After eating and drinking his fill, Isshin slapped a few banknotes onto the table, hoisted his iconic and intimidating halberd onto his shoulder, and swaggered out of the shop amid the shop owner Fujiwara's somewhat nervous yet forced, please come again, words.
The streets of Konoha were lit with evening lights, and a cool breeze drifted through.
His tall figure and that fearsome weapon stood out sharply among the pedestrians. Wherever he passed, people instinctively made a way, and whispers gathered behind him.
"Look, that's him!"
"He's the one who defeated Jonin Shinku and Jonin Hizashi…"
Isshin paid no attention to these discussions, simply walking at an unhurried yet long-striding pace along the main road toward Konoha's gate.
His expression was calm, even carrying a hint of laziness after a full meal, as if he were not the same person who had stirred up a storm in the arena today and made a pact with Konoha's genius.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long, overlapping with the shadow of the halberd slung across his shoulder, casting onto Konoha's clean roads as he gradually walked away.
Root? Danzo?
What insignificant trash.
Go talk to my Summoning Technique.
Although he appeared careless and unguarded as he left, he had already prepared his escape route.
As early as before he officially entered Konoha under the identity of the samurai Isshin, two days ago, on the night he reunited with his original body in Tsukimi village and signed the Summoning Jutsu, everything had already been arranged.
At that time, besides adjusting the clone talents and signing the Summoning Jutsu, the original body had also released two additional Shadow Clones.
These two Shadow Clones had set off simultaneously, heading stealthily toward the northwest of the Land of Fire.
Calculating the time, they should be near the Village Hidden in the Grass by now.
One of these Shadow Clones carried a bottle of blood belonging to the original body.
As long as he stepped out of Konoha's gate at this moment and confirmed a safe distance, the original body, Shinichi Higashino, who remained in Konoha, could, with a single thought, instantly dispel one of the Shadow Clones.
Once the Shadow Clone was dispelled, its memories and information would return.
Then, another Shadow Clone far away near the Village Hidden in the Grass, upon seeing the nearby Shadow Clone return, would immediately know that the matter in Konoha has been settled.
What comes next is simple.
That Shadow Clone would use the original body's blood it carried with it as a medium to perform the Summoning Technique.
At that time, no matter what kind of undercurrents existed inside or outside Konoha, no matter whether that so-called Root or any other forces coveting him truly dared to make a move, under the Summoning Technique that ignores spatial distance, he could be directly summoned from near Konoha to the Village Hidden in the Grass.
This was his greatest confidence in daring to attend the meeting alone and stir up the situation in Konoha, an innate composure of standing in an undefeated position.
Konoha's magnificent main gate was already before his eyes. The guarding ninjas watched him approach, their expressions complicated, but after checking the procedures and verifying his identity, they silently stepped aside and opened the way.
Isshin finally turned back to take one last look at Konoha under the newly fallen night, lights shining brilliantly. His gaze lingered briefly on the towering Hokage Rock before he let out a light chuckle.
Turning around, he strode out through the gate in large steps, his figure quickly blending into the darkness and the outlines of distant mountains beyond the gate.
The gate guards watched in the direction he disappeared, and almost at the same time, they quietly let out a sigh of relief.
This troublesome and powerful guest had finally left.
What they did not know was that almost at the exact moment Isshin's figure disappeared around the bend of the road, in a remote forest somewhere in the Village Hidden in the Grass, a puff of white smoke burst open.
The tall, burly Isshin, carrying a halberd, was already standing there calmly, gazing toward the southeast, in the direction of Konoha, with a satisfied smile on his face.
The trip to Konoha had ended perfectly.
"There's something very interesting."
After saying his final sentence, the Shadow Clone that had performed the Summoning Technique suddenly burst into a cloud of white mist and dissipated in the night wind, directly returning to the original body of Shinichi Higashino far away in Konoha.
"Oh?"
Feeling the information transmitted back after the Shadow Clone returned, Isshin grinned. "That really is a bit interesting."
Half an hour later, at the edge of the same forest.
Large trees had been snapped at their roots, lying in disarray across the ground. The path was twisted beyond recognition, as if trampled by a giant beast.
Seven or eight corpses lay askew amid the mess. Judging by the forehead protectors on their heads and their uniform clothing, they were clearly ninjas from Kusagakure.
Most of them had died cleanly, either their skulls shattered, bodies split in two, or crushed and deformed by immense force, exuding an efficiency and intimidation born purely from brute violence.
Isshin sat boldly on a relatively clean, large rock, his halberd stuck diagonally into the ground beside him, its blade still stained with fresh blood.
He was watching with interest as a young man and woman in front of him, who were still shaken, supported each other.
Both had striking blood-red hair and looked to be around twenty years old.
The man was somewhat thin, wearing round black-framed glasses. His complexion was pale, giving him a scholarly air. At this moment, his eyes were filled with lingering fear and vigilance, though he was trying to remain calm.
The woman leaned against him. She also had fiery red hair, along with a pair of ruby-like eyes that matched it. At this moment, she looked uneasily at Isshin, then couldn't help glancing at the corpses of the Kusagakure ninjas, her body trembling slightly.
"Th-thank you, sir, for saving us."
The man steadied himself, pulled his wife along, and bowed deeply to the burly samurai on the rock. His voice still trembled from surviving the ordeal. The woman also lowered her head in thanks, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Mm."
Isshin responded, his gaze sweeping over their striking red hair as he asked directly, "Why were the ninjas from Kusagakure trying to capture the two of you?"
Although he said this, he already had a rough guess in his mind.
The young couple exchanged a glance, struggle flashing in their eyes. Finally, the man stepped forward and decided to tell the truth.
"Sir, we are remnants of the Uzumaki Clan. My name is Dosaku Uzumaki, and this is my wife, Kicho Uzumaki."
After the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, they had followed their respective surviving clansmen and wandered from place to place since childhood, enduring many hardships.
A few years ago, they eventually arrived in this relatively remote border region of the Village Hidden in the Grass and settled down under assumed identities.
Relying on each other, they opened a small clinic to make a living. Dosaku had inherited some of the Uzumaki Clan's knowledge of Medical Ninjutsu and herbal medicine, gradually gaining a bit of a reputation locally, while his wife, Kicho, assisted him in managing the clinic.
Life could have continued peacefully like this until a sudden change a few days ago shattered that tranquility.
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