120 A Self Made Threat

After reaching the cave, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru immediately began checking for any signs of an ambush or trap. Of course, there was no such thing here but Shen wasn't going to stop them. Besides he was more focused on something else. Ever since he had expanded the range of his observation Haki's alongside his ki sensing he had felt as if something was watching him.

He had already tried to pinpoint its location five times over but whenever he got close to narrowing it down it suddenly disappeared. Although it wasn't that alarming it made him feel uncomfortable there was something in this world already that could avoid his senses. 'It's just like when you're trying to track a mosquito with your eyes. Every time you think you've got it it just vanishes.'

It was only once they all managed to settle down that Shen heard Jiariya call out to him. Bringing his senses back inwards he looked towards the three of them. "Sorry I wasn't paying attention. What was that?" Hearing what Shen said Jiariya paused before repeating himself. "I was asking if you don't mind telling us a bit about yourself?"

Shen's expression changed to one of both interest and surprise before he shrugged his shoulders. "When I came here I made sure to spruce myself up with this place. I think of myself as a traveler taking bits and pieces from every place I go and combining it." Hearing Shen's rudimentary answer Tsuande looked slightly staggered before responding.

"But what about war. I've never seen anyone wear something like that, especially during these times. Without identification, while crossing borders you could easily be killed." Looking up at Tsunade with a mysterious smile Shen responded. "The world is a lot bigger than just the five great nations. And when you've seen it all you don't have a lot to be afraid of."

Raising his hand to his side Shen's movements were slow causing the three Sannin not to be alarmed. "Besides depending on what you learn you can do things that seem impossible to some. And see things people would never notice." Suddenly a white halo enveloped Shen's hand causing the three of them to become alarmed.

Ignoring their reactions Shen gently tapped the air with the back of his palm. Looking at this the three Sannin were left astounded as the very world behind Shen's palm cracked like glass. Looking at Shen Orochimaru's temperament broke slightly when he spoke. "That's the same ability you used to stop the explosive tags. But how without any chakra buildup or hand signs."

Shen was ready to reply to him however he was surprised when Jiraiya stopped Orochimaru. "We're not here to interrogate him Orochimaru. We shouldn't pry especially after he saved us. That goes for you too Tsunade." Backing down both Tsunade and Orochimaru stopped asking questions.

It was as everyone was talking that Shen suddenly stood up. Showing a slightly concerned look he looked back at the Sannin. "Excuse me for a moment I'll be right back." Without giving them a chance to reply to him Shen began to walk off going deeper into the cave to the point they could no longer see him.

"Is it just me or is this entire situation strange?" Speaking her mind Tsunade looked at the other two which Jiraiya had to agree with. "Despite everything we still don't know much about him. It seems like he's being secretive on purpose. And then there was also that stuff with Hanzo. Do you guys re-

Before Jiraiya could finish speaking all three of them felt the ground shake. Pillar's holding up the roof of the cave began to chip and crack as the three of them tried to maintain their balance. "What's going on? Is it an attack?" Speaking out loud Orochimaru suddenly caught sight of three children falling into view from behind one of the pillars in the cave.

"What are children doing here?" With the strange series of events all three of them had already had their guard up but nothing could have prepared them for what happened next. Busting through one of the pillar's Shen's figures could be seen being flung. Landing back first onto the ground he continued to slide before he finally gained his bearings.

Pushing against the ground with his arms he flipped himself around landing on his feet before looking up in the direction he was flung. "I can't believe you two actually followed me here." Hearing Shen was talking to someone the three of them looked in the same direction he was. Soon two figures appeared amongst the rubble wearing strange black attire which seemed more similar to Shen's than anything they had seen before. Along with that, they had identical mask's covering their faces pure white with a red line indicating a smile and a blue bolt crossing over one of the eye sockets.

As the two of them stared at Shen their gazes slowly moved to three children who had been frozen in place due to the sudden appearances. Or if one were to be more precise it would be the child with red hair who was none other than Nagato. Following their gaze Shen's eyes landed on Nagato as well and almost instantly he charged at the two figures.

However, before Shen could even get close one of the figures stepped forward and seemingly attacked the air. Jumping into the air slightly he performed a roundhouse kick at the air and almost as if following the guide of his attack a large rock uprooted itself from the ground and flew towards Shen.

Spotting the flying boulder Shen was forced to stop his charge stopping all of his momenta he changed his attention to the boulder. As the boulder flew it broke through dozens of the cave pillars and even dug into the roof of the cave itself causing the entire place to shake violently. Clutching both of his fists two transparent halo-like orbs appeared in his hands as he punched towards the direction of the boulder.

Immediately the forces of the Gura Gura fruit collided with the boulder causing it to crack and fracture before finally exploding outwards into debris. As this all went down the second figure had already turned his attention to Nagato and preceded to dash towards him with his arm's already extended outwards.

The three kids were petrified in place as this looming figure approached at breakneck speed. Standing at the side line's Jiraiya still wasn't aware of what was going on however the kid's screams immediately broke him out of his indecision. Weaving a series of hand signs and slammed both of his hands onto the ground while yelling. "Earth Style: Multi Mud Wall!"

The ground in front of the three children began to morph as three walls suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking the figure dressed in black from reaching them. Seeing Jiariya's actions Tsunade and Orochimaru looked at him before speaking. "What are you doing Jiraiya?" Hearing them, Jiraiya smiled.

"I'm not just gonna stand here as these guys attack children. Besides he saved our lives when we were fighting Hanzo we can at least return the favor." The two of them seemed conflicted by Jiraiya's words. They were still tired after their fight with Hanzo and with a war going on jumping into someone else's fight would be a horrible idea.

But then again Shen did save their lives. It took Tsunade a couple of seconds before finally giving in and agreeing with Jiraiya and finally with the two of them convinced Orochimaru followed suit. "Alright then Tsunade I want you to protect the kids Orochimaru you're with me." The two of them nodded as both Jiraiya and Orochimaru met up with Shen while Tsunade ran over to the children.

"So do you mind explaining what's going on?" Speaking to Shen while keeping his eye on the supposed enemy Shen glanced over to him. "I appreciate the help but this could get dangerous. Besides, it's a long story." As Shen said that Jiraiya had already begun weaving hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Erupting from his mouth a large fire in the shape of a dragon shot forward. Burning through the air as it traveled the masked figure quickly moved his arms in a synchronized formation. The rain from the outside of the cave quickly began to gather before he brought his arms together. In reaction, the large cluster of water gathered from the rain formed a shield in front of him.

When the fire dragon touched the water both sources immediately disappeared being replaced with a large cloud of steam. Jiraiya looked over at Shen and spoke in the midst of a smile. "Well it's too late for that so why don't you just give me the short version." Hearing him Shen sighed.

"Well I don't know what they really are but I can tell you for a fact they're not human. I don't know how or what the requirements are but they hunt people down and steal any ability they can get their hands on and because of that I ended up calling them 'The Kariudo'." It was from Shen's explanation that Orochimaru's interest peaked as he asked a question.

"In that case, I'm guessing you've met these two before do you know their abilities?" Shen's gaze turned grim as he cracked his neck. "Of course I do, who do you think they got those abilities from? There is a reason why I only use one of my powers at a time." Orochimaru's eyes slowly moved back to the dark figure in the steam with a look of interest.

"If you three can keep them distracted for two minutes I can deal with them in one attack." Hearing Shen's serious tone both Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked at each other before nodding. "All right then." Following each other's league, both of them dashed off towards the massed figure preparing to engage.

On the other hand, watching from the back Shen couldn't help but let a smile break across his face. 'Too easy.' As Jiraiya and Orochimaru fought the figure with the strange telekinetic ability's Tsunade was left with the other one. She had already told the children to go and hide and not come out till she said leaving her with the second figure wearing a mask.

The masked figure was the first to attack, taking a boxing stance his right arm began to glow in a crimson light. Despite being meters away from Tsunade he suddenly launched a straight jab directly at her head. In instinct, Tsunade dodged to the side only to see the crimson light shoot off the figure's right arm like a beam.

Due to it just lightly brushing across her cheek it simply left a light burn however the power was real. 'If that had hit me dead on there would be a hole where my face would be.' Following its first attack, the following battle was like one they had never had before. Even compared to when they fought Hanzo they had never felt as if a single mistake would mean the end of their lives as long as they could cover each other's flaws.

However, in those two minutes, they had to endure the most stress they had ever felt until finally, the moment arrived. "Get back!" Shen screamed at both Orochimaru and Jiraiya who were caught up in the battle and finally realized they had survived the two minutes necessary. "Right! Tsunade grabs the kids and pulls back!" Hearing Jiraiya's yell, Tsunade dodged one last attack before retreating.

Dashing toward where the kids were hiding she picked up all three in one swoop before running out of the cave. Seeing that everyone was clear Shen extended his arms and grabbed out at the air in front of him. Everyone there had seen Shen do this before however, it was obvious this was on a much bigger scale.

With only a momentary pause Shen pulled at the air itself in X-shaped form. The world seemed to have inverted itself as it folded in on itself creating an almost impossible display of destructive power. Immediately the cave along with everything else in Shen's line of fire crumbled, being crushed by itself and finally being reduced to rubble.

When everything was finally said and done all that was left was a large revenue in the ground which seemed to stretch for miles. As for the two 'things' they were fighting the three of them could guarantee nothing could have survived that. "Incredible. What power." Whispering under his breath Orochimaru's eyes were glued to Shen's hands.

Meanwhile, Shen gave himself a pat on the back. 'Well it was a messy performance, to say the least, but they bought it.' However, a completely different thought was going through Jiariya's head as he focused his attention on Shen.

'That much destructive power might even be equal to a Tailed Beast... Where exactly did he come from?'