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Chapter 30 — Shinnō's Death and the Spoils of War
The energy rampaging within Shinnō's body was invisible, untouchable—and monstrously violent. Its density and potency defied reason.
He had no idea what this energy was.
But he felt it—fusing into his chakra, causing it to multiply at an exponential rate. Every passing second, his chakra output doubled, then doubled again.
A single sip of Hero Water could increase a shinobi's chakra by more than tenfold.
And he had swallowed an entire pool.
Now, Shinnō's chakra reserves had grown to a level that mocked common sense. The mysterious energy shattered the wall that had blocked his advancement, pushing him straight past the boundary he'd struggled against for decades.
—Super Kage.
Yet his expression twisted not in triumph, but in terror.
As his chakra surged, panic flooded his eyes. The raging energy inside him was out of control.
He tried to suppress it—tried to subdue it with Dark Chakra—but it was useless.
This new energy was beyond chakra. Its raw potency dwarfed anything he could command.
It carried the chaotic, corrupted will of the Ten-Tails, overlaid upon the fury of unrefined natural energy.
The impact wasn't physical—it struck his mind.
Shinnō's mental fortitude was greater than most shinobi's, but nowhere near the monstrous durability of his so-called "ultimate body." The Ten-Tails' chaotic consciousness hit him like a tidal wave and obliterated his sanity in an instant.
Midair, his spasms stopped abruptly.
Drool slid from his mouth. His eyes rolled back. His face twisted into a mindless snarl—a beast wearing a man's skin.
He let out a guttural, meaningless roar. Then, spotting the paper clone floating above, he coiled like a predator ready to spring—intent on ripping apart anything alive.
But he never got the chance.
His body bulged grotesquely, as if something inside struggled to break free. Then, from his chest outward, his skin began to turn gray—fast.
In a blink, Shinnō was entirely petrified, frozen in stone mid-scream.
The once-indestructible ultimate body became a perfect, unmoving statue—terrifyingly lifelike, eternally snarling.
Even a Super Kage could not resist the petrification of unrestrained natural energy. And with his mind shattered, he had no chance of stabilizing it.
The moment he drank that flood of Hero Water, his death had already been sealed.
With a hollow whistle, the stone statue plummeted from the sky.
The flight pack sputtered out, losing its chakra feed.
The paper clone swooped down swiftly, catching the statue with a wave of paper sheets and lowering it safely to the ground—right in the empty square of the nearby village.
The villagers had all fled to the mountains after the earlier storm; the plaza was deserted.
Poof.
The paper clone dispersed, memories returning to the original.
Moments later, Konan descended from the heavens, wings spread wide as she slowed her fall. She landed before the gray statue, her expression solemn.
"So this is the power of natural energy... truly terrifying."
She studied the petrified Shinnō with quiet awe. The man who had defied death and shrugged off every wound—dead, reduced to stone.
Natural energy was not just powerful—it was absolute.
Konan remembered the sage form of her late master, Jiraiya. A gentle respect stirred within her chest. To tame such power… no wonder he called himself a Sage.
Alex floated beside her.
[Don't be too afraid of it, Konan. In Sage Mode, natural energy isn't this wild. It's balanced. Controlled.]
Sage Mode—an essential step for power.
Alex already had a plan for where to learn it. As Konan's external partner, he had ways to make the training far less dangerous—to help her master it safely.
"Sage Mode, huh…" Konan murmured.
She thought of her master again—the fight where he faced Pain alone, how strong he had been. Had they known more then, perhaps the Six Paths of Pain would never have won.
Alex, seeing her drift into memory, didn't interrupt.
Instead, he floated behind the statue and rummaged through Shinnō's equipment pouch.
Kunai, soldier pills, scrolls—they all clattered to the ground.
Alex darted straight for the scrolls, unrolling each. Plans of Sky-ninja infiltration, years of intelligence logs, and Shinnō's handwritten research notes.
And most importantly—two jutsu scrolls.
Dark Medical Ninjutsu and Zero-Tails Technique.
Both originals, with backups hidden somewhere in the Sky-ninja fortress.
Without hesitation, Alex spread them open and activated his ability.
—Replication.
In a single breath, the forbidden techniques Shinnō had spent decades perfecting were his. Along with every page of experiment logs and theoretical notes.
Now, Alex's medical-ninjutsu knowledge was second to none—likely enough to rival Tsunade herself.
What had cost Shinnō half a lifetime of obsession and sacrifice, Alex absorbed in seconds.
If Shinnō could still think, he'd have screamed, "This isn't fair!"—and shattered his own statue in rage.
Alex grinned, savoring the flood of new knowledge.
The feeling of growing stronger was pure bliss.
Then, with a flick of chakra, he unleashed a burst of wind blades, slicing the scrolls on the ground into confetti.
Such power could not be allowed to spread.
He alone would wield it. And what he possessed—Konan possessed too.
"Hey… what are you doing…?"
A trembling voice broke the silence.
Amaru stood nearby, clutching a wooden stick, her legs shaking but her eyes blazing with courage.
"I—I warn you… don't hurt the village, or else…!"
Her small voice quavered; tears shimmered in her eyes. She was terrified, but she stood her ground—for her village.
Konan blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. She looked once at the red-haired girl and then toward Alex, who signaled that everything was finished.
Turning back, her tone was cool and even.
"The money on the ground is payment for my lodging—and for your village's reconstruction."
Without another word, she rose into the air and flew toward the Sky-ninja fortress.
"Lodging…?" Amaru murmured, stunned.
Then, realization struck. "Wait—you're the woman from last night?!"
Her voice echoed, unanswered.
She looked down at the pile of money and let out a shaky laugh.
"Well… if she says so, we'll use it to rebuild."
Her gaze drifted to the stone statue's face. She tilted her head.
"Huh… looks kind of like Master. Maybe someone he once saved carved it?"
She smiled softly. "Hehe, fine. We'll treat it as Master's memorial, then."
True filial piety—even accidental—could move mountains.
Amaru stomped lightly, gathering the coins, muttering to herself.
"Honestly, Master… where did you go…?"