At this moment, facing Konan's trembling gaze, Shin did not rush to make a harsh move to provoke her. Instead, he calmly focused on reinforcing his image.
He mouthed the words silently, "Don't act impulsively. Stay calm, I'm here."
Turning her over to his side wasn't something that could be done in a day, so he was patient, subtly working to build some bond first. Besides, the current situation was far from safe. Provoking her recklessly at this time would only put him in danger.
After all, there was still a squad of Iwa ninjas down below. These were not the Iwa spies he'd previously made up as an excuse, but actual shinobi from Iwa.
As Shin contemplated their threat level, the leading Iwa ninja below suddenly looked up sharply.
"Who?! Who's on the roof?!"
Luck is never on my side, Shin thought.
As the captain called out, another older ninja in the squad quickly formed hand signs.
"Earth Style: Stone Column Spears!"
A rock spear shot rapidly toward the ceiling without hesitation.
Shin and Konan were forced to jump down, revealing themselves in the warehouse. But the next moment, countless sheets of white paper fluttered into the air as Konan immediately launched her counterattack.
"Dance of the Shikigami!"
Her body dispersed like a butterfly, transforming into fluttering paper butterflies. They gathered in midair into several paper spears that shot rapidly toward the Iwa captain.
The previously arrogant merchant Mashiro was so terrified that his pipe dropped to the ground.
"What?! How are there people here?! Protect me! Protect me now! Kill them all!"
Ah, the sound of a cornered rat. Music to my ears, Shin smirked internally, already plotting how to use Mashiro's panic to his advantage.
Hearing this, the other Iwa ninjas in the warehouse immediately sprang into action. Shin, who had just landed, felt increasingly grateful that he hadn't rushed to shake Konan's resolve. Thanks to his subtle influence over the past few days, she had even instinctively sent some of her paper butterflies to protect him during her initial attack.
Konan herself probably hadn't realized it yet, but his importance in her heart had steadily risen, making him second only to Yahiko and Nagato within their organization.
Naturally, he wasn't going to waste this favor. Blending in with the paper butterflies, he took full advantage of the situation, tossing out a large handful of his specially-made paper shuriken.
With paper butterflies swirling everywhere and the Iwa captain just having been repelled by the mysterious blue-haired girl's paper spears, the remaining Iwa ninjas fell into a mental trap, instinctively assuming the paper shuriken he threw were also some kind of dangerous jutsu.
They scrambled to dodge, not daring to confront them head-on. One Iwa ninja even shouted a warning to his comrades.
"This guy can use paper ninjutsu too! Be careful!"
None of them realized Shin's shuriken were only paper. Using this handful of scrap paper, he easily broke through the enemy's encirclement and quickly targeted one of the enemies.
That person, likely a genin, showed a brief flash of panic in his eyes as Shin charged, retreating instead of advancing and rapidly forming hand seals.
Noticing the lack of aggressive intent in the man's eyes, Shin deduced that the hand seals were likely not for an offensive technique, especially since the man's gaze kept drifting toward an empty space behind him.
Eye movement, seal formation... Substitution jutsu. How predictable, he analyzed, his own hands ready to counter.
He casually tossed a shuriken and, as soon as he confirmed the enemy was still forming seals, he abruptly halted his charge. He drew his blade and changed direction, rushing toward the empty space behind him!
Bang!
The shuriken struck its target, but after a puff of white smoke, the original enemy transformed into a wooden log. Everything went exactly as Shin had predicted. The log fell to the ground with a crisp sound, bouncing a couple of times.
However, the moment the wood clattered against the ground, Shin had already shifted and appeared before the newly relocated enemy.
"What the—?!"
The man's confused and terrified exclamation had barely left his lips before Shin silenced him with a swift strike, ending his life.
"Goodbye," Shin whispered coldly.
The older Iwa ninja who had just attacked the roof was shocked beyond belief upon witnessing this.
"Damn it! He's at least chunin! Don't face him alone!"
A compliment? How kind of you.
He quickly called off the actions of the remaining two younger Iwa genin, signaling them to regroup, and crouched down to begin forming hand seals again. This time, he didn't announce the name of his jutsu aloud, but that didn't stop Shin from making a swift predictive response.
He jumped into the air, throwing another barrage of paper shuriken.
Iwa ninjas were known for their earth-based ninjutsu, and the older ninja's crouching posture indicated that he was preparing an earth release technique. Shin's first priority was to get off the ground—just in case.
The two remaining Iwa genin were forced to retreat once again by the barrage of paper shuriken, giving him the opportunity to leap onto a storage cabinet in the warehouse.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
At that moment, the older Iwa ninja's technique was finally activated, but Shin was already well out of its reach.
The jutsu, meant to drag enemies into the earth from below, only allowed the older ninja to shift his position, relocating to where Shin had been moments before.
Other than that, it achieved nothing.
How could this guy keep predicting our techniques in advance? First Yuta's substitution, now my Headhunter—some sort of special eye technique?
While the older ninja was mentally piecing this together and growing ever more wary, one of the younger genin suddenly realized the truth.
"Damn it! These are just ordinary pieces of paper! He's been tricking us!"
Bravo, young Padawan. Only took you one death to figure it out.
Feeling triumphant for seeing through the ruse, the genin confidently ignored his superior's earlier advice. He leapt onto the storage cabinet and rushed straight at Shin.
Shin threw another paper kunai.
"Enough of these petty tricks!"
The young genin didn't bother dodging. He should have.
Still a fresh genin, he had much to learn. Perhaps in his next life. Shin couldn't help but laugh.
Boom!
In the next instant, a deafening explosion echoed through the warehouse.
An explosive tag?! The older Iwa ninja was shocked. Another comrade's life was extinguished.
Shin had hidden an explosive tag within the paper kunai.
He had learned this technique from Konan when he asked for tips on throwing paper shuriken. By drawing lines and symbols on the paper to resemble those on an explosive tag, and then concealing the actual explosive inside, it became nearly impossible to distinguish at a glance.
Especially since his earlier paper shuriken had contained nothing, lowering the enemy's guard even further. Such tactics earned him a 'high evaluation' from his enemies. But such deception was simply part of being a shinobi. Anyone who complained about it was just revealing their own inadequacy as a ninja.
"Fuck Ame ninja!" the older Iwa ninja shouted.
Shin couldn't help but smile at such weak complaints. "Why so serious?"
Having efficiently eliminated two genin, the final Iwa ninja had temporarily lost the will to fight, retreating to the side of the merchant Mashiro. Though it seemed like he was protecting the employer, in truth, he was just avoiding battle.
Shin then shifted his attention to the older Iwa ninja.
Probably a high chunin.
It was the perfect chance for him to test his current strength. It's been several months since he had transmigrated, and he still had no direct combat experience with ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages. Thus, he lacked an accurate assessment of his own strength.
Although he had already earned widespread respect within Akatsuki, it was well-known that the ranks of ninjas from smaller villages often didn't reflect their true skill. When it came to real talent, one had to look at the Five Great Ninja Villages.
So, in the upcoming battle, he was fully prepared and on high alert.
What he didn't know, however, was that the older ninja across from him wasn't just a chunin but a special jonin.
The next moment, Shin tossed the straight sword in his hand into the air and formed hand seals.
"Lightning Style: Electric Needle Spark!"
This was a C-rank ninjutsu he had learned during exchanges within the training ground. It was a simple technique but suited his combat style perfectly.
A bolt of lightning was drawn from the void, striking the sword he had just thrown up. The handle of the sword was wrapped in insulating cloth, which he had prepared beforehand.
He swiftly grabbed the lightning-infused sword with his right hand, now finished with the seals, and charged at the older Iwa ninja with a brilliant, dazzling blue light.
"This technique... it's different," the Iwa jonin muttered, his eyes widening in surprise.
He had seen this jutsu before—it was a common technique, just a simple method of drawing lightning from the sky to attack the enemy. But why could this young ninja in front of him use it in a way that made the weapon seem enchanted?
He had already suspected that Shin possessed some kind of special eye technique, and now he was even more convinced. In truth, Shin had no such ability; he was simply pushing himself to his limits to survive, both physically and mentally.
The Iwa ninja dodged the first strike, but Shin's footwork was skillful, and his sword movements immediately followed up in an unending chain of attacks. He was soon forced to defend with only a kunai.
But after just one block, his entire arm went numb with a sharp, tingling pain. The lightning coursing through Shin's sword was causing him major trouble.
Helpless, he tossed his kunai and, taking a risky move, leaped backward quickly. Shin's upward slash nearly split him open right there.
However, thanks to this risky maneuver, the Iwa ninja managed to break free from the relentless attacks. As he soared through the air, he quickly formed hand seals with his now free hands.
"Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!"
Predictably, Shin thought, his eyes moving to the ground beneath his feet. Likely a follow-up after this.
This was an enhanced version of the Stone Column Spears technique, instantly summoning even more sharp rock spikes from beneath the enemy's feet.
And as predicted, it wasn't over. After landing, the Iwa ninja continued forming seals and slammed his hands onto the ground again.
"Earth Style: Earthquake Slam!"
A violent tremor spread from beneath his palms in all directions. Rows of storage cabinets tumbled over, and the warehouse filled with dust and debris. The nearby wall even began to crack extensively in the aftermath.
In the distance, Mashiro screamed in panic, sounding like a terrified, out-of-control gopher.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
Beside him, the last remaining Iwa genin, holding a kunai in defense, was overjoyed. "We did it! We took down that damn Ame ninja!"
The series of jutsus exhausted the older Iwa ninja, and he gasped for air. But a look of relief and satisfaction appeared on his face, mirroring his teammate's joy.
In the middle of the cracked warehouse floor, their enemy's body was impaled on the rock spikes, still clutching the straight sword covered in lightning scars.
"Hmph, just a ninja from a small nation after all."
The older Iwa ninja was just starting to feel some pride when, in the next moment, the corpse impaled on the rock spikes exploded into a puff of smoke.
Bang.
It had been a clone. The sword fell to the ground as well.
Because Shin had given the clone the sword with the unique lightning scars, it completely misled the enemy. The next second, one of the collapsed storage cabinets burst open, and the real Shin charged out from the debris, startling the older Iwa ninja.
By now, the Iwa ninja had nearly exhausted all of his chakra. From the moment he had used his Stone Column Spears, he had cast four high-level jutsus in quick succession.
He was almost spent. As a ninja, he had truly tried his best.
Now, facing Shin's renewed attack, he desperately threw out a kunai and began forming seals once again. But this time, Shin didn't leap into the air to predictively dodge.
Heavy breathing, sluggish movements. He's running out of chakra, he analyzed, adjusting his strategy on the fly.
Moreover, from their brief close-combat encounter a few seconds ago, he had noticed that the enemy's taijutsu skills were a bit rough. So, he boldly made a judgment: the enemy would not choose close combat at this moment.
He casually threw out a few shuriken, but it was just a feint. At the same time, he shifted his path, charging toward the spot where the enemy had last looked.
Sure enough, as he predicted, the enemy left behind in the original spot turned out to be just a wooden log pierced by his shuriken. The enemy hadn't dared to engage in close combat, meaning the jutsu used was a substitution technique.
Predictable to the end.
Turning sharply, he completed his own seals.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Blade!"
Lightning chakra enveloped his hand and forearm, and his hand became a deadly blade. Mimicking Kakashi stabbing Rin, he pierced the Iwa ninja's heart in one swift strike.
Not far away, the Iwa genin, who had been celebrating, now stood in shock, mouth agape, filled with disbelief. The reversal had happened in an instant.
In his final moments, the older Iwa ninja stared at Shin, using his last ounce of strength to ask.
"How... How could you see through our techniques every time? Do you have some kind of special eye technique?"
Shin withdrew his hand, confirming that his opponent was beyond saving. He decided to offer an explanation, though not the one his enemy expected.
"Do you like bananas?"
"Huh?"
The Iwa ninja looked confused.
"I said, do you like bananas?"
"Uh... yes?" the ninja answered, bewildered.
"That's why you lost," Shin said. "I don't have a special eye technique. I just hate bananas. Monkeys love them, and look how far that's gotten them."
"Maybe if you'd spent less time peeling fruit, you wouldn't be dying here."
The Iwa ninja seemed to understand the hidden mockery in Shin's words, his eyes widening in fury.
But he couldn't say another word. His strength failed him.
After dealing with his enemy, Shin swiftly took care of the last Iwa ninja and restrained the terrified Mashiro, who had wet himself in fear.
The repeated deaths of the Iwa ninjas had left the corrupt merchant utterly shaken, and now he could only beg for his life.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
"Didn't your organization say we should understand each other? I understand you guys now! I completely understand!"
"So you can't kill me!"
Hearing this, Shin sneered and ignored him, instead turning his gaze out the window. Understanding? Oh, I understand perfectly. I understand you're a liability.
From the start of the battle, Konan had already flown outside, dragging the Iwa team leader out of the warehouse for their own fight. By now, the noise of the battle had attracted some wandering Ame ninjas patrolling the outer woods.
Seeing this, Mashiro seemed to regain a slight sense of security. But in the next moment, Shin stepped out of the warehouse and, within seconds, killed all of those wandering Ame ninjas.
This scene terrified Mashiro even more, causing him to scream like a groundhog once again.
"Ahhh! How could you kill them?"
"They're locals from the Land of Rain! Didn't your organization always say that the people of the Land of Rain should understand each other?"
"They weren't from Iwa! They weren't!"
But the only response he got was a slap across the face from Shin.
Up in the sky, where Konan was locked in a fierce battle, she had no time to criticize his ruthlessness.
On the contrary, she had heard every word Mashiro had said just now, and for a moment, she felt conflicted.
Their ideals, Yahiko's vision, their teacher's teachings—why had it all come to this?