Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Although Hui Tao had some doubts after hearing this, he still firmly assured Shen Er that he would cooperate.

Soon, Hutuo and Shen'er appeared together at the entrance of the Shadow Spirit Hall under the watchful eyes of many, putting on a charade.

"I beg you, Lord Shen! Please break this poisonous ninjutsu and protect the entire village."

He knelt on one knee, pleading loudly with tears streaming down his face.

His body, though impure, was incapable of shedding tears, yet the villagers watching could truly feel the grief and despair in his words.

“That pain was unbearable, worse than death…” His voice was filled with lingering fear, as if he were experiencing the torment of poisoning again. “Please feel free to use my body to study the toxins, I just hope that my companions in the village will not have to suffer that kind of pain.”

This heartfelt lament only deepened the villagers' fear.

Shen Er, deeply moved, helped Eta to his feet and promised, "Bearing the name of an elder, I will definitely crack the Sunagakure's Tsunamaru virus. If Sunagakure wants to harm the village, they'll have to step over my dead body first!"

This was a perfect performance that killed two birds with one stone.

Even so, the character of the individual hero is vividly portrayed.

Using his authority as the dean, he forcefully exaggerated the severity of the "Tsuna-maru Virus," causing a group of elite medical ninjas to appear incompetent during the meeting; he imposed a state of high alert to create an atmosphere of crisis; and finally, he stepped forward without hesitation to shoulder the burden of the crisis alone.

If we consider the whole affair as a script, the plot has been fully developed and is ready to "turn." Only the final step remains: for him to step in and crack the Tsunamaru virus, and the entire drama will reach its climax.

Who says only those who stand in the light are heroes?

He can gain the glory of a war hero without fighting a bloody battle.

Meanwhile, his second objective had also been quietly achieved.

Despite Shen's tough, Hu-style speech, he used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to awaken the souls of the dead in Konoha, allowing them to express their last wishes and petition him on behalf of the villagers.

In the eyes of the villagers, Shen Er was using "devilish methods" to do "angelic things".

This is truly Konoha's dream-fulfilling master!

In contrast, the Second Hokage fought using the souls of the villagers, and he did indeed protect Konoha to some extent. But putting aside the facts, wasn't this behavior somewhat evil and inhumane?

A comparison that clearly shows the difference in quality.

The prize pool from the post-war liquidation is still gradually accumulating.

The villagers' emotions were stirred up, and shouts of "Save Konoha!", "Please!", and "Onegaiwatashi!" rose and fell. It was as if their entire lives were in Shinji's hands.

Even with red eyes, she responded:

"I, Zenjiro, an elder of Konoha, will, like the First Hokage, raise the banner of our Will of Fire and charge to the forefront! Even if I am poisoned to death by poison ninjutsu, I can walk with my head held high before the great First Hokage and proudly say to him: I, your successor, have not disgraced you; I shed my last drop of blood for the great Will of Fire..."

The villagers of Konoha love stories of heroic epics.

...

The Shadow Guard was still maintaining order; they had been specially assigned by Tobirama to protect Shinji.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura once again took on the role of listeners.

Hiruzen exclaimed with admiration, "Elder Shen'er's fearless spirit in the face of death is something we should all learn from."

Listening to Shen's speech, one can't help but believe that he will lead Konoha to hope... This is an infectious power that only someone with great credibility can achieve.

Danzo scoffed, "It's just a poison ninjutsu. I've heard it won't be lethal to Jonin."

"How could you think like that? Aren't the lives of villagers just like those of Jonin?" Hiruzen immediately frowned and reprimanded him.

Danzo disagreed.

The lives of ordinary villagers are certainly lives, but it depends on whether they are worth sacrificing. If it can bring greater benefits to the village, then these people are worth sacrificing, and their lives can be disregarded.

If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being too weak.

However, he would not reveal such extreme thoughts in front of the straightforward and rigid Hiruzen.

"Tsk, that's not what I meant." Danzo scoffed and argued, "Elder Shen is a Jonin. Even if he's not good at direct combat, there's no way his life could be in danger."

"Besides, if it were me, I wouldn't waste my breath talking to these ignorant villagers here," Danzo emphasized. "I would choose to lead an elite team and storm Sunagakure. I would find the caster, and then, in front of him, use his loved ones to blackmail him into handing over the antidote!"

In Danzo's view, this is the mindset a ninja should have...

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, blood for blood, nothing more.

Instead of being pretentious like Shen Er.

Weak and incompetent!

Chapter 135 The Demon King's Double Protection, Konoha's Strongest Couple

He even publicly announced that he would definitely thwart the Sand Village's conspiracy and crack the Tsunamaru virus.

The villagers were in an uproar.

But when the news reached Uchiha Chiri, it made her extremely anxious.

As her closest bedmate, she knew the contents of the medical seminar. To crack this dangerous poison ninjutsu, medical ninjas would have to go to the front lines to obtain firsthand information—how dangerous that would be!

But what's done is done; once those words were spoken in public, there was no going back. To prevent Shinji from doing something like this again, Chiri chose to go with him to the Hokage Building to participate in the specific security plan formulation.

She requested of Tobirama Senju: "I will personally serve as Shinobu's bodyguard."

She could only feel at ease when she personally protected Shen'er.

"I'm afraid that won't work." After a brief moment of thought, Tobirama politely declined. "Chiri Jonin, you are very strong. I hope you will stay in the village and serve as a mobile combat force."

While Shen'er's safety is of utmost importance, Konoha is currently caught in a pincer movement between three great nations and must also be wary of Kirigakure, making its defensive pressure immense. Aside from Mito Uzumaki, a nuclear bomb that seems to exist forever, the village's top fighting force consists only of him and Chiri.

In contrast, the three opposing kingdoms each had three Kage-level ninjas.

With his Flying Thunder God Technique, Tobirama could theoretically appear on the battlefield instantly, making him essentially two people in one. However, he was ultimately only one person, and his combat power could not be balanced.

Furthermore, if Uchiha Chisato were to join them, the two of them staying behind would put enough pressure on the three major nations. If even one of them were to leave the village, the balance would be disrupted.

Keeping bombs in your possession is a threat; once you fire them, they lose their deterrent effect.

Regardless of whether he was outsmarting thin air, Tobirama felt that Konoha should keep such a precaution in mind.

Furthermore, in Tobirama's assessment, Sunagakure's strength was far inferior to that of Kumogakure and Iwagakure. The main threat came from their poison ninjutsu. As long as an elite squad was arranged to escort Jin to the front lines, preventing him from being assassinated en route, he would be safe once he reached the front lines.

To show his regard for Jin, Tobirama added, "How about assigning the Shadow Guard to Jin to escort him throughout this mission? Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, En... they are all elites of the village."

Chiri was unhappy about being rejected, but she wasn't unreasonable. The Shadow Guard was already Konoha's most capable protective force.

The two looked at Shen Er at the same time, leaving the decision to him.

Shen was about to agree, but before he could finish, he said, "I don't need the Shadow Guard. Just let Zhili protect me."

These words were spoken to Tobirama.

Then, Shen turned to Zhili and publicly displayed their affection: "This mission isn't as dangerous as you think. But I bet even if I didn't let you come along, you would still send a ninja cat to secretly follow me."

"Instead of doing that, let's set off together to prevent you from doing anything foolish."

“Hmm…” With his thoughts exposed by Shen’er, Zhili started rambling: “Anyway, I’ll get to your side.”

They were clearly doing something that would lead to their own demise, but the people of Zhili were flocking to it.

This isn't a Cold War probe; a bloody war is erupting in the ninja world, and no one can say for sure how dangerous it is.

Having learned from the previous lesson, and knowing that Jinji wouldn't listen to her, Chiri really planned to send either Shinobu or Baki with Jinji this time, so that they could transform into Sasuke when a life-or-death crisis occurred.

Just as Tobirama Senju had the ability to instantly arrive at the battlefield, Sasano also had the ability to instantly arrive at Jin's side. This is the core reason why she was able to relent.

Unaware of what was happening, Tobirama's gaze shifted between the two men.

What notification? What's coming to my side?

Never mind, he wouldn't understand the little secrets between husband and wife.

However, they still failed to keep Uchiha Chiri in the village as a trump card, and the plan was ruined, which made Tobirama somewhat unhappy.

But he couldn't bring himself to refute it. He couldn't bluntly say that his overall strategy was more important than Shen's safety. Besides, the battle situation in Sunagakure truly required Shen's safety.

Although the probability is extremely low, if something happens to Shen'er, even if Konoha has ninjas who can crack the virus later, the progress will be greatly delayed, resulting in more ninja casualties.

Just consider it a matter of seeking stability and peace of mind.

Tobirama was also someone who didn't dwell on internal conflicts; he quickly made peace with himself and advised:

"Then the task will be entrusted to you two."

"Dean Shen, my expectation of you is to resolve the virus as soon as possible and minimize casualties."

"Jonin Jisato, my expectation of you is... not to reveal your identity unless it's absolutely necessary. If other ninja villages find out you've left Konoha, the pressure on their defenses will be immense."

"understand!"

Shen Er, acting as the couple's representative, replied, "There's no time to lose, let's get started now."

The two quickly left the Hokage Building.

Chiri rushed back to the Ninja Academy to hand over her duties.

Shen Er went home to prepare the equipment and supplies for the two of them to leave the village, and went ahead to the village gate to wait for others.

At this point, martial law had already taken effect.

The once bustling streets are now deserted; almost no ordinary villagers can walk on them, as they are all confined to their homes. Only the police department and the secret service are wandering around.

The one who started all of this was Shen Er.

There's a limit to creating panic. He forcibly exaggerated the danger of the Tsuna-maru virus to force Konoha into martial law, so naturally he had to crack the virus and lift the martial law as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, he will not be met with gratitude, but rather with accusations of his incompetence.

The villagers have never been confined to their homes like this before.

Shen Er stood at the village entrance, his thoughts drifting back to the time he had just been at the Hokage Building.

At that time, Shen'er actually habitually wanted to refuse Zhili's guards and let her stay in the village.

As Sun Wukong mentioned, the Sage of Six Paths had warned Isobu not to help humanity produce virus raw materials anymore. But now, Isobu's actions have violated this taboo, and there is definitely an opportunity to exploit it.

Perhaps we could try to bypass the Jinchuriki and establish direct contact with the Three-Tails to achieve some kind of conspiracy. For example, we could have it influence the Jinchuriki at a crucial moment, causing it to "self-destruct".

With Chiri by his side at all times, this evil plan inevitably became hampered in its execution.

They could easily assign three more veteran guards, including Shimura Heizo, to serve as bodyguards.

The three had just completed an S-rank mission with him and were currently on vacation in the village. They had also attended Hiruzen and Danzo's wedding. The wedding invitation had been delivered to him, but he did not attend.