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After pummeling Kushina for a while, Tsunade felt a lot better—her frustration waned, and her mood improved considerably.
Still fuming from the earlier commotion, she turned to Shin:
“So, after you leave Konoha…where do you plan on going?”
Shin shrugged.
“Maybe take a trip and wander the world a bit. There’s a lot out there to see, and I kinda want to experience it all.”
He had no concrete goal in mind—just wanted to roam freely across the Shinobi world, visit different lands, and observe their customs.
Tsunade nodded.
“Fine. But at least send word every now and then, so I know where you are.”
Shin gave a small nod of agreement. Before departing for good, though, he wanted to have a final “chat” with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He told Tsunade and the others, then headed off in search of the Sandaime Hokage, who was busy in his command tent.
…
As Shin entered, Hiruzen glanced up and froze slightly, clearly not expecting his visitor.
Shin didn’t bother with any polite greetings:
“Sarutobi Hiruzen, I’ve come to bargain.”
His voice was cold, and he didn’t even address the man as ‘Hokage.’ If not for Tsunade’s sake, Shin would have considered killing him outright—he held that much contempt for what Hiruzen had done.
The moment he saw Shin’s emotionless face, Hiruzen felt a jolt of unease. This was so abrupt—did Shin perhaps discover something?
“I’m leaving Konoha,” Shin said flatly. “And those two ‘big ones’ I’ve got lurking outside the camp? I have no use for them. So I’ll sell them to you.”
By “two big ones,” he meant the One-Tail and the Eight-Tails. Since they served no further purpose to him, Shin wanted to trade them for something more useful.
Hiruzen’s brow furrowed:
“Leaving Konoha? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. From now on, I’m no longer a shinobi of Konoha.”
With a casual flick, Shin removed his forehead protector and tossed it to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen’s face darkened as he caught it.
“I’m aware there’ve been some unpleasant rumors about you lately, but—”
“Enough,” Shin cut him off, impatient. “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? Don’t waste my time with excuses.”
“What are you implying, Shin? Do you have some misunderstanding of my intentions?”
Shin let out a cynical snort.
“Let’s not pretend. We both know. I’m here to talk about a deal, not to rehash your schemes.”
Irritation flickered on his face, and Hiruzen fell silent for a moment before finally asking:
“What kind of deal?”
“I’ll give you the One-Tail and the Eight-Tails, and in exchange, I want something from the Scroll of Seals.” Shin’s gaze pinned Hiruzen. “What do you think?”
Hiruzen’s expression twisted.
“But the One-Tail and Eight-Tails…aren’t they Konoha’s property?”
….
‘BOOOOMMMMM’
He’d barely finished speaking when Shin’s foot crashed into him, launching the Sandaime Hokage clean out of the tent.
Hiruzen’s body skidded several meters across the ground before coming to a stop. His clothes tore from friction against the earth, leaving multiple scrapes and at least two broken ribs. Blood dribbled from his mouth.
Shin—having just withdrawn his kicking leg—stepped through the tent’s ruined flap.
“Huh? Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Care to repeat it?”
He sauntered toward Hiruzen, who lay prone on the ground, gazing down at him.
“Since when—” Shin asked in a calm monotone, “Do the One-Tail and Eight-Tails belong to Konoha?”
All the commotion quickly drew a crowd of Konoha shinobi. Many rushed over, alarmed by the sight of their injured Hokage.
From a short distance away, Tsunade also arrived—along with Kushina, Mikoto, and Konan. She let out a weary sigh:
“It’s come to this, after all…”
She’d been worried they might clash from the moment Shin left to see Hiruzen. Sure enough, her fears had been realized.
“What’s going on?! Uzumaki Shin—you attacked the Hokage-sama?!”
Hatake Sakumo drew his White Light Chakra Sabre, glaring at Shin with anger. Seeing the Sandaime Hokage so badly hurt, he didn’t need details to guess who was responsible.
“Uzumaki Shin, are you plotting to betray the village?!” Another shinobi yelled.
“First you disobeyed the Hokage’s commands, costing us so many lives, and now you’ve attacked him in person—what’s your endgame?!”
Shin’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun open, sweeping over the gathered shinobi. His voice was cold:
“All of you…shut up and get lost.”
A massive black skeletal form materialized around Shin’s upper body—Susano’o in its first stage. With a thunderous roar, it unleashed a surge of oppressive chakra, blasting everyone back in a wave of force.
Staring at the jet-black skeletal giant, none of them dared speak. Even the incomplete Susano’o left them paralyzed with fear.
“Protect Hokage-sama!”
Hatake Sakumo shouted, blinking over to stand in front of Hiruzen and shield him.
The others shook off their shock and hurried to form a protective circle. Hiruzen, clinging to help from a few shinobi, shakily stood up again, glaring at Shin with anger and alarm:
“Uzumaki Shin, just what do you think you’re doing?!”
Shin motioned dismissively toward the rumbling footsteps echoing across camp. The One-Tail and the Eight-Tails were approaching.
Konoha-nin leapt aside in panic, terrified of being trampled by the two towering Tailed Beasts.
Of course, the Tailed Beasts’ sudden appearance caused further destruction in the camp, but Shin only eyed Hiruzen:
“Now do you see whose beasts they really are? If you still want to pretend Konoha ‘owns’ them, I could just let them each fire off a Bijūdama right here.”
Tsunade felt a headache coming on. The situation was escalating fast.
Nearby, Jiraiya approached her, bewildered:
“Tsunade, what in the world is happening?”
She exhaled in frustration.
“It’s the Sandaime’s own doing. Those rumors flying around camp? About Shin supposedly causing Konoha’s casualties? Hiruzen orchestrated them behind the scenes—at least partly. Given Shin’s personality, it’s a miracle he didn’t kill the old man on the spot. Maybe he’s sparing him for my sake.”
Tsunade’s tone went icy; what the Sandaime had done truly crossed the line. If it were her in Shin’s shoes, she’d have erupted long ago.
“Konoha doesn’t have a single decent soul left,” Kushina interjected, her face cold.
“Aren’t you a Konoha shinobi yourself?” Jiraiya shot back, bristling at her words.
“As of this moment, no,” Kushina replied. She pulled off her forehead protector and tossed it aside.
Mikoto silently did the same.
“We’re done here.”
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