Next day.
Shinju did something rare and got up very early, getting ready to head out and buy some breakfast.
He walked a circle through the house and discovered that Sasuke and Naruto had actually gotten up even earlier than him and had already left.
There was still a little mist on the streets in the early morning, but the bustling Konoha was already lively and noisy.
After casually grabbing a few bites at a shop, Shinju arrived at the Hokage's office.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a messenger hawk appear outside the window!
Very soon, a letter from the frontline was delivered into Shinju's hands by the Code Analysis Division.
Shinju unfolded the letter and found that it was sent back by Kakashi-sensei.
The letter said that they had already discovered the main base of activity of the Ōtsutsuki cult at the border of the Land of Wind, and had also seen people suspected to be inner members of Kara. They were currently continuing their observation.
"No wonder he's an old veteran ninja—his moves are always clean and efficient."
"Kara and the Ōtsutsuki… according to the teachings of the Ōtsutsuki cult, Kara's goal is very likely to launch Infinite Tsukuyomi, plant the Divine Tree, obtain the chakra fruit… a bunch of people bewitched by power."
Shinju wrote back to Kakashi-sensei, telling him to keep observing...
...
Somewhere in a desolate otherworldly space.
Here stood a massive stone monument and a stone dais.
All kinds of patterns were carved upon the monument.
If someone were to carefully observe it here, they would discover that the horns drawn in those patterns were similar to the forms of the Ōtsutsuki currently appearing in the shinobi world...
"Roar!!"
Suddenly, a strange roar echoed through the space, filled with endless humiliation and fury, clearly suppressed for far too long.
After a brief moment—
"Whoosh!"
A pitch-black spatial gate appeared out of nowhere. Jigen, his hair tied in a braid, stepped through the gate, body floating in midair before slowly landing.
Right after, he found the source of the sound—the Ten-Tails that he had locked inside a cage...
"This temporary body is inconvenient in so many ways. I need to borrow a bit of your power… The Sixth Hokage is a poisonous thorn stuck in my heart right now. I have to pull it out as soon as possible!"
After saying that, Jigen stretched out his hand...
"Raaah—"
A surging torrent of chakra was drawn from the Ten-Tails' body and absorbed entirely into his own!
...
Otherworldly space, Amado's laboratory.
Jigen returned after absorbing quite a lot of chakra from the Ten-Tails.
Amado was tuning a precise instrument. When he saw Jigen approach, he casually greeted him,
"Sit wherever you like."
Jigen got straight to the point. "I'm going to Konoha."
Amado responded absentmindedly, "Go… wait! Σ( ° △ °|||)︴"
"You're going to Konoha?"
"Jigen, even if you're anxious about the vessel, you shouldn't be this reckless."
"We both know that Sixth Hokage's ability—fighting two Ōtsutsuki alone and practically bringing the dead back to life… frankly, you might not be his match. Think this through!"
Jigen looked speechless at that. "I naturally have my own plan. I'm not going there to die."
Amado stopped his adjustments, poured himself a glass of water, and calmed down for a while.
After a long pause, Amado looked up and met the stark black-and-white eyes inside Jigen's gaze.
"Alright. What help do you need from me?"
Just as the two of them were engrossed in tense planning, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open!
Red-haired Code and Delta stood at the doorway, faces full of excitement.
"Take us along too!"
Jigen: "You two? You can't even scrape together a single brain between you… (ー ー゛)"
"Call Boro over."
...
Hokage's office.
"Click!"
The doorknob turned.
A slender figure then stepped into the office—the visitor was the orphanage boy, Ichiyo!
Ichiyo had already been in Konoha for some time now. Under the careful care of Kabuto and Yakushi Nonō, this kid had clearly become much more cheerful. Today, he could even take the initiative to come to the Hokage's office.
When Shinju saw the child arrive, he didn't even need him to speak to guess his intention.
"You want me to be your training partner?"
Ichiyo nodded honestly.
Right then, Shikamaru walked into the Hokage's office carrying a pile of documents and lightly bumped Ichiyo with his elbow.
"Hey, kid, the Hokage's really busy. There's no way he can train with you every single day... ¯_(ツ)_/¯"
Ichiyo stubbornly insisted, "But only when he trains with me can the power of 'Kama' thaw quickly… maybe because the two 'Kama' marks resonate with each other."
Shinju nodded. "Alright then, I'll split off another wood clone for you to play with."
With that, Shinju formed hand seals, and a wooden body split off from his true self!
Shinju figured that the wood clone's appearance, demeanor, and even the chakra aura were exactly the same as the original! Training with it should be just as effective as training with him personally!
Having gained his very own designated sparring partner in the form of a wood clone, Ichiyo left in high spirits.
Shikamaru set down the files and looked at Shinju with a speechless face.
"Didn't expect you to be so easygoing in front of kids..."
Shinju grinned. "Come on, I'm easygoing with anyone. I basically help with whatever people ask."
Shikamaru held out his hand.
"Lend me some money."
Shinju refused in a heartbeat.
"Keep dreaming!"
Shikamaru: ▼_▼
Time slipped by, and noon arrived.
Today Shinju finally didn't have to eat out, because Ino had brought him a bento she'd made with love.
After taking a bite of the sushi inside, Shinju was surprised to discover that Ino's cooking skills had gotten even better!
"Delicious!"
Shinju looked up and met Ino's eyes.
With her long hair braided today, Ino smiled with pursed lips.
"If you like it, I'll make more for you tomorrow. And don't just eat sushi—since you work so hard every day, you need a balanced diet... (๑ت๑)"
Shinju nodded, answering vaguely while chewing.
At a certain moment, the expression on his face suddenly changed! As if he had sensed something serious!
Under Ino's puzzled gaze, Shinju, halfway through his meal, looked down at his palm.
There, the diamond-shaped Kama mark that he had suppressed with sealing techniques seemed to have darkened again!
"What happened?" Ino asked curiously.
Shinju narrowed his eyes and explained, "It feels like something is trying to burst out from my palm..."
"I placed over ten layers of seals on this weird Kama mark, and now one of those layers is about to be broken through by the power inside..."
Ino: "Uh…"
Over ten layers of seals, and only one layer getting broken—sounds like it's not that big a deal, huh? →_→
But since Shinju was being this serious, Ino could only follow his lead.
"Then maybe add a few more seals?"
Shinju nodded. With a flurry of movements, "swish swish swish," another ring of sigils appeared on his arm!
"This thing has been quiet all this time—why would it suddenly act up today?"
"What's affecting it?"
Shinju frowned, and suddenly remembered what Ichiyo had told him a few days earlier—"Kama resonance."
If they were close enough, any anomaly in Ichiyo's Kama could also be felt by Shinju's Kama!
"I'll go take a look!"