Shikatoki and Minato’s battle ended in a draw.
Minato had tested his Rasenshuriken.
Shikatoki had tested his immortal body.
Both walked away completely satisfied.
The spectators, on the other hand, were left stunned.
Especially by Shikatoki’s immortality.
His techniques had already been absurdly devious to begin with.
Everyone had unanimously concluded that the best way to deal with Shikatoki was to avoid his shadows and attack him directly.
But now?
His close-combat ability had become ridiculous— and he was immortal on top of that.
How the hell was anyone supposed to fight him?
After that spar, the clan heads of Konoha’s major families suddenly displayed unprecedented enthusiasm.
Every day, the homes of Shikatoki and Minato were packed with visitors.
Some came bearing gifts.
Some wanted to establish connections.
Some even came proposing marriages.
Kushina became so furious that she ignored Minato for several days.
Shikatoki had things easier.
With the Nara Clan behind him, he simply dumped all the troublesome matters onto his elder uncle.
Then he hid at the Senju Clan compound and enjoyed the peace.
“Shikatoki-kun, is there any particular principle behind the frequency at which you circulate your blood?”
Orochimaru stood nearby with a small notebook in his hand, looking almost like an obedient student.
Recently, both Tsunade and Orochimaru had become genuinely fascinated by Shikatoki’s immortal body.
Orochimaru wanted to know whether it could offer any clues toward eternal life.
Tsunade believed the regeneration principle might be applicable to medical ninjutsu.
“Senior Orochimaru.”
Shikatoki sighed.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a researcher at the research institute?”
“Why are you free enough to come bother me every single day?”
Orochimaru licked his lips.
“Because I find your research topic far more interesting, Shikatoki-kun.”
“Orochimaru!”
Tsunade walked out of the house.
For perhaps the first time in her life, she found Orochimaru genuinely annoying.
“Why are you here again?”
“I have things I need to ask Shikatoki today too!”
“Oh?”
Orochimaru refused to give way.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“But I arrived first.”
Tsunade immediately pulled Shikatoki toward herself.
“Heh.”
“Shikatoki is my fiancé!”
“Of course he listens to me first.”
Shikatoki found himself pressed against Tsunade’s softness.
Naturally, he had no complaints whatsoever.
Orochimaru paused.
“Fiancé?”
“You and Shikatoki?”
Tsunade’s face reddened slightly, but she planted both hands on her hips and spoke with complete confidence.
“Of course!”
“Grandma Mito personally decided it.”
“I see.”
Orochimaru gave them an amused smile.
“Then I’ll take my leave for now.”
“Shikatoki-kun, I’ll come bother you again this afternoon.”
The moment Orochimaru disappeared, Tsunade released Shikatoki.
“Brat.”
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself just now.”
“Hey, I’m apparently your fiancé now.”
Shikatoki grinned.
“What was I supposed to say?”
Tsunade took a deep breath.
Then she pulled out a large stack of medical scrolls.
“Look at these.”
“If I combine your method of circulating blood with natural energy, do you think it could reduce the burden caused by excessive cell division?”
Shikatoki had to admit—
Tsunade’s idea was extremely interesting.
She wasn’t blindly copying his technique.
Instead, she was integrating its principles into her own medical system and modifying them accordingly.
Shikatoki knew little about medical ninjutsu.
All he could provide was his understanding of natural energy through Sage Mode and the knowledge of blood he had gained from Jashin.
Even that alone benefited Tsunade tremendously.
Life continued peacefully.
Until Hiruzen summoned Shikatoki once again.
When he entered the Hokage’s office, Minato and Kushina were already there.
“Yo~!
Minato, Kushina.”
Shikatoki smiled.
“Long time no see.”
Minato smiled gently.
“Long time no see, Shikatoki.”
Kushina rolled her eyes.
“You’re at the Senju compound every day.”
“We literally see you every day!”
“Haha.”
“I was just being polite.”
Shikatoki turned toward Hiruzen.
“Lord Hokage, why did you call us here?”
“Kushina has graduated as well.”
Hiruzen smiled.
“All three of you are currently Genin.”
“So…
would you like to participate in the Chūnin Exams?”
Minato: “?”
Shikatoki: “?”
Kushina’s eyes lit up.
“Really?!”
“I can become a Chūnin right after graduating?!”
Shikatoki stared at Hiruzen.
“Old man, do you have a fever?”
“You want Minato and me to take the Chūnin Exams?”
“We’d just be bullying children!”
Hiruzen’s old face reddened.
Naturally, he knew perfectly well that with Shikatoki and Minato’s current strength, calling them Genin was ridiculous.
Forget Chūnin.
Both had already reached the level of elite Jōnin.
Sending them into the Chūnin Exams really was bullying.
“Ahem.”
“There’s a reason for this.”
“Normally, with the war having ended so recently, we wouldn’t be holding a Chūnin Exam at all.”
“But this time, the Fire Daimyō personally requested it.”
“He has also invited shinobi from the other four great nations and various surrounding smaller countries to participate.”
“Since the Daimyō is involved, the other nations probably won’t send ordinary Genin.”
“And because Konoha absolutely must win this tournament…”
“I thought of you and Minato.”
He glanced toward Kushina.
“And with Kushina added, you can form a three-person team.”
Shikatoki immediately understood.
So that was what this was about.
A political assignment from above.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Because of Shikatoki and Minato’s sudden rise during the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha’s losses had been significantly reduced.
The addition of the Uzumaki Clan had even made Konoha stronger than before.
Naturally, the Fire Daimyō was delighted.
Wanting to show off Konoha’s strength wasn’t particularly surprising.
“I see.”
Shikatoki shrugged.
“Sure.”
Once Minato understood the political circumstances, he naturally wouldn’t refuse either.
“Understood, Lord Hokage.”
Kushina was even happier.
“Hehe!”
“Does that mean I’m going to become the fastest shinobi in history to get promoted to Chūnin?!”
The Chūnin Exams were scheduled for two months later.
During that period, Shikatoki received an S-rank mission— delivering invitations.
In other words, he became a glorified messenger.
Within two months, he had to personally deliver invitations to the leaders of all the major shinobi villages.
Originally, this mission had been assigned to Minato.
After all, Minato possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He was extraordinarily fast, and whether fighting or retreating, his survivability was excellent.
He was practically the perfect courier.
But Shikatoki had been driven half insane by Orochimaru’s constant questions.
So he directly stole Minato’s assignment just to escape for a while.
Hiruzen had no objections.
Shikatoki accepted the mission in the morning.
After informing Tsunade, he immediately fled the village.
His first destination—
Sunagakure.
There was plenty of time, so Shikatoki wasn’t in any hurry.
Unlike his previous mission to the Land of Wind, this time he travelled with a bit of a tourist mentality.
He had to admit— compared to Konoha, Sunagakure looked painfully impoverished.
When he reached the village entrance, Shikatoki registered himself as usual.
The Sand shinobi handling the registration froze when he saw the name.
Then he immediately stared at Shikatoki with extreme vigilance.
“Shadow Sovereign…
Shikatoki Nara!”
“Tch.”
Shikatoki frowned.
“Stop calling me by that title.”
“Yes, I’m Shikatoki Nara.”
“So what?”
The moment Shikatoki confirmed his identity— the Sand shinobi fired a signal flare into the sky.
Large numbers of Sunagakure shinobi immediately began gathering at the entrance.
Shikatoki wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
After the latest upgrade to his modified Shadow Imitation Technique, his ability to deal with large numbers of weaker shinobi had become terrifying.
Before long— the Third Kazekage appeared at the gate.
His eyes locked onto Shikatoki.
Killing intent filled the air.
“Shikatoki Nara.”
“What are you doing in Sunagakure?”
“Did you come here seeking death?!”
Shikatoki looked completely confused.
“Your Daimyō didn’t tell you?”
The Third Kazekage paused.
“What?”
“The Chūnin Exams.”
Shikatoki blinked.
“The Wind Daimyō already agreed to participate, didn’t he?”
“I’m here to deliver the invitation.”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t even received the news yet?”
The Third Kazekage’s expression changed repeatedly.
Sunagakure’s relationship with the Wind Daimyō had never been particularly harmonious.
The Wind Daimyō frequently cut Sunagakure’s funding.
That made it increasingly difficult for Sunagakure to train shinobi.
Which caused the village to perform poorly during wars.
Which in turn made the Wind Daimyō believe that his investment wasn’t producing sufficient returns— so he reduced their funding even further.
A vicious cycle.
“Shi!
Ka!
To!
Ki!
Na!
Ra!”
A voice overflowing with killing intent suddenly rang out.
“You actually dare come to Sunagakure?!”
“Give me back my son and daughter-in-law!”
A puppet shot toward Shikatoki.
Shikatoki glanced at it coldly.
Sage Mode activated.
Combined with his monstrous strength, a single strike shattered the puppet.
The resulting fist wind, infused with natural energy, continued directly toward Chiyo.
“Puppet Technique: Chakra Shield!”
“White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets!”
Ten white-robed puppets appeared simultaneously.
They surrounded Shikatoki from every direction.
Shikatoki’s expression became serious.
This technique was no joke.
These ten puppets had been created by Monzaemon Chikamatsu, the founder of puppetry.
In the original story— just these ten puppets had been capable of contending with Sasori’s Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
Boom!
Natural energy erupted from Shikatoki’s Sage Mode.
The shockwave forced back every nearby shinobi and puppet.
His expression turned cold as he looked toward the Third Kazekage.
“Is this how Sunagakure treats its guests?”
The Third Kazekage fell silent for a moment.
Then he looked toward Chiyo.
“Chiyo.”
“Stop.”
“I’m going to kill him!”
Chiyo gritted her teeth.
The deaths of her son and daughter-in-law had remained a constant wound in her heart.
She couldn’t find Sakumo Hatake.
So Shikatoki, who had participated in that mission, was the next best target for her hatred.
Her killing intent was completely undisguised.
The Third Kazekage remained silent.
Shikatoki understood.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Black chains suddenly shot outward.
Each chain wrapped around one of the ten puppets.
Snap!
Chiyo’s chakra threads were instantly severed.
Her connection to the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets disappeared completely.
Sealing formulas spread across every puppet.
“You people seem to think I have a very good temper.”
The ten puppets were dragged in front of Shikatoki.
He glanced at them and gave a mocking smile.
“Monzaemon’s puppets really are impressive.”
“It’s just a pity their current user isn’t.”
“To prevent such fine puppets from being disgraced any further…”
“I think I’ll destroy them.”
“Wait!”
The Third Kazekage immediately shouted.
These puppets were treasured heirlooms of Sunagakure.
Shikatoki ignored him.
Natural energy gathered around his foot.
He stomped down.
Crack!
The first puppet shattered beneath his foot.
“Sorry.”
Shikatoki looked at the Third Kazekage.
“Looks like my reaction time was delayed, just like yours was a moment ago.”
“My apologies.”
Then he smiled.
“Maybe you shouldn’t call them the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets anymore.”
“The Chikamatsu Collection of Nine Puppets sounds pretty good too.”
“Leave the invitation and the puppets.”
The Third Kazekage’s face was iron-grey.
“Then you may leave.”
Shikatoki tossed the invitation toward him.
“Here’s the invitation.”
“But the puppets?”
He smiled.
“They’re my spoils of war.”
“Insolence!”
The Third Kazekage’s killing intent erupted.
“Shikatoki Nara, do you truly believe I don’t dare kill you?!”
A massive quantity of Iron Sand appeared behind him.
“You’re welcome to try.”
Shikatoki showed no fear whatsoever.
Did they really think he was still the Shikatoki Nara from two years ago?
His shadow stretched outward.
Farther.
And farther.
It seemed almost as though darkness itself was preparing to swallow the entirety of Sunagakure.
Even the Third Kazekage found the pressure difficult to ignore.
“What exactly do you want?”
He growled through gritted teeth.
“I want to examine the puppet secret techniques left behind by Monzaemon.”
Shikatoki’s voice was calm.
“Impossible!”
Chiyo refused without hesitation.
“Has Konoha gone insane?!”
“You even dare covet Sunagakure’s puppet techniques?!”
The Third Kazekage immediately agreed.
“Impossible.”
Shikatoki had expected that response.
He had never actually believed they would hand over the complete inheritance.
This was bargaining.
Naturally, you started with an absurdly high demand.
“Fine.”
“I’ll compromise.”
Shikatoki put on an expression as though he were making an enormous sacrifice.
“I only want the portion of Monzaemon’s secret techniques related to puppet control.”
“I don’t need anything concerning puppet construction.”
“And I’ll only read it here for ten minutes.”
He paused.
Then added casually,
“If that still isn’t acceptable…”
“I’ll just take these remaining puppets with me.”