Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Chapter 200 A Little Gift for Chiyo

Wind Release: Net Technique is one of Shamon's signature Wind Release ninjutsu. Compared to the ordinary Net Technique,

He took a different approach, utilizing the terrain to mix sand into his wind-style technique, giving it greater destructive power.

Indeed, yellow sand is the true romance of the ninjas of the Land of Wind!

Shamon watched with satisfaction as the sand flew around with the wind, a smug look appearing in his eyes.

A fierce yellow wind, carrying sand and gravel, cast a net across the sky, determined to bring the elusive Zuo Ling to justice.

But as the net closed in, Shamon discovered that his meticulously prepared ninjutsu hadn't caught a single hair.

He then frowned and looked up at the sky. What he saw made his mouth gape open, and he didn't even notice the sand that had been swirling into his mouth.

The monk, who had been so confident of victory just moments before, now stared blankly at Zuo Ling, his bald head held high and his narrow eyes wide, his jaw dropping in astonishment.

"Can it really fly?"

"Ahem. Technology~ It's all technology~"

Faced with the shocked Shamon, and realizing that Otsutsuki technology was indeed far ahead of its time, Gin Uchiha quickly tried to laugh it off.

In this day and age, even the art of puppetry hasn't been invented yet, and he's already created Iron Man himself—it's truly a case of dimensional reduction.

"Zuo Ling, finish this quickly."

Seeing that the battle between Zuo Ling and Sha Men had reached a stalemate, Uchiha Gin had no choice but to use chakra to transmit the command to the puppet floating in the air.

They've already started air combat; that won't do. If this drags on any longer, I won't even have time to eat dinner when I get home.

"."

Sensing the command entering her body, a glint flashed in Zuo Ling's yellow eyes. She then swooped down towards the guarding Shamen on the ground.

"Hmph~ I've never met a worthy opponent in hand-to-hand combat!"

Looking at Zuo Ling rushing towards him, Shamen sneered. How could a mere puppet compare to my powerful physique? Besides, he has the Dragon Vein Chakra protecting him, so ordinary people can't even get close to him.

"I hope your mouth is harder than my fist."

Zuo Ling, who was swooping down, extended a delicate fist, which was wrapped in light blue chakra, and smashed it toward Shamon's big face.

Facing Zuo Ling's seemingly light punch, the arrogant Shamen didn't take it seriously at all.

As a guardian of the dragon vein, as long as one is within the Loulan territory, one can receive the protection of the dragon vein's power, forming a light purple chakra cloak around the body, which can easily block damage from ordinary taijutsu.

"I am protected by the dragon vein; ordinary physical techniques cannot even scratch me. Ugh~"

But this time, he really bit off more than he could chew. The large face of the monk was struck squarely by Zuo Ling's small fist.

His once prominent nose bridge was dented by the punch, and blood gushed out instantly.

"I see you're a woman, so I'll give you three moves. Come on, I have two more moves left."

Despite the stinging pain in his face, Shamen covered his nose, stubbornly continuing to argue.

Upon hearing this, Zuo Ling decided not to tolerate him. A primordial power erupted from the power furnace within her body, and several arms sprouted from her back, enveloped in a pale blue light, and attacked Shamen's fat face from both sides.

"Snap~ thud~ crack~ thud~"

"what……"

After a series of crackling sounds, a heart-wrenching wail echoed from the depths of the desert.

Shamen, whose head had been swollen like a pig's head by Zuo Ling, lay on his back on the sand, his small eyes completely obscured by swollen eye sockets, with only a babbling brook flowing slowly down between them.

"Waaaaah~ Why did you only slap my face? What if I'm disfigured?"

Shamon, whose only injury was to his face, opened his swollen, sausage-like lips. Even though his eyes were not visible, Uchiha Gin could see a deep sense of confusion in his disfigured face.

"I'm not entirely sure if Zuo Ling is a fully automated puppet; maybe it's just that your face is too mocking~"

Having just received a notification that he had gained +1 system energy point, Uchiha Gin waved to summon back the still-dejected Zuo Ling, and walked up to the tearful Shamon.

Looking at the blue dragon that had turned into a pig-like insect on the other person's head, he suppressed his laughter and spoke with "sincere" apology,

"Brother Shamen, I'm so sorry, Zuo Ling was a bit rough. But you should be fine. With your face, disfigurement is the same as plastic surgery."

"Waaaaah~"

The monk, feeling utterly hopeless, could only stare at the blazing sun in the sky and shed tears of the pain of growing up.

"Mr. Yin, are you really not going to stay a few more days?"

At the gate of the Loulan camp, Shamen, trying to conceal his grotesque appearance, tightly wrapped his face, which was swollen like a pig's head, with a large face towel. Looking at Uchiha Gin, who was fully prepared for battle, a muffled voice came from beneath the towel.

"Brother Shamen, we hit it off immediately. We should have been enjoying wine and conversation about the world, but unfortunately, war has broken out, and I can't bear to worry my family. So I have to leave now. I hope that when we meet again, the turmoil in the Kingdom of Wind will have subsided and the world will be at peace."

Carrying a large bag of local specialties given to him by the monk, Uchiha Gin tightened the dry rations hanging on his body, his tone full of reluctance.

The prison guards in the Land of Wind are so honest and kind; I can't bear to keep taking advantage of them here.

"Thank you for your kind words, the winds of the Land of Wind will stop."

Upon hearing this, a decision flashed through Shamon's mind, and he immediately reached out his hand to Uchiha Gin.

"Mr. Yin, thank you!"

"Oh, you're being too polite."

A little bewildered by the sudden gratitude, Uchiha Gin still politely extended his hand to shake hers.

"Although you have a puppet by your side, Mr. Yin, I am still a little worried. So I'll have him lead the way to the nearby main road."

After saying goodbye, Shamon waved to the back, and a somewhat unfamiliar figure obediently walked over—it was the ninja who guarded the gate.

"Mr. Yin, leave the rest of the journey to me. I can walk out of this area with my eyes closed."

The guard with light purple hair patted his chest and assured him that he was known as the living map of the desert.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

Seeing this, Uchiha Gin could no longer refuse and nodded to the guard.

"Mountains may change, but rivers will; see you again in the world of martial arts!"

With his back to Shamen, Uchiha Gin waved and followed the guard into the rolling desert.

"Mr. Yin, next time we meet, I will show you a completely new Shamen."

Watching Uchiha Gin's departing figure, Shamon clenched his fists, silently making a vow. Then he turned around, looking at the black tower standing in the center of the Loulan camp, the struggle in his eyes turning into determination.

"Loulan is far too small."

Although the Shamen, a member of the Baolong clan, was revered in Loulan, the black tower he guarded also became a cage that imprisoned him.

Blinded by false glory, he couldn't even defeat Mr. Yin's puppet; he was no real strongman.

He still had lofty ambitions to realize, and the secluded Loulan was ultimately not his final destination.

"You're quite the fighter, aren't you? Let me test your mettle!"

Shamon, who already had the intention to leave, recalled the name Uchiha Gin had mentioned. He decided to let him try and see if the man named Retsuto was qualified to unify the ninja world of the Land of Wind.

The purple-haired guard led Uchiha Gin across a desolate plain. After several twists and turns, they arrived at a main road with deep ruts. The somewhat exhausted guard, panting heavily, pointed in a direction and spoke to the man behind him who looked perfectly normal.

"Phew~ Mr. Yin, this is the main road of the Land of Wind. Follow that direction and you will reach the next town."

"Wow, that was fast! Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I don't know how much longer I would have had to take the long way around!"

With a helpless roll of his salty eyes, Uchiha Gin still thanked the guard who had worked so hard all day in a very grateful tone.

Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I would be home by now.

"Not at all, you're Captain Shamen's friend, this is what I should do."

The purple-haired guard waved his hand repeatedly, indicating that Uchiha Gin didn't need to be polite.

"Looks like you really admire Shamen Laodi~"

As Uchiha Gin calculated his route home, he chatted with the guard who was resting on the spot.

"Of course! Captain Shamen is my idol. As his number one follower, I'll go wherever he goes!"

The purple-haired guard's eyes lit up with excitement whenever the topic of Shamen came up, looking every bit the devoted fan.

"Great, you look very energetic! By the way, I remember you just had a baby girl."

Looking at the other person's light purple hair, Uchiha Gin suddenly remembered the other person's daughter, who had a bright future, and asked,

"Hehe, Mr. Gin has a good memory. Our little Chiyo will be a month old in a few days."

When the guard spoke of his daughter, a tender look appeared in his eyes.

"Wow, it's almost a month old! Look, I didn't bring any gifts for the wedding!"

Uchiha Gin searched around but found nothing. After a moment's thought, he reached into his system inventory, pulled out a short purple stick, glanced at it, and casually handed it to the guard in front of him.

"Here, take this as a gift for your daughter's full moon celebration. Please don't find it offensive."

"Oh? No, no, it's too expensive!"

The guard, who instinctively took the short staff, felt its weight in his hand. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that a purple disc-shaped gemstone was inlaid on the staff.

The edge was decorated with a ferocious dragon carved from an unknown silver metal. Upon seeing such an exquisite object, the guard immediately declined, saying it was too valuable.

"No, there's no reason to take back what's given away."

Uchiha Gin waved his hand, pushing the useless stick back. Anyway, he had a bunch of these things in his bag, which would be just right to give to the little girl.

"Then I will go through the intercession between Qianxie and Mr. Yin."

Unable to refuse, the guard had no choice but to put the exquisite club in his pocket and thank him repeatedly.

"Okay, you can rest now, I need to hurry home~"

Seeing that the matter was settled, Uchiha Gin did not linger. After saying goodbye to his guards, he turned and disappeared onto the main road.

"Huh? What happened?"

No sooner had Uchiha Gin left than the guards who returned to Loulan saw the chaotic crowd in front of the camp gate and, in surprise, went closer to investigate.

"Captain Shamen, where are you going?"

After inquiring with his colleagues, he learned that Captain Shamen was leaving Loulan. Surprised, he quickly squeezed through the crowd, found Shamen in the center, and asked the burly man, "..."

"I'm going to change the Land of Wind, do you want to come with me?"

The monk, preparing to search for Retsudou, launched a recruitment drive for his former loyal subordinate.

"I do! My family and I swear to follow Captain Shamen to the death!"

(End of this chapter)