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"What is it, Karin?" After a month, Karin's mastery of Sky Dragon Slayer Magic had become more solid. However, she still wasn't a match for Deidara and Itachi, which spurred Karin to train even harder. But the gap was visibly shrinking, and inspired by Karin, Deidara and Itachi also began to train diligently. They couldn't help it; Karin's current progress was simply too rapid, giving them both a sense of crisis.
"Karin seems to have heard some news about the front lines on the street just now~" Karin sat down beside Shinji, speaking as if seeking praise.
"Oh? Then tell me, Karin," Shinji patted Karin's small head. The pressure made Karin narrow her eyes, looking quite content.
"I heard that Kumogakure's... Eight-Tails Jinchūriki Ki... Killer something has also arrived on the battlefield," Karin hadn't forgotten the information and relayed it directly.
"Killer Bee is on the battlefield?" Shinji was stunned. Kumogakure was really serious this time. Not only the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, but even the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee, had arrived on the battlefield.
"Yeah, the atmosphere on the streets has been very tense these past few days," Karin picked up a pear from the table and began munching on it.
"Then it seems..." Shinji fell silent for a moment. Both of Kumogakure's Jinchūriki could perfectly utilize the power of their Tailed Beasts. Meaning their presence was equivalent to four Kage-level fighters on the field. Konoha's current manpower was simply insufficient to contend with them. Meaning, Konoha would definitely make some other moves.
Who would go? Hiruzen Sarutobi? Danzō? Or someone else?
Moreover, some time ago, without the support of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, Mitokado Homura suffered several setbacks on the battlefield. This infuriated Hiruzen Sarutobi, who directly ordered Shikaku Nara and the others back to the front lines. Furthermore, command of the battlefield was once again placed in Shikaku Nara's hands, which stabilized the somewhat deteriorating situation.
"Most likely... this time it will be Clan Head Fugaku or Hiashi Hyūga going together?" Shinji chuckled lightly. Under these circumstances, someone from Konoha definitely needed to go. And it had to be a Kage-level powerhouse.
The options were limited; the Sannin weren't available, so the best candidates were Fugaku Uchiha and the others. As for Danzō... According to Shisui's intelligence, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want Danzō out of his sight right now. And the Fourth Raikage hadn't appeared on the battlefield yet. So Hiruzen Sarutobi himself couldn't possibly appear on the battlefield first.
After all, he was the leader of the strongest hidden village. Appearing on the battlefield just like that would be quite embarrassing, wouldn't it? Remember, he held the title of the 'Strongest' Hokage!
"Lord Shinji, what are you talking about?" Karin had just finished eating a pear, washed her hands, and returned to her seat.
"Nothing. By the way Karin, call Deidara. Let's go to the training ground together. Just in time to see your current level," Shinji stood up and began tidying the tea tray and other things.
"Okay!" Receiving the order, Karin instantly perked up, getting up directly and heading to Deidara's door.
"Deidara, open the door quickly! I know you're home! Don't hide inside without making a sound, I know you're home! You have the guts to be inside with Itachi, how come you don't have the guts to open the door?"
Hearing Karin's fierce words, Shinji felt somewhat helpless. What kind of aggressive confrontation was this?
"What's all the noise? We're training!" Deidara opened the door somewhat impatiently. What was puzzling, however, was why he looked somewhat disheveled? And Itachi behind him looked the same. Emm... Hmm? What was going on here?
"Lord Shinji said we should go to the training ground to see our current strength," Karin stated bluntly. After all, Shinji's words were like gospel to her. Understand or not, execute.
"Go to the training ground?" Deidara clearly wasn't very keen on going.
"Let's go then, Deidara. I won't lose this time," As soon as Itachi heard Karin's words, his eyes immediately began to sparkle. His current battles against Deidara mostly ended in defeat, but recently Itachi felt his combat ability seemed to have improved, so he planned to take Deidara down in one go!
"Hehe? Itachi, have you gotten a bit arrogant lately? Let's go then, let's go. See if I don't beat you down again this time!" Hearing Itachi's words, Deidara instantly flared up. Wasn't it just a fight? Who's afraid? Provoked by Itachi like this, Deidara was actually the first one downstairs.
Following Shinji, the group arrived at the training ground. Upon arrival, Deidara and Itachi immediately went to opposite ends of the training ground, both looking at each other. Although Deidara always said he didn't take Itachi seriously, he had seen Itachi's progress during this time, so...
"Alright, let's begin now," Shinji had不知何时 (unknown when) sat down under a parasol on one side of the training ground, watching the two with great interest. It was practically love and killing.
Karin didn't slack off either, carefully watching the battle between them from the side.
The great battle was imminent. Itachi and Deidara instantly clashed. At the beginning, neither used ninjutsu, instead attacking each other with the most basic physical combat. The feeling of fist and foot meeting flesh gave Shinji a sense of novelty.
Gradually, gradually. Both began using ninjutsu. Exploding Clay and Fire Release techniques bombarded each other instantly, causing the smell of smoke and fire to constantly appear in the training ground.
"Eh, Lord Shinji, there seems to be someone over there?" After obtaining the Sky Dragon's magic, Karin's perception of changes in the surrounding air had greatly increased. Combined with her inherently strong sensory ability, the Kagura Mind's Eye, sometimes Karin's perception ability even surpassed Deidara's and Itachi's by a large margin.
"Someone?" Shinji narrowed his eyes. The training ground was a very remote location. After all, it was a place for ninjas to train. If it were within the dense village area, it could easily cause unnecessary damage.
"Yeah, a woman and a small baby, over there," Karin raised her hand and pointed towards the distance of the training ground, where there was a large forest.
"I'll go take a look," Shinji thought for a moment. Anyway, there wasn't much to do now. The battle between Deidara and Itachi wouldn't end anytime soon. Taking a stroll wouldn't affect anything.
"Lord Shinji, then I'll go with you," Seeing Shinji intending to leave, Karin immediately chimed in from the side.
"No need, Karin. Just stay here and observe their battle. Only by familiarizing yourself with their fighting styles can you defeat them faster," Shinji patted Karin's hair. He knew that after obtaining the Sky Dragon Slayer Magic, Karin's future achievements would definitely not be bad.
"But..." Karin hesitated slightly. On one hand, she did have the thought of defeating Itachi and Deidara to impress Shinji. But on the other hand, it was true that she also wanted to stay by Shinji's side always.
"It's alright, Karin. Just stay here. I won't get into trouble," Shinji knew what Karin was thinking. After a slight smile, he turned and walked towards the direction indicated earlier. Watching Shinji's back, Karin knew Shinji would only say these words to her out of great trust. Therefore, she couldn't betray Shinji's trust. After figuring all this out, Karin turned around, sat down where Shinji had been sitting, and continued to observe the battle between Deidara and Itachi very seriously.
...
...
Meanwhile, the departed Shinji walked unhurriedly into the forest, following the direction Karin had pointed out earlier, step by step. After leaving the training ground some distance behind, the sounds of battle between Deidara and Itachi could no longer be heard. Replacing them were the various sounds of the forest. Birds chirping, the rustling sounds of small animals running quickly, all entered Shinji's ears.
Gradually, gradually. Shinji went deeper and deeper into the forest. Until... he arrived at the location Karin mentioned earlier.
At this moment, a woman was holding a baby in her arms. In front of them was a small river. And by the riverside, the woman held the baby, her back facing Shinji. Although her back was turned, Shinji could still feel a strong killing intent emanating from her. Moreover, the target of this killing intent was actually the small baby in her arms? What was going on?
Shinji narrowed his eyes, not alerting her, but observing carefully from behind.
"Why!? Why are you still alive!?"
"You killed my child! Why are you still kept alive!?"
"I can't accept it! I can't accept it!"
"Finally! Finally, I encountered such an opportunity!"
"Since Lord Hokage won't kill you, then... let me kill you!"
"You damned demon fox!!! Give me back my son's life!!!"
The woman kept muttering some words, then placed the baby in her arms on a large rock by the river.
'Naruto?' Shinji's brow furrowed slightly. From the woman's words just now, and the appearance of the baby placed on the rock. A small child with yellow hair, blue eyes, and several whisker marks on his cheeks stared wide-eyed at the woman, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Then, a small knife, like one for peeling apples, suddenly appeared in the woman's hand. The knife was raised high and stabbed down fiercely, the target precisely Naruto!
Just at this moment, a layer of golden light suddenly appeared in Shinji's hand. And where the light surged, a small shield was about to take shape.
Clang!!!
This sound wasn't the sound of a kunai stabbing Shinji's Jade Shield, but... In Shinji's frowning sight. Streaks of orange light suddenly erupted from Naruto's body. And within this orange light was an uncomfortable feeling, like being filled with hatred!
Moreover, with the appearance of this orange light, the first person affected was the woman in front of Naruto! The huge energy fluctuation instantly blasted the woman's body away. And after being blasted away, the woman just fell backward and fainted after seeing Shinji.
Watching this scene before him, Shinji frowned and walked forward. At this moment, the small child with yellow hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks had changed. Large amounts of orange light directly enveloped Naruto's body. And after this orange light appeared, the blue pupils in Naruto's eyes had changed, directly turning into a pair of scarlet red eyes. Not only that, the sharp teeth in his mouth had emerged, and his whole person glared fiercely at Shinji.
"It's you!!! Although your appearance is different from before! I won't mistake this aura!!!" At this moment, Naruto's mind was already controlled by the Nine-Tails within him, his entire being filled with hatred. He would absolutely not mistake the aura of the man before him. Back then, this man subdued him with just a falling meteor.
This was far more terrifying than Hashirama Senju, who previously picked him up with one hand while saying 'you're too dangerous'. Moreover, even the feeling of his previous master, the Sage of Six Paths, made the Nine-Tails feel terrified.
But the Nine-Tails wasn't the type of Tailed Beast to easily admit defeat. On the contrary, sensing that Shinji's aura was now less than one-tenth of what it was, the Nine-Tails was already eager for revenge!
...
...
And just as the Nine-Tails within Naruto's body was activated, Hiruzen Sarutobi, far away in the Hokage's office, instantly stood up. He detected the Nine-Tails' aura the moment it appeared. Moreover, the Nine-Tails' aura wasn't hidden at all, but spread directly outward from the riverside.
Everyone in Konoha still remembered this aura. The Nine-Tails attack was less than half a year ago. If many villagers had nightmares, nine times out of ten the protagonists of the nightmare were the Nine-Tails and Naruto!
The Nine-Tails... is coming again?! This was the first thought of everyone who sensed this aura. After all, the night of the Nine-Tails attack made everyone feel helpless. If it weren't for Minato Namikaze sacrificing himself to re-seal the Nine-Tails in the end, then Konoha at that time would have been at least half destroyed by the Nine-Tails. And now, the Nine-Tails' aura had actually appeared once again?!
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> Check my: [email protected]/ShixT9 for extra 60 Chapters
> Each 50 Spirit Stones I will release an extra chapter
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