Chapter 143: The Abduction of Guren

But if Shizune were to ask what happened to those people… could he really say he stood by and did nothing?

That would utterly destroy the image he had carefully built for himself.

Lying to Shizune and claiming he saved them wouldn't hold up either—someone was bound to survive and expose the truth.

If he was going to silence them anyway, he might as well save them instead.

"…My name is Guren."

After a long pause, the little girl finally came to her senses and replied, her voice numb, as if she'd been scared stiff.

Shimizu blinked in surprise at her words, then lowered his head to take a closer look at the girl.

Her long, smooth blue hair was tied into a single ponytail, which from a distance looked like a pineapple top.

Her eyes were as clear and bright as black gemstones, her facial features delicate and well-defined, with a hint of baby fat still clinging to her cheeks—clearly a beauty in the making.

After observing her for a moment, Shimizu confirmed her identity: a character from the anime-exclusive arcs of Naruto: Shippuden, the most prominent original supporting character in the filler arcs.

She was also one of Orochimaru's top candidates for the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.

If Orochimaru hadn't chosen Yūkimaru as his vessel due to certain events, it might've been Guren's body he took instead.

"Guren, huh…"

Shimizu hadn't expected that a moment of quiet reflection would bring such a pleasant surprise.

Most likely due to the butterfly effect of his actions, more Konohagakure shinobi had been dispatched this time, leading to more background characters who were supposed to die in the original timeline being saved.

With more capable fighters surviving, the balance of power between nations remained fragmented, and the war had grown increasingly chaotic.

Guren was supposed to encounter her village's destruction when she was just past ten years old, but this had happened earlier than expected.

Her potential for growth was impressive—at the very least, Kage-level.

She possessed the Kekkei Genkai Crystal Release, with her only weakness being sound-based attacks.

Guren had an enormous chakra reserve—she could cover an entire kilometer with it and form crystalline prisons using Crystal Release. She even dared to challenge the Three-Tails in battle, though she ultimately lost.

Looking at the little girl before him, Shimizu began to entertain certain thoughts.

Guren's loyalty to Orochimaru was practically fanatical. Even after being half-heartedly trained and then abandoned for years, she still willingly returned to serve him when he came calling.

If he took better care of her than Orochimaru ever did and prevented Yūkimaru from interfering, he could very well earn her complete and unwavering devotion.

The only real flaw in her personality… was her lack of intelligence.

But her venomous, ruthless nature was a bonus—she followed orders to the letter, killing and burning without a second thought.

"Did I… do something wrong?"

Guren's voice trembled as she watched Shimizu stare at her in a daze. Seeing his shinobi gear, she grew fearful, worried he might be just like the villains who destroyed her village.

"Kamesaburō-nii, looks like we've still got two stragglers."

A young man approached from the opposite direction. Short and slender, his eyes gleamed with craftiness and vigilance.

He wore a thin piece of chainmail, a massive backpack slung over his shoulders, gold necklaces dangling out the back.

In his hand was a short sword that he spun casually, clearly very comfortable wielding it.

"Just kill them. Tetsuya Sugihara said he'd be on lookout at the village entrance, but who knows where he ran off to."

Shindō Kamesaburō clapped the blood off his shinobi vest. His shoulders and chest bore visible slash wounds and burn marks. His hair was short and messy, face weathered and scarred beneath a rough beard.

"Heh, this kid's not bad. She could fetch a decent price if we sell her."

Yamashige Jirō grinned lecherously as he approached with his short blade in hand.

Shimizu pointed at the two rogue shinobi and asked:

"Are these the ones who did this to your village?"

"…Yeah. It was them."

Guren nodded timidly.

Something about Shimizu's calm and unhurried demeanor made Kamesaburō wary. His shinobi vest also looked far more refined than theirs.

Still, it was hard to tell whether he was just a Genin or a Chunin. Even if he was a Chunin, the combined strength of him and his brother Jirō should be enough to kill one.

"You heard my brother. Take your own life, or we'll do it for you."

Yamashige Jirō's words left Shimizu speechless.

These background nobodies from the original story were this bold?

Even among the other nations' shinobi, few would dare to speak to Shimizu with such arrogance.

The fact that his reputation as "Shunshin Shimizu" had spread was testament to just how far ahead he was in mastery of the Body Flicker Technique.

"Looks like not wearing my forehead protector gave you two the wrong idea."

Shimizu raised his hand toward them, and a torrent of fire surged forth.

Fire Release: Flame Wild Dance.

In an instant, the two were reduced to charred corpses, suffering the same fate as the one by the village entrance.

Little Guren's mouth hung open in shock—wide enough to fit something inside.

She stared in disbelief at the ease with which Shimizu dispatched them.

She had just seen those two brutally slaughter the village's able-bodied men like chickens, cutting them down one by one.

Now, in front of Shimizu, they had become the chickens.

Was there really such a massive gap in power between shinobi?

"If you had this kind of power, your village wouldn't have ended up like this. In this world, all misfortune stems from one thing—lack of strength."

Shimizu crouched down and whispered into Guren's ear.

"Power… If I had power like that…"

Guren murmured to herself, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Shimizu knew he had succeeded.

To a little girl who had just watched him effortlessly defeat the rogue ninja who destroyed her village, he was the strongest being in the world.

In the original series, Guren had first followed Orochimaru because she was drawn to his power. Only later did her loyalty become heartfelt.

"Alright. I'll go with you."

After a moment's silence, Guren's eyes were filled with determination.

Shimizu smiled and gently patted her head. A unique Kekkei Genkai—definitely worth studying. With enough exposure, he might one day replicate it himself.

He then took her hand, raised the other to release a high-pressure jet of water into the air, which burst apart like a fountain.

Rain began to fall over the entire village, swiftly extinguishing the lingering flames.

"Thank you, ninja-sama! Thank you!"

A few villagers who had managed to survive by hiding came running out to express their gratitude.

Shimizu explained that he was a shinobi sent by Konohagakure to carry out a mission here.

After tending to the wounded villagers with some basic medical care and burying Guren's parents, he took her away from the ruined village.

"For the time being, you'll stay here."

Shimizu brought Guren to a cave base.

He had gradually expanded the space, and now it covered about three acres—fairly sizable.

After giving her a basic chakra extraction manual, he sent her off to start learning how to refine chakra.

Ordinary people from small villages didn't have access to chakra refining techniques and thus couldn't become shinobi.

While everyone possessed chakra in their bodies, learning how to use spiritual energy and physical strength to continuously generate and refine chakra required proper training.

This method had been passed down since the time of the Sage of Six Paths. It was he who founded the Ninja Creed and traveled the world spreading his teachings.

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