A few minutes earlier.
Outside Konoha, at the training spot of Shinju and Ichiyo.
"Bang!"
Poor Ichiyo was sent flying by Shinju's clone with a single punch and hit the ground, not getting up!
Seeing this, Shinju panicked. Worried he'd actually killed him with that punch, he rushed over to check!
After examining him, he found all of Ichiyo's vital signs were normal; he was perfectly healthy!
"That's weird… clearly healthy, so why do you look like you're in so much pain? Are you faking it or not?"
Shinju's clone asked, rubbing his chin.
A few seconds passed. Ichiyo still didn't answer. He just curled up, rolling around, face twisted in agony. "Ugh—!"
The next moment, patches of black wedge-marks appeared on Ichiyo's left arm!
The pitch-black markings kept spreading, gradually taking over half of his body!
Right after, a massive surge of chakra overflowed from Ichiyo and slowly formed a dark spatial gate!
Shinju's clone stared at the suddenly formed portal, thinking—should he go in and check, or go report back to the main body first…
While he froze for that brief moment, a foot stepped out of the black portal!
Very soon—
A white-robed man with patterned markings on his face appeared before Shinju!
The man's looks were ordinary, yet he carried an effortless, intimidating presence. His voice was deep and magnetic; when he spoke, he had an undeniable charisma.
"This should be our first time meeting, Hokage."
Since he had already read Ichiyo's memories, Shinju recognized him instantly.
"Jigen, the leader of Kara."
Jigen shrugged, neither confirming nor denying it.
Shinju asked, "You came today… for Ichiyo?"
Jigen shook his head, a wicked smile on his lips.
"Just a useless vessel… I came here today specifically for you!"
After speaking, Jigen smiled wider and suddenly raised his hand!
"Whoosh!!"
A pitch-black spatial vortex wrapped around Shinju's body!
The scene before Shinju shifted!
By the time he reacted, he was already in another space!
This place was vast beyond measure. The ground was brown-yellow, stretching for thousands of meters in every direction!
Across this wide land, several awkward-looking tall towers stood, their tips flashing alternating red and green light!
Seeing the towers, Shinju's clone frowned. "This is…"
Jigen explained with a smile, "A large-scale chakra-blocking system… It can't completely block chakra, but it can suppress you ninja from focusing and forming it to a certain degree."
"Custom-built for you," Jigen added deliberately.
...
Outside Konoha.
At the spot where Shinju's clone had fought Ichiyo earlier, the real Shinju arrived!
Very quickly, he used medical ninjutsu to wake the pain-fainted Ichiyo and asked,
"What happened here? Did my clone fail to protect you?"
Rubbing his eyes, Ichiyo told Shinju exactly what had just happened, from start to finish.
After listening, Shinju's face went through a wonderful range of expressions!
What a colossal idiot Jigen was—trying to trap him, only to accidentally kidnap a completely expendable clone?
Who knew how priceless his expression would be once he learned the truth!
"To prevent Jigen from showing up again, I'll give you another clone to guard you…" Shinju said casually.
Ichiyo: "Aren't you going to save the other clone?"
Shinju waved it off. "You said it yourself—it's a clone… and my clones share my mind. If things look bad, he'll dispel himself and send everything back to me…"
Ichiyo: "So that's ninjutsu? That's so useful. I want to learn too!"
He'd been taken into Kara since childhood, subjected to human experimentation. His understanding of ninja was minimal, let alone forming chakra and using ninjutsu…
For such a small request, Shinju of course wouldn't refuse.
"Sure. In a few days, I'll teach you myself!"
...
In the other dimension.
Black markings covered Jigen's face, and a single horn sprouted from his head—his form similar to Ichiyo's activated wedge state!
At this moment, he was trading fierce blows with Shinju!
"Bang bang bang—!!"
"Bang bang bang—!!"
The two exchanged fists and kicks, muscles and bones colliding with explosive crashes!
After dozens of exchanges, admiration appeared in Jigen's eyes.
"I have to admit, you're truly strong. Your taijutsu is almost on my level—practically perfected."
Shinju's clone looked speechless.
This Jigen was pretty narcissistic—complimenting others while sneaking in praise for himself!
"Alright, I'm done playing around! I only need to keep you restrained—then Konoha will pose no threat to me at all!" Jigen said, extending his hand and slowly clenching the air!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!"
Dozens of black rods burst from the ground beneath Shinju. If he hadn't dodged fast enough, he would've been skewered like a sieve!
Opposite him, Jigen seemed to have predicted Shinju's movements. His palms clapped together, top and bottom!
"Clack!"
A massive black bowl appeared beneath Shinju's clone out of nowhere!!
At the same time, darkness spread above his head—another black bowl formed over him!
"Clack!"
"Clang—!!!"
The upper bowl dropped, closing tightly with the lower one!
Just like that, Shinju's clone was trapped between the two bowls!
Always serious and stern, Jigen was now grinning ear to ear.
"I finally sealed Shinju! Kara's plans in the ninja world will no longer be hindered in the slightest!"
"Time to return to Konoha and take the vessel. This body is truly frail—just a few exchanges with Shinju and the chakra in it is already exhausted…"
...
Konoha.
Shinju received the memories of the clone Jigen had dragged into the other dimension.
"'Vessel,' 'wedge,' 'this body'…"
"So the current Jigen might not actually be the real Jigen?"
Muttering to himself, Shinju prepared to use Flying Thunder God to jump to Ichiyo's side.
According to Jigen's last words, he still intended to return to Konoha to take the vessel…
...
At Ichiyo's current location.
"Whoosh—!"
Using Ichiyo's wedge, Jigen opened the black portal once again!
Having just defeated Shinju, he felt like he was walking on air as he hopped out of the portal!
The moment he emerged, he saw a Shinju clone standing guard beside Ichiyo!
Jigen turned to stone on the spot, expression stunned beyond belief.
"You are…"
Jigen asked politely.
"Shinju's clone."
"The one you just dragged away was also a clone."
Those words hit harder than any punch.
Jigen fell silent.
If not for his strong mental endurance, he probably would've fainted right then and there!
All that effort sealing him—and it was only a clone!!
"Then where's the real one?" Jigen asked blankly.
Right then, the real Shinju appeared beside Ichiyo in a flash of Flying Thunder God.
"Heard you were looking for me."
Jigen: "…"
You really didn't have to show up that fast.
After that, unsurprisingly, Jigen was thoroughly beaten down by Shinju.
However, just as Shinju was about to toss Jigen into Konoha's prison for a proper re-education, several strange chakra signatures appeared within Konoha.
"Looks like someone's here to save you."
Shinju patted the vine-bound Jigen on the ground, smiling.