After finishing those things, Shinju heard Naruto calling from below.
"Shinju!"
"Can you take us up there to play?!"
In all his life, Naruto had never seen a wooden giant that towered hundreds of meters tall!
"Sure."
With that, Shinju descended and used the Flying Thunder God to bring Naruto and Sasuke up to stand on the giant wooden man's head.
The moment he arrived, Naruto shouted "Whoa! Whoa!" nonstop.
Sasuke, with his usual pride, didn't want to show surprise—but standing atop a hundred-meter giant, gazing down at the world beneath him, he couldn't help but breathe faster!
"How on earth did you pull this off, Shinju?"
Naruto asked curiously.
"I… first I did this, then I did that, and it just worked…"
Shinju felt it wasn't something he could explain clearly, so he brushed it off casually.
Naruto, Sasuke: "￣□￣｜｜…"
...
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
Raikage's office.
Every Raikage inherited the name "A." The Fourth Raikage was no exception.
At this moment, A was gripping the latest intel from his spy ninja, pupils contracting sharply.
"Another genius in Konoha who can use Wood Release?!"
Killer B, serving as the Raikage's assistant, sat nearby, shrugging indifferently.
"Didn't we already hear this before? That Wood Release guy even joined the Anbu."
"Idiot! I mean a new one! The red-haired one! The kid who mastered Flying Thunder God!"
A roared irritably, temper flaring at once.
"Flying Thunder God and Wood Release combined? Konoha's playing a dangerous game! Using human experimentation… that's crossing the line! Skr~"
As B spoke, he struck a rap pose.
A: "…"
(ー_ー)!!
Others in the Raikage's office: "…"
(||๐_๐)
"B, your rapping's getting worse and worse. ┑(￣Д ￣)┍" A muttered.
"According to reliable intel, this red-haired kid didn't go through Konoha's human experiments. Most likely, he inherited the Wood Release bloodline limit…" the reporting spy explained.
"I see… Back then, just one Yellow Flash was already troublesome enough. And now, another one shows up—a Flying Thunder God user who also wields Wood Release…"
A's brows furrowed into one knot.
Konoha was already the strongest of the Five Great Villages. And now they had birthed a monstrously powerful young Wood Release user.
It was starting to look like dominance…
"We need to find a way to kill this young ninja. He's only thirteen, right? Some things must be dealt with while he's still young!"
After a long hesitation, A's gaze turned ice-cold as he gave the order.
At the same time in Kirigakure and Iwagakure…
The Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei, and the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, gave the exact same order as the Fourth Raikage A.
...
Two days after the Chūnin Exams.
Konoha was in the middle of post-disaster reconstruction.
Thanks to Shinju unleashing his true strength, the village had suffered minimal casualties during the Chūnin Exams upheaval.
A close call, but no real danger.
Because the exam was sabotaged midway by Suna and Oto, Shinju and Gaara's final match had been left unfinished.
But everyone had seen Shinju summon that colossal wooden giant—an earth-shaking sight!
So when it came to promoting Shinju to Chūnin, no one had any objections.
Chūnin equated to a squad leader, requiring both strength and brains.
But Shinju was different. He had earth-shattering power. His strength was so overwhelming that he didn't even need brains.
Some even proposed skipping straight ahead and promoting Shinju to Jōnin.
After all, his strength already surpassed that level.
However, this suggestion was quickly vetoed by the Third Hokage.
Shinju was still young. Leading a team alone on high-level missions as a Jōnin was far too early.
Moreover, Shinju had now become the brightest star in the entire shinobi world, inevitably drawing the covetous eyes of many.
He must be protected!
This boy was Konoha's hope for the future!
At that time, Shinju and Naruto were training in their room.
Naruto had already mastered the use of the Rasengan.
Shinju intended to also teach him its advanced version—the Rasenshuriken.
"Shinju, have you noticed? Lately, there've been lots of strange people hanging around near our house."
Naruto asked during training.
Shinju nodded.
With his powerful chakra sensing, there was no way such people could escape his notice.
"Who are they?" Naruto asked.
"Most of them are Anbu sent to protect us. A few are here to kill me."
Shinju replied flatly.
The moment he had decided to reveal Wood Release, he had anticipated this outcome.
A Wood Release user capable of Sage Arts was enough to make every shinobi village wary—perhaps even fearful.
"Someone wants to kill you?!"
Naruto's voice shot up before he quickly realized he was too loud, slapping a hand over his mouth.
"Normal. I've already run into several waves these past few days."
Shinju's tone remained calm.
Naruto, seeing Shinju's complete indifference, could only nod reluctantly.
"Fine…"
"By the way, have you heard? This whole operation where Suna attacked Konoha—it turns out Orochimaru tricked them."
"Orochimaru killed the Fourth Kazekage and impersonated him, then spread false orders, sending all of Sunagakure's shinobi to attack Konoha…"
"Now, after negotiations, Konoha and Sunagakure have already restored their alliance."
"I just don't get it—how can we ally again with a village that betrayed us?" Naruto said angrily.
"You don't understand. Between villages, what matters most is profit."
Shinju explained like a teacher: "Right now, Konoha is in the spotlight. Having one more ally is better than having one more enemy…"
After training a little longer, Shinju stood up.
"What should we eat tonight? I'll go buy groceries."
Naruto instantly put on a pitiful look.
"Or we could save the trouble and go to Ichiraku Ramen? We haven't eaten there in forever!"
Shinju thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright."
He still had some money left from the Chūnin Exam. Plus, after saving the village with his Wood Release, he'd received another 100,000 ryo as a reward.
So at the moment, Shinju was fairly well-off.
...
On a rooftop in Konoha.
Jiraiya held a telescope, peeking at the "women's bathhouse" and drooling.
Halfway through, Jiraiya seemed to sense something.
"Sensei, you came to peek with me too?"
Jiraiya spoke up.
Standing behind him was the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Wearing the Hokage's hat, pipe in his mouth, hands clasped behind his back, Hiruzen said gravely:
"Jiraiya, you should focus on something proper. You can't waste your days drowning in women and lust."
"Today's bathers are something else though—their figures are perfect. Slender waists, round hips… and there's even a ...."
Jiraiya ignored Hiruzen completely, continuing his muttering.
"I'm getting old now. I can't stay Hokage for much longer… Konoha needs a young Hokage." Hiruzen went on.
"I picked this peeking spot perfectly. Absolutely won't be discovered."
Jiraiya spoke seriously, still glued to his telescope.
Hiruzen: "Really? (◔◡◔)"
Jiraiya: "Really! ( ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧"
The Third Hokage reached over, trying to snatch the telescope.
"Is that so? Then let me see!! (´◊ω◊｀)"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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