Naruto: Nara's skill set is incredibly sneaky.

Seven men rushed toward the deer.

Seven shadows appeared on the water's surface.

Unlike the previous shadows, this one was exceptionally clear, and even its movements were much more agile.

"Stop using those petty tricks when it comes to the Nara deer." Juzo Biwa said dismissively. "Scatter them in batches, the rest of you focus on the main attack!"

In the years since Shikatoki first emerged, all the major ninja villages have conducted detailed analyses and investigations of him.

We already have a general understanding of the function of shadows.

Many plans targeting deer have been developed.

"Do you need to tell me?!" Suigetsu Hozuki, wielding his greatsword Samehada, cleaved through Juzo Biwa's shadow with a single strike. "It starts with you!"

"Tch!" Juzo Biwa scoffed.

The shadow was split in two and vanished completely.

Just as the others were about to get around the shadow and entangle the deer, they heard Pipa Juzo scream in terror.

They glanced at it instinctively.

The loquat tree split in two and fell to the ground, its eyes filled with disbelief.

The broken sword, the decapitation sword, fell into the sea.

A chain extends from Lu Shi's back, wraps around the decapitation sword, and he holds it in his hand.

"Not bad, not bad." Lu Shi admired the decapitation sword.

"You!" Suigetsu Hozuki swallowed hard. The remaining six stood rooted to the spot, too afraid to move, an eerie silence falling over the scene. "This isn't what the intelligence said!"

"Intelligence?" Shika chuckled. "Are you kidding me? I'm only a teenager, not even at the peak of my ninja skills yet. My strength and ninjutsu are bound to improve!"

The death of Juzo Biwa has caused the remaining six to consider leaving.

They exchanged a glance.

The next moment, they all formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

A thick fog appeared, quickly enveloping the surroundings.

"escape!"

Lu Shi chuckled and waved his hand, "All troops, heed my command! Commit suicide!"

The remaining six shadows pierced his own neck.

The six who escaped felt a tearing sensation in their necks. Before they could say anything, they found themselves unable to speak and collapsed onto the water, sinking to the bottom.

Black chains separated the seven ninja swords and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Lu Shi took out the sealed scroll.

Seal the corpse and the swords, especially the ninja sword.

I seem to recall reading in a past life that Kirigakure could summon these seven swords back to their source, but I don't know if it's true or not.

In any case, it's just a matter of adding another seal.

It's better to be prepared.

As for corpses, they are valuable in the ninja world. The Yamanaka clan can access parts of a person's memories through their brain to obtain information about Kirigakure.

"The ship from the Land of Demons seemed to be heading that way, right?" Shika looked into the distance, but could no longer see the ship. "Never mind, let's activate Sage Mode and see. Going astray on the open sea won't kill us, but it's still exhausting."

Shika activated his Sage Mode, and his senses quickly locked onto the ships from the Land of Demons.

Stepping on the water, we quickly returned to the boat.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the deer; the priestess had instructed him to deliver the deer safely to the Land of Fire.

"Mr. Shikatoki, I'm so glad you're alright!" The captain exclaimed with relief. "When we get back, I'll definitely inform the priestess and have her question the Water Kingdom!"

"It's a small matter, you can handle it yourself."

Lu Shi thought for a moment and realized that although the Land of Demons was remote and small, it seemed to have a significant historical status.

It's probably because of the demons sealed above the Land of Demons.

The journey became much quieter from then on, and they soon docked at a port in the Land of Fire.

"Thank you for seeing me off, Captain. Please tell Akane for me when you get back. If you have any problems, come to Konoha and find me. I'll definitely help you! I'll be going now!" Shikatoki waved goodbye.

Inside the Hokage Building in Konoha Village.

Tsunade sat down opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, her temper flaring.

Minato Namikaze was standing next to him.

"Tsunade, this news came too suddenly, and the Land of Demons is too far away. It could very well be a trap! If it really is Shikatoki, he will definitely come back on his own," Hiruzen Sarutobi advised.

"That brat! Last time Jiraiya told me he was in the Land of Hot Springs, but when I went there, he ran off to the Land of Demons. How did he manage to come back on his own?!"

Tsunade's chakra surged continuously, causing Hiruzen Sarutobi to cough twice.

Danzo Shimura, on the other hand, was not afraid at all.

"Tsunade! The training of medical ninjas was your idea, and we still need you!" Danzo Shimura said bluntly, his face cold. "And that Nara Shikatoki, as a Konoha ninja, just leaves like that! Who does he think he is?!"

boom!

"What do you mean?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his table with a pained expression.

This table has been replaced more than a dozen times in the past two years.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Minato a wink.

Minato scratched his head awkwardly and could only bite the bullet and say, "Tsunade-senpai, well, you know Shikatoki, with his strength, it's very easy for him to escape if he can't win."

"Yes, that kid Shikatoki's shadow is so strange, he'll definitely be fine," Hiruzen Sarutobi chimed in.

"That's right, he'll definitely be fine!" Lu Shi's voice rang out.

The office was quiet.

Everyone looked towards the doorway.

Lu Shi leaned against the doorframe, a smile spreading across his face. "Yo~! Everyone, long time no see."

Minato's face lit up with joy, and he rushed over to give Lu Shi a big hug, "Lu Shi, you're finally back."

"Minato, you've grown quite a bit taller!"

"Tsunade-neechan, it's been a long time."

Just as Shikata was about to give Tsunade a hug, he was met with a huge fist.

Feeling the shockwave from the fist, Lu Shi's pupils contracted slightly, and he almost instinctively dodged. The door behind Lu Shi was smashed to pieces.

Shikata: "Holy crap! Tsunade, are you trying to murder me?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Holy crap! My door!"

"You brat! You really know how to run! Two years without a single letter. The last time I heard from you was from Jiraiya! Do you have any idea how worried Grandma Mito and I were about you!"

Tsunade's words warmed Shikato's heart.

"Sorry, it won't happen again."

"You want a next time?!"

Seeing that Tsunade's temper was rising again, Shikatoki quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I've finished my business and I won't be leaving Konoha."

"snort!"

Tsunade stopped speaking, and Shikatoki looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Hokage-sama, I'm sorry, I'm back."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, showing no sign of blaming him.

At this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as a ninja hero, has secured his position as Hokage and his power is stable. In addition, Shikatoki is from the Nara clan, purely from his own lineage, so he is naturally very lenient towards Shikatoki.

"It's good that you're back."

"Hiruzen! Shikatoki, as a Konoha ninja, hasn't performed a single mission for Konoha in two years and even left the village without permission. This behavior is practically no different from that of a rogue ninja. Hand him over to Root for punishment!"

Danzo Shimura was truly ruthless.

Shikatoki then looked at Shimura Danzo and asked, "Has Root been established yet?"

"Danzo!"

"Hiruzen, this matter must be punished, otherwise everyone will follow his example!" Shimura Danzo was determined to mess with Shikatoki.

Of course, it would be even better if we could get our hands on the deer and study its roots.

He desperately wanted the shadow imitation technique, sealing technique, and the genjutsu that could bypass the Sharingan.

Shika glanced disdainfully at Shimura Danzo and slammed the two sealing scrolls onto the table.

"Elder Danzo has made no contribution whatsoever, all he does is boast. I, on the other hand, brought back gifts."

Lu Shi unsealed one of the sealed scrolls.

Seven ninja swords fell to the ground.

"This is...!" Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized its value. "A Kirigakure ninja sword?!"

"That's right. These seven guys ambushed me on the way, but I killed them. This is the spoils of war, and I'm handing it over directly." Lu Shi then pointed to another scroll, "Their corpses are in there. I thought I could get some information from them, so I brought them back."

For a moment, Danzo Shimura didn't know what to say.

He could only snort coldly and turn to leave.

Hiruzen Sarutobi beamed, "Great! I love this gift!"

Let's set aside the information in the minds of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

These seven swords are very important to Kirigakure, whether they are used to arm their own people or as bargaining chips!

"Lu Shi, you came back in a hurry, so go back and rest first!"

Lu Shi nodded, "Then I'll be going now."

After leaving the Hokage Building, Shikatoki first went back to the Nara clan and met with his uncle, Nara Shikaomi.

Afterwards, he went to the Senju clan's territory with Tsunade.

As soon as he entered, he saw someone he knew.

"Rope Tree! Long time no see!" Shika waved.

Rope Tree's eyes lit up when he saw the deer. "Deer! You're finally back! Come and fight me! I've been training hard these past two years! I definitely won't lose to you again!"

Lu Shi patted Rope Tree on the shoulder, "Rope Tree, I have something to do today, maybe next time."

The sealing technique is activated.

The chakra on Rope Tree disappeared.

The initially excited Nawaki froze, then rushed over excitedly, "Shikatoki! You cheated! I wasn't ready!"

"Hahaha, all's fair in war, don't you understand?" Lu Shi laughed smugly.

Shika arrived at Mito Uzumaki's courtyard.

He said respectfully, "Grandma Mito, I'm back!"

Mito Uzumaki emerged from the room, her appearance unchanged, her smile incredibly kind. "Toki, it's been two years, and you've finally decided to come back. I thought you'd forgotten me."

"How could that be! It's mainly because a lot of unexpected things have happened in the last two years," Lu Shi explained.

"You've grown up, and taller too." Mito patted Shikatoki's head, then looked at Tsunade beside him. The two were almost the same height now, and looked quite well-matched. "Are you leaving again this time?"

"I'm not leaving!"

"I'm not leaving. I'll stay and keep this old woman company a little longer," Mito said with a smile.

Shika, however, keenly sensed a hint of sadness in Mito's smile.

Sage Mode activated.

From the perspective of Sage Mode, it seems that Mito doesn't have many years left.

"Grandma Mito, your health..." Shikato hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

Mito, on the other hand, was quite frank. "Little Deer noticed? It seems your strength has improved considerably in the past two years. Indeed, I'm about to die."

Tsunade looked at Mito in disbelief. "Grandma! What are you saying?! You're so energetic!"

"That was just the Yin Seal, and the Nine-Tailed Fox was still clinging to life. I know my own body best; it'll only last for the next few years! It's a pity I didn't get to see you and Nawaki get married." Mito's expression was sad.

Tsunade opened her mouth, then uttered something astonishing: "I'll have Nawaki find a woman to marry right now!"