Kurotsuchi blinked her bright eyes, looking thoroughly confused.
After a long pause, she finally caught on.
"You're not a ninja from Iwagakure!"
"Who are you?! What do you want?!"
Kurotsuchi immediately demanded loudly, trying to mask her inner panic.
At the end of the day, she was still just an eight-year-old little girl.
Shimoku gave a light smile.
When he first arrived here, he saw this future "Leg Shadow" fumbling around on the ground for something.
That sight had caught his attention, so he couldn't help but pop out and tease her a bit.
Don't worry, he wasn't some perverted creep — not yet, at least.
At the very least, he'd wait until she developed a little more!
"Stay calm. I'm not here to hurt anyone today."
"Just relax."
Just then,
Inside the treasury's attic, Deidara also seemed to hear some strange noises from outside.
"Hey? Junior apprentice sister, what was that sound? Who are you talking to?"
"Brother! There's an enemy! Come out quickly!..."
Kurotsuchi suddenly jumped,
Retreating backward while shouting at the top of her voice.
But before her words were fully out,
The figure in front abruptly flickered and vanished on the spot.
Then,
She felt a numbness in her neck as she instantly passed out.
Clearly, for all her young talent,
To Shimoku's current level, she was still far too weak.
She hadn't even reached chunin level yet, so it was only natural that one move put her down.
Next,
Shimoku gently laid Kurotsuchi onto the ground.
Inside the treasury, Deidara rushed out anxiously.
However,
Before he could even see clearly what had happened,
His vision was engulfed by the crimson gaze of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Time became chaotic, space distorted, consciousness sank...
Without even managing to release his clay bombs, Deidara unknowingly fell under the influence of the Sharingan's genjutsu and fell into a deep slumber.
"This kid really isn't good against genjutsu at all!"
"To already be scheming about robbing your own village's treasury at such a young age — truly talented indeed!"
Seeing Deidara lying unconscious on the floor, Shimoku let out a slight sigh of mild amusement.
Then, he happily stepped into the treasury of Iwagakure Village.
Preparing to conveniently take away a few 'souvenirs' on his way back.
...
As he entered the treasury, a strong scent of wealth hit him straight in the face.
It made his breath catch and his heart race with excitement.
Though situated in a remote location and not well integrated into trade, Iwagakure Village's treasury was undeniably no match for Konoha's.
Still, as one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, its stockpile of silver coins wasn't small either.
As far as the eye could see,
There were easily hundreds of millions of silver coins gleaming under the dim light!
Looks like another big haul was coming his way!
Without hesitation,
Shimoku immediately pulled out several Spatial Scrolls he had previously prepared.
And began sweeping through these two full floors of silver coins without restraint.
Now it seemed those scrolls, drawn through the System, actually proved quite useful.
A single mid-tier Spatial Scroll could hold up to twenty million silver coins.
They were convenient and portable — way more practical than lugging heavy sacks of silver while running for your life.
Shimoku quickly stuffed two mid-tier and six low-tier Spatial Scrolls.
He had practically taken half of the silver in the Vault — a staggering seventy million taels.
Leaving just a bit more than twenty-two million taels for Iwagakure Village.
Who knows — maybe Onoki will die of rage when he finds out.
Well, that's none of his business anymore.
At least he left something behind for Iwagakure, right?
Not too bad, right?
...
After organizing all the scrolls and preparing to leave with a full load, Shimoku suddenly remembered something.
Quickly pulling out a kunai, he marked it instantly with his [Flying Thunder God Technique].
Then, with a light jump, he hid the kunai behind the crossbeam above the vault.
Since this is such a rare visit, might as well leave a little 'souvenir'.
If someone discovers this kunai bearing the Flying Thunder God Technique marking, it won't be a big deal.
But if it remains undiscovered…
Won't he then have another chance to teleport back here again soon?
Surely, the ever-so-"welcoming" Iwagakure wouldn't refuse his generous visits?
With that, after leaving good markers behind,
Shimoku wasted no time. Activating the [Flying Thunder God Technique], he teleported away using the previously set marker.
In an instant, he vanished from inside the Vault as if he'd never been there at all.
Except, of course, for the nearly half-empty Vault itself.
...
Right at this moment.
It had barely been five minutes since Onoki got the news.
Yet despite his anxiety and impatience, the Third Tsuchikage had already flown at full speed — covering a fifteen-minute journey in just a few minutes — and arrived at the place where Shimoku and Taka had clashed earlier.
Sure enough, a masked figure in a crimson cloak was already waiting there.
Next moment.
Seeing his own son beaten badly, bruised and unconscious on the ground.
Furious, Onoki didn't utter a single word — he went straight into attack mode.
Launching a direct assault against this clone of Shimoku.
A torrent of Earth Release techniques rained down with overwhelming force, terrifying in intensity.
No wonder this old beast survived from the Warring States era; even though his earth techniques lack the raw power of Taka's [Mountain and Earth Method],
When it came to overall skill — jutsu control, release speed, flexibility — Onoki far surpassed Taka.
Even without using his Dust Release — commonly referred to as the [Strongest Spear] —
This man's overall strength ranked above average among all the Kage across the Five Great Hidden Villages!
Technique after technique poured down in dazzling variety, enough to overwhelm anyone.
Add his unique flight ability into the equation.
Soaring high above, he kept raining relentless attacks down on Shimoku's clone.
For ordinary ninja lacking long-range capabilities, fighting him is practically impossible.
All these made Onoki seem nearly invincible — like an unbeatable fortress!
Of course,
Mainly because this particular clone had just survived a brutal fight against Taka, and only had slightly more than '2 Chakra' left.
Furthermore, the original body had taken the [Dragon-Weaving Blade] away.
And various abilities and ninjutsu that could easily expose his identity were inconvenient to use.
That's why he was barely able to respond, being constantly suppressed throughout the fight by Onoki.
Otherwise, if it were truly Shimoku's main body here, simply activating [Susano'o] and wielding the Divine Sword—
Then it would have been Onoki running for his life while getting absolutely thrashed...
"Frustrating! Just a rogue ninja from the [Akatsuki] dares to oppose me, from [Iwagakure]!"
"You're asking for death!"
Onoki roared furiously, eyes burning with rage.
His hands flew through increasingly complex seals as his attacks grew fiercer and more relentless.
At this time, the Five Great Hidden Villages generally paid little attention to rogue ninja groups like the Akatsuki.
Of course, as the Third Tsuchikage,
With decades of experience spanning three Ninja World Wars, Onoki hadn't let anger cloud his judgment.
Instead, while attacking, he carefully searched for his opponent's weaknesses and openings,
Looking for a chance to finish him off decisively!
After all, his enemy's strength was undeniable.
They had already fought dozens of rounds, yet he'd barely managed to gain the upper hand.
This opponent's strength was definitely on par with any of the Five Kage!
Across the entire ninja world,
There had never been any report of such a powerful rogue ninja emerging from any clan!
Moreover, the opponent's signature Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan—hadn't even been used yet.
That only made Onoki respect and wary of him even more, secretly staying alert.
Thus, after battling intensely for quite some time,
Shimoku's clone, nearly exhausted of chakra, judged the timing right.
The next moment,
Right before Onoki's astonished gaze, he suddenly ceased resistance altogether,
Allowing sharp spikes of rock erupting from the ground to pierce straight through him.
"How can this be?"
"Why did he stop resisting?"
"Has he really run out of chakra?"
Seeing the enemy impaled before him, Onoki also jolted in shock, unable to believe it.
But in the next instant,
The enemy's figure exploded into a thick puff of white smoke, vanishing without a trace.
"This is… the [Shadow Clone Jutsu]?!!"
Onoki cried aloud.
He gazed into the distance, eyes practically popping out of their sockets in disbelief.
He had seen many examples of Konoha's Shadow Clone Jutsu—it was indeed exquisitely detailed, hard to distinguish from real flesh and blood.
Yet he had never expected,
That the enemy who'd been fighting him fiercely for so long, exchanging blows in an earth-shaking battle, was merely a single shadow clone all along!
Damn it! This is pissing me off!
If just a clone was this powerful, what kind of monster is the real one?!
"Wait a second..."
"If that guy left behind only a clone to stall me, then where is his real body..."
"Oh no! I've been tricked!"
"The enemy's true target… must be my village!"
Realizing suddenly, Onoki felt horror rising within, regretting deeply.
To think he bore the title "Two Scales," and was even the eldest among the current Kage—yet couldn't see through such a simple trick!
He had been too eager trying to save someone, clouding his judgment!
"Damn it! I hope the village remains unharmed!"
Cursing loudly, Onoki grabbed hold of Kitsuchi on the ground and hurriedly prepared to retreat back to the Hidden Village.
But just at that moment.
Next to a plain kunai wedged into a narrow crack in the rocks,
a figure suddenly flickered into view.
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