Synthesis Ninja system

Shiro slowly opened his eyes, feeling like his head had just collided with something. Waves of pain pulsed through him, but the faint scent of something pleasant drifted to his nose.

"Shizune-sister?" Shiro asked, looking at the side of the woman's face in front of him, unable to help himself.

"Shiro-kun, you're awake!" Shizune exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy. Then her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly ran toward Tsunade.

"He's awake, so what? Why are you making such a fuss?" Tsunade shot a glance at Shiro, but when she saw Shizune's expression, she couldn't help but laugh.

Shiro gave a wry smile and turned to see Jiraiya strolling leisurely nearby. He couldn't resist asking, "Shizune-sister, wasn't carrying me tiring? How about letting the Pervy Sage carry me instead?"

Before Shizune could respond, Jiraiya's face turned even more sorrowful.

Shizune chuckled. "It wasn't tiring. Actually, Jiraiya-sama carried you at first. But while carrying you earlier, he accidentally bumped into things several times, and then Tsunade-sama didn't dare let him carry you anymore."

"Jiraiya definitely did that on purpose! If you have a problem, take it out on me, don't trouble Shiro! If I catch you doing it again, it'll be more than just a few punches!" Tsunade huffed coldly, glaring at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's face grew even more pitiful, mumbling under his breath as if to say, "This guy's just faking it!"

Shiro couldn't hold back his laughter.

But Jiraiya wasn't new to this kind of situation—he'd been through enough that he was almost used to it.

"By the way, Shizune-sister, if Tsunade-sama hadn't overcome her hemophobia earlier, what would've happened to me?"

Shizune broke into a nervous sweat, her walking pace quickening noticeably.

Shiro felt like a herd of alpacas was running through his mind.

By the time evening approached, Shiro and the others finally arrived at another village. His "injuries" had already healed long ago. If it weren't for Tsunade's insistence, he would have been bouncing around by now.

"Alright! We'll rest here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow," Tsunade said, noticing Shiro's tired look and feeling a pang of sympathy.

"Okay, since we've got two kids with us, leave Shiro to me. I'll take good care of him!" Jiraiya said, deliberately emphasizing his last words.

Shiro's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively took a step back.

"No need. Shiro will stay in our room tonight!" Tsunade said firmly.

"What?! But he's a boy!" Jiraiya growled through gritted teeth, glaring at Shiro. The thought of his goddess showing so much concern for Shiro filled him with jealousy.

"No need, I'll stay with the Pervy Sage," Shiro replied, knowing full well that avoiding the situation would only delay the inevitable. It was better to face it head-on.

Tsunade hesitated for a moment but then reluctantly nodded. "Fine, Shiro will stay in your room tonight. But if I find out you bullied him, you know what'll happen."

Shiro gave a bitter smile. The more Tsunade protected him, the deeper Jiraiya's resentment grew. What might have been a few bruises before could now turn into serious injuries!

Uneasily, Shiro followed Jiraiya to the room.

As soon as the door closed, Jiraiya began laughing ominously. "Shiro! Care to explain why your injuries haven't healed yet? And about the transformation technique I asked you to use, what's going on with that?"

Jiraiya sneered as he approached Shiro.

Before long, Shiro had backed into a corner with nowhere to escape.

At that moment, a blonde-haired boy stepped in front of him, his eyes filled with determination as he stared at Shiro.

"Shiro-kun! Please accept my challenge. I have to know how wide the gap is between us!" Naruto declared.

"Naruto, give it a rest. You're not a match for Shiro," Jiraiya sighed, patting Naruto on the shoulder.

A shadow of gloom briefly crossed Naruto's face, but his eyes quickly regained their resolve.

"I know! And I also know Shiro-kun is still injured! But if we don't fight, my ninja way will be shattered!"

*Ding!* A choice mission has been triggered!

1. Agree and defeat Naruto. Reward: Wind-Style Chakra!

2. Agree and defeat Naruto using only one hand. Reward: Naruto's original technique, a secret move capable of defeating the Third Hokage in one hit!

3. Agree and defeat Naruto using only one finger. Reward: Intermediate Sage Body!

Shiro's eyes lit up! He already knew the benefits of the Sage Body and had been looking forward to upgrading to the intermediate level. Especially after his battle with Manda, the desire had only grown stronger.

Although he now had three options, this task seemed incredibly difficult! Using just one finger meant no ninjutsu or genjutsu could be used.

Only ninjas like Might Guy or Tsunade would stand a chance.

Shiro quickly locked in on the second option!

"I choose two!" Shiro decided on the second option without any other reason, just thinking it would be unfair to use full power against Naruto when he had only used one hand against Sasuke.

It definitely had nothing to do with that secret technique!

"Alright, just like when I fought Sasuke, I'll only use one hand against you," Shiro said, coughing twice to hide his excitement.

"Deal!" Naruto nodded gratefully.

The two made their way to an open field. Shiro had previously destroyed a road, resulting in a hefty fine, so this time, they moved to a more secluded area.

Jiraiya had reluctantly agreed not to follow them, but Shiro knew for sure that Jiraiya was hiding somewhere nearby.

"Shiro-kun, even though you're only using one hand, I hope you take this seriously!" Naruto said earnestly.

"Don't worry, I will," Shiro replied, knowing he had to give his best effort with the mission reward on the line.

Naruto nodded slightly, then crossed his fingers and shouted, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In an instant, countless Narutos appeared before Shiro.

Shiro stood there, dumbfounded.

Even though he knew Naruto could use the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, seeing so many of them materialize in front of him brought a wave of pressure that made him instinctively take a step back.

"So, this is the true protagonist. But unfortunately, you're facing me!" Shiro smirked, his pupils suddenly turning blood-red, with three tomoe spinning within them.

Naruto saw a blur in front of him as Shiro's body transformed into a flock of crows and disappeared.

When Naruto reached Shiro's position, he found that Shiro had vanished without a trace.

Frantically, Naruto began looking around. As he turned his head, he realized he was now surrounded by Shiro's clones—so many that they were impossible to count!

"Genjutsu?"

"I've fallen into a genjutsu!" 

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(End of Chapter)