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Shen plunged the steel blade in his hand into the ground, formed hand seals, and unleashed the Ninja Art: Ki and Shield!

With a bang, Kakashi was bounced away by a gray bell-shaped shield that appeared next to Shen, and the ninja tools that Tenten threw broke off against the shield and the ki.

"No need to react so strongly, I'm using the back of the blade," Shen said, looking at Xiao Li and the others who were rushing over.

Hyuga Neji reached out to grab Might Guy and try to take him away, but the moment his hand touched Might Guy, Neji's whole body trembled, his chakra was scattered, and he collapsed next to Might Guy with a thud, feeling incredibly numb all over.

“I… am… fine.” Might Guy struggled to lift his head and said, word by word.

Shen was somewhat surprised. The slashing of Qi and Zhan was only one part of the attack. The more effective way to control the attack was to inject Qi into the target's body through the slashing.

Despite facing a non-enemy, Shin consciously restrained his strength, and the energy from the steel blade was only a quarter of normal. However, it was still quite astonishing that Might Guy could adapt to the physical shock caused by this energy in a short time.

This man's strength comes not only from the energy in his body, but also from his spirit and will.

With a whoosh, Kakashi arrived beside Might Guy using Body Flicker Technique. Learning from Neji Hyuga's experience, he didn't reach out to touch Might Guy. However, after Might Guy finished speaking three words, he became engrossed in a battle of energies, leaving Kakashi to look at Shin.

“Don’t worry, the energy I injected only penetrated his surface muscles and didn’t reach his internal organs or some important muscles. You can imagine that he’s in a state where his legs are numb from sitting for too long.” Shen sheathed the steel blade back at his waist, carried the Soul Blade behind his back, and explained word by word.

"As for that little boy, he was just a little uncomfortable from the vibration in his muscles, he'll be fine once he recovers."

When Shin uttered the second half of his sentence, Neji Hyuga's trembling frequency had slowed down considerably.

After explaining, Shen sat down cross-legged, showing no intention of leaving.

"What exactly is your purpose in coming here?!" Kakashi demanded. Someone who could easily defeat Might Guy needs ninjas to escort him to Sunagakure? What a joke.

"Issue the mission. We'll discuss the details when he wakes up. Besides, you're not the one asking me anyway," Shen said softly.

There were two purposes for coming to the training ground this time, and both were accomplished. One was to test the combat strength of some people in this world, and the other was to reasonably attract the attention of the Konoha leadership.

A few minutes later, Might Guy finally recovered a little, but his whole body was still shaking. Shinya waited quietly for him to fully recover.

Fifteen minutes later, Matthias's body stopped shaking, but he still walked a little strangely, looking like a patient who had been sick for a long time but hadn't done any rehabilitation exercises.

"Your muscles have been stimulated by the Qi, and you have also exerted too much force to resist the Qi, so it takes some time for them to adapt."

Shen stood up and looked in one direction of the training ground. "But then there's no need to do it here, since some people have already been waiting for a while."

As soon as Shen finished speaking, several ANBU ninjas appeared on the training ground in a surrounding formation.

Chapter 253 Jiraiya the Toad Sage

In the Land of Grass, a hidden safe house in the gold exchange.

A Jonin from the Gold Exchange branch leaned against the wall, panting, his hands still in a hand seal, seemingly guarding against a surprise attack.

"No one can escape their shadows, and you are no exception." Jie emerged from the shadows, startling the Jonin, who shuddered and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just here to seek justice." Jie slapped the Jonin's face twice with his shuriken. "Why are you playing double standards?"

After making the threats, Jie looked around the small, underground safe house, then sat down on the table. "S-rank bounty hunters can obtain information that is only available to S-rank individuals after submitting their information. Your receptionist told me that, so why won't you give it to me?"

The Jonin swallowed hard. "Your information doesn't meet the requirements, and the scope of your question is a bit too broad."

"Is the scope too broad?" Jie chuckled lightly, then walked up to the Jonin. "Besides, where is my information against the rules?"

The Jonin felt a bit aggrieved under such immense pressure. "Where did I break the rules? You still need to ask me?"

His name only contained the character "劫" (Jie), without even a surname. His identity was simply that of the leader of the Balance Sect, without specifying which country the organization belonged to, or that he had never heard of such a sect. His proficiency in ninjutsu was simply listed as "暗影" (An Ying). If Jie had just randomly listed a well-known S-rank ninjutsu, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

Seeing the shuriken spinning in Jie's hand, the Jonin decided to prioritize his own survival and leak the information. As for the punishment of those who violated the rules by the leader of the Gold Exchange, that could only be dealt with later.

Just then, Jie suddenly made a shushing gesture, then walked to the wall, stuck his right hand in, and pulled out a guy dressed entirely in white except for a black fire cloud robe.

When White Zetsu was discovered, his first reaction was to retaliate, but Zed's reaction was obviously much faster. His Shadow Blade swept directly across White Zetsu's body, and the shadow power contained within it directly eroded into it, completely destroying every cell of White Zetsu.

The Jonin collapsed to the ground, saying, "I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you whatever you ask."

He had seen White Zetsu before. He was a famous information broker in the ninja world. There was also information about this person in the gold exchange. It was said that he was an unkillable being who could rise up twice after one fell. At the same time, his individual strength was not weak. However, he was like a clay chicken or a clay dog ​​in front of Zed, and he would break at the slightest touch.

After the questioning ended, Jie went deep into the shadows. Things were pretty much as he had guessed. The bounty on the Sand Village was issued by the organization that Kakuzu belonged to. According to the Jonin, the person who came to issue the bounty was wearing the same black fire cloud robe as Kakuzu.

In addition, the Jonin also revealed that the organization has issued a permanent mission, offering a bounty for any information related to the Tailed Beasts.

After reviewing the world-building information that Shen had posted on the channel, Jie turned his gaze toward the direction of Amegakure. The shadow marks on Kakuzu and Hidan had not moved since they entered Amegakure, so it was clear that even if it wasn't their headquarters, it must be a long-term base.

The biggest difference between Zed and Shen is that when faced with a necessary battle, Shen often prefers to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and to defend as a form of offense, while Zed is the complete opposite. Defense? Offense is the best defense.

Meanwhile, inside the Konoha Ninja Hospital, after being examined and treated by professional medical ninjas, Might Guy had almost fully recovered and was now energetically doing push-ups on his hospital bed.

"Kai, is there anything else that feels uncomfortable?" Kakashi walked in from the doorway, looking slightly tired. He had just finished answering questions from the Anbu.

This means that Kakashi once held a significant position in the Anbu; otherwise, he wouldn't have regained his freedom so quickly.

"Ha! No problem at all! I feel like my youth, which had faded away with time, has returned to my body in double the amount!" Might Guy jumped off the hospital bed like a monkey, patted Kakashi's shoulder, and gave him a thumbs up.

Seeing Might Guy's inexplicably enthusiastic demeanor as usual, Kakashi felt a little relieved. Shin's words were good, but who knew if he was telling the truth?

Why would such an unprecedentedly powerful samurai suddenly come to Konoha, and what are his intentions?

While Kakashi was deep in thought, Might Guy's attention was drawn to the two bells on Kakashi's waist. These were very familiar to the instructors; they were the props used for the final review of graduates. Judging from the scratches on the bells, they might be the ones Kakashi played with a few years ago when Naruto Uzumaki graduated from the Ninja Academy.

"Are you going to train newbies again?" Might Guy suddenly asked, then shook his head, denying his own statement. "No, your team hasn't disbanded, could it be..."

Kakashi remained silent. Indeed, Naruto Uzumaki was about to return. This was the news Tsunade had given him. The hot-blooded kid who had trained under Jiraiya for two and a half years was coming back.

"Are you saying you're allowed to lead two squads at once?!" Might Guy exclaimed, pointing at Kakashi in astonishment.

Kakashi's eyes twitched, and then he covered his face with one hand. How could I have thought he could guess right?

"As expected of my eternal rival! You've once again gotten ahead of me!" Might Guy continued to shout.

"Stop fooling around, I'm here on serious business," Kakashi said helplessly.

Might Guy flashed his white teeth and sat down comfortably next to Kakashi.

"What do you think of Shen, the leader of the Shadow Cult?" Kakashi asked. Guy was the first person Kakashi had contacted, so his opinion was very important.

“Very strong, extremely strong.” Might Guy became serious. “The whole battle felt like he had everything under his control, and he could end it whenever he wanted. I have a feeling that perhaps only when he is completely free of his restraints can I fight him.”

"Besides his strength, don't you feel that he has a natural sense of approachability?" Kakashi didn't know how to describe that feeling for a moment.

As we all know, Kakashi's Sharingan did not come from himself. This eye both made him and dragged him down. The separation of his bloodline had always troubled him. But after meeting Shin, Kakashi inexplicably felt that the Sharingan seemed to have reached a new balance with his body. It automatically found a better balance point than before.

“No!” Matt Kai’s expression was not only serious but also heavy. “My intuition tells me that he is a cold-blooded person, without fear, hatred, or love, like an observer looking down on everyone, like the cruel nature!”

Might Guy's resolute statement made Kakashi wonder if he had misperceived. Compared to the cruel nature that Might Guy described, Kakashi felt that nature was more vibrant, nurturing all living beings, and allowing life to develop in a balanced way.

“He reminds me of someone, Orochimaru,” Might Guy said, looking out the window. “However, Orochimaru’s selfish, cold-blooded, ruthless, and unscrupulous methods are quite different from his temperament.”

While Kakashi and Might Guy were discussing Shen, the person in question was sitting in the reception room. The hostess was a beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure, who was also the current Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade Senju.

Tsunade was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Even though she was the leader and the one questioning, the moment Shin entered the room, his aura made her feel inferior and oppressed. However, this wasn't some kind of ninjutsu.

"Anything else you want to ask? If not, I'm going back to rest." Shen said. After seeing Tsunade, Shen was a little disappointed. This girl was too inexperienced, and her sense of leadership was not as strong as Akali's.

Thinking of Akali, Shen felt a strange mix of emotions. Since the establishment of the Kinkou Order, the Fist of Shadow and the Eye of Twilight had never been separated. Until his generation, not only did Zed betray them, but even the new Fist of Shadow left.

“No need to leave in such a hurry, otherwise people will say that Konoha is not hospitable enough.” A middle-aged man with white hair suddenly appeared at the door and said to Shin.

Shin turned to look at Jiraiya. In his eyes, this man's temperament was very contradictory. He had an inexplicable aura of a loser, but also a tenacious and never-give-up spirit.

The moment Tsunade saw Jiraiya appear, her eyes lit up, and she immediately became much more confident. Her demeanor shifted from being suppressed by Shin Musashi to being able to hold her own.

"Besides, with such a beautiful woman here, are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade's chest as he spoke, behaving like a typical lecherous old man.

Crack! The pen in Tsunade's hand was crushed into pieces, as if to say, "Look again? Look again and I'll crush you!"

Jiraiya shuddered, reluctantly averting his gaze, and stood beside Tsunade.

“I told you, you can ask me anything you want,” Shen said, looking at the man who had ruined the aura he had created with his jokes.

What is your purpose in coming to Konoha?

"Issue a task."

"What mission?"

"Protect me to the Sand Village."

"You need bodyguards even when you go to the Sand Village?!"

"The more people who go, the better."

"why?"

Something big is about to happen there!

"what's up?"

"An organization is targeting the Sand Village, and it is suspected to be related to the Tailed Beasts."

What's the basis for this?

"The bounty on the gold exchange, and the fact that someone is continuously gathering information on the tailed beasts."

"Who are you? What organization?"

"It's not certain yet, but their uniforms are black fiery cloud robes."

As Shen spoke, he opened his right hand, and energy floated in his palm, simulating the style of Kakuzu's clothes.

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged a glance. They recognized the clothes; there was a spy in Konoha.

"What does that have to do with you?!" Jiraiya then asked another question.

“Balance exists between all things, and I execute the command of balance,” Shen murmured softly.

Jiraiya was taken aback. Could this person be a fan of the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju? His theory was somewhat similar to his own: as long as the power among the five great nations remained at a balance, there would be no more wars.

"Where did you learn all this from?" Tsunade suddenly asked.

“If the questioning is to continue, I hope we don’t go backwards. If we can’t make a decision for the time being, I will stay at the hotel for the next few days,” Shin said coldly. He hadn’t looked at Tsunade at all since Jiraiya came in.

Looking at Shin like this, Tsunade really wanted to punch him, but Shin hadn't done anything wrong. Not only was Might Guy alright, but he had also paid the mission fee. He needed a reason to act out, at least she, as the Hokage, needed a reason.

Seeing that Tsunade's anger was about to reach its maximum, Jiraiya reached out and pressed down on Tsunade's fist, then looked at Shin with a slightly serious expression, "Watch your attitude. The person in front of you is the Fifth Hokage."

Shen stood up and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry."

"You can go now. The Hokage will call you if anything comes up," Jiraiya continued.

Shen nodded and turned to leave.

After saving the Hokage's face, Jiraiya's hand was tugged by Tsunade. "What are you doing...?"