Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

Especially Gaara from Sunagakure.

He clearly has a habit of killing people when he's unhappy.

The villagers of Sunagakure, living in the desert, scrimped and saved to buy vegetables that were extremely scarce in the desert, so that they could pelt Gaara with them.

All for the purpose of bullying Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, who is the nuclear weapon of Sunagakure.

The will to dominate held by the villagers of Sunagakure is no less than that of the villagers of Konoha.

In particular, those Konoha ninjas who were bullied from childhood became staunch protectors of Konoha when they grew up.

Even if it costs them everything, they will protect Konoha Village.

Shen Jue had never understood why those ninjas were so monstrous.

They're all masochistic characters.

Did those Konoha villagers discover that by endlessly bullying the Konoha ninjas, they could make those ninjas wholeheartedly protect Konoha and them?

Even Kaguya Otsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra, was severely bullied by the humans of the ninja world, who were still fighting with spears, when she first arrived on the planet of ninja.

Shen Jue felt there were just too many extraordinary people.

"Hey, Naruto," Shen Jue suddenly said.

Naruto looked down at him.

Shen Jue took something out of his pocket and tossed it over.

Naruto instinctively caught it, and when he opened his palm, he saw that it was a black kunai.

The kunai was entirely black, but the blade was polished to a high shine, and the handle was wrapped with a strip of dark red cloth.

"Take it with you to the exam," Shen Jue said. "Consider it a loan."

Naruto stared blankly at the kunai in his palm. He gripped the kunai tightly, the dark red cloth strip wrapped around his palm still slightly warm.

"Is this for me?" Naruto jumped off the table and carefully put the kunai into his ninja tool pouch.

He suddenly turned around, slapped his cheek hard, then turned back to give Shen Jue a thumbs up and grinned with sharp teeth.

"Brother Shen Jue! If I pass my exam tomorrow, you have to treat me to ramen again!"

"Why am I paying?" Shen Jue asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't you be the one inviting me to ramen?"

"Because you're an adult!" Naruto said matter-of-factly, then flung open the curtain and rushed out. His orange figure disappeared into the distance, disappearing into the end of Konoha's streets, his excited shouts still audible in the distance.

"I'm sure I'll pass tomorrow's exam!"

Shen Jue remained inside Ichiraku Ramen.

After watching Naruto's figure disappear into the distance, a subtle smile slowly spread across his lips.

The night was as dark as ink, enveloping Konoha Village in layers.

Butcher Matsumoto Ryuichi had been pacing back and forth in his house for nearly two hours.

His wife had taken the children back to her parents' home early that night. It was called her parents' home, but it was actually an old house just three streets away.

The inexplicable irritability and fear he felt during the day were like an invisible hand, gripping his stomach tightly and making it impossible for him to swallow even dinner.

He would stop every now and then and strain his ears to listen to what was happening outside the window.

The nights in Konoha Village should be lively.

The sounds of drunkards playing drinking games in the barbecue restaurant, the screams of teenagers caught peeping outside the bathhouse, and the occasional footsteps of ninjas scurrying across the rooftops.

He had heard these sounds for half his life and knew them by heart.

But tonight, there's nothing.

It was as quiet as if everyone had died.

Ryuichi swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

He walked to the table, grabbed the teapot, and took a few sips of cold tea. The tea dripped down his chin and into his collar, leaving a chilly mess, but he was completely unaware.

Scenes from the daytime uncontrollably surfaced from the depths of my memory.

Ryuichi has been cursing that nine-tailed fox brat in Konoha for quite some time now.

He's been cursing for years, ever since the day he took over the butcher shop from his father.

Which villager in Konoha doesn't curse?

The vegetable seller cursed, the fish seller cursed, and the ninja tool seller cursed too.

That kid is the village's punching bag; anyone in a bad mood can kick him.

He never felt there was anything wrong with it.

until today.

Shen Jue's gaze made Long Yi very uneasy.

During the day, Shen Jue's gaze didn't seem to be looking at a living person.

It's like looking at a piece of experimental material that has already been cut and neatly arranged.

Ryuichi shook his head violently, trying to banish the thought from his mind.

He took a deep breath, strode into the bedroom, and pulled a bulging money bag from deep inside the wardrobe.

go.

We'll leave as soon as it's light.

I'll stay at my cousin's house in the capital of the Land of Fire for a while, and we'll talk again once this storm has passed.

What's a butcher shop, what's Konoha? Nothing's more important than life.

Even if the Konoha ninjas would punish any rogue ninja who attacks the villagers, he only has one life.

Just as Ryuichi's hand touched the ribbon of the package, the oil lamp in the room suddenly went out.

The lamp was still full of oil.

Long Yi froze on the spot, as if he had been frozen in place.

Darkness surged in from all directions, so thick it was almost solidified.

He could hear his own heartbeat, fast and heavy, as if it were about to shatter his ribs.

"Who?"

No one answered.

Is anyone there?!

His voice echoed twice in the room before dissipating, as if it had been sucked away by the walls.

Ryuichi's back was soaked with sweat, which rolled down his spine.

He listened intently for a while, but could hear nothing but his own heavy breathing.

Not right.

Something is very wrong.

Three ninja families lived on this street.

In the past, there would be a lot of noise even late at night.

But now, all those voices have disappeared.

Ryuichi practically scrambled to the window and yanked it open.

Is anyone home?!

"Give me a reply!"

His voice carried far into the night, but there was no response.

The house across the street was dark and looked like a coffin.

He called out the names of several neighbors until his voice was hoarse, but still no one answered.

The entire street fell into dead silence.

"Where are the patrolling ninjas?!" Ryuichi gripped the window frame, his knuckles turning white.

"Damn it, where's the patrol?! Is anyone home?! Something's happened! Help!"

His shouts echoed through the empty streets, gradually swallowed by the night.

Just then, he heard footsteps.

It was light and rhythmic, like someone walking slowly and leisurely down the street.

Ryuichi's shouts came to an abrupt halt.

The footsteps grew closer, each step perfectly timed with the beat of his heart, so precise it was chilling.

Ryuichi suddenly turned around and lunged at the chopping board, grabbing the butcher's knife whose blade still bore traces of stench.

The blade gleamed coldly in the dim moonlight.

He gripped the knife with both hands, the tip pointing towards the doorway, but his legs trembled uncontrollably.

The footsteps stopped outside the door.

Ryuichi held his breath, staring intently at the crack in the door.

Moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the window, casting several pale streaks of light on the ground.

The shadow outside the door fell right in the center of the band of light, and remained motionless.

With a creak, the door opened.

The door opened by itself, as if an unseen hand was turning the latch from inside.

The sound of the door hinges turning was particularly jarring in the dead of night.

The moonlight outlined a human figure.

Shen Jue stood at the door.

He was dressed in dark casual clothes, with his sleeves slightly rolled up. He stood at the boundary between moonlight and shadow, his expression as calm as a stagnant pool.

In each of his hands, he was carrying a round object.

Long subconsciously looked at what was in his hand.

At first glance, he didn't recognize what it was.

In the second, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Those were two human heads.

Those two were clearly the other two who had insulted Shen Jue and Naruto with him during the day.

Blood dripped from the severed heads, splattering into tiny, dark red flowers on the stone steps in front of the door.

The blood was still warm, emitting a faint steam in the night breeze.

Ryuichi's Adam's apple bobbed; he wanted to scream, but only a low, hoarse whimper escaped his throat.

The blade trembled incessantly in his hand, its reflection distorting his own face, pale and covered in cold sweat.

Shen Jue raised her eyes and looked directly at him across the threshold.

The same look in his eyes as during the day.

Empty, quiet, and utterly still.

"You are the last one," Shen Jue said softly.

"They didn't last long."

"I wonder if you've persisted long enough?"

Ryuichi didn't understand the meaning of those words, but he instinctively felt that there was something more terrifying than those two heads hidden in them.

Shen Jue tilted his head slightly, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

The smile he wore when he watched Naruto walk away at Ichiraku Ramen was exactly the same.

"Stop...stop!"

Ryuichi's roar echoed through the room as he stared intently at Shen Jue, awaiting her reaction.

Shen Jue did not react.

He didn't even glance at Long, but simply raised his right hand, fingertips pointing upwards, and gently hooked it.

Ryuichi's feet suddenly left the ground.

He lay on his back, limbs outstretched, his body parallel to the ground, suspended three feet above the floor.

"Put me down!" Ryuichi roared in terror.

Shen Jue lowered his hands.

The two heads detached from his hands, slowly floated up, and moved to the sides of Ryuichi's body, level with his head.

Then they began to rotate around Ryuichi's head.

As it rotated, the blood droplets that had not yet congealed were flung out by centrifugal force, drawing dark red arcs on Ryuichi's face, neck, and clothes.

Ryuichi's eyes darted around wildly; fear had driven him mad.

Shen Jue finally spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear in the deathly silent room.

"When I was a child."

"My talent is really just average."

"Whether it's chakra or the training of ninjutsu."

"My ninja talent is at the very bottom of the food chain."

Shen Jue seemed lost in memories. He had completely shielded this area physically using the Phantom Breath Technique: Gravity Manipulation and Electromagnetic Force Control.

Even the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan couldn't perceive the true state of this residence.

Those Hyuga ninjas who possess the Byakugan will only see residential areas without any division, just like usual.

"But I still managed to become a Chunin in Konoha, which was not at war."

Shen Jue took two steps forward and stood beside the floating Long Yi, looking at him.

The moonlight streamed obliquely through the window, illuminating Shen Jue's face. His expression remained calm, but a slight change finally appeared in his eyes.

It was a kind of pure curiosity.

That look in his eyes was like that of a child seeing an insect specimen for the first time, carefully examining the patterns on its wings with a magnifying glass.

"I tried to think with the scientific mindset from my past life, and studied the changes in chakra and ninjutsu."

"Follow Matt Kay to train in physical techniques."

"My extreme training and the deliberately feigned ruthlessness prevented Root from finding me."

"Those arrogant Root ninjas, and Danzo Shimura, have already regarded me as a ruthless killer of Konoha."

"A mere task machine."

"The thin chakra in my body used to be the best natural disguise."

"Ninjas without talent have no need to absorb Root."

"This gave me time to slowly study chakra and ninjutsu."

There was a subtle hint of regret in Shen Jue's tone.

"I thought it would take me a long time to become a powerful ninja."

"But my friends seem to have given me some insignificant little help."

Shen Jue raised his hand and said, "I really want to understand why the villagers of Konoha are so enthusiastic about bullying others."

How long will you hold out?

Shen Jue said softly, the smile on her lips still lingering.

"Torture, physical dissection, and torture using simple illusions."

"Your two friends, who were so arrogant during the day, didn't last long."

"Don't let me down."

He tilted his head, as if recalling something: "Let me understand."

"Why are you so obsessed with bullying?"

Shen Jue slowly closed his right hand.

One of Butcher Ryuichi's fingers was skillfully disassembled and floated to the side.

Pain and despair appeared in Ryuichi's eyes.

Early in the morning, Shen Jue casually carried a large bag as she walked in front of the rising sun in Konoha Village.

Occasionally, a passing ninja would glance at Shen Jue and then look away.

"Burn, Youth!"

Shen Jue passed by a training ground.

In the training field, Might Guy, dressed entirely in green, is undergoing arduous training alone.

He was standing upside down in the center of the training field, supporting himself with one hand and clenching his fist with the other, striking the specially made wooden stake in front of him at a frequency that was difficult to detect with the naked eye.

Just then, Might Guy spotted Shen Jue outside the training field.

Kai's eyes lit up.

"Shen Jue!"

Kai grinned at Shen Jue on the training field.

His face was covered in sweat, his eyebrows were stuck together in clumps, but his eyes were exceptionally clear.

"I didn't expect to run into you here! What a youthful morning!" Kai raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the heel of his palm, revealing the prominent veins on the back of his hand.

"So, since we're already here, let's cultivate together!"

"The early bird catches the worm; awakening the body with sweat and passion—that's true masculine romance!"

As he spoke, he beckoned to Shen Jue, as if he were about to drag Shen Jue in at any moment.

Shen Jue stood there, carrying the cloth bag, her expression unchanged.

He looked at Kai's face, which was shiny with morning light and sweat, and remained silent for a moment.

"No, thank you," Shen Jue refused.

"I still have things to do today."

Kai's enthusiasm was not dampened in the slightest by this cold rejection. He withdrew his hand, put his hands on his hips, and laughed loudly twice. The laughter bounced and spread across the empty training field.

"Hahaha! Then next time! Youth won't run away, it'll always be here waiting for you!" He patted his chest hard.

"Teacher Kai." Shen Jue looked at Matt Kai's seemingly strong but actually battered body.

"I have recently developed a new physical technique that can enhance physical strength in all aspects."

"Huh?!" Kai's eyes lit up even more. He immediately rushed to Shen Jue's side and patted Shen Jue's shoulder hard.

"Good lad! I knew you could do it!"

"Everyone says you're just average, but I know how hard you work on your ninja way!"

At this moment, Shen Jue's cold expression seemed to soften a little.

He planned to teach Might Guy the Nine Heavens of Power Rotation, a technique that allows one to train in the ninja world and use chakra instead of magic power.

On the one hand, it was to repay Matt Kay for selflessly teaching Shen Jue the Eight Gates Formation.

On the other hand, Shen Jue also wanted to see how many kicks Might Guy, who had cultivated the power to rotate nine levels of heaven, could use to kick out the final chapter of Naruto after opening the Eight Gates.