121 Agreement To The End

"These kids are fine, just a couple of scratches." With Tsunade looking after Nagato and the other Jiraiya let out a breath of relief. Thanks to the rain finally letting up, they could see the area they were in full without any viewing hazards. After a quick recon, Orochimaru had confirmed that no one else was nearby.

Turning towards Shen, who was standing just a couple of feet away, stretching his body, Jiraiya spoke. "So are they the reason why you came here despite there being a war raging on?" Glancing over towards Jiraiya, Shen nodded. "Ya though I wasn't expecting them to follow me this far." Listening to Shen, Jiraiya looked over at the children who were being healed by Tsunade.

"If that's the case then why did they go after those kids." However, suddenly Shen shook his head before sitting down on the ground. "You have the wrong idea. Like I said before they aren't human anymore. I don't know where they came from or how many there are but I've seen hundreds of them literally hundreds. Like a virus they spread out and seek out new powers and when they find one they steal them and integrate that power into one of their own."

Listening to Shen as she took care of the children, Tsunade couldn't help but question it. 'These kids look normal enough to me. Is there really something special about them?' Staring up at the sky, Shen continued. "In any case if they went after those kids then there must be something special about at least one of them."

Glancing over at the children, Shen also looked over at Jiraiya. "Of course if it was just the two that followed me then there is no issue. But..." Seeing Shen leave off on a but Orochimaru walked over and edged on him. "But what?" Sighing, Shen looked at all three of them dead in the eye. "Then they will turn this world of yours into an all you can eat buffet."

A deep silence swept over the area as the severity of the situation became a little more clear. "This is crazy how could we have not known about this… If what you're saying is true then it puts a lot more than just the Shinobi world at risk." Going into contemplation Tsunade's words matched Jiraiy's thoughts as well.

"But there is a bright side." Shen walked over to the edge of the ravine. Even now, rock's continued to break off of the ravine's sides and tumble down into the deep abyss. However, Shen extended his hand over the gorge as if waiting for something. Watching Shen's actions, Jiraiya's expression changed to one of interest.

"What do you mean by a bright side?" Not responding, Shen slightly moved his fingers upwards. At that moment, two bright lights from the bottom of the ravine were growing brighter. It only took a couple of seconds for those lights to be seen as orb's as they reached the top of the gorge, stopping almost immediately as they reached ground level.

"What… What are those?" Looking at the lights in awe, Shen lowered his arm before replying. "The powers those two stole from me." The next moment the two orbs of light flew into Shen's body before disappearing. "Despite everything most of the powers they have are from me. If I had to guess I only have 5% of what I originally had available to me."

In an instant, everyone's eyes widened. 'What did he just say…' Orochimaru's eyes flew over to the large ravine that changed the entire landscape of the area they were standing in. 'If that's only 5% then even the old man wouldn't stand a chance. If I could just meet up with these Kariudo and convince them to let me join them then my research no not just that everything could be within my grasp…'

"Alright then we have no choice." Coming to a decision, both Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at Jiraiya. "I'll stay here with these kids and Tsunade and Orochimaru should return to the village with you." Immediately Tsunade stood up and walked over to Jiraiya. "What? After all of that you're staying here? Did you not hear what Shen said?"

Looking at Tsunade, Jiraiya responded. "That's exactly why I'm staying behind. Leaving these kids unguarded will only bring more of those Kariudo here. And if they really do get what they want then that will only bode badly for us. In the meantime you two can return to the leaf and inform Lord Third of what's going on."

Being stunned for a moment, Tsunade prepared and tried to say something. "Bu-" However, mid-sentence, Jiraiya stared at her. "This isn't a game Tsunade. You and both know how strong those guys were. If there were ten no twenty of them attacking the leaf village without any warning we would be destroyed without even being able to put up a fight."

Hearing Jiraiya, Tsunade couldn't do anything but clench her fist before agreeing hesitantly. Then looking over at Orochimaru, Jiraiya saw him nod in agreement before taking a deep breath. 'And here I was planning on writing some more after this whole war business was over.' On the other hand, Shen couldn't be any more pleased.

In total, he had three different goals to make sure everything went smoothly. He needed a good reason to stay in the leaf village as significant events went down and a way to set his status. That was the main reason he made up that whole facade about the Kariudo. This way, he could stay in the leaf village to help and protect while, in truth, he could be closer to the critical events.

Alongside that, he could operate under the guise of the Kariudo to do his dirty work. It also meant he could work with this world's current villains to avoid a bunch of hassle. And when all was said and done, he would be the only one left on top. 'In the end it's simply a waiting game.' Even if it was a little rough around the edges, Shen got the Sannin to split up the exact way they did initially.

The Hidden Leaf journey was surprisingly quiet, and that was mostly due to the actual state of the war. As Hanzo said, the leaf was winning, and that meant there were no resources available to deal with ninja returning to the village. "Where here." Tsunade's voice caused Shen to close out of all the system menus he was browsing as he brought his attention to the large gate ahead.

Turning around to look at Shen, Tsunade spoke. "We will be heading straight to the hokage's office please forgive the lack of a reception. Currently everyone is on edge because of the war." In reaction to Tsunade's words, Shen looked around, and indeed things were different. Before the show Naruto began, this period wasn't demonstrated very much, but he could tell things were nowhere close to as cheerful.

As they walked through the village Shen could sense everyone's eyes on him, especially the patrolling ninja. However, alongside that, he still had the annoying feeling of someone watching from the shadows. 'Well that's going to get very irritating very fast.' Ignoring that watchful gaze, they had finally made their way to the Hokage's office.

Gesturing for Shen to wait, Orochimaru and Tsunade entered first. After standing in the hall for around twenty minutes, Shen heard an all too familiar voice. "Please come in." Opening the door, Shen walked into the office with a relaxed expression. Standing by the side were both Orochimaru and Tsunade. Along with them being in the office, Jonin and Chunnin were stationed around the room to guard the Hokage.

"I have just listened to the report from these two and I must thank you for your assistance against Hanzo." Standing from his chair, the Third Hokage politely extended his hand towards Shen. "I am the Third Hokage of this village Hiruzen Sarutobi." However, Shen didn't bother with the formalities and sat down before speaking.

"I am aware of who you all are. So how about we simply talk about the issue at hand?" Listening to Shen, Hiruzen retracted his hand and sat down as well. "You mean these Kariudo? I heard about them from those two however I still have my questions with one being most prominent." Shen raised his brow when Hiruzen mentioned he had a question and waited for him to speak.

You are bringing both of his hands to his chin. Hiruzen's gaze dropped. "Despite your help with Hanzo and your warning to the leaf we still don't know why. What exactly do you want in return? Surely you're not doing this out of kindness." Narrowing his eyes, Shen looked around the room they were in.

"Well you're not wrong. As you're aware they have already stolen more than 90% of my original powers from me. No matter how strong someone is they can't fight forever. While traveling I have seen how powerful you shinobi can be and your number's do allow you to drive back the Kariudo with the proper help. So I want to make a deal with you."

"So you want our protection?" Guessing what Shen wants, Hiruzen throughout one of his guesses. However, Shen shook his head. "No, the hidden leaf is at war and I am tired of traveling. So instead I'll offer you a deal that only gets better over time. For the remainder of my time in this land I'll be staying here. If need be I'll even offer my assistance and guidance. However in return I want your village to help me."

"Are you insane!" An old man with an X shaped scar on his chin along with a bandage covering his right eye slammed the table with his free arm as the other was being held in his robe. "Danzo calm yourself." Hiriuzen spoke calmly as Danzo glared at him. "During times like these you have allowed a strange man to con you into a deal you can't possibly uphold."

Holding his silence as Danzo spoke, Hiruzen continued to talk calmly. "I am not saying I trust him however I do trust me students. If the threat of these Kariudo are real then him staying here in this village is our safest move. And even if they are not having someone in our village to protect it when the Hokage can not is a valuable asset."

Calming himself, Danzo sat back down into his chair, still glaring at Hiruzen. "It seems you mention everything but the fact that he wants us to help him hunt the Kariudo down. Making an unknown threat even stronger while being inside of the village is dangerous and can not be permitted!"

It was at this time that an old lady who was remaining quiet during this debate spoke. "Danzo, we all understand that Hiruzen has made this decision in order to protect the future of the village. Despite the war coming to an end, danger lurks on the horizon at all times. Having a force like this Shen on our side in the village is better than him being a rogue factor or even worse joining a rival nation."

Nodding in agreement, an old man sitting opposite of the old woman spoke. "Indeed we will need to keep track of this Shen at all times however having him here is a lot safer than having him roam free. I believe we should accept his deal and keep him under careful surveillance."

"I agree."

"I agree."

Both Hiruzen and the old woman agreed almost immediately, leaving Danzo's vote to be unnecessary. Looking at all three of them, Danzo grabbed his cane and stood up. "Your actions will be the end of the Hidden Leaf I guarantee that."