Trees Chapter 304 Whatever You Say, Old Geezer

"I’ll fu..."

Sasuke was on the verge of losing it, his mouth opening as he prepared to deliver a polite rebuttal.

Having known him for years, Naruto recognized the first word and instantly realized….

‘Sasuke had completely snapped.’

Naruto reacted quickly and clamped a hand over Sasuke’s mouth before he could escalate things further. If this continued, the old geezer wouldn’t survive the trip.

If their mission client died right here, tomorrow’s headlines would undoubtedly read:

‘Shocking! Konoha’s Shinobi Brutally Assault a 70-Year-Old Man.’

‘Konoha’s Yellow-Haired Delinquent and Thin Ice Bro Actually Did This To The Mission Client...’

To protect what little remained of his reputation, Naruto decided that the old geezer had to survive… at least until they reached the Land of Sky.

Shinno watched Sasuke’s furious expression and chuckled, shaking his head without further comment.

This kind of reaction was only natural.

Even in his youth, he would’ve been furious if someone insulted his idol.

While Shinno ‘understood’, deep down, he felt nothing but disdain for Konoha.

‘This village will be destroyed sooner or later.’

‘Instead of pursuing powerful strength, a member of Uchiha Clan was obsessed with a game and even cosplayed a character from it?’

‘Pathetic!’

Shinno clasped his hands behind his back, exuding an air of superiority as he continued walking.

"And as for that Kurosaki Ichigo..."

"I’d say he’s not even as strong as Uchiha Xiao Yan."

Naruto: "???"

"F***…!"

"Old geezer, you f***ing bastard…!"

Naruto immediately lost it. He let go of the hand that was covering Sasuke, and started scolding the old geezer.

No matter what Shinno said about Kurosaki Ichigo, Naruto didn't care.

But...

He should never, ever say that Kurosaki Ichigo is weaker than Uchiha Xiao Yan!!

"Dumbass! Let go!"

"You motherf…!"

"Old geezer, do you have the guts to say that again!?"

Sasuke’s shoulders trembled as he wrapped his arms around Naruto’s waist, fearing that this boy would not be able to control himself and kill Shinno directly.

Shinno, who was suddenly scolded, was not angry at all. Instead, he grew even more excited.

Because...

He found that the negative energy emanating from these two little brats was quite shocking.

"Yummy! Yummy!"

Reibi’s Dark Chakra swelled, and Shinno could feel it...

‘The Reibi I created already gained sentience!’

Shinno was extremely ecstatic. If there hadn't been two little brats beside him, he might’ve howled in joy.

Of course, the look he gave the two young men also became ravenous.

‘What a great source of Dark Chakra...’

‘I didn't expect that this time, in addition to being able to obtain the Kyubi, Reibi’s Dark Chakra would also evolve further!’

Thanks to the two boys’ rage, the Dark Chakra in Shinno’s body seemed to have undergone a qualitative transformation.

The originally dark Chakra with hints of red completely had now turned crimson-black.

Shinno even considered that if he could extract the Biju from the yellow-haired brat, he should still find a way to keep the boy alive and let him provide him with a constant supply of Dark Chakra...

‘Hiss…’

‘What a pleasant surprise!’

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Shinno continued walking, casually analyzing how he’d deal with Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Kurosaki Ichigo..."

"His close combat skills are too weak."

"Look at his Getsuga Tensho and Kitsunehameha, all of which are long-range attacks."

Though there is little information about Kurosaki Ichigo, a member of the Akatsuki, the experienced Shinno can still see a lot of information from the game’s characters.

In his opinion...

Kurosaki Ichigo's real strength and Ninjutsu is indeed very powerful.

But…

Facing him when he opens the Eight Gates...

Kurosaki Ichigo probably wouldn’t even have time to make a hand seal before Shinno could instantly wipe him out.

Naruto and Sasuke were dumbfounded, staring blankly at the old geezer brimming with confidence in front of them.

‘Seriously...’

‘Who gave this old geezer the confidence?’

‘Reibi?’

‘That thing wasn’t some kind of evil sword immortal… what the hell did Shinno have to be so smug about?!’

The two exchanged a glance, smirked in unison, then turned and shouted at Shinno.

"Yeah, yeah, sure!"

"Whatever you say, old geezer."

Shinno, who was walking in front, suddenly paused. He realized that the intense negative energy he’d been absorbing earlier had stopped flowing...

‘Strange...’

‘What’s going on with these two little brats?’

"Old geezer, how much longer till we reach the Land of Sky?"

Naruto called out from behind, his tone so casual it left Shinno momentarily dazed.

After a while, the old geezer finally replied.

"Just half a day more. No need to rush."

Shinno even put on a kindly smile as he spoke.

"Young man, our Land of Sky is very welcoming."

"You should definitely stay and enjoy yourselves for a few days."

Shinno was quite worried that these two little brats would turn around and run away as soon as they completed their mission, which would make it difficult to catch them.

"Don’t worry, old geezer."

"I'm just afraid that your Land of Sky will kick us out!"

Naruto feigned innocence, his face full of sincerity, making Shinno burst into laughter.

"Absolutely not!"

"And also... Naruto..."

"Could you two stop calling me 'old geezer’ all the time...?"

The trio, one old and two young, walked through the forest, laughing and chatting.

If other people in Konoha saw this harmonious and loving scene, they would definitely drop their jaws in shock...

"Black Zetsu! What should we do!?"

"Tell me why this yellow-haired guy is here!?"

Obito glared at Shinno’s retreating figure. He was so angry that he raised his head and took another swig of alcohol.

Hearing Obito’s words, Black Zetsu nearly choked on his own rage.

‘Damn it!!’

‘Why is this yellow-haired guy here again!?’

A while back, Black Zetsu had caught wind of Shinno creating some kind of artificial Biju.

At first, his reaction was pure disdain.

‘What kind of artificial Biju was this? It didn’t even have as much Chakra as Shukaku and could only absorb mutated Chakra.’

‘Trash!’

But after the Shinobi World endured multiple catastrophes, the hatred, fear, and other negative emotions of the people became the nourishments for Reibi.

By the time Black Zetsu finally laid eyes on Reibi...

He realized this thing was even more sinister than a real Biju!!

And Shinno had no idea what he’d actually created… instead, he was delusionally trying to become its Jinchuriki.

If it were up to Black Zetsu...

He’d have Obito fuse with and devour that power outright.

Once the two merged, as long as negative energy existed in the world, Obito’s Chakra would never run out!

Then, when executing the Eye of the Moon Plan and facing all those bizarre enemies across the Shinobi World...

Obito could handle them effortlessly and no longer had to flee in a panic like before.

‘But...’

‘Why the hell were Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke here again!?’

"Black Zetsu?"

Noticing Black Zetsu’s prolonged silence, Obito frowned and called out, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"It’s fine!"

"Have Tobi distract those two."

"Obito, all you have to do is suck Shinno into the Kamui Dimension."

Black Zetsu paused here. He remembered the information from White Zetsu and added another warning to Obito.

"Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyo’s Dojutsu is similar to your Kamui..."

"Don’t let him notice you."

"Or you’re really done for."

Black Zetsu left one thing unsaid...

If Obito was done for, his mother on the moon would inevitably fall victim to the Shinobi World’s madness sooner or later.

Right now, Black Zetsu wasn’t aiming for anything else… He just wanted to rescue his mother and flee from this damned planet as fast as possible...