhere inside your village beforehand, infiltrate whenever he pleased, kill a group of people, leave whenever he gets tired to return to Konoha and recover, then come back after resting."
"Today he killed five people. Tomorrow he kills ten. Coming and going as he pleases, repeating the cycle endlessly while completely ignoring distance. One day, he could slaughter enough of your villagers to wipe out an entire generation, leaving behind only survivors who lived in constant terror, too afraid even to sleep!"
Shinichi paused before curling his lips into a playful smile.
"And perhaps this version of Senior Minato, freed from his self-imposed restraints, could be called... Minato's Homecoming."